Psychological Approach to Sex and Its Use

¶ … psychological approach to sex and its use during advertising. Whether it is used in the proper context to promote the product or is aimed at a systemic way to get the viewer to watch the advertisement.

Sexual Advertisements

The use of psychology in advertising is well established. The use of sexual advertising has been seen in a variety of products from cars to ice cream aimed at a wide range of target audiences spread across the demographic ranges. The use of sexuality, which, may include visual or audio images and can be presented in different formats, including nudity, sexual innuendo, or even with humour. The main aim of the advertising is to target the processing of the information regarding the advertisement rather the concentration on the brand. The idea is that the images and feeling they create may then be associated with the product that is being sold, increasing its' desirability. The hypothesis of this paper is that this perception is incorrect, and the use of sexuality in advertising does not affect the desirability of a product.

The use of sexual images has been increasing in use, that there is an acceptance in the marketing community of desirability being transferred between the image and the product. However, the evidence is contradictory. There is a great deal of evidence that indicates where sexuality has been used there will not be a corresponding reaction in the way that the brand or product information is processed (Grazer and Keesling 1995, Severn et al., 1990). Indeed in a more in-depth study by MacInnis (et al., 1991), it was also noted that the amount of internal processing that took place when sexual images were sued instead of advancing the brand or the product could actually detract from the perception, in effect taking away the attention of the audience. However, the advertising still continues, and as such this is a valid area of study for practical application in marketing campaigns.