Consumer Responses to Sexual Magazine Covers on a Men's Magazine

SUMMARY

Competing men's magazines often use sexually attractive cover models to enhance circulation. This investigation tested the efficacy of sexual cover models on consumer outcome variables including magazine interest and purchase intention, as well as on psychological variables such as sexual arousal and social comparison. Overall, magazine interest-value and purchase intention were significantly higher in the sexual condition, as were sexual arousal and tendency for upward social comparison. Discussions on sexual information processing and implications for management and future research are offered.

KEYWORDS:

• Advertising
• arousal
• consumer response
• information processing theory
• magazine
• purchase intention
• persuasion
• sex