Is less really more?
Investigating different levels of sexual appeals and gender
congruency
Marja van der Wilde – 10210121
Master’s Thesis – Graduate School of Communication
Persuasive Communication – ‘Subconscious effects of persuasion’ Supervised by Stefan Bernritter
University of Amsterdam Words: 7275 Pages: 24 June 23rd, 2016
Abstract
The claim sex sells might seem outdated, however there are still many unanswered questions on the subject of sexual appeals in advertising in the empirical field. Sexual appeals have mainly been examined in terms of female nudity and are often compared to stimuli material which contains no sexual appeals. Therefore it remains unclear whether different levels of sexual appeals initiate different types of responses. Also the moderating role of gender congruency has received very little attention in research. This study investigated whether explicit and implicit appeals generate different responses in terms of attention towards the ad and attitude towards the ad and whether this process is moderated by gender congruency. The results indicate that implicit sexual appeals lead to higher attitudes towards the ad than
explicit sexual appeals. Gender congruency did seem to have a moderating effect for men their attitudes towards the ad when exposed to explicit sexual appeals. However, when implicit sexual appeals are implemented, both male and female models can be used to target both genders.
Introduction
Sex sells! A claim which is often made, however a claim does not necessarily have to be true. Even though we are all born with a sensitivity towards sex, does that make the use of sex an effective marketing instrument? Some recent examples show that explicit use of sex in advertising does not always lead to positive responses. Take the company Suitsupply. In February 2016 the brand received a lot of criticism after releasing their ‘toy boys’ campaign. The campaign existed of print advertisement in which men wearing suits used giant female bodies as a playground, one ad in particular received the most critique. Namely one in which two men used giant naked breasts as a slide. The company was accused of sexism and objectification of women. Some protesters even pasted menstrual pads on the posters out of protest (Hamans, 2016).
Despite examples of negative reactions, there are also many examples of successful marketing campaigns using sex (Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). Therefore the use of sexual appeals in advertising is and remains very popular (Black & Morton, 2015) and is implemented extensively (Black, Organ & Morton, 2010; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). This is no surprise since large amounts of literature confirm that ads containing sexual appeals generate more attention and (positive) affective responses than ads without any sexual content (Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). Sexual appeals can be described as appeals which are perceived as sexual by the receiver and found arousing (Reichert & Ramirez, 2000). However, whether these effects differ in terms of the level of intensity of the sexual appeal still remains unclear. Therefore this study will make a distinction between different levels of sexual appeals, explicit and implicit sexual appeals in specific. Explicit sexual can be defined as the overt use of sex in advertising (Black & Morton, 2015; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014) and are commonly defined as appeals containing high levels of nudity
(Reichert & Ramirez, 2000, Pope et al, 2004; Black, Organ & Morton, 2004). Implicit sexual appeals can be defined as elements in advertising which are more suggestive, such as subtle sexual references containing low levels of nudity (Black & Morton, 2015; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014; Huang, 2004).
When considering marketing implications, there is a high demand for more knowledge. Nowadays many marketers are trying to target both genders by using sexual appeals for products such as perfume and alcohol (Black, Organ & Morton, 2010). However, most advertisements containing sexual appeals are designed from a male heterosexual point of view (Black & Morton, 2015). In order to avoid negative reactions to campaigns using sex, such as the example of Suitsupply, more empirical information on the use of sexual appeals might come in handy for marketers. It is for example unclear how both genders react to male models in advertisement containing sexual appeals since most studies focus on solely female models or couples when looking at the effects of sexual appeals. Therefore gender
congruency in terms of sexual appeals has only been investigated partially.
Gender congruency has not been investigated in one experimental design in combination with both implicit and explicit sexual appeals. Most studies that investigate gender congruency from a male point of few tend to use very explicit stimuli material, such as gay porn (Huberman, Maracle & Chivers, 2015). It goes without saying that these results cannot account for commercial advertising since these appeals are a lot less graphic than gay porn. Therefore this study will attempt to solve some limitations of previous studies and try to add some very specific knowledge to the field on research into sexual appeals whilst at the same time provide some valuable information for marketers to avoid negative reactions to campaigns using sexual appeals in the future.
RQ: Does the level of the sexual appeals (explicit vs. implicit) used in ads influence people their level of attention towards the ad and attitude towards the ad and is this relationship moderated by gender congruency in terms of the model used in the advertisement?
Theoretical framework
Why do sexual appeals work?
