I cited my sources. You're welcome to seek out studies on the question of how it varies between societies, they probably exist somewhere. However as part of the "adaptation" you cite is precisely scammers getting better at scamming people, this isn't something we should treat casually.

It's not as if it's news or anything. "Sex sells" isn't a new phrase. But I think most people assume it's just because it's ambiently appealing, the fact that it also objectively lowers rational barriers to buying what is being sold is less well understood and changes the question from just a matter of appeal to one of psychological abusiveness.

That's how I've come to see it; that sexy chick (sexist language chosen advisedly) on the billboard isn't just a company nicely providing me a beautiful thing to look at for no reason at all, it's an attack on my executive function. It's an incredibly hostile thing to do and should be treated as such.