I think sexy girl thing sells less well than it used to. But maybe I'm wrong.
You're not wrong. I've read some marketing blogs recently that has stated that the whole sex sells thing is done. There are some markets that still fall for it but the ones most likely to spend are turned off by it.
Some of it is when you objectify one gender in your marketing, that gender gets the message that the other gender is who they want to do business with and they move on. Maximum market reach is everyone interested in the product regardless of gender.