Nowadays sexual appeals are used extensively in advertising (Black, Organ & Morton, 2010; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). This is mainly the case for products with pre-existing sexual connotations (Peterson & Kerin, 1977) since products which are regarded as relevant in combination with sexual stimuli initiate more positive responses (Black & Morton, 2015). Reichert and Ramirez (2000) defined four product categories as relevant in the use of sexual stimuli in advertising, these were clothing, beauty products (such as cosmetics and perfume), alcohol and health/hygiene products. Despite the fact that congruent products seem to
generate more positive responses, sexual appeals are still mainly used to grab attention (Hennink-Kaminski & Reichert, 2010). This is not surprising since the assumption that ads containing sexual appeals generate more attention and (positive) affective responses than ads without any sexual appeals have been backed up by an extensive amount of research (Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014).
Sexual appeals can serve as primes which can activate responses without people being consciously aware of it. Meaning that it becomes easier to identify a certain stimulus based on earlier experiences with a similar or related stimulus (Spiering, Everaerd & Janssen, 2003). This is due to the fact that we are all born with a sensitivity towards sexual stimuli (Spiering, Everaerd & Janssen, 2003). This can be explained by the evolutionary theory which states that we all have primal instincts which makes us focus more on certain cues (Nummenmaa et al., 2012). In terms of sexual appeals this means that people their attention becomes more
selective when exposed to certain signals (sexual cues) which can represent an opportunity to reproduce (Lull & Bushman, 2015). This primal instinct is still found in research nowadays. In laboratory settings even very quick observations of sexual stimuli are found to result in physical responses, such as erectile responses in men (Prause, Janssen & Hetrick, 2007).
In order to understand why these sexual appeals could be effective in advertising it is important to look at information processing. Information processing can be described as the process in which one perceives new information, stores this new information into the brain and how this in turn can lead to behavior (Prause, Janssen & Hetrick, 2007). One information processing model which has been studied extensively in literature is the Elaboration
Likelihood Model (Petty, Cacioppo & Schuman, 1983). This is a dual process model, meaning that information processing can take place via two ‘routes’. The ELM model describes this as either the central or the peripheral route. According to Petty, Cacioppo and Schuman (1983) a person will process new information through the central route when the person is motivated to process this new information and has the ability to do so. High
elaboration takes please and people carefully examine the message and base their argument on facts. However when a person in not motivated to process this new information and/or he or she lacks the ability to do so, the peripheral route will be taken. In the latter, the person will mostly base his or her verdict about this new information on heuristics, so called cues. These are superficial characteristics such as the layout of the message, music or colors. As opposed to opinions formed through the central route, the opinions formed through the peripheral route are often short term and unstable. So how does this work in terms of sexual appeals? In case of the ELM model, sexual appeals can be regarded as strong heuristic cues, due to our sensitivity towards sex, which attracts the attention of low-involved consumers (Lombardot, 2007).
Implicit and Explicit sexual appeals
Even though sexual appeals seem to be effective when compared to advertisements with no sexual stimuli, it remains unclear whether different levels of sexual appeals initiate different types of responses. As mentioned before, this study tries to answer this question by making a distinction between explicit and implicit sexual appeals. Explicit sexual appeals have been studied extensively and can be defined as the overt use of sex in advertising (Black & Morton, 2015; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). Levels of high-nudity are most often seen as an explicit sexual appeals (Black, Organ & Morton, 2015; Pope et al, 2004; Reichert & Ramirez, 2000) and this is the most common definition of explicit sexual appeals in research (Black, Organ & Morton, 2004). Implicit sexual appeals can be defined as elements in advertising which are more suggestive and refer to sex, such as subtle sexual references, without using overt sexual graphics. These appeals contain low levels of nudity. (Black & Morton, 2015; Huang, 2004; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014).
The amount of research about different levels of sexual appeals is scare. Though there is empirical evidence that using nudity in advertising is highly effective when it comes to grabbing a consumer’s attention (Lombardot, 2007). As mentioned previously, when taking the evolutionary theory into account some studies suggest that our levels of attention are biased when exposed to bodies since certain areas of the human body can serve as cues for a potential partner for reproduction (Lull & Bushman, 2015; Nummenmaa et al., 2012). Nummenmaa et al. (2012) tested this theory by means of an eye tracking study in terms of clothed and nude models and found that both men and women tend to focus more attention on nude models. This was especially the case for the chest area and the pelvic regions of the body which could serve as signs for fertility or health, in other words signs for a suitable potential mating partner. Nudity seems to speak more to our primal instinct and makes cues related to our sexual instinct more accessible in the brain. Therefore there seems to be a very
strong connection between nudity and what people find erotic (Reichert & Ramirez, 2000). Several studies also indicate that there seems to be a positive effect between nudity and levels of attention and this seems to be independent of gender (Dianoux & Linhart, 2009). Since in this study, implicit sexual appeals are defined as sexual stimuli paired with low levels of nudity and explicit sexual are defined as sexual appeals with high levels of nudity it is assumed that due to the higher levels of nudity, explicit sexual appeals tend to attract more attention. Regardless of the gender of the perceiver of the advertisement. This leads to the following hypothesis:
H1: People will pay more attention to explicit sexual appeals than to implicit sexual appeals
Sexual appeals and attitude towards the advertisement
It is important to take into account that the assumption that sexual appeals attract more attention might not necessarily mean that higher levels of attention create more favorable responses towards the ad or brand. Some studies suggest that the affective responses sexual appeals elicit influence brand attitude (Dianoux & Linhart, 2009; Wyllie, Carlson &
Rosenberger, 2014). Huang (2004) tries to explain this relationship in more detail and speaks of an indirect effect. He argues that this process is mediated by the arousal sexual appeals elicit. Huang (2004) finds this in his study about different types of romantic love in advertising and their impact on attitudes towards the add. He found that both types elicit arousal in people and that this arousal has an indirect effect on the attitudes towards the advertisement. This effect was mediated by the level of pleasure people experienced form watching the add. These findings seem quite positive and some empirical studies suggests that the higher arousal elicited by explicit sexual appeals does indeed results in more positive responses towards the ad (Dianoux & Linhart, 2009; Samson & Janssen, 2013). Also, many studies suggest a gender-difference, namely that men respond more favourably towards overt
use of sex in advertising (Dianoux & Linhart, 2009). However, these results are mostly found in studies towards female nudity only or in studies in which sexual appeals are compared with ads containing no sexual appeals at all. Also, a large part takes psychological responses into account and assumes that physical higher arousal found in men leads to more favourable responses (Huberman, Maracle & Chivers, 2015). More recent empirical work, which takes different levels of intensity into account and more than just psychological responses claims that both men and women respond more favourably towards implicit sexual appeals (Black & Morton, 2015; Huang, 2004; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). These studies suggest that explicit sexual appeals lead to ethical concerns such as objectification towards women (Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger). Also, when taking levels of nudity into account there is evidence that when the level of nudity is highly explicit, the responses towards the ad might even be negative. In the study of Peter and Kerin (1977) different levels of nudity on female models and the effect on evaluations towards the ad were investigated. They found that a nude model actually generated the most negative responses towards the advertisement. One could argue that the findings of this study might be outdated by now. However more recent studies found that milder sexual appeals (low levels of nudity) also led to more favorable responses in term of attitude towards the ad in both genders. Both men and women can experience feelings of insecurity when exposed to high levels of nudity in ads paired with attractive models, which leads to a more negative evaluation of the advertisement (Black & Morton, 2015). Based on these findings it is therefore assumed that ads containing implicit sexual appeals (low levels of nudity) will be rated more positively than ads containing explicit sexual appeals (high levels of nudity).
H2: Ads containing implicit sexual appeals will be rated more positively than ads containing explicit sexual appeals.
Gender congruency
Many studies indicate that responses towards sexual appeals might be dependent upon gender, however, as mentioned previously, most of these studies only concentrate on female nudity (Dianoux & Linhart, 2009). Despite the fact that both gender of the perceiver of the
advertisement and gender of the model of the advertisement seem to play a crucial roles in terms of attention and attitude towards advertisement, research on this subject is very scare and has never been tested in one model paired with different levels of sexual stimuli.
A recent study of Rieger et al., (2015) suggests that for men both their self-reported and physiological responses to sexual stimuli of the same sex or opposite sex were highly dependent upon their sexual orientation. There is some evidence suggesting that heterosexual men tend to turn their attention away from sexual stimuli containing a male model (Huberman, Maracle & Chivers, 2015; Simpson, Horton & Brown, 1996). The fact that heterosexual men seem to respond less favourable to same sex sexual stimuli can be explained by a model proposed by Barlow (1986). His model was originally designed to explain the difference between sexually functional and impotent men. The model explains that when impotent men are exposed to sexual stimuli, this would initiate negative responses, such as worries about sexual performance. To avoid these negative reactions men would turn away from the sexual stimuli. Sexual studies suggested and have found empirical support that this model is also applicable to heterosexual men when they are exposed to sexual stimuli of the same sex (Samson & Janssen, 2014). Namely, that both heterosexual men and lesbian women would engage in attentional avoidance when exposed to sexual stimuli of the non-preferred gender because they will not be aroused by it. Samson and Janssen (2014) also state that attention towards sexual stimuli according to Barlow’s (1986) model, is unprecedentedly connected to attitudes formed about the encountered stimuli. They explain that since heterosexual men turn their attention away from sexual stimuli of the same sex, this could
negatively affect their attitudes which are consequently formed about the stimuli. Huberman, Maracle and Chivers (2015) found evidence for this claim and also found that men their self-reported levels of attention were lower when exposed to other nude men. In terms of
advertising this would mean that sexual appeals combined with models of the same sex, would serve as peripheral cues which could lead to attentional avoidance and consequently to a negative attitude towards the ad or brand for men. Black and Morton (2015) also note that men could respond more negatively to models of the same sex but from a different point of view. Namely that this would lead to feelings of insecurity. Based on this previous results it is therefore expected that men will engage in attentional avoidance when being exposed to same sex sexual appeals and that this in turn will lead to more negative attitudes towards the ad. It is also expected that these effects will be stronger when paired with explicit sexual appeals since these appeals contain high levels of nudity.
H3a: Men are likely to pay more attention to models of the opposite sex and less attention to
models of the same sex and these effects will be even stronger when models are paired with explicit sexual appeals than models paired with implicit sexual appeals.
H3b: Men will rate their attitudes towards ads containing models of the opposite sex higher
than when exposed to ads containing models of the same sex and these effects will be even stronger when models are paired with explicit sexual appeals than models paired with implicit sexual appeals.
On the subject of gender congruency women seem to respond fairly different than men. Mainly because women their levels of arousal are less dependent upon their sexual orientation. Rieger et al., (2015) found that unlike men or lesbians, straight women experience sexual arousal to both sexual stimuli of men and women. Huberman, Maracle and Chivers (2015) provide evidence for this claim in their study towards participants their self-reported attention en genital responses towards sexual stimuli. Due to the fact that women their arousal
does not seem to be dependent upon their sexual orientation, heterosexual women are found to pay about the same amount of attention towards both male and female models when paired with sexual stimuli (Huberman, Maracle & Chivers, 2015). Also, this is in line with most studies investigating sexual appeals in which female models were used. In these studies women did respond favourably to same sex models, as long as the model was not displayed as an overt sexual appeal (Black & Morton, 2015; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). Namely, because the high levels of female nudity in explicit sexual appeals would lead to feelings of insecurity and ethical concerns, such as objectification of women (Black & Morton, 2015; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). Though these negative reactions are not found for women when exposed to male models. Based on these studies the following hypotheses will be tested:
H4a: Women will spend equal amounts of attention towards both models of the same and opposite sex.
H4b: Women will rate their attitudes towards ads containing models of the opposite sex higher than when exposed to ads containing models of the same sex and these effects will be even stronger when models are paired with explicit sexual appeals than models paired with implicit sexual appeals.
Figure 1. Conceptual model
Methods
Design
To test the research question an experimental online study was conducted. The experimental design in this study is a 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design with gender congruency (same sex/opposite sex) and type of sexual appeal (implicit/explicit) as independent variables. This study investigated the possible effects of different levels of sexual appeals on attention and attitude towards the advertisement. It was also expected that gender congruency would have a moderating effect on the attention paid towards the ad and the attitude towards the
advertisement.
Sample
Participants for this study were recruited by means of a convenience sample. Initially 137 participants took part in the study. The hypotheses were solely based on research on heterosexual men and women. Therefore gay, lesbian, bisexual and people who not sure or uncomfortable about disclosing their sexual orientation were filtered out since research
Gender Male/ Female
Sexual appeals Explicit/Implicit
Gender Congruency Same sex model/ Opposite sex model
Attention
Attitude towards ad
suggest that these people might responds differently to sexual appeals than straight men and women (Huberman, Maracle & Chivers, 2015; Riegert et al., 2015; Samson & Janssen, 2014). After accounting for drop outs and sexual orientation, 114 participants remained and
completed the full experiment. In total 61 (53.5%) men and 53 (46.5 %) women took part in the study. Only participants between the ages of 18 and 35 years (M = 24.2) old were
requested to join the study since this age group is most commonly targeted with sexual appeals by marketers (Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). Most respondents were either Dutch (66.1%) or Italian (25.5%).
