November 8th to 11th, 2004

Patrícia Martins Costa
patimartins@ubbi.com.br
PUC-SP - Brazil

THE EROTICISM IN THE ADVERTISING SPACE: SEXUAL APPEALS CAUSE IMPACT AND SELL PRODUCTS

ABSTRACT
This work dedicates the study of sexual appeals used in propagandas in Brazil. Sex and propaganda are two very controversial subjects always, both capable to arise excite discussions. When the sex is used in the propaganda as appeal for to sell products and marks, the propaganda starts to reflect values and behaviors that result in the way as the people relateted with the subject. From the selection of propagandas published in the printed media, particularly in the magazines, it did a study in order to evidence the use of sexual appeals as persuasive element the advertising communication. Firstly, had been evidenced the types of products had been that use sexual appeal in campaigns propaganda and presented the categories of sexual appeal used as creative artifice. After that, the symbolic character of the propagandas had being proved, presenting the styles of creation used in the construction of the messages. After that, the sexual signs, the erotic characteristics feminine and masculine more explored in the propagandas for magazines, had been understood and located in the announcements that constitute the corpus of this research. The research proved as the body is explored in the media and the syntagme relations, in special, the space-time relations between the elements, identifying places or locates as semiotic dimension that generates communicative structures.

KEYWORDS: Advertising; Sexuality; Communication.

Center for Pragmatism Studies
Philosophy Graduate Program
Departament of Philosophy
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo - Brazil