The purpose of this this study is to examine the sexuality used in online advertising. By studing the presence of sexuality that incurred as role models for foods and vegatables used in the Vestel ads, the generated gendered discourse in advertisement texts and visuals is intended to be uncovered.
The four 2014 Vestel Deep-Freezer Ads published on Youtube in Turkey were analyzed in this study. The ads discussed in this research were downloaded to a computer and analyzed in terms of basic semiotic concepts, image, symbol, metaphor, metonomy, connotation and denotation.
The results of this study show that “recently, the vast majoriy of companies that aim higher profit margins and demand service from advertising agencies much more prefer to use the figure of women as a sexual object to penetrate on their target markets. In the examined ads without considering whether they are fruit or vegetables the cherry and sweet corn are shown as sexy female symbols. Althought the tomato and the bluefish are the male symbols, they are not given or can not be given the same sexual attraction as incurred to the cherry and sweet corn.
Keywords: Gendered elements, online advertising, male and female symbols.