When it comes to the world of media, we are all accustomed to the idea that sex sells. We are not fased by the nudey lady scrubbing her hair in the shower with Herbal Essences, or the topless Clooney lookalike supping on his can of coke. When it comes to music videos we are almost concerned when there isn’t some big bosomed chica shaking her stuff behind P.Diddy, and when Miley decides to put some clothes on we actually gasp in shock. Even when we settle in for a quiet night of Corrie, the occasional steamy smooch scene doesn’t even give cause for an eyebrow raise.

We have become a society that is numbed to the effects of sexual innuendo and nudity. We would probably be more likely to act out if a blockbuster didn’t feature a saucy love scene with some Hollywood starlet. We turn on the TV and boom, sex at lunch, sex at dinner and a little more at bedtime. Even for the most err, energetic amongst us, that’s more than enough for one day, yet we consume it while hardly noticing.

My point is this. As a society we generally don’t mind a bit of sexy time on the big screen, whether it’s a cheeky flash or tasteful love scene. However, it is a sad day when we cannot even sell a bit of margarine without using some sexual innuendo to spice things up.

Enter Flora who have literally done the dirty and put sex into our marg. The company’s latest advert is at the centre of another controversy as its animation story is deemed ‘crass’ and ‘unnecessary.’

‘Wrestlers by Josh’ follows the story of two young boys who are making breakfast for their parents. When they enter their parents’ bedroom they find mum and dad mid ‘wrestle.’ Back in the kitchen, mum and dad later emerge looking a little dishevelled after what was clearly a hanky panky session. They then all sit down to some toast, of course covered in Flora, to regain their energy.

While admittedly the ad appeals to adult humour and isn’t as sexual as others out there, it seems a little boorish to take such a cute cartoon and turn it into sex story. Clearly, it is trying to depict average family life and have those families invest in Flora because- you know it- the brand totally gets them, but does a packet of margarine really need any kind of sexual inference at all?

Now, don’t get me wrong, we are not prudes here. Anyone that owns a television set these days would find it impossible to be so. When it comes to ads like Calvin Klein’s tighty whities, the need for a little flesh flashing is warranted but when it comes to your daily spreadable, can we not just stick to an old fashioned ‘yummy butter’ campaign?

Also, has Flora even thought about what child viewers may think of this? You can see them now running to mum and dad and asking them if they like to wrestle. Oh the can of worms Flora has just opened.

However, Flora is not alone. Many standard, and sexless, companies use a bit of innuendo to give their product a little more appeal. Last year a Renault advert was banned after featuring close up shots of Burlesque dancers which were said to objectify women. Whether they did or not isn’t the point. My question is, was it really necessary to use attractive women to sell a car?

Lynx shower gel also came under fire after its poster featured a woman in bikini bottoms with the strap line: “The cleaner you are, the dirtier you get”. With a product like shower gel and a hot company like Lynx you can almost forgive this, but when there’s children’s questioning eyes and ears, is this really necessary? But, perhaps my views are that of an old woman who needs to get up to speed and accept that this is the world we live in; one where we need sex in our marg and a bottom on our cars. A sad day indeed.