There’s a world of difference between sex and sexism in advertising
Confusing sex with sexism is a dangerous game, and one that the Advertising Standards Board has a duty to get right, explains a team of professors from Monash and RMIT Universities in this crossposting from The Conversation.
Advertising and sex are two of the oldest professions in the world. Indeed, one of the earliest uses of advertising was to advertise sexual services; prostitutes in Ancient Greece carved ads into the soles of their sandals so that their footprints read: “Follow me”.
Sex and sexism, however, are different things. One is fun and most people do it at some time in their lives; the other is offensive and should never be done at all.
If you need to know how this plays out in advertising, the award-winning Game of Balls ad is sex-in-advertising. The Ultratune ads are sexism in advertising, as is the campaign using pre-teen models in sexualised poses to advertise dancewear.
