Sexuality in Advertising...when is it appropriate?

On Monday we had a discussion in class about sexuality being used in advertisements. I think maybe a little subtle sexuality is okay, but here is a video of a ridiculous use of it:



This video has nothing to do with a hamburger from Carls Jr, except that Paris Hilton is eating one. We can tell the marketers were trying to use a popular celebrity to promote their spicy burger, but the entire video is quite distasteful and inappropriate, therefore ineffective! Most women would not appreciate this type of advertising. The setting is dark and looks like a car garage. First impression would be that this was an import car commercial, almost pornographic! To tell the truth, I'm not craving a Carl's Jr burger right now.


I don't completely disagree with the use of sexuality in advertising, I just have opinions of the levels of it. For example, we all remember Britney Spears' Superbowl Pepsi commercial. In this ad, Pepsi used a very popular music star and incorporated some Hip-Hop dance to it. They are appealing to the younger generation through music and dance; this commercial is attractive to both men and women. I actually think this ad is more effective because its fun and not sexually degrading in any way.