Who Really has the Power?

Immediately following class today I had quite an intriguing conversation with a male friend of mine about the specific gender roles we discussed in class. Before I explain both sides of the discussion I would like to express my neutral feeling to what we were discussing, meaning I do not disagree nor agree with what was being said, as well as think either side is necessarily good/bad, appropriate/inappropriate.
As I described the movie we watched and what was being said about how intentionally women were being sexually objectified, and consequently influenced on how we view our role as the female gender in society my male friend rolled his eyes and cut me off before I was even able to express my uneasy feeling about the portrayal of women=weakness.
He says something to the effect of "I hate those stupid ads, especially the ones with gorgeous women who are being 'sexually objectified' it's as if advertisers think the ONLY thing that sells is sex and that men will obnoxiously fall for it every time."
The discussion continued and to me he made a valid point, and one that wasn't addressed in the portion of the movie we watched. Although women shouldn't be viewed as sexual objects or objects at all, they are often portrayed as holding some magical sexual power over the men in their lives. That men only want sex and women only have the seductive power to control them with it. My friend describes that he feels like these advertisements and sexually explicit photographs portray as all men as dogs and the only way to be masculine is to be not just strong and aggressive, but to be entrapped by a woman's sexual indulgence. I argued that there are many examples of men who have the attention from women, and that advertisers use the idea of "if you use this product you well hold sexual power over beautiful women" (like the axe commercials we watched in class)
He acknowledged the truth behind this but continued to make his point in that, that sexual drive which is the woman's role in the advertisement (to be sexy and beautiful) is what is essentially giving power to the product. He says, that man in the commercial does not just get women in general, or soft, seductive and vulnerable women that he can take advantage of, but that he gets women who use their sexuality to compete for his attention. It implies that, that is all that will win his attention the most sexually powerful woman.
Another example he uses is that although men may seem to stand taller and bigger, their attention is often geared toward a sexually powerful woman.

I brought up the notion of advertising that included only women, who may be laying on their backs, or posed in a vulnerable manner and are portrayed as soft and delicate. We agreed that this idea plays a huge role in how society views femininity, however those ads are to get the attention of other women, not men. He argues that women biologically are more nurturing and need to be soft because they are the ones who carry something as delicate as a child in their womb, and that is the reason it gets the attention of other women, and only other women. Still the only way to grab a mans attention is through sex, and that shapes the identity of men in our society. (obviously this is only from an advertising stand point)
So maybe the word "power" is left for interpretation. I see strength specifically in women as independence, and individuality, but if society views women opposite to that nature as holding the ability to seduce men in a fashion that consumes their attention, then can women ever be defined as "powerless"?