Understanding the Interaction Effects of Sexual Appeals and Social Eating Cues in Food Advertisements on Attention, Memory, and Purchase Intention

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sexual appeals and social eating cues are pervasive elements within fast food advertising, widely recognized for their presumed effectiveness. However, their combined impact on cognitive processing and behavior remains understudied. This study sought to address this gap by examining how social eating cues (individual vs. group) in fast food ads would influence individual responses, as varied by the presence of sexual appeal. A mixed factorial design experiment was conducted. Results showed that fast food ads with both sexual appeals and group eating cues elicited greater attention and memory recall but decreased purchase intent versus other food ads.