Abstract
This paper explores the nature of sexual appelas—sex-related promises or benefits—in mainstream advertising by describing types of sex appeals and findings from a sex-benefit content analysis. Overall, our findings reveal that sex is used to appeal to women and men, although a higher proportion of sexual ads appear in men’s (12%) compared to women’s magazines (6%). In addition, a variety of sex appeals are directed toward women (attractiveness, behavior, esteem), whereas most appeals directed toward men emphasize more and better sex. Last, male-only images are relatively absent in sexual ads compared to female-only (45%) and couples (47%) images. These findings, observations, and directions for future research are discussed.
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Reichert, T., Lambiase, J. How to get “kissably close”: Examining how advertisers appeal to consumers’ sexual needs and desires. Sex Cult 7, 120–136 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-003-1006-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-003-1006-6