Does Sex Still Sell? Yes, But Only To A Limited Degree

After looking at this USA Today article regarding the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas using "booth babes" (provocatively dressed paid models) to help sell their products, this writer's question was, does sex still sell? The answer is that sex still sells, but only to a limited degree. What sells today, is not generated by a semi-nude woman or man (whatever happened to professional dress and behavior to sell products?), but by brand name and what it stands for (the late Steve Jobs realized this years ago - see video).

As writer Paul Suggett at thebalance.com writes in this article: "People may buy your product one or two times due to the erotic interplay, but if the product isn't any good, you won't hold onto the customers for long. Not only that, they'll feel cheated, talked down to, or outright patronized. And that will take a much greater effort on the part of the advertiser to regain that trust. At the end of the day, sexual imagery may attract a certain demographic to your product or service, but there has to be a legitimate tie.

Mr. Suggett suggests that today, there is major change is sales focus from sex to activism, political messages, and worthy causes: "The focus has gone from titillation to something far more serious. Brands are now taking a stand on immigration, the climate, eco-friendly products, equal pay for women, racism, sexism, and so much more. And while this heavy subject matter may have been too much for previous audiences, the modern consumer is eating it up."

Religiously speaking, the Lord's church has a "no brand" name .... a name not associated with sex or any worldly "brands" (see article and Matthew 16:13-19; cf. Ephesians 2:11-22), i.e. denominationalism, humanism, atheism, naturalism, etc. As members of the Lord's church, we are nothing more (or less) than Christians, clothing ourselves with the same spiritual characteristics as our Heavenly Father, and our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1; Philippians 3:17). Beloved, the question becomes, whose "brand" do we wear?

---Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets