Sex Used to Sell Alcohol

Sex to Sell

Sex sells. Especially when advertisers want to sell consumer products marketed to produce pleasure, such as alcohol, erotic imagery is pervasive. An analysis of three different advertisements shows how different advertising agencies use sexuality, gender, and eroticism to peddle alcoholic beverages. Two of the three advertisements can be deemed tasteless and sexist; whereas the other one can be considered gender neutral and reveals appropriate imagery.

The first advertisement is for Bacardi Rum. It is a full-page, full-color magazine print. The image is of a woman's torso, showing her breasts to her upper thighs. Not even her hair is showing. Her button-down shirt is open to reveal an animal print bikini top. The woman pulls down her jeans with her right thumb, to reveal animal print bikini bottoms. Her left hand holds a glass of rum and coke. The tagline reads, "Pussy cat by day. Bacardi by night."

The second advertisement is for a product called Bacardi O. The full-page color ad features the letter "O" as a frame for the picture inside The picture is of a man embracing a woman from behind. The man is barely visible within the frame, which features the female more prominently. The blonde woman has a coy look, and she delicately touches her painted fingernails to her lips as she gazes seductively at the viewer. A martini glass rim forms the diameter of the oval, which is pierced by the phallic form of the Bacardi O. bottle. The lip of the Bacardi O. bottle reaches to the lips of the woman, giving the clear impression of fellatio.

The third advertisement is for Jameson Irish Whiskey. In this full-page color magazine advertisement, half the page is taken up with a photo of a group of friends sitting in an outdoor cafe in the evening. The group is mixed, including two men and two women. The bottom half of the page is green and the text reads, "Rush Hour Chicago." At the bottom, the tagline reads, "What's the rush?"

These three advertisements show how different brands use sexuality in their marketing. Bacardi has gone so far as to brand a product "O," which is a colloquialism for an orgasm. The ad for Bacardi "O" is the raciest and most potentially offensive of the three. A raw sexuality permeates the advertisement, as the suggestion of the woman performing fellatio on the man until he has an orgasm is overt. The advertisement suggests to the consumer that Bacardi O. will get the user "laid." Target audience is certainly men, as well as women, looking to have a good time and party.

Likewise, the first advertisement for Bacardi rum is also racy and can be interpreted as being sexist because of the way it depicts the woman without a head, as if she has no identity other than her sexuality. She is shown as being in control of her own sexuality, though, unlike the Bacardi O. advertisement. Just as the Bacardi O. advertisement is overt in its suggestion of fellatio, the Bacardi Rum ad uses the word "pussy" in an overt way to suggest the woman's sexuality. The target audience for this advertisement can be either men or women of drinking age, focused on the lifestyle of partying.