The effects of sexual and non-sexual advertising appeals and information level on cognitive processing and communication effectiveness.

The Effects of Sexual and Non-sexual Advertising Appeals and Information Level on Cognitive Processing and Communication Effectiveness

Previous research on the use of either implicit or explicit sexual imagery in advertising has focused mainly on factors such as the gender of the receiver,

the product advertised (sexually or non-sexually related), and the type of stimulus presented (double entendre, decorative models, and nudity). Many of the relevant studies have focused on lower-order cognitive processes such as recall and/or recognition. Few, if any at all, examine the higher-order cognitive processes underlying reactions to sexually explicit material. The present study examines the role of visually explicit sexual stimuli in the processing of verbal information in a persuasive message, and the resulting effect on traditional outcome measures of recall, attitudes, and behavioral intentions, as well as higher-order cognitive response measures. In so doing, the study contributes to a greater understanding of sexual- and non-sexual appeals and how they are affected by information level.

As advertisers search for a way to break through clutter and draw attention to their messages, the use of sexually oriented appeals in advertising has been increasing and becoming more overt. In a content analysis of visual and verbal sexual portrayals in magazine advertisements, Soley and Kurzbard (1986) found that the use of visual sexual portrayals has increased, and that sexual appeals have become more explicit, using illustrations containing nudes and suggestions of intercourse more frequently. In addition, the amount of male/female contact depicted in advertisements tripled between 1964 and 1984. Advertisers' assumption that "sex sells" has also been noted in numerous articles both in the general and business media (Horowitz 1987; Sullivan 1988; Trachtenberg 1986).

While advertisers appear increasingly reliant upon the use of overt sexual appeals, past research casts some doubt on the efficacy of this form of advertising. Previous research has examined the effect of various factors such as gender of the receiver, nature of the product (sexually or non-sexually related) and type of stimulus (nudity, suggestiveness, decorative model, double entendre). Several of these studies have found that the use of overt sexual appeals is less effective than the use of non-sexual appeals with respect to recall, advertising and brand evaluation, and advertising perception. Much of this research has focused heavily on the effects of visual portrayals of sexual appeals. Less attention has been given to the interaction of visual sexual stimuli with verbal or copy content, despite the fact that studies on the effects of visual and verbal components of advertisements outside the sexual-appeals arena have shown that the way a message is presented, both pictorially and verbally, has a significant effect on the processing of the advertisement (Edell and Staelin 1986; Mitchell 1986).