Sexual appeal in print media advertising: effects on brand recall and fixation time

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of sexual appeal in print media on consumers’ brand recall. More specifically, the differences between the fixation time on the “image” and “logo” elements in advertisements, with and without sexual appeal, were verified.

Design/methodology/approach

The correct research is experimental in nature, and divided into three stages: choosing the print advertisements to be viewed by the participants with eye tracking, capturing participants’ eye movements using a special eye tracking equipment and completing the questionnaire for calculating the number of brands recalled by the participants.

Findings

The authors have identified that there are no statistically relevant differences between the number of brands recalled, whether the advertisement does or does not have any sexual appeal.

Practical implications

The use of sexual appeal in advertisements on print media must be made with caution, and several implications for the textile and apparel industry are expressed in the conclusions.

Originality/value

The study’s relevance is threefold: the authors present more recent results about the relationship between sexual appeal and brand recall, as the most recent research study of a similar type was published in the late 1990s; they adopt key concepts from the neuromarketing field in an attempt to connect memory with the capacity of different components of the advertisements, to attract the visual attention of consumers; and they present results for three different product categories (alcohol, apparel and perfume).

Citation

Fidelis, B.T., Oliveira, J.H.C., Giraldi, J.d.M.E. and Santos, R.O.J. (2017), "Sexual appeal in print media advertising: effects on brand recall and fixation time", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 42-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-12-2016-0033