The Glam-Factor

The 50-year history of using sex to sell records by Bob Solly

A well-known mantra of publishing and the media is that sex can sell almost any product. This usually means placing the provocative image of an attractive woman or man on the front of publications, packaging and promotional material. There’s also a more specific saying in advertising: show a picture of a glamorous woman if you intend to appeal to men, and if you intend to appeal to women, show a picture of a glamorous woman. Since the early 1950s, these basic rules have been applied to the pictorial sleeve designs for gramophone records.

You’d think the design on the packaging of a record should have some relevance to the music in the grooves, but this is not always the case. Direct visual communication can work very well; for example, if the recording is primarily for dancing, show a group of dancers on the cover, or show a pastoral scene if the music is a tranquil classical piece. The reasons behind why we can be persuaded to buy an aural art form with our eyes lies deep within the intricacies of neuroscience, but the drive is never more effective than when the focus of attention is a so-called ‘pin-up’.

‘Glamour’ is a subjective concept, however. A specific glamorous image can mean different things to different people, according to its context in time and place. At one time during the 1950s, an …

by Bob Solly
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