Effects of Sexualization in Advertisements Alyssa Zaid and Phillip Walker Hanover College

Advertising Advertising is the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through various media (Bovee, 1992) Commonly include brand, product, and how product could be beneficial to entice consumers Companies use a variety of methods to promote products/services in order to influence and appeal to a broad range of consumers (Keller, 1987 )

Persuasion Symbolic process in which ads try to convince consumers to change their attitudes or behaviors (Perloff, 2003) Advertisements have shifted from central focus of product to having a model represent the benefits of a product as a means of persuasion (Beasley & Danesi, 2002) Sexualized models can be used as persuasion techniques (Lynn, 1995)

Importance of Memory Time difference between view advertisement and purchasing product The placement of advertising retrieval cues increase likelihood to recall information from advertisements (Keller, 1987). Promotional messages impact information already stored in LTM based upon the retrieval cues present Viewing advertisements strengthens memory of product and brand Stored information allows for the connecting links to have a stronger association (Keller, 1987)

How Sexualization is Used in Ads Sexualized ads depict women with either alluring behavior or wearing provocative clothing as a means to promote products and services (Monk-Turner et al., 2007) Viewing sexualized images tend to elicit a variety of sensations that lead one to making an association of possible pleasurable outcomes for him/herself (Adams 1916)

Research on Sexualization in Advertisements Lynn, 1995 Sexualization is least effective when it is used on a product which is not normally associated with sex The sexualized content in advertising must be appropriate to the product category and have a proper underlying message Direct/indirect promotion of sex in advertisements If sex is perceived as irrelevant to the product, it may have a negative effect on attitudes and purchasing intention

Print vs. Video Advertisements Print Example: newspapers, magazines, billboards Printed advertisements yielded greater recall compared to televised (Buchanan 1964) – Familiarity – Able to review information in ad Video Example: television commercials, internet commercial Television advertising has become the most effective contemporary medium (Beasley & Danesi, 2002). – Demonstration of the benefits

Hypothesis Expect to find lower memory retention for brand and product information in sexualized than non sexualized advertisements for non sexual products. Expect to find a higher memory retention for brand and product information in video than in print advertisements for non sexual products.

Participants N=37 (24 Females, 13 Male) 18 in the sexualized condition (6 Male) 19 in the non-sexualized condition (7 Male) 98% Caucasian; 2% Other

Stimuli Brand Hermes Meltin PotOliver Peoples ProductScarvesPursesJeansGlasses Had sexualized and non sexualized versions As well as print and video Print ad as shown for the same length as video ad

Stimuli: Advertisements Sexualized Non-sexualized

Procedure Participants viewed two advertisements Both were either sexualized or non sexualized One print, one video Different products and Brands Group 1Group 2Group 3Group 4 Sexualized Print 1Neutral print 2Sexualized Video 2Neutral Video 2 Sexualized Video 2Neutral Video 1Sexualized Print 1Neutral Print 1 Table 1: Condition possibilities for study and the basis of procedure in which participants will be exposed to the advertisements.

Procedure Continued After advertisements they viewed an episode of Doug ( Doug takes a hike/Doug Rocks) Then took a survey over the advertisements

Questions What was the product being advertised? What was the product’s brand? What do you remember about the advertisement? How confident are you in your memory about the advertisements shown? How much did you like the advertisement How attractive is the model

Analysis Purchasing intentions, attitudes, and memory: 2 x 2 mixed ANOVA IV 1: Sexualized or Non sexualized IV 2: Print and Video DV’s: Attitudes, recall, purchasing intent

Rating of Model’s Attractiveness Interaction: Media typexsexualization F (1,35) = 4.442, p = 0.042

Attitude about ad F (1,35) = 4.86, p = 0.034

Items recalled Main effect: Media type F (1, 35) = , p=.033

Items recalled: Model and Product Media type: F (1,35) = p <.001 Main effect: Model product: p<.001 Interaction: Model productxsexualization: p =.007

Discussion Print out performed video for some items Video out performed print for other items Other items had large error NO statistically significant main effects for sexualization.

Discussion Reasons for why sexualized models look better in video and non-sexualized model look better in print – In sexualized video movement could play a part in the attractiveness – In sexualized print the participant would have a longer time to notice flaws or picture modification

Discussion Connection between attention recall and purchasing. Sexualization allures attention (Lynn, 1995) Participants are less likely to recall information from sexualized advertisements Sexualized images may serve as distraction when processing ad information (Darke, 1988)

Discussion Video vs. Print Televised information is being processed visually as well as auditory Printed information is processed only visually Involvement as a factor in the ability to recall/recognize information Ads that have no lasting effects will have no lasting impact Must be deeply processed if effect is going to take place But

Discussion Overall more items recalled in video – But, fewer of those items deal with product or brand. – Effect greater in sexualized video advertisements Video distracts attention from brand and product. – Sexualization is particularly distracting

Limitations Unfamiliarity with brands Exposure allows for greater recall and familiarity Ads only presented once In real world ads presented many times

Future Directions Using advertisements targeted for participant pool Using products and brands participants may be familiar with Having participants view advertisements more than once

Questions