Sex sells.
The employment of sex, whether with risqué images or innuendos, has been one of the best marketing tools since the beginning of advertising.
In his book “Spent: Sexual Evolution and Consumer Behavior,” evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller believes “all our acquisitions of personal goods … are motivated by the primal desire for procreation, pleasure or both,” according to TIME.
Magazines, billboards, and commercials — it’s virtually everywhere, but now sex is becoming more present in a whole new arena: voting.
Last week in Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s party launched a commercial in an effort to regain support, especially from the younger voters.
The slogan? “Let’s do it together.”
Not too scandalous, right? It gets steamier.
Two flirtatious twenty-somethings are seen “getting it on in the voting booth,” as CNN’s Jeane Moos put it, after the young woman pulls a man in the booth by the neck while techno music plays in the background.
To Timothy Frye, director of the Harriman Institute at Colombia, the ad is a desperate “attempt to make Russia look hip.”
Back in October, a candidate for Poland’s Parliament strip-teased in an ad to entice viewers to elect her. Interestingly enough, she lost the election.
Last year, the Young Socialists of Catalonia in Spain made a video, aptly named “Voting is a Pleasure,” of a woman having a stimulating experience at the poll as she dropped in her ballot.
Upholding your civic duty and being active in the all-important political process is satisfying, but not that satisfying.
In the U.S., the “Obama Girl” was the closest thing we’ve had to a sexually charged political movement back in 2008.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that during the election, 131 million people voted (out of 146 million who were registered), and 48.5 percent of 18 to 24 year-olds participated.
Rock the Vote has been one of the only effective campaigns that focus primarily on this age group. By combining politics with popular culture, it has strong appeal “dedicated to building the political power and clout of the Millennial Generation.”
Only a year away from the next presidential election, we have yet to see any raunchy voting campaigns.
Considering the trend on foreign countries, could it be the next step to tempting young-aged citizens to become active voters here?
While they do find it entertaining, criminal justice sophomores Alexis Cruz and Michael Cordoncillo don’t believe it would be too successful.
“Sex does sell,” Cordoncillo said. “I don’t know if it would sell voting.”
So, then what would it take to mobilize young voters?
Cruz believes education is key.
“A lot of people say, ‘I don’t want to vote because my voice is nothing,’” she said, “because they don’t really know the voting process and how their voices are heard."
With a voter turnout of about 48.5 percent for such a young age group, it’s evident that there is a chunk of young citizens who feel that way.
When the millions of people who share a low political efficacy are added up, it equates to millions of votes not being made and millions of voices not being heard.
The use of sex in voting movements may not be the perfect equation to mobilize Millennial voters, we’re still waiting for the next big campaign to convince everyone that every vote counts.
Reach the columnist at alhaines@asu.edu
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