Analysis of Arby’s Sports Illustrated Advertisement Essay -- Sexual Im

Sexual imagery has been used in advertising for a long time with a great deal of success. With the ever-increasing difficulty of advertisers to gain the attention of the media consumer, the use of both effective and ineffective sexual imagery has flourished in recent years. Some products such as perfume and clothing are relatively easy to sell with sexual imagery. Companies selling products such as fast food, however, must be more creative with their use of sexual imagery. Arby’s Roast Beef Restaurant took such a creative approach with its full-page advertisement in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The ad featured two of Arby’s soon-to-be released Roastburger sandwiches covered by a model’s crossed arms. The burgers were positioned side-by-side in the upper third of the ad, with the model’s arms crossed at the wrists at about the center of the ad. The model’s hands were positioned in such a way that they covered a majority of the two burgers, but left some of the top and bottom of each burger visible. The model’s arms extended out of the print area of the ad and no other part of the model’s body was visible. In the lower quarter of the ad was a bright red text box that extended from the left edge of the ad across to the Arby’s logo at the right edge of the ad. The minimal amount of white text in the box contained the headline, â€Å"We’re about to reveal something you’ll really drool over,† (Rovell, 2009). The remaining copy text acknowledged that Arby’s was teasing the viewer with a glimps e of the burgers, but that the viewer would have to wait until it was released in March 2009 (Rovell, 2009) to see the whole thing. Although anything but a cursory glance at the ad shows nothing more than a pair of... ...eef Restaurant: http://www.arbys.com/about/values.php CNBC. (2010, January 28). The Business Behind the SI Swimsuit Issue. Retrieved January 31, 2010, from CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/34828908?slide=2 Echo Media. (2005). Sports Illustrated Magazine. Retrieved January 28, 2010, from Echo Media: http://www.echo-media.com/mediadetail.asp?IDNumber=4489 Henthorne, T. L., & LaTour, M. S. (1995). A Model to Explore the Ethics of Erotic Stimuli in Print Advertising. Retrieved January 30, 2010, from Research Library: http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/BF00871984 Rovell, D. (2009, February 11). Arby's Scores In Swimsuit Issue. Retrieved January 30, 2010 from CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/29139052 Sports Illustrated. (2007). MRI National Spring 2007 Fact Sheet. Retrieved January 30, 2007 from Sports Illustrated: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/adinfo/si/mri2007.html