Free Essays on Sex Sells

Writer’s Tool Unchanged from Sophocles to Present The purpose of this paper is to show a common writing angle that has been use by writers throughout time to sell their works. The word sex will perk-up anyone’s ears! So it is obvious that throughout time writers of all types have used sex to get readers/viewers attention. As one of the earliest playwrights, Sophocles knew what it would take to get the attention of his ancient Greek audiences, and it isn’t any wonder that it is this same element that has been used throughout time and even today by writers to get reader’s attention. As a result the storylines are parallel; in that Sophocles’ drama King Oedipus the advertisement would probably mirror that of today’s popular daytime TV talk show dramas: I accidentally murdered my father, married my mother and got her pregnant. So famous is Oedipus and his demented sexual situation, renowned doctor of psychiatry Sigmund Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams wrote, â€Å"Modern authors have therefore sought to achieve a similar tragic effect by expressing the same conflict in stories of their own invention. If the Oedipus Rex is capable of moving a modern reader or playgoer no less powerfully than it moved the contemporary Greeks, the only possible explanation is that the effect of the Greek tragedy does not depend upon the conflict between fate and human will, but upon the peculiar nature of the material by which this conflict is revealed.† Freud went as far as naming Oedipus’s relationship quandary describing it as an Oedipus Complex, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex and a concomitant sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex; a crucial stage in the normal developmental process. â€Å"Falling in love with one parent and hating the other forms part of the permanent stock of the psychic impulses which arise in early childhood, and are of such importance as the material... Free Essays on Sex Sells Free Essays on Sex Sells SEX SELLS Writer’s Tool Unchanged from Sophocles to Present The purpose of this paper is to show a common writing angle that has been use by writers throughout time to sell their works. The word sex will perk-up anyone’s ears! So it is obvious that throughout time writers of all types have used sex to get readers/viewers attention. As one of the earliest playwrights, Sophocles knew what it would take to get the attention of his ancient Greek audiences, and it isn’t any wonder that it is this same element that has been used throughout time and even today by writers to get reader’s attention. As a result the storylines are parallel; in that Sophocles’ drama King Oedipus the advertisement would probably mirror that of today’s popular daytime TV talk show dramas: I accidentally murdered my father, married my mother and got her pregnant. So famous is Oedipus and his demented sexual situation, renowned doctor of psychiatry Sigmund Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams wrote, â€Å"Modern authors have therefore sought to achieve a similar tragic effect by expressing the same conflict in stories of their own invention. If the Oedipus Rex is capable of moving a modern reader or playgoer no less powerfully than it moved the contemporary Greeks, the only possible explanation is that the effect of the Greek tragedy does not depend upon the conflict between fate and human will, but upon the peculiar nature of the material by which this conflict is revealed.† Freud went as far as naming Oedipus’s relationship quandary describing it as an Oedipus Complex, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex and a concomitant sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex; a crucial stage in the normal developmental process. â€Å"Falling in love with one parent and hating the other forms part of the permanent stock of the psychic impulses which arise in early childhood, and are of such importance as the material... Free Essays on Sex Sells Question:Consider the visual impact of billboards on society. Research the use of the ‘sex sells’ clichà © in relation to imagery, text and social values Essay: Billboards are a very effective way of advertising and have a large impact on society. This can be either a negative or positive impact, which varies from poster to poster. Designers are faced with the task of making their ad appealing to the vast audience that will pass the billboard every day so these posters must have certain qualities to make them eye-catching and interesting. They must be bold, have appropriate use of colour, be readable and/or recognizable and clear. They must also be able to make the product appealing to the audience, and this is where the ‘sex sells’ clichà © comes into it. Nowadays society is getting more and more relaxed in its view towards sex, it is now quite common to see a billboard with a beautiful, voluptuous woman advertising anything from shampoo to car accessories. In the past publicising sex or using sex to sell or promote anything was frowned upon but as the power has passed down through the generations it has been looked upon with a more liberal attitude. Society is slowly accepting these posters but every now and then the boundaries are pushed or tested by advertisements that try to g o that little bit further in search of uniqueness or, most of the time controversy. Controversy can play a big part to whether or not billboards fulfil their task. Companies are always looking for something that separates their poster from the rest so by pushing the boundaries and creating a sexually provocative poster which they know will most likely cause debate is worth its weight in gold, as there is nothing better than free publicity. One example of this is the new Windsor Smith billboard advertising their new shoes (shown below). The ad shows a man wearing the shoes standing over a scantily clad woman. It has a sexual under... Free Essays on Sex Sells We have all watched TV in our lives one point or another. We have all seen many commercial’s where they will have some attractive women selling a product. These companies always put hot young women for everything they sell to draw the attention of their viewers. The women in the commercials always have a certain image good skin, nice hair and they are always thin. Many females think if they get these products they will have the same sex appeal as the women on the commercials. Indeed sex sells whether it is shampoo, a gum commercial or just a cover of a magazine. First of all, shampoo commercials use a great deal of sex appeal. It seems like everyday I see a Pert Plus commercial. In that commercial, the woman is not sure which shampoo to use when she is in the shower, of course she is attractive so she picks up pert plus and she has a great time shampooing her hair. In the Herbal Essence commercial, they have this very attractive woman putting the shampoo in her hair, then screaming because it is so good. Last, but not least, I think everyone has seen a Head and Shoulders commercial. Once again attractive woman having head problems and she tries Head and Shoulder and wont return to her old shampoo. They do this to seduce the viewers into wanting to buy their products. The second commercial that uses a great deal of sex appeal is gum commercials. In Dentine Ice, Winter Fresh and Big Red commercials they all have the same pitch. In every one of those commercials they have a Hollywood couple and one of them puts the gum in their mouth and they start making out. Both of them look like a typical commercial couple. The third product that has a great deal of sex appeal is magazines. FHM, Maxim and Stuff all have attractive women on the cover to seduce the readers to buy their product. In conclusion, sex does sell products. But do we really need some super models telling us what to buy?...