Sex, SEX, Sex, SEX, Sex, SEX. The mere mention of the word gets attention. Advertisers say it is the easiest way to cut though the clutter, but believe it is a cheap, obvious tactic.

The beer guys tried to get away from it, i.e. "I am Canadian, the Rant" but they have come back to the same tried and true formula of babes and beer. And note the new Canadian campaign is from an agency that is supposed to be cutting edge.

There is nothing cutting edge, in my opinion about the use of sex in advertising, because it is used everywhere Vex Coolers are not using scantly clad bodies, but they are using clever word-play of Vex as Sex. Virgin Mobile is not using the actual word, but their headlines are all referring to sexual situations as a parody of their service. And, of coarse, I couldn't get past the obvious attention generated from the racy Paris Hilton ad for Carl's Jr. and Hardee’s chains.

What is it that keeps marketers coming back to such an obvious tactic? Is the North American audience so repressed that we are still shocked by the mere association of sex and therefore will always get our attention? Or does it go deeper. And, of course, it does.

Now, I will not get into a Freudian analysis of this topic, but sex taps into the basic desire that every human being seeks an intimate relationship. Marketers rightly or wrongly have stumbled into this and know how powerful it is. And yes, SEX does sell. It has sold everything from soap to spicy burgers.

Our challenge as the creators of advertising is that with "great power comes great responsibility". (Yes, I know I'm quoting Spiderman.) We need to keep this in mind when the creative is being developed and we need to ensure that when this tactic is used it makes strategic sense. It's not just T&A for the sake of T&A. We need to respect the fact that our audience is not just male and view the message from a multi-ethnic and moral perspective. The execution should be tasteful and involve a sense of sophistication. This sophistication does not come just by using an heiress to a hotel chain in your advertising; it comes from tasteful images and a sound design strategy.

Sex can help you sell your product, but if you only use this tactic to cut though the clutter, it will soon be part of the clutter. I think it best to practice safe and responsible advertising when it comes to sex.