How Often Is Sex Used in Advertising?

Research looks at how sex sells across the decades

You don’t have to look far to see evidence that sex is regularly used in advertising. That much is clear: From cars to burgers to clothes to perfume, sex has been used to sell a wide spectrum of products for decades.

But just how often is sex actually used in advertising?

In order to find out, researcher Tom Reichert studied sexual imagery — which was measured based on how much clothing models were wearing and the amount of contact made between models — used in 3,232 full-page advertisements published in well-known magazines in 1983, 1993, and 2003. After reviewing the ads — which were featured in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Esquire, Playboy, Newsweek, and Time — he found that overall 20 percent of them featured sexual imagery. In addition, his evaluation revealed that in 2003, ads using sexual imagery jumped to 27 percent from the 15 percent found in 1983.

“It takes more explicitness to grab our attention and arouse us than before.”

Reichert attributed this increase to a few factors, one of which being the activities of the specific industries that tend to rely on sexuality in their advertising.

“Our findings show that the increase in visual sexual imagery over the three decades of analysis is attributable to products already featuring sexual content in ads, not necessarily widespread adoption by other product categories,” Reichert said. “Specifically, alcohol, entertainment, and beauty ads are responsible for much of the increase.”

“In the early 1900s, exposed arms and ankles of female models generated the same level of arousal as partially nude models do today.”

Another reason, according to Reichert, that there has been an increase in sex used in advertisements is because we are now essentially desensitized to it.

“It takes more explicitness to grab our attention and arouse us than before,” Reichert explained. “In the early 1900s, exposed arms and ankles of female models generated the same level of arousal as partially nude models do today. We can see during our lifetimes the changes in sexually explicit content on television, movies, books, and other forms of media beyond just advertising.”

When evaluating ads in the study, Reichert measured them based on 18 product categories. He found that sex was most often used in health and hygiene (38 percent), beauty (36 percent), drugs and medicine (29 percent), clothing (27 percent), travel (23 percent), and entertainment (21 percent). Sexual images were most effective when used in advertisements for low-risk products that are purchased impulsively. However, the study, which was published in the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, found that the use of sex was not effective for other types of products.

“Sex is not as effective when selling high-risk, informational products such as banking services, appliances, and utility trucks,” said Reichert.

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Sources:

Magazine trends study finds increase in advertisements using sex. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120605113725.htm

Sorrow, A. (2012, June 5). Magazine trends study finds increase in advertisements using sex. University of Georgia. https://news.uga.edu/magazine-trends-study-finds-increase-in-advertisements-using-sex/