Sexual Appeals

1
Sexual Appeals

• Overt sexual information
• Images and/or verbal elements (US)
• Nudity, behaviour, physical attractiveness,
  double entendre, etc.
• Evokes sexual thoughts, physiological response,
  and/or affect (UR --gt CR)

2
Bavaria, Switzerland

• e.g., female
• e.g., male

3
Perceptual Processing

• Viewers of ads with sexual content do not
  perceive and/or process the brand
• Attention directed at sexual content
• Ad does attract attention, just not focused on
  the product

4
Process-what?

• shampoo

5
Emotional Impact

• Positive correlation between positive arousal
  from sexual content and ad evaluation
• Influencing factors
• Gender, explicitness of appeal
• Attitudes influenced by relevance of sexual
  content to product

6
Elaboration Likelihood Model

• ELM used to understand role of sexual appeals in
  persuasion
• Persuasion along a continuum of elaboration
• Central route processing
• Persuasion from extensive issue-relevant thinking
• Sexual content distracts from effortful
  elaboration
• Lack of consideration of brand

7
Highly Attractive Models

• Studies show humans prefer attractive to
  unattractive people
• Attractiveness as US
• But, research on the effectiveness of HAMs in
  advertisement is inconsistent

8
Convergence

• Convergence of product and message communicated
  by models image
• Model-product match-up
• Traditional view HAMs most effectively matched
  with attractiveness-relevant products
• But different types of attractiveness-relevant
  products may not all work with HAMs

9
Methodologies

• Older studies
• HAMs vs. unattractive models (UMs)
• More realistic, ecologically valid approach
• HAMs vs. normally attractive models (NAMs)

10
Bower Landreth (2001)

• HAMS and NAMs
• Different types of attractiveness-relevant
  products

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Topics of Investigation

• Beautiful people perceived as having better,
  trouble-free lives
• NAMS may fit better with problem-solving
  attractiveness-relevant products
• Does model-product matching influence ad
  effectiveness through product argument or from
  model credibility?

12
Issues

• Model attractiveness and trustworthiness
• Model expertise for attractiveness-enhancing vs.
  problem-solving products
• Matching model with product information

13
Design

• Lipstick and jewelry as enhancing products
• Acne medication as problem-solving product
• HAM and NAM photographs
• 250 female subjects
• Survey forms

14
Results

• HAMs well suited to pairings with
  attractiveness-enhancing products
• HAMs and NAMs equally effective in ads for
  problem-solving products
• Kahle Homer (1985) showed attractive
  celebrities more effective for selling razors
• Confound?
• No correlation between trustworthiness and
  attractiveness

15
Laneige

• Advertisement
• Comment?

16
Baker Churchill (1977)

• Model/product match-up
• Mock print ads
• Variables
• Male female models
• Coffee vs. perfume/cologne
• Subjects sex

17
Results

• For female subjects
• Product type and physical attractiveness had no
  effect on purchase intention
• For male subjects
• Affected by female model attractiveness
• Moderated by product type
• Attractiveness-unrelated (coffee), unattractive
  female model --gt higher purchase intention
• Attractiveness-related (cologne), attractive
  female model --gt higher purchase intention

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Decorative Models

• Model irrelevant/unnecessary
• Smith Engle (1968)
• Sexy vs. unsexy model with automobile
• Sexy model makes male and female subjects rate
  car as more
• Appealing, lively, youthful, faster
• Steadman (1969)
• Mock advertisements with erotic/non-erotic models
• Erotic ads inhibited delayed recall (7 days)

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Match-up?

• Paris Hilton

20
HAMs in Marketing

• Negative consequences?
• Body image issues
• Negative feelings

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Do Women Care?

