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Racy ads turn women off, study says
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TV ads|Sexual images|sex sells
It may be time to review the adage 'sex sells' , not only because this
tired old maxim caps creativity but because it simply doesn't work. New
research has show that using sexually explicit imagery in magazine and TV ads puts women off buying products, unless it is a superior and expensive item.
The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggest this disparity is down to the fact that women have evolved to see sex as a special and prized act. If the price is hiked to suggest exclusivity, women's instinctively unfavourable reaction toward sexual imagery softens.
"Women generally show spontaneous negative attitudes toward sexual images," writes psychological scientist Kathleen Vohs. "Sexual economics theory offers a reason why: The use of sexual imagery is inimical to women's vested interest in sex being portrayed as infrequent, special, and rare."
To test their theory experts made men and women watch adverts for women's watches. The watch was either associated with a sexually explicit image or a majestic mountain range.
Some ads priced the watch at $10 and others at $1,250.Vohs writes: "As predicted , women found sexual imagery distasteful when it was used to promote acheap product, but this reaction to sexual imagery was mitigated if the product was expensive. This pattern was not observed in men."
The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggest this disparity is down to the fact that women have evolved to see sex as a special and prized act. If the price is hiked to suggest exclusