Cars + Trucks
Is Car Advertising Too Sexy?
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Everyone knows that sex sells, but when it comes to selling cars, is it really necessary to have a woman in a bikini strut around? Car shows are infamous for doing this and, after going to one, I had to ask myself if this form of advertising actually helps to sell cars. I find it offensive for two reasons: obviously women are being portrayed as sex objects that may be seen but not heard, but men should also see that their intelligence is insulted. Do they really buy into the notion that they will attract a certain type of woman if they drive a car based on the ads? I think that auto shows and other forms of auto advertisements take the whole beautiful-woman-wanting-a-man-with-a-beautiful-car thing too far.
How Do The Models At The Auto Show Get The Job?
I figured I would start at the beginning and work my way down. After a little bit of research, I found out that auto show models get the job the same way they get any other modelling job; through their modelling agency. Their agent or representative sets up a meeting with the model and auto show creators to see if she is what they are looking for and if all goes well each party works out a price they are happy with and signs a contract. The day of the event, all the models have to do is show up, have their makeup done, wear something sexy, let thousands of men gawk at them and at the end of the day they will be paid a generous amount of money. I realize that I may be contradicting my earlier statement about these models simply being sex objects, but they do get paid a lot of money so it really depends on the individual. To each her own.
Are The Models Necessary?
Would men still flock to auto shows if beautiful women weren’t on display as well? I think so. Also, since the models don’t stop women from attending auto shows or parents from bringing their children, to me that signifies that the auto show tends to be more about the cars than the girls. Before someone tells me how wrong I am, I realize that this may not be true for everyone, I just think that it is safe to say it in general. When I went to the auto show, the only purpose that the models served were to ruin my pictures by not getting out of the way. I certainly didn’t want a bunch of pictures with scantily clad women standing beside the cars. While auto show models are traditional, shouldn’t we let the fascinating concept cars speak for themselves?
What Women Really Think
In a survey of more than 4000 women for Tesco Personal Finance the following cars were rated as the top 10 sexiest cars for a man to drive:
1. Aston Martin
2. Porsche
3. Lotus
4. Mercedes-Benz
5. BMW
6. Jaguar
7. Audi
8. Range Rover
9. Jeep
10. Ferrari
The number one car is the car driven in the James Bond movies and thus is easily recognized by women. The others are simply luxury cars and SUVs that women would associate with wealth and possibly power. The question remains: do men believe they need to drive a car like the ones on this list in order for a beautiful woman to be interested in them? And if they do believe that, are they really that far off the mark?
Automakers Should Focus On Advertising The Vehicles Themselves
What this really comes down to, like everything else, are men’s and women’s insecurities. Men feel insecure and therefore need to gawk at beautiful women and cars. Women feel insecure that their men are looking at these beautiful women. It’s cyclical. What auto shows don’t seem to be about, however, are the cars. People who come to auto shows have now come to expect to see the models as part of the show, but I don’t see the connection. Making the concept cars seem unattainable by having perfect women stand next to them just does not seem like good advertising to me. But I am neither a model nor a testosterone-driven man. It is not my job to stand there and look pretty, nor to run excitedly from car to car snapping pictures of cars, all the while pretending not to get a shot of the models in the background.
Photo: www.autospies.com
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