• Richins (1991)
• Young adult females
• Half compare themselves frequently with models in
  clothing cosmetics ads
• One third report the ads produce personal
  dissatisfaction with their own appearance
• Ingrassia (1995)
• 90 of white junior high school girls have
  some level of dissatisfaction with weight

22
Transfer?

• Negative feelings from HAMs
• Affect on brand?
• Transfer?
• Female consumers have complained of HAM use
• Special K models
• Calvin Klein jean ad use of Kate Moss
• Culture jamming (Ad Busters)

23
Social Comparison Jealously (SCJ)

• Jealousy and envy produced by comparison to
  perceived superior
• Negative effects
• Depression
• Helplessness
• Desire for revenge
• Frustration
• Anxiety

24
Behavioural Consequences

• Derogation/disparaging of comparison other
• Attempt to preserve self-esteem

25
What is Beautiful is Good

• Dion et al. (1972)
• College men and women
• Physically attractive people have more socially
  desirable traits
• e.g., strength, sexual warmth, sensitivity,
  kindness, poise, modesty, better character
• Belief beautiful people lead better lives
• SCJ may attenuate this belief

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HAM Derogation Endorser Effectiveness

• Negative feelings from SCJ
• Impact on HAM effectiveness?
• Derogation of HAM at
• Individual level
• Effectiveness as persuader
• HAM works on product via
• Spokesperson expertise and/or
• Product effectiveness argument

27
Bower (2001)

• Hypothesized effects of negative affect from HAM
  SCJ

Model expertise
Negative affect
Product evaluation
Product intention
Product Argument evaluation
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Study 1

• 130 undergraduate women
• HAM and treadmill photo
• Measures for
• Model beauty
• Subject comparison
• Negative affect
• HAM expertise
• Product assessment
• Derogatory assessment

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Comparator/Non-comparator

• Does the subject compare herself to HAM?
• If yes
• Increased negative affect
• Decreased evaluation of HAM as credible
  spokesperson product argument
• If no
• No SCJ effect

30
Study 2

• Treadmill might have biased toward body image
• 110 undergraduate women
• HAM and hair highlighting kit photo
• Relative few comparators
• Comparators find model more attractive than
  themselves and show negative affect
• Not significant effect on product vs.
  non-comparators

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Conclusions

• Comparator/non-comparator important
• If comparator, SCJ of HAM has negative impact on
  brand
• Should be somewhat cautious of results
• Model type
• Product
• Race of subject and model

32
Social Marketing

• Social causes
• e.g., Conservation, equal rights, etc.
• Public service announcement (PSA)
• Increase public awareness
• Change beliefs, attitudes, behaviours
• Observed by large cross-section of population
• Help-self (use fear) or help-other PSAs

33
PSAs and Sexual Content

• Sexual content increases attention to ad but
  interferes with product knowledge
• PSAs poorly remembered and often ignored
• Can sexual content increase attention to PSAs?

34
PSA and Sexual Content

• Israeli beach

35
Reichert, Heckler Jackson (2001)

• Sexual and non-sexual PSAs for 13 social
  marketing topics
• e.g., healthy eating, reading, HIV prevention
• Mock print ads
• Dominant visual, headline, core message
• Images of heterosexual couples from photo
  archives
• Sexual or non-sexual visual and headline

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Measures

• Questionnaires
• Thoughts and cognitions
• Free responding immediately after viewing each
  PSA
• Persuasion and communication
• Attitude, belief, and behavioural intention
  scales
• Measures of attention, interest, impact on
  thinking about topic

37
Results

• Sexual PSAs generate more favourable
  execution-related thoughts than non-sexual PSAs
• Sexual and non-sexual PSAs generated same level
  of message-related thoughts
• Sexual PSAs stimulated less elaboration (e.g.,
  additional thoughts on topic) than non-sexual
  PSAs
• Subjects were more likely to agree with PSAs
  using sexual appeals

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Conclusions

• Sexual appeals persuasive for social marketing
  campaigns
• Best when sexual appeal relevant to topic
• Long term persuasion due to cognitive processes,
  so sexual PSAs effectiveness may be temporary
• Sexual appeals are attention getting, likeable,
  dynamic, and focus interest on ads topic
• Good in saturated market
• Sexual appeal decreases elaboration of message
  content

39
PSA

• Guardian Angel