Does Sex Sell You?

originally posted by Evergreen: In my opinion, Sex is for within marriage and procreation.. So, my answer is a definate NO, its a major turnoff. What really pisses me off, is when children have to watch this filthy crap on television.

Oh gosh.. I am gonna catch heat now from some..

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Not from me, I'm in full agreement. We rarely hook up the TV antena for that very reason.

I think whoever sells that Extreme Shock ammo has his potential audience nailed- he uses SWAT ninjas and swimsuit models to huckster his lame ammo. It must work, he still sells it.

While I don't mind the eye candy at all, I have my reservations about a gun company that feels the need to have sex sell the product, instead of the product selling itself.

Sex does not sell me, the gun (or any item for that matter) gets purchased on it's own merits.

It does do a hell of a job catching your eye for the critical 1-2 seconds it needs to.

I think Flo is hot as heck.

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Ewwww, that's just sick.......

I voted as I'd like to think I am which is not affected either way. But, I know me, and I'm a man who likes women. I like looking at them. I like talking to them. I like everything about them. So yes I'd say it probably helps to have some sex in the ads for me. Even though I try not to allow it.

Personally, I enjoy seeing a pretty woman in any state of dress in any venue. It does not, however , convince me the product is any better.

gary

It wouldnt convince me to buy a product. Actually it would be more likely to make me think that the product was lacking quality and they are trying to sneak one by you with a pretty face.

Sex is way overrated. Personally, I find an ad featuring a puppy dog more eye catching. Who could resist a Yellow Lab, Golden, or Springer Spaniel napping next to a shotgun or pair of hunting boots? After all, L.L. Bean must know what they're doing.

The Dillon catalogs are always enjoyable. Doesn't sway purchase decisions, can't afford to not get the best deal possible regardless of the advertising.

The comments about the Kahr ladies got me curious. I didn't know that Kahr is owned by Justin Moon, son of Sun Myung Moon, who was born in what is now North Korea.

Gun companies ( Dillon, Kahr, EAA ) all seem to have the same problem when using the "sex sells" tactic....
They use some seriously ugly (face-wise) models.


Other times, it just turns creepy.
(Like the use of a Dillon employee's very busty daughter-in-low-cut-shirt in a catalogue.)

I mean, how did that conversation go down at Dillon Precision???

"Well, we need some new models to dress provocatively in the new catalogue..." Was it: "Hey, your daughter is smoking hot, ask her if she'll model" or "Hey! You should see the body on my daughter, we could use her!"

Either way... just creepy.

Scantily clad women don't make anyone think the product is better.

First, they draw your eye to something. That helps with advertising. It helps to keep the product name fresh in people's minds.

Second, it creates an unconscious association. This gun, this sexy woman, this gun is sexy. Many people think they don't base their purchases on such things, I call BS. Go start a thread on Hi-Points, and what happens? In the first 30 posts, you get 15 people that like them, and 15 that don't. Among those who don't, you get 1 guy who's had a problem with them, 2 people that have heard that there's problems with them, 2 guys that say "is your life only worth 155 dollars", and ten people that say "never, that thing is ugly". Among the 15 that like it, 12 will say that they would buy one, but damn is that thing ugly.

I absolutely love the Dillon catalogs as I find the photos sexy yet tasteful. It does not however, influence my buying decisions one bit. In fact, when it is overdone it turns me off from a product because I look it as, "Wow, this product is so bad they have to resort to this?"

Lets be honest.... 99.5% of all us enjoy looking at attractive, sexy people. Does it influence my purchases ? I dont think it does. The first commercial that comes to mind is the female telling about the EAA pistols on the Outdoor Channel, and I dont own any EAA products.

Doesn't sway me one way or the other. I must admit the Benelli shotgun website held my attention for awhile.

i voted that it turns me off to the products. i have no problem with looking at women, but when a business uses sex to try and get you to buy their product it makes me feel that their business model is weak. why wouldn't a business want their reputation and quality to be what brings people to their products.

i've never seen the dillon ads but the eaa and khar ads don't help me think of them in a better light whenever i see them. i can see to an extent the khar ads because they are marketed to some degree towards women who want a small gun for ccw, women want to be thought of as sexy or attractive they see the "slim is sexy" slogan and so begins the subconscious advertising. eaa on the other hand just seems blatant with their advertising, the woman holding the gun has nothing to do with the firearm other than holding it, she's not dressed like she's ready for a trip to the range. she is dressed in a seductive outfit and the guns are far from the focal point of the ad. don't get me wrong i enjoy looking at her but it seems to detract from the gun and company marketing it.

I do like to look at the ads but I see through the advertising.

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"Looking at the ads" is all they are after; and they got us to do it. Success.

Definitely turns me off to the product.

Here you have Kahr. They have these women with guns in their hand with clothing that is less than stellar for concealment. Kahrs are supposed to be highly concealable right. Not with what they are wearing.

Where in my post was I advocating my own morality or religion?

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"Sex is only for procreation within wedlock" is typically a staunchly religious viewpoint. I had drawn the same conclusion, as I bet most others did.

I am not looking to get into an argument. When we argue, threads get locked

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When arguments become personal and nasty threads get locked. Civil and respectful discourse is accepted/expected.

Second, it creates an unconscious association. This gun, this sexy woman, this gun is sexy. Many people think they don't base their purchases on such things, I call BS. Go start a thread on Hi-Points, and what happens? In the first 30 posts, you get 15 people that like them, and 15 that don't. Among those who don't, you get 1 guy who's had a problem with them, 2 people that have heard that there's problems with them, 2 guys that say "is your life only worth 155 dollars", and ten people that say "never, that thing is ugly". Among the 15 that like it, 12 will say that they would buy one, but damn is that thing ugly.

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I'll wager that has nothing to do with women for any of us. Gun designs themselves are largely aesthetic, so if the gun is just plain ugly, then that's what it is. Just as I don't think there's any association with sex when someone looks at a Gremlin or Pinto and goes crosseyed with a curled lip.

Advertisers have to work to capture my attention, and then they have to earn my attention 15 seconds at a time.

Using cute girls doesn't sell the product, but it does get them the opportunity to try to present their case.

The 13 to 31 demographic audience responds to hot chicks in ads. The marketers figured that out a long time ago. Cars, cigarettes, booze, you name it, if you want to sell to the guys with disposable income, put women in the ads.

Product lines that use the subterfuge have to endure one strike against them when a realistic appraisal of the merchandise is done. If the product is worth it and really good for the money, it doesn't need boobs in the adspace, it needs good word of mouth on the internet and at the range. I've never seen a quality product sell more units because a former LEO/Spec Ops/ competition shooter recommended it because they thought "she" was better looking. How does that make it work better in shooting situation?

If someone responds to an image making campaign for a product that uses sex to sell, sex had better be the service offered. Otherwise, somebody is just jerking your chain to get a sale. If anything, it proves to me that the goods aren't worth it. After all, it took sex to sell it, not product quality and competent recommendation.

Attn: Danica Patrick: Maybe your racing career would be more successful if you stuck your butt in a race car seat and worked at that instead of wasting time on photo shoots in your undies. Keep your day job, the competition in lingerie has you outclassed.

The point isn't using sex appeal to "sell"....

The point of using attractive women in a firearms ad is to get you to look at the ad. Same with the SWAT Ninja Delta Force Recon guys in the flaming background trying to get you attention on FangFace Extreme Exploding Death Ammo (from Extreme Shock).

***BTW I find "Flo" annoying as hell. I change the channel.

It gets me to look. It does not get me to buy.

Quote"Sex is way overrated. Personally, I find an ad featuring a puppy dog more eye catching. Who could resist a Yellow Lab, Golden, or Springer Spaniel napping next to a shotgun or pair of hunting boots? After all, L.L. Bean must know what they're doing. "

A 2nd benefit, those adds are much more work place and home place safe.
The girly pics would seem counterproductive to attracting more women into the shooting sports or having a favorable view of the right of self defense.

That said I am hard wired as a guy, I will always look at women, the trick is to not drool.

ChaoSS nailed it in post #38. Ads are selling a product along with an idea of what the product does for you. Or as ChaoSS puts it, an unconscious association.

Car ads don't show someone mundanely commuting to work everyday. It shows a happy person or family splashing through the mud on the way to their beautiful, secluded mountain hideaway. It tells you if you buy this car you can be that person or family. How many of the SUVs marketed as off-road would you wager have ever actually left the pavement?

The job of an advertiser in this target audience is to make young men believe that women will want you, and men will want to be you. And don't forget, their product is the only one that can do it for you.