Men and women process the sexual imagery of advertisements
in different ways. A study by
MediaAnalyzer conducted in 2005, explored how men and women visually process
sexually themed ads and what affect this process has on advertisements’
effectiveness. MediaAnalyzer examined
the visual patterns of consumers as they viewed print ads, one sexual and one
nonsexual, from each of five categories.
This investigation showed that men tend to focus on an ad’s
sexual imagery (legs, breasts, skin), which draws their attention away from
other elements of the ad such as logo, product shot, or headline. In this study, men’s correct recall of the
advertised brand was lower for sexual ads at “9.8%”, than nonsexual ones at “19.8%”
(Belch 169).
Unlike men, women tend to avoid looking at sexual
imagery. However, they still show signs
of being distracted by such images. When
asked to recall the brand advertised in sexual and nonsexual ads, an average of
“22.8%” of women recalled the brands associated with nonsexual ads and only “10.8%”
for sexual (Belch 169).
It can be concluded that sexual imagery in advertisements proves
more effective in grabbing the attention of consumers than getting them to
recognize a desired product of brand.
With that being said, if I were to make suggestions to a marketer of
hard liquor who is considering using a revealing photo of an attractive model
in a print ad for the company’s product, I would say the following:
1. Though it may seem in poor taste to some, including
the brand name of a product (in this case, liquor) on a sexual area of the
model (i.e. breasts, legs) should prove effective.
In the case of a female model, this should work by capturing
the attention of men who will inevitably focus on the sexual areas of the model. While doing so, they will have no choice but
to notice the brand name front and center on such a desired area. Women who are distracted by sexual cues will
also notice prominent brand names on the model’s body due to its irregularity.
2. Make sure the brand name is prominent and attractive.
Prominence could be through the use of bright lettering on
the model in pursuit of creating strong contrast causing it to be an attention
grabber on its own. Aesthetically
appealing lettering for the brand name would cause people to not only notice
the name but also find it fascinating.
Now, if the marketer of a personal computer needed
suggestions for a similar type of ad, my suggestions would definitely change. I would suggest the following:
1. Dress the model in a bright color on a dark background
that matches the color of the brand name and computer.
Making the color of the three important components of the advertisement
the same will draw attention to all three.
People see correlation between things of the same color. All three of the important subjects will show
a connection that people will naturally draw together without exclusion.
Sources and Citations
Belch, GE. and
Belch, MA. Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications
Perspective, 9th Edition.
McGraw-Hill Companies. 2012.
Comments
Post a Comment