Targeting women with sex

Was watching the NBC Today show on the overhead TV while exercising on Monday morning. They got my attention when they said Internet pornography was a huge business--and for some reason pointed out that 8 out of 10 of the top Internet-porn-buying states gave their electoral votes to McCain. Then I was appalled to see they reported on a recent study that finds women respond well to sexy ads if the product is depicted as a gift from a man--"in a committed relationship."

Men, it said, prefer sexy ads without the gift idea. So, they concluded, "if you want women to open up their purses, throw in a little commitment."

Hey, I'm in marketing and I understand wanting to understand the psychology of the customer. But as a woman, the idea of faking commitment--which is a ploy that's been around since human beings got out of the Garden of Eden and is still in use today--pisses me off. And the idea of formalizing it as a strategy for tricking people into buying things really pisses me off.

Comments welcome.