The Naked Truth: Revealing the Affinity for Graphic Sexual Appeals in Advertising

Graphic sexual appeals grab attention but the advertising literature suggests that these messages are far from a “magic bullet.” Using a large national panel (N = 1,506), the current research manipulated levels of nudity in fragrance ads and assessed key constructs including Sexual Self Schema, Sensation Seeking, and dimensions of the Reidenbach-Robin Multi-dimensional Ethics Scale to determine which factors best account for individual response.

The Naked Truth: Revealing the Affinity for Graphic Sexual Appeals in Advertising

Tom Reichert

University of Georgia

Michael S. LaTour

University of Nevada/Las Vegas

John B. Ford

Old Dominion University

INTRODUCTION

In 2007, designer Tom Ford shocked audiences with erotic advertising that introduced his signature men’s fragrance. Research would suggest that such appeals risk brand objectives by offending consumers and provoking potential backlash effects. Part of the issue is how much graphic nudity to feature without negative responses (LaTour, 1990). That research, however, has generally failed to differentiate consumers whose response may be more favorable—and hence more receptive—to sexual stimuli...

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