Appealing to men and women using sexual appeals in advertising: In the battle of the sexes, is a truce possible?

Abstract

Sexual appeals remain a very popular advertising technique yet questions regarding their use remain, including how they can be used to appeal to men and women simultaneously. Literature examining what men and women find sexually appealing and the body language used to signal relationship status guided development of two appeal types: ‘Intimate’ portrayed a couple in an intimate stable relationship, whereas ‘Objectified’ showed them as sexual objects. These were combined with different levels of nudity and product relevance and studied experimentally. As expected, both genders preferred intimate appeals though they only rated low nudity intimate adverts for relevant products positively.

Keywords::

• advertising
• sexual appeals
• body language
• experiment

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Iain R. Black

Dr Iain R. Black is a Reader (Associate Professor) in sustainable consumption at Heriot Watt University in Scotland. His main research interests revolve around sustainability, anti-consumption, and consumer's responses to scarcity and he also examines issues in marketing communications and advertising. He has published widely in academic journals including the European Journal of Marketing, Marketing Letters, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Sustainable Development.

Peta Morton

Peta Morton is a graduate of the University of Sydney where she studied science and commerce. She is currently a senior planner with Banjo Advertising in Sydney, Australia where she works to develop improved communication and creative strategies for her clients who include national and international brands such as Nando's and Best & Less.