Abstract
Sexual appeals are widely used in advertising to attract consumers’ attention. It has already been proved that they influence the addressee’s cognitive processing, which in turn raises the question if sexual appeals may pose a serious threat for road safety when used in roadside advertising. Three studies were designed to answer this question. Study I was a nationwide survey (N = 1095) which revealed that drivers subjectively perceive sexual contents in roadside advertising as distracting and dangerous. Study II was a modified version of the Attentional Network Test (N = 1063) which proved that in cognitive tasks reaction time increases in line with the sexual content of advertisements. Study III was a simulator study (N = 55) which confirmed that driving characteristics change when sexually-oriented advertisements are located along the road. These studies have led us to a conclusion that sexually appealing cues in roadside advertising may pose a threat for road safety.
Highlights
Sexual appeals are broadly defined as messages, either brand information in advertising context or persuasive appeals in social marketing contexts, that are associated with sexual information
It seems crucial to understand the way in which sexual appeals in roadside advertising affect drivers, in order to limit such elements in situations where they may be dangerous for road safety
The results of Study I have proved that roadside advertising and its influence on road safety is a socially perceived hazard
Summary
Sexual appeals are broadly defined as messages, either brand information in advertising context or persuasive appeals in social marketing contexts, that are associated with sexual information. Verbal elements, or both, sexual information can be integrated with the message to a greater or lesser degree. Advertising research reveals that sexual appeals are attention-getting, arousing, affect-inducing, and memorable [1]. The aim of the present studies was to investigate the influence of sexual appeals in roadside advertising on drivers’ attention and behavior. Advertisements that attract the attention of drivers might be beneficial for advertisers but, at the same time, prejudicial to road safety. It seems crucial to understand the way in which sexual appeals in roadside advertising affect drivers, in order to limit such elements in situations where they may be dangerous for road safety
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