Pretest
In order to see if the stimulus material had the desired effect a pilot test was conducted among 20 young adults between the ages of 19 and 35 years old of which 11 were female. Two different types of ads were created in which the levels of sexual appeals and the sexes of the models varied. One ad promoted a perfume whereas the other ad promoted a sports drink. Both types of products were chosen since literature states that sexual appeals are most likely to be effective when a product is regarded as relevant (Peterson & Kerin, 1977). Both beauty and health products are seen as products with pre-existing sexual connotations (Reichert & Ramirez, 2000). In order to measure to what extent participants felt the ad contained sexual appeals one item on a seven point Likert scale (ranging from strongly disagree- strongly agree) was used. This measurement was based on the study of Black and Morton (2015). However, in order to increase the reliability of the test, this study extended the scale to a 7 point Likert scale as opposed to the single item scale used by Black and Morton (2015). Since this study defines explicit sexual appeals as containing high levels of nudity and implicit sexual appeals as low levels of nudity, the participants were asked to indicate to what extent they felt the level of nudity in this ad was average using a 7-point Likert scale (ranging from far below average – far above average). Finally, literature states that attractive models are
often seen as sexual (Reichert and Ramirez, 200) and are therefore defined as sexual appeals in this study. However, in order to keep all elements in the ad, apart from gender of the model and level of sexual appeal, constant the faces of the models are not shown. Most
measurements in literature measure attractiveness not only in terms of physical attractiveness but also take facial features into account. Also, in order to make sure that both the implicit and explicit sexual appeals in the add evoke sexual feelings, this study measures attractiveness more specifically namely, the level of sexual physical attractiveness of the model. The of level sexual physical of attractiveness of the model was measured using three items (‘I find the model in this ad. Sexy/Attractive/Arousing’) using a 7-point Likert scale (ranging from strongly disagree-strongly agree). An explanatory factor analysis indicated that the scale was undimensional (with one item with an Eigenvalue above 1) which explained 77.16% of the variance in the three items. The scale proved to be reliable, α = .81.
Both perfume ads (containing either male or female models) proved to be successful
manipulations for this study. The female perfume ad this differ significantly on the level to which the participants found the advertisements sexual, t (18) = 2.26, ρ = .037, CI[ .07, 1.99]. However the mean scores of both the explicit (M = 5.67, SD = .70) and implicit (M = 4.63, SD = 1.21) condition were high enough for this small sample. The levels of nudity in the explicit condition (M = 5.11, SD = .93) were rated significantly higher than the levels of nudity in the implicit condition (M = 3.00, SD = .63). In terms of sexual psychical attractiveness of the body of the models the participants rated the explicit condition significantly higher than the explicit condition. Though, even though the scores differed significantly the participants still found the models in both the implicit (M = 4.48, SD = .82) and explicit (M = 5.37, SD = 1.01) conditions attractive, t (18) = 2.17, ρ < .044, CI [ .03, 1.74] . The perfume ad in which the male model was also rated sufficiently to the extent participants felt the ad was sexual in the explicit condition.(M = 5.91, SD = .83). The scores on in the implicit condition were rather
low (M = 3.00, SD = 1.41). Therefore it is no surprise that the conditions differed
significantly, t (17) = 5.65, ρ < .000, CI [ 1.82, 4.00]. However, the ad was rated significantly lower in terms of nudity in the implicit condition (M = 1.25, SD = .46) compared to the explicit condition (M = 5.64, SD = .92), t ( 17) = 12.28, ρ < .000, CI [ 3.63, 5.14]. Despite the fact that the scores to which the participant felt the ad was sexual in the implicit conditions were rather low, the scores for sexual physical attractiveness of the model were sufficient. The participants rated the model only slightly lower in the implicit condition (M = 4.46, SD = 1.48) than in the explicit condition (M = 5.03, SD = 1.47), these differences were not
significant t ( 17) = .84, ρ = .415, CI [ -.87, 2.01].
Stimuli
In the eventual experiment participants were exposed to the perfume advertisement (see appendix 1). The models were shown from neck to just below the waist. Their poses were similar in all four adds, as well as the backgrounds and lighting. The colors (black, white and grey) were kept neutral and consistent in all ads. It was made sure that the ads were all exactly the same, apart from levels of nudity.
