Sexual Innuendos in Advertising

The use of concealed messages within advertising has been apparent throughout history as evident in political cartoons and hidden pictures within a company’s logo. Specifically, we will look at sexual innuendos hidden within a sign or logo.

An example of this can be found in the well known Starbucks logo. The logo is meant to depict a Greek mermaid siren. However, unbeknownst to many, the original logo depicts the mermaid who is spreading her fish legs, shown in the picture.

Also, a popular Coca-Cola advertisement in 1995 featured a small image of a girl performing oral sex acts in the bottom corner of the advertisement. Sources say that Coca-Cola resulted in recalling this particular advertisement, a $200,000 campaign, due to the offensive message.

Finally, a more recent campaign was released by Skittles. Their new  Berry-Explosion was written next to the image of a skittle. The famous “S” on the skittle caused the name of the up-and-coming candy to be read as “Berry-Sexplosion.”

These are just three examples of advertisements with an underlying  sexual connotations. Whether intentional or not, these images are a signs that subtly call attention to the product, without the consumer realizing it or not. The consumer is unknowingly drawn to these products due to the usage of concealed messages.