Super Bowl Commercials 2012 Preview: Does Sex Sell? (VIDEO)
New previews of the up and coming Super Bowl ads this year could suggest that some advertisers will use sex to sell their products. But some question if the family friendly approach isn't more appealing to viewers.
The age old battle of using sex as a marketing tool becomes imperative during the Super Bowl, given that an estimated 100 million viewers will be watching, many along side family members who can't even watch a PG-13 film.
GoDaddy.com is an Internet domain registrar and web hosting company that also sells software and other services. After running two ads in the Super Bowl during the 2008 game, Go Daddy reported that the orders they received had increased by 110 percent. Both of the ads featured Danica Patrick, one that featured her showering while college boys fantasized about her with another woman.
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"Everything came together beautifully this year," Go Daddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons told Data Knowledge in 2008. "We had a tremendous surge in Web traffic, sustained the spike, converted new customers and shot overall sales off the chart. This is a textbook Super Bowl campaign for Go Daddy."
In 2010, Go Daddy attempted to air a commercial during the Super Bowl that featured a gay, retired football player named Lola that was attempting to begin his own lingerie store. The commercial was not permitted to run, much to the company's surprise. Go Daddy's ads have become increasingly more controversial. This year the company intends to use a nudity once again to promote business.
According to Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D., from Psychology Today, "When television, or other media, is criticized for poor taste and poor judgment, it tends to explain away responsibility by referring to the marketplace: sex sells, the industry says."
However, Garfinkel said that many studies reveal that sex doesn't sell, because it often just overwhelms viewers who later on cannot remember the company that was advertised. She is not an advocate of using sex as a marketing tool. "It is a coarsening and degrading message. It is a message of hostility and misogyny. And it doesn't even work!" she insisted.
Another ad preview that was leaked, revealed barking dogs that were promoting Volkswagen. Bloggers appeared more supportive of the barking dogs. The Inquisitor, who compared the Go Daddy and Volkswagen commercials, considered the latter a "much better attempt."
NBC has charged an estimated $3.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime. Other companies that will contribute commercials are Acura and Lexus, the real estate firm Century 21, Dannon, H&M and 2nd Story Software.
