David Chinchilla
English M01A
Professor Hamma
9/28/12
Selling Sex or Selling Food? Sexual imagery has been utilized in advertisements for as long as we can all remember with a crazy rate of success. With the increasing difficulty of advertisers to obtain attention from the social media consumers, the use of both successful and unsuccessful sexual imagery has thrived recently. Certain products such as clothing and cologne are quite easy to sell with sexual imagery. Corporations selling wares such as fast food, however, must have a different approach with their use of sexual imagery. Arby’s Restaurant took such a constructive approach with its one-page advertisement in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Arby’s sells their new Roastburger to men aged 18-25 by cleverly placing their product in a place no man can deny looking at. Men who flipped through this issue undoubtedly did a double take and read the entire advertisement and were affected through the suggestive placement of the product. 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, “We’re about to reveal something you’ll really drool over,”. The remaining copy text acknowledged that Arby’s was teasing the viewer with a glimpse of the burgers, but that the viewer would have to wait until it was released in March 2009 to see the whole thing. Although anything but a cursory glance at the ad shows nothing more than a pair of burgers, two arms, and some ad copy, the first impression that the viewer instinctively has is that of a naked woman covering her bare breasts in a sexually provocative manner. The ad was definitely targeted at the young male viewers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, but in pandering to this demographic, it risked alienating or offending the female viewer. Sadly, Arby’s violated one of its own core values by literally reducing women to meat in the ad. According to the core values posted on their own website, “We [Arby’s] treat our customers, business partners and team as they want to be treated — with respect” (Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant, 2012). By objectifying a woman as food that can be desired and consumed, Arby’s has ignored its pledge to respect its female customers in an attempt to win the business of a larger number of male customers. Why would Arby’s risk alienating such a large group of potential customers? To answer that question, it is important to understand what Arby’s is trying to sell, and why it selected the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue to advertise its product. Arby’s is a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in roast beef sandwiches, but offers a wide variety of menu items that are not typically found in the fast food market. They have positioned themselves as an alternative to the typical hamburger found in many other competing chains. Arby’s used its advertisement in the February 2009 swimsuit issue to announce a new roast beef sandwich called the Roastburger. Arby’s had decided to offer a roast beef sandwich that would be advertised as “the burger done better” in an attempt to directly compete in the traditional hamburger market (Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant, 2010). Sports Illustrated is a weekly magazine that provides its nearly 3.15 million readers (Echo Media, 2005) with stories and images from around the sports world. Companies that advertise in Sports Illustrated are able to reach a large number of young men with discretionary income. According to data provided by Mediamark Research, Inc. in 2007, Sports Illustrated reached a staggering 9% of all American males aged 18-24 (Sports Illustrated, 2007). The magazine has an impressive 77% male readership (Echo Media, 2005), which is why advertisements in the magazine can be skewed toward a male bias. By understanding the demographics of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Arby’s was able to, in effect, hide the ad from the female population. It could advertise its upcoming new burger to men using an approach that would grab their attention and pique their interest in the new Roastburger. Research has indicated that women are more influential in purchasing decisions and attitudes about corporate image based on the perceived roles of women in advertising. If women see other women portrayed as sexual objects in ads, rather than as strong and confident, as well as sexy, they tend to avoid or discourage doing business with the advertiser. With the absence of a significant number of female readers, advertisements in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue can take a form that is more stimulating to the predominantly male readership without risking the loss of a significant female readership. Men are, by nature, visual creatures. They are able to make immediate emotional connections with what they see rather than what they hear or read. The creators of the Arby’s advertisement took full advantage of this characteristic when developing the ad. They knew that

readers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue were expecting to see visually stimulating images in the pages of the magazine. It was, therefore, necessary for the creators of the ad to provide such an image to meet the expectations of the reader. The Arby’s creative team decided against a “traditional” sexual image of a beautiful woman dominating the ad with the possibility of a Roastburger included tying the image to the product. Instead, they decided to use the Roastburger as a dominant feature of the ad. Through the use of innuendo, they were able to imply a naked female body. Since they knew that the readers of the magazine would be searching diligently for any glimpse of naked flesh they could find, by offering what looked on first view like a nude body, they would immediately grab the attention of the viewer. Once the viewer realized that what was being shown was a pair of partially concealed Roastburgers, and not a carefully covered naked body, the viewer’s eyes would be immediately drawn to the bold red text box near the bottom of the ad. The use of red plays several important roles in the ad. First, it is the primary brand color used by Arby’s. Use of this particular color ties this ad in with every other Arby’s ad to provide a consistent and recognizable brand to the consumer. Secondly, red is the color of excitement, passion, and desire. The red text box allows the viewer of the ad to remain stimulated once the initial impact of the photograph has passed. The headline text, “We’re about to reveal something you’ll really drool over,” plays into the mindset of the male viewer. The creators of the ad were well aware that the viewer was looking for sexually stimulating images within the pages of the magazine, and that the viewer would be captivated by what, upon first sight, was perceived to be a naked woman in the ad. Knowing that the viewer would now be a bit disappointed that the image was not a nude woman, the headline reassures the viewer that Arby’s could offer something that would be satisfying on a completely different level. The Arby’s advertisement in the February 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is an undeniably creative and original use of sexual imagery to sell a product that has no sex appeal of its own. By using simple imagery that grabs the viewer’s attention, followed by a bold headline that forces the viewer to acknowledge that he was looking for a sexually stimulating image, the ad manages to grab the attention of its intended audience. Arby’s takes a tremendous risk, however, by producing an advertisement that could potentially alienate a significant portion of its potential customer base. By reducing women to nothing more than desirable products rather than human beings, Arby’s could have created an uproar of protest from those offended by the ad. By avoiding running the ad in publications with broader appeal to both genders, Arby’s managed to keep the ad away from the mainstream consumer. Whether or not the ad is effective in making its point is up to the individual viewer. Although generalizations are made as to whether any one group will like or dislike the message of the ad, it is ultimately the individual who must decide for him or herself if the ad was either successful or offensive. With the release of the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue imminent, the 2009 Arby’s ad will surely be forgotten and disappear into history as a new group of sexually suggestive ads vie for the attention of the magazine’s readers.

Works Cited

Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant. (2012). Arby's Menu. Retrieved September 26th, 2012 from Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant: http://www.arbys.com/menu/
Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant. (2012). Our Values. Retrieved September 26th, 2012, from Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant: http://www.arbys.com/about/values.html
Echo Media. (2005). Sports Illustrated Magazine. Retrieved September 26th, 2012, from Echo Media: http://www.echo-media.com/mediadetail.asp?IDNumber=4489
Sports Illustrated. (2007). MRI National Spring 2007 Fact Sheet. Retrieved September 26th, 2012 from Sports Illustrated: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/adinfo/si/mri2007.html