Periscope

Sexy ads spark debate

A scantily-clad woman draping herself over a bottle of perfume, a girl in bikini leaning close to a muscular man, ordinary women posing playfully and confidently in their underwear – sexy advertisements are mushrooming at every corner of Hong Kong , from billboards on trains and buses to walls of commercial skyscrapers at the heart of Central.

These advertisements, which often portray the human body as a symbol of sex and desire, manipulate the models' tempting postures, provocative facial expressions and seductive eye contact to catch people's attention – hence their products.

However, sexy commercials raise a debate over sexual stereotyping in society and the lack of scrutiny of those advertisements that are offensive. Some sex education teachers express worries that the young generation is being affected in an imperceptible way, write Michelle Chan, Dennis Cheng and Solene Ge.

A recent research on the attitudes of local students towards advertisements with sex appeal showed that most respondents were drawn to sexy female models. Fewer students considered sexy male models attractive or sexually appealing.

Stella So Lai-man, an associate professor of marketing at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong, did the study last year by interviewing 90 students from secondary schools and master of business administration programmes, who were aged between 14 and 36.

Ms So's research found more than 60 per cent of the male respondents and 55 per cent of female interviewees said women models were “sexy”.

However, 31 per cent of the male students judged models of the same sex in those advertisements as “vulgar” and 19 per cent “distasteful”.

“It is more widely accepted for women to be objectified or dehumanised as displays in advertisements as women are traditionally ‘decorative' in society,” Ms So said. “Men have always been stereotyped as masculine and strong. Their social role as breadwinners will be degraded if they are treated as objects in sexy advertisements.”

Agreeing with Ms So, Susanne Choi Yuk-ping, assistant professor of sociology at the Chinese University , added: “Models in sexy ads are being used as exhibits or tools for drawing people's attention and making money. Regardless of their genders, they are all being objectified.”

Renee Lee, a consultant of Milk, a popular magazine among youngsters in Hong Kong , also noted that not only beautiful women were being treated as objects in consumerism, but so were men.

“ Hong Kong women, especially the middle-aged and the educated, are fascinated by young male artists like F4 and Rain, whose sexy dance postures and muscular bodies always drive people crazy. Just like women's, men's bodies are also used to arouse sexual appeal in advertisements,” she said.

Although advertisements with sexual connotations can attract people's attention, they do not necessarily boost sales.

Hong Kong Institute of Marketing chairman Yim Kai-ming said sex was only “a tool” in advertisements. “You can't say your advertisement will increase sales only with a tool --- it depends on how and when you use it,” Mr Yim explained.

He cited that it could be useful to have a female model selling Playboy magazine. “But it still depends on how the model poses and how her image is related to the
product.”

However, even when sexual appeal is linked to an advertised product, the public may still find the advertisement inappropriate or offensive.

In April 2004, for example, Coca-Cola launched a promotional campaign on its new product “Coke Light” and one of its television commercials featured a woman unzipping her jacket and revealing her bra.

The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority received 25 complaints against the advertisement from the viewers.

“(The Coke Light commercial) can present the healthy and sexy image of the product well and can catch people's eyes effectively,” Mr Yim argued.

But one of the complainants told theHong Kong Broadcasting Authority that the advertisement was indecent and an insult to women as it implied women were stupid and they would exploit their own bodies to get what they wanted.

The Broadcasting Authority, however, ruled that the advertisement did not degrade women and was within the bounds of decency. The complaint was considered unsubstantiated.

Annisa Lee Lai, assistant professor of advertising at the Chinese University , said sexy advertisements were often criticised for reinforcing social stereotypes of gender roles.

Dr Lee herself found a billboard of Ma Belle Jewellery in a Mass Transit
Railway station in March 2005 demeaning women.

Featuring a female model who sit on a bed, the advertisement tagline read in
Chinese, meaning “the spirit of modern women: offering herself”.

Dr Lee said as the advertisement implied sexual submission, it degraded the women.

“Women are treated as a kind of commodity or a part of the promoted products, instead of an individual, in sexy advertisements. Those advertisements sometimes show a lack of respect for women,” she said.

A Ma Belle customer service officer, who identified herself only as Cheng, explained that the advertisement was not meant to depict women as sex objects. “The company only wanted to show that women always devoted themselves not only to work, but also to their families,” Miss Cheng said.

The advertisement was dropped soon after its appearance.

Dr Lee considers that the Ma Belle advertisement is just one example of sexy advertisements that stereotypes women.

Advertisers tend to portray women as vulnerable, cheap, sexually aggressive or submissive in the sexy advertisements.

“Actually, in real life, the females aren't like that at all,” she said.

Affecting the youth

The academic also strikes a note of caution over the negative impact of
advertisements with sexual appeals. “For example, sexy advertisements may bring something bad to the children and young people,” she said.

A number of sex education teachers are concerned that sexy advertisements are adversely affecting the youth.

“Sexy advertisements definitely affect young people, but they influence their minds gradually and imperceptibly,” said Anna Hui Na-na, a research assistant of the Centre for Child Development (CCD) and a sex education teacher.

Ms Hui said sexy advertisements tended to set a standard of beauty, which was publicised through the media. “Young people are influenced by it unconsciously.”

A form four student, Law Yui-dung, said he was shy to read sexy advertisements, but his classmates were just the opposite. “My friends often share those magazines with sexy ads and talk about the models after class,” he said.

Leo Wong Chi-chung, another secondary student, said he had no interest in such advertisements, adding that those were merely advertising promotional strategies.

Yet, he said he hoped to have a slim girlfriend like one of those girls
appearing in the advertisements. “Although every girl has her unique beauty, it is necessary for a girl to have a slim body,” he admitted.

Apple Au Chung-yan, a research officer of the CCD, blamed sexy advertisements for making youngsters stress on appearance rather than inner beauty.

“Youngsters may believe that by using those (advertised) products, they will
certainly become beautiful without being aware that personality also contributes to one's attractiveness. This will lead to distortions of values,” Ms Au said.

A project officer of the Society for Truth and Light, Jess Chan, agreed with Miss Au, saying sexy advertisements might lead youngsters to believe that confidence came only from good looks. They would feel inferior when compared themselves with those models, she added.

Sexy advertisements could also arouse youngsters' curiosity about their opposite sex. Sex education workers said young people might be induced to copy the intimate behaviour appeared in the commercials, or could even consider showing their bodies in public as normal and acceptable.

“Without proper sex education, young people may have misunderstandings towards the relationships between the two sexes. They may neglect responsibility and adopt a casual attitude towards sex,” Ms Chan said. The youth should know how to protect themselves from being sexually harassed, she said.

She called on advertisers and producers of sexy advertisements to be responsible to the next generation as there was no way to rid society of such commercials.

Sex sells without check?

To check advertisements from carrying oversexed messages, the Broadcasting Authority has issued advertising standards as guidelines for broadcast commercials to follow.

Print advertisements are controlled by the Obscene Articles Tribunal, which can take legal actions against advertisers who publicise contents it considers as indecent or obscene in their advertising materials.

However, Dr Lee of the Chinese University said such scrutiny was not enough as there were no specific rules to keep sexy advertisements in check.

She cited a case in which a member of the public complained against two versions of a Maltesers Chocolate commercial, namely “suck” and “crunch”, in April 2003. The complainant said the advertisements contained disturbing sex implications that exerted a bad influence on children and young people as well as denigrating women.

The Broadcasting Authority considered the case was justified, but only advised television stations ATV and TVB, which aired the commercials, to “observe more closely” the advertising and programme codes.

Should there be a system to examine sexy advertisements before they are broadcast, those advertisements in bad taste would be checked, Dr Lee argued.

But before there could be any new monitoring framework, advertising practice will have to depend on the goodwill and self-restraint of the advertisers, she said.

Photo by Coni Tam