Abstract
In advertising studies, the impact of sexually appealing advertisements (hereafter “ads”) on consumers’ product preferences is highly controversial. This paper explores (1) how such ads affect consumers’ product preferences at the gazing stage (initial stage of exposure to the ad) and evaluation stage (final product preference), and (2) which type of product (utilitarian vs. hedonic) is more suited to such ads. We used an electroencephalogram to record participants’ product preferences at the gazing stage and self-reported product preferences at the evaluation stage. The results indicated that participants preferred ads with high sex appeal at the gazing stage and ads with low sex appeal at the evaluation stage. Further, compared to utilitarian products, hedonic products were more suited to sexually appealing ads. The findings suggest that the effect of such ads on consumers’ product preferences varies depending on their cognitive stage and the type of product advertised.
Highlights
Shopping is a necessary part of daily life, and advertising is a common way to advocate products
The results revealed that the main effect of sex appeal was significant F(1, 20) = 5.644, p = 0.028, ηp2 = 0.220], indicating that the participants likely preferred low sex appeal ads (M = 4.20, SD = 0.76) over high sex appeal ads (M = 3.91, SD = 0.79)
This paper explored the effects of sexually appealing ads on utilitarian and hedonic product preferences
Summary
Shopping is a necessary part of daily life, and advertising is a common way to advocate products. The use of sex appeal in advertising is a common marketing strategy to attract consumers and promote awareness of the product. Owing to the particularity of “sex,” the use of sex appeal in advertising has been highly controversial. It can attract consumers’ attention to products. The effect of sex appeal in advertising has been a focus in the advertising literature, and the findings have been rather inconsistent (e.g., Dudley, 1999; LaTour and Henthorne, 1994; Pope et al, 2004; Bushman, 2005). Dudley (1999) showed that increased physical exposure in ads (e.g., partial/total nudity) weakened consumers’ willingness to buy the products. Dudley (1999) showed that increased physical exposure in ads (e.g., partial/total nudity) weakened consumers’ willingness to buy the products. Bushman (2005) found that such
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