In 2004, while promoting her film, Neha Dhupia said “In Bollywood either sex sells or Shahrukh”. She does not believe in the statement today. She believes story and the emotions are the quintessential ingredients for the success of a movie. If you have seen the movie ‘Basic Instinct,’ sexual content in the movies made Sharon Stone a star. But the sequel of the movie loaded with similar sexual content could not set the chord with the audience. So, we know that sex does not sell in all the condition. Conditions should be just right for the sex to sell.
In advertising also, the use of sex has always been banal. It is widely believed that these components lead to high attention and high attention leads to high recall. High recall is assumed to be the indicator for the effectiveness of the ad. But is it true? Does sex really make the ad effective? The answer cannot be generalized.
What Sex in advertising’ means?
Sex in advertising has been described as “sexuality in the form of nudity, sexual imagery, innuendo, and double entendre…employed as an advertising tool for a wide variety of products” (Courtney and Whipple 1983, 103). Sex appeal is implemented in five ways: overt sexuality, nudity or partial nudity, sexual suggestiveness, subliminal techniques, and sensuality.
Why sex is used in advertising?
It is widely known fact that sex grabs the attention. According to a report by ‘Similarweb’ as of June 2022, Pornhub gets more visitors than Netflix. People are interested in sex. According to The Journal of Sex Research, men think about sex 19 times a day while women think about sex ten times.
According to a 2003 study by Lambiase and Reichert (Reichert and Lambiase 2003), sex is frequently used as a primary message element in connection with the purchase and usage of goods. There were several sex-related brand promises seen in advertisements (i.e., enhanced sexual attraction, sexual fulfillment, and sexual confidence). Most sexual advertisements include at least one of these appeals, according to a follow-up investigation. In simple words sex is also used to build an impression for the brand. Sex is used as a peripheral cue in advertising
There are brands which have successfully used sex in advertising. Some of the famous names are Axe, Calvin Klein, Godiva, Abercrombie & Fitch.
There have been success stories where the brands got tremendous buck for their money by using sex. Some notable ones include Calvin Klein. In 1980, they used 15-year-old Brooke Shield who said that “Nothing comes between me and my Clavins” in a sexually suggestive way. The advertisement was banned on major U.S. networks ABC and NBC but the ad drove the sales of jeans to 2 million pairs a month. Dolce & Gabbana’s notorious gang rape print ad was so offensive that there were protests in countries like Spain, Italy and United States. The brand suffered in the short term. There are several examples of brand causing controversy by their use of sex. The question that should be raised here is:
Effectiveness of sex in Advertising
First let us try to understand the effectiveness of the advertisements based on the target market towards which the ad is targeted. According to research conducted by MediaAnalyzer software and research, 48% of the men like sexual ads, whereas the number of females who said so was only 8%. The men tend to focus more on the breasts, legs etc. Hence the attention deviates from the core message and the brand elements. Only 9.8% of the men were able to correctly recall the brand or the product in case of sexual ads. In case of non-sexual ads this percentage was 19.8%. MediaAnalyzer calls this the “vampire effect,” with a too strong visual sucking up a lot of the attention that would have otherwise been spent on an ad’s actual communication.
The second factor that we must consider is the product category. Sex has a better chance of succeeding in case of relevant product categories like Fashion, condoms, perfumes etc. For example, Axe uses sexually suggestive content to promote its products.
According to Reichert “Sex is not as effective when selling high-risk, informational products such as banking services, appliances and utility trucks.” Marketing for such items is based on facts, testimonials, and customer service. Using sex to sell where it does not fit will not help move product. If we use sex in advertising in non-relevant categories people often perceive the product to be of lower quality. There have been success stories where the brands got tremendous buck for their money by using sex. Some notable ones include Calvin Klein. In 1980, they used 15-year-old Brooke Shield who said that “Nothing comes between me and my Clavins” in a sexually suggestive way. The advertisement was banned on major U.S. networks ABC and NBC but the ad drove the sales of jeans to 2 million pairs a month. Dolce & Gabbana’s notorious gang rape print ad was so offensive that there were protests in countries like Spain, Italy, and United States. The brand suffered in the short term. There are several examples of brand causing controversy by their use of sex. The question that should be raised here is:
Does sex sell or controversy? According to Martin Lindstrom, author of a famous neuromarketing book, Buyology, there is evidence that controversy pushes the sales rather than the sex. In his words, “And while sex and controversy are, at least in the world of advertising, inextricably linked, when it comes to what truly influences our behavior and gets us to buy, controversy can often be the more potent factor”.
To conclude one must know how and when to use sex. Firstly, the company should be true to their own image and see that sex appeal suits it or not. It must also understand that the use of sex in the advertising does not make the brand look cheap or of low quality. Secondly, the company must avoid sex appeal while targeting the women. While targeting the men the company should try to avoid vampire effect and build some conscious or subconscious association with the brand.
Courtney, Alice E., and Thomas W. Whipple. 1983. Sex Stereotyping in Advertising. Lexington, MA: Heath.
Lambiase, Jacqueline, and Tom Reichert. 2003. “Promises, Promises: Exploring Erotic Rhetoric in Sexually Oriented Advertising.”
How Sex in Advertising Varies by Product Category: An Analysis of Three Decades of Visual Sexual Imagery in Magazine Advertising Tom Reichert Department of Advertising & Public Relations, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA Courtney Carpenter Childers School of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Tennessee–Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Leonard N. Reid
Report by mediaanalyzer software and research
Buyology
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/does-sex-really-sell-dvertising-pushkar-sharma
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