Can sex sell bread? The impacts of sexual appeal type, product type and sensation seeking

Despite the prominent use of sexual appeals in advertising, little is known about how consumers process messages that contain explicit versus implicit sexual appeals.

Can sex sell bread? The impacts of sexual appeal type, product type and sensation seeking

Chun-Tuan Chang

National Sun Yat-sen University

Chien-Hun Tseng

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company

Introduction

Today’s consumers are deluged by contemporary advertising. Their lack of interest and defence mechanisms have challenged advertisers to develop strategies that can ‘cut through the clutter’ in a saturated media environment and motivate consumers to process ads. Models in advertising have been identified as influential in communication effectiveness (Barnes et al. 2009; Chia et al. 2012). The cliché ‘sex sells’ is apparently held in high esteem by advertisers who continue...

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