How Sex in Advertising Varies by Product Category: An Analysis of Three Decades of Visual Sexual Imagery in Magazine Advertising

Abstract

This study documents the presence and prevalence of visual sexual imagery in advertising for different product categories through an analysis of 3,232 ads in six mainstream magazines from the years 1983, 1993, and 2003. Ads were coded for sexual imagery on two visual dimensions, model dress and physical contact, and for product category using the Rossiter–Percy Planning Grid (RPPG) as a theoretical framework. Findings revealed that visual sexual imagery increased from 1983 (15%) to 2003 (27%), with much of that growth driven by increases in alcohol, entertainment, and beauty advertising. Of 18 product categories, those containing the highest percentage of visual sexual content included health/hygiene (38%), beauty (36%), drugs/medicine (29%), and clothing (27%). Overall, visual sexual imagery was most prevalent in ads for low-involvement products. As predicted, ads for informational/high-involvement products (e.g., financial, appliances, computers) contained the lowest proportion of visual sexual stimuli.

Acknowledgments

This article was accepted by Claude Martin and James Leigh, previous editors of the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising.

The authors appreciate the work of Aimee Edison and Susan Morgan, and helpful comments from Dean Krugman, John Rossiter, and the anonymous reviewers.

Notes

Note. All tests compared 1983 and 2003. Percentages may not equal 100% because of rounding. In addition, types of sexual imagery are not mutually exclusive; multiple types of sexual imagery could appear in the same ad (i.e., sexually attired females and males).

^* p < .05; ^** p < .001.

Note. All comparisons are either overall or within same year. NS = Nonsignificant main effect.

^*Motivation main effect: p < .05.

^**Involvement main effect: p < .001.

^a Cell difference: I/HI compared to other three cells overall and within year; p < .001.

Note. All comparisons by type of sexual imagery. NS = Nonsignificant main effect.

^*Involvement main effect: p < .05;.

^**Involvement main effect: p < .001.

^***Motivation main effect: p < .05.

^a Cell difference: I/HI compared to other three cells within type of sexual imagery; p < .001.

^b Cell difference: I/HI only differs from I/LI and T/LI; p < .05.