In his book Buyology, Truth and Lies about Why We Buy, Martin Lindstrom examines consumer-buying behavior from various conscious and subconscious perspectives. Many of his findings are based upon neuromarketing research that he has conducted in conjunction with previous research. Topics for discussion include product placement, subliminal advertising, branding, the influence of religion and superstitions as well as a variety of other prevalent advertising techniques.
One area of focus within this book is the effectiveness of using sex within advertising and it’s ability to both imprint a brand within the consumers mind as well as its ability to sell a product. Lindstrom examines the history of sex in advertising from the 1960s up unto recent times. As can be seen, sex in advertising has grown increasingly more provocative with ad campaigns from both Calvin Klein and Abercrombie and Fitch, just to name a few. While its easy to identify sex within advertising, the main question that remains is how effective is sex in selling a product?
One study conducted by MediaAnalyzer Software & Research found that while sexual advertisements may capture attention, overt sexuality has a tendency to distract the consumer from the actual brand or product. This finding was the result of a study in which four hundred participants were shown a variety of ads ranging from sexually explicit to very bland. This study found that the brand recall of the ads, which were sexual, was low in comparison to the ads that were very bland. This finding was coined the Vampire Effect, in that “the titillating content was sucking attention away from what the ad was actually trying to say” (182). So while our attention may be focused towards sexual content, these findings suggest that consciously we are less able to absorb anything past this.
In opposition to the study above, other research has shown that as consumers we are prone to buy products that enable us to emulate the beautiful. This finding has been attributed to mirror neurons in our brain, which in short are “neurons that fire when an action is being performed and when that same action is being observed” (54). The findings around mirror neurons basically imply that we as people, and in this case consumers, respond to what others are doing as though we ourselves are performing the same actions. In reference to advertising, when we see sexual advertisements that attract our attention our mirror neurons fire off enabling us to feel the urge to mimic what we see, thus purchasing products, which will allow us to feel like the person within the ads we are viewing.
As can be seen there is a variety of contradictory research that examines how consumers respond to sexual advertising. While some research findings suggest that this phenomenon is ineffective, the prevalence of sexual advertisements still remains. Today, retailers such as American Apparel and Diesel Jeans have joined the sex craze in hopes to reach consumers at both a superficial and psychological depth.
One area of focus within this book is the effectiveness of using sex within advertising and it’s ability to both imprint a brand within the consumers mind as well as its ability to sell a product. Lindstrom examines the history of sex in advertising from the 1960s up unto recent times. As can be seen, sex in advertising has grown increasingly more provocative with ad campaigns from both Calvin Klein and Abercrombie and Fitch, just to name a few. While its easy to identify sex within advertising, the main question that remains is how effective is sex in selling a product?
One study conducted by MediaAnalyzer Software & Research found that while sexual advertisements may capture attention, overt sexuality has a tendency to distract the consumer from the actual brand or product. This finding was the result of a study in which four hundred participants were shown a variety of ads ranging from sexually explicit to very bland. This study found that the brand recall of the ads, which were sexual, was low in comparison to the ads that were very bland. This finding was coined the Vampire Effect, in that “the titillating content was sucking attention away from what the ad was actually trying to say” (182). So while our attention may be focused towards sexual content, these findings suggest that consciously we are less able to absorb anything past this.
In opposition to the study above, other research has shown that as consumers we are prone to buy products that enable us to emulate the beautiful. This finding has been attributed to mirror neurons in our brain, which in short are “neurons that fire when an action is being performed and when that same action is being observed” (54). The findings around mirror neurons basically imply that we as people, and in this case consumers, respond to what others are doing as though we ourselves are performing the same actions. In reference to advertising, when we see sexual advertisements that attract our attention our mirror neurons fire off enabling us to feel the urge to mimic what we see, thus purchasing products, which will allow us to feel like the person within the ads we are viewing.
As can be seen there is a variety of contradictory research that examines how consumers respond to sexual advertising. While some research findings suggest that this phenomenon is ineffective, the prevalence of sexual advertisements still remains. Today, retailers such as American Apparel and Diesel Jeans have joined the sex craze in hopes to reach consumers at both a superficial and psychological depth.
Lindstrom, Mark. Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy. New York: Doubleday, 2008.
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