Independent variables
In this study explicit sexual appeals are defined as high levels of nudity on a attractive model. Implicit sexual appeals are defined as low levels of nudity but the add still contains sexual references. So an attractive model and physical shapes are visible but nudity levels are low. Gender congruency was tested by exposing a participant to either a same sex model or a model of the opposite sex.
Dependent variables
The first dependent variable is attention. In this study attention is defined as the time a person has spent looking at the advertisements in the various experimental conditions. This was
measured by timing a participants’ time spent looking at the advertisement. The timing of the participants’ response started at the first click, when the participants was first exposed to the experimental condition, until the next click when he/she decided to move on to the next question.
In order to measure the participants’ attitudes towards the ads shown in the different conditions an existing scale was derived from the study of Matthes, Wanneberger and Schmuck (2013). The scale consisted of five items on a 7-point Likert scale (for example: ‘I found the brand I was shown.. Good –Bad’). The scale was validated for this study by means of an explanatory factor analysis (showing one item with an Eigenvalue above 1), which explained 68,14 % of the variance in the five items. The scale was found the be reliable, α = .88.
Analyses
In order to see whether the manipulation was successful, participants were asked to rate the levels to which they found the advertisements sexual, the of nudity in the ad average and whether they found the physique of the model displayed sexually attractive. The first two questions were identical to those asked in the pre-test. The scale measuring the level of sexual physical of attractiveness of the model was slightly adapted. The scale was still measured using three items on a 7-point Likert scale (ranging from strongly disagree-strongly agree)., however the question slightly changed (‘I find the body of the model in this ad..
Sexy/Attractive/Arousing’). An explanatory factor analysis showed the scale was
undimensional, with one component showing an Eigenvalue above 1. The scale explained 76.65% of the variance in the three items and proved to be reliable, α = 0,84. To analyze if manipulation was successful three Independent samples t-tests were conducted.
To test the hypotheses various analyses were conducted. The first, second and first part of the fourth hypothesis (4a) were all tested by means of an Independent samples t-test. In the first two analyses (H1 and H2) the level of sexual appeal (explicit vs. implicit) served as the independent variable. Attention towards the advertisement served as the dependent variable in the first analysis and attitude towards the advertisement served as dependent variable in the second analyses. Before conducting the third independent t-test (H4a) women were first selected via ‘select cases’. Next gender congruency was selected as the independent variable and attention towards the advertisement served as the independent variable. To test the third hypothesis only men were select via select cases. Next a MANOVA analysis was conducted with gender congruency and level of sexual appeal as independent variables and both attention and attitude towards the advertisement as dependent variables. Finally an ANOVA analysis was conducted to test the second part of the fourth hypothesis (4b). Both gender congruency and level of sexual appeals served as independent variables. Attitude towards ad was selected as the independent variable.
Results
Randomization & manipulation check
In order to see if both the randomization of participants and the manipulations were successful several analyses were conducted. To see if gender, educational level and nationality were all evenly distributed over the several experimental conditions, three Chi-square tests were conducted. Gender (X2 (3, N= 114) =.42, ρ =.936), educational level (X2 (9, N=114) = 12.52,
ρ =.186) and nationality (X2
(33, N=114) = 37.24, ρ =.280) were all found to be evenly distributed over the four conditions. Therefore it will not be necessary to control for any covariates in the further analyses.
explicit condition (M = 5.10, SD = 1.31) did not significantly differ from the participants in the implicit condition (M = 4.39, SD = 1.36), t(112) = 2.85, ρ = .646. The same accounted for the degree to which participants in the explicit condition (M = 4.45, SD=1.29 ) rated the body of the models in the ad as sexually physically attractive. These score did not differ
significantly from the group exposed to the implicit sexual appeals (M = 4.46, SD= 1.15),
t(112) = -0.05, ρ = .194. However, as intended, the participants in the explicit condition (M =
4.64, SD = 1.07) rated the level of nudity in the ad significantly higher than those in the implicit condition (M = 2.86, SD =1.31) , t (112) = 7.95, ρ = .025.
Level of sexual appeals and attention
According to the first hypothesis, both men and women would pay more attention to explicit sexual appeals than towards implicit sexual appeals, regardless of the gender of the model in the advertisement. To see whether this assumption was correct an independent samples t-test was conducted. The analysis showed that the participants did pay slightly more attention to ads containing explicit sexual appeals, on average 7. 15 seconds (SD = 4.50). However, this did not differ significantly from participants exposed to advertisement containing implicit sexual appeals (M = 6.63, SD = 4.82), t (112) = .60, ρ = .552, 95%CI[ -1.21, 2.25]. Therefore the first hypothesis could not be confirmed.
Level of sexual appeal and attitude towards the advertisement
Based on findings in previous empirical studies it was expected that people would respond more favorably towards advertisements containing implicit sexual appeals than to explicit sexual appeals in terms of their attitudes towards the advertisement. An independent samples t-test showed that participants in the implicit sexual appeals condition (M = 4.19, SD = 1.03) did rate their attitudes towards the ad significantly higher than those exposed to an
advertisement containing explicit sexual appeals (M = 3.73, SD = 1.21), t(112) = -2.19, ρ <.031, 95%CI[-.88, -.04]. Hence, the second hypothesis was confirmed.
Gender congruency and its moderating role
It was assumed that men would pay more attention to models of the opposite sex than to models of the same sex and that this effect would be even stronger when the models were paired with an explicit sexual appeal as opposed to an implicit sexual appeal (H3). A
MANOVA analysis was conducted to test this hypothesis. The results indicated that, for men, there was no significant effect between the type of model displayed (same sex vs. opposite sex) and their time of attention paid towards the ad, F(1, 57) = 1.92, ρ = .171. The men in the opposite sex condition only spent a few more seconds observing the female model than men in the same sex condition who were exposed to a male model. With regards to either the explicit or implicit sexual appeals condition there were also no significant differences found between the two groups when only men were taken into account, F(1,57) = .16, ρ = .691. Nor was there an interaction effect present between gender congruency and the level of sexual appeal, F(1,57) = 1.96, ρ = .167.
The second part of the third hypothesis, stated that men would have higher attitudes towards ads containing models of the opposite sex than towards advertisement containing models of the same sex and that this effect would be even stronger for explicit sexual appeals when compared to implicit sexual appeals (H3B). The analysis showed that men did not differ significantly in terms of their attitudes towards the advertisement between either the same sex or opposite sex condition, F(1, 57) = 1.53, ρ = .221. However, their attitudes did differ
between the explicit and the implicit condition, F(1,57) = 9.18, ρ < .004, ƞ2 = .12. Men exposed to advertisements containing explicit sexual appeals rate their attitudes towards the advertisements significantly lower (M = 3.57, SD = .16) than men exposed to advertisements containing implicit sexual appeals (M = 4.27, SD = .17). Finally there was a mediocre
interaction effect found between gender congruency and the level of sexual appeal, F(1, 57) = 6.88, ρ < .011, ƞ2
rate models of the same sex paired with explicit sexual appeals lower (M = 3.12, SD = .23) than same sex models paired with an implicit sexual appeal (M = 4.43, SD = .23). Men who were exposed to the opposite sex condition scored about the same in terms of attitude when exposed to either an explicit (M = 4.01, SD = .23) or implicit sexual appeal (M = 4.11, SD = .23).
The fourth hypothesis stated that women would spend about the same amount of attention towards both models of the same and opposite sex. An independent t-test was conducted to test this assumption. The analysis showed no significant differences in women their levels of attention towards the advertisement containing either a model of the same (M = 6.23, SD = 3.96) or opposite sex (M = 6.54, SD = 4.25). Women exposed to an advertisement containing a male model rated their attitude towards de advertisement about the same as women exposed to a female model, t (51) = -1.56, ρ = .124, 95%CI[-1.26, .16]. Therefore hypothesis 4a was confirmed.
Finally it was expected that women would rate their attitudes towards models of the opposite sex higher than when exposed to a model of the same sex and that this effect would be even stronger when the models were paired with an explicit sexual appeal than when paired with an implicit sexual appeal (H4b). An ANOVA analysis indicated that women exposed to a model of the opposite sex did not score significantly higher on attitude towards the ad than women exposed to a model of the same sex, F(1,49) = .13, ρ = .720. There were also no differences found in attitudes towards the advertisements in terms of the different levels of sexual appeals, F(1,49) = .14, ρ = .708. Finally there was also no interaction effect present between gender congruency and the different levels of sexual appeals, F(1,49) = .12, ρ = .735.
Conclusion and discussion
This study was one of the first to test different levels of the sexual appeals (implicit vs. explicit) and the possible effects on attention towards the ad and attitude towards the ad with gender congruency as a moderating variable in one research design. Overall it can be concluded that marketers are better of using implicit sexual appeals in their advertising strategies and that both male and female models can be used to target both genders when paired with implicit appeals.
First, it became clear that, even with a small sample, the level of the sexual appeal does seem to matter. Even though the results were not significant, there is some evidence indicating that explicit sexual appeals seem to draw more attention, in terms that these appeals were observed longer by the participants in this study. This supports evidence from previous studies which state that there is a positive effect between the level of nudity of the model in the ad and attention (Lombardot, 2007; Nummenmaa et al., 2012). It is possible that a larger sample would have led to significant results.
Secondly, as the study shows, explicit sexual appeals lead to more negative evaluations of the ad as opposed to implicit sexual appeals. This is in line with previous studies who found that subtle and implicit sexual appeals lead to more positive attitudes than explicit use of sex in advertising (Black & Morton, 2015; Peter & Kerin, 1977; Lull & Bushman, 2015; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014). The stimuli used in this study only differed in levels of nudity and even with a small sample the effect was significant. This finding is very important for marketers to take into account when using sexual appeals in advertising. Nowadays the use of sex in ads is often represented in high levels of nudity (Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014) but for sex to ‘sell’ subtle sexual references might
already be enough. Marketers have to take in mind that explicit sexual appeals might make the ad stand out more but the use of these overt appeals might have a negative effect on the eventual attitudes of the ad of their targeted consumers.
Next this study investigated the moderating role of gender congruency, in terms of the perceiver of the ad and the model displayed in the ad. It was originally expected that men would pay more attention to advertisements containing models of the opposite sex and that this effect would be even stronger when paired with an explicit appeal. However, for men there were no significant differences found in their level of attention towards either the same or opposite sex, even when paired with an explicit sexual appeal. This results came as a surprise since many study claims that heterosexual men turn their attention away from a male model when paired with sexual stimuli (Samson & Janssen, 2014). However, previous studies used very graphic sexual scenes such as gay porn to test how men felt about gender congruent models (Huberman, Maracle & Chivers. 2015; Samson & Janssen, 2014). As compared to the stimuli used in those empirical studies the manipulations in this paper were rather soft.
Though, the stimuli from this study did represent ads which are used in advertising nowadays, therefore these stimuli serve as better predictors of how men might react in a real life situation when exposed to a similar perfume ad.
The findings also indicated that men did have significantly lower attitudes when a model of the same sex was displayed paired with explicit sexual appeals. This is in line with theories about attentional avoidance in straight men from previous research (Samson & Janssen, 2014). Surprisingly though, men rate their attitudes the highest when exposed to a model of the same sex paired with an implicit appeal (man in a suit), even higher than when exposed to a model of the opposite sex paired with either an implicit or explicit appeal. Perhaps because implicit sexual appeals with lower levels of nudity do not lead to feelings of body insecurity in men (Black & Morton, 2015). Though, this does indicate that the positive
attitudes sexual appeals elicit are not necessarily mediated by arousal. Marketers can take into account that men can be targeted with same sex models as well as long levels of nudity remain low. In some cases this might even be a wise choice to avoid negative reactions or ethical concerns about objectification of women (Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014).
Women did not show any differences in terms of both their attention and attitude towards model of the same and opposite sex. In terms of attention this was in line with results from previous empirical studies (Black & Morton, 2015; Wyllie, Carlson & Rosenberger, 2014; Huberman, Maracle & Chivers, 2015; Riegert et al., 2015). Though the results found for women their attitudes towards ads containing models of the same sex paired with explicit sexual appeals were contrary to the expectations in this study. Women their attitudes did not differ significantly between either an model of the opposite sex or a model of the same sex.
Limitations & future research
There were some limitations in this study. The sample was relatively small and there is a fair chance more significant results would have been found in a larger sample. Also future
research should invest in eye-tracking studies to determine if people look at the sexual appeals first to determine if these appeals actually lead to selective attention . In this study it still remains unclear how close people focused on the sexual appeals or the brand when exposed to the advertisement. This research only took measurements of heterosexuals into account, therefore future research should take homosexuals into account when looking into the use of sexual appeals in advertising. This to test whether the influence of sexual appeals in
advertising on attitudes is mediated by arousal. Finally, this study found that men respond positively to male models when paired with implicit sexual appeals. Future research should focus on the underlying processes which lead to this positive relationship. In this manner advertising techniques containing sexual appeals can be optimized and scholars can gain a deeper understanding of the moderating role of gender congruency in the use of sexual
appeals.
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Appendix
1. Stimulus material
Implicit sexual appeal x Male model
Implicit sexual appeal x Female model
