What is it about?
Sex is ubiquitous in advertising. Marketers assume that “sex sells” as it increases attention and memory. A study in Journal of Media Psychology examines how men and women remember sexual and nonsexual commercials. Results show that sex does grab attention (as viewers remembered 20% more commercials that used sex appeals, compared to commercials that used nonsexual appeals), but that men get too distracted by the sexy images to remember the advertised brands.
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Why is it important?
Marketers should not use sex as a marketing tool for men if they want to immediately increase sales or if they want men to remember their brand.
Perspectives
This research sheds light on a popular advertising appeal.
Lelia Samson
Radboud Universiteit
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Effectiveness of Using Sexual Appeals in Advertising, Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications, December 2016, Hogrefe Publishing Group,
DOI: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000194.
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