Advertisers, challenged with cutting through a cluttered marketing environment, sometimes aim to shock. Unfortunately while their aim may be to get their client noticed, our research shows they continue to glorify the violent exploitation of women.

Originally published on 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. But if recent events – from Eddie McGuire to Steve Price – are any indication, it seems sexism, like porn, is something you only know when you see it.

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.

Marketing and advertising is often ruled by sex. We're told "Sex Sells." It's such a long accepted idea that it's almost expected. From Microsoft using it to sell their Xbox to perfume companies to sell fragrances. Sex is even used to sell pizza.

Mad Pizza E Bar don’t have the best marketing. That’s the simplest way to put it. Largely because their approach to getting people through the door looks closer to porn than pizza. From the naked women on the walls of their establishment to the close ups of breasts on their menus to the soft-core posts plastered all over their Facebook page, they don’t seem to spend much time focusing on their product – it’s all about the women posing around it.

Update: Sign Petition to PETA

PETA is a not-for-profit organization that aims to establish and protect the rights of all animals. PETA's website states that it operates under these principles:

It's 2016. Yet companies all over the world continue to push the toxic message that women are only valued for their sex appeal. We've spoken out about Calvin Klein before for their 'gang rape' billboards which thankfully at the time were ordered to be removed after complaints to the Advertising Standards Board. 

Well General Pants are under the spotlight again for yet another sexist ad campaign. General Pants are repeat offenders. We've highlighted them in our #CrossedOff blog every year since 2010. 

What will 30 minutes at Chadstone Shopping Centre tell us about our pornified culture?

There's a quote we refer to often at Collective Shout headquarters - 'Silence is the language of complicity, speaking out is the language of change" and this week we saw another example of how speaking out can make a difference. 

As reported in The Sunday Telegraph

“…young shop assistants told The Sunday Telegraph they were uneasy about the raunchy push for Sydney-based denim designers Ksubi and uncomfortable wearing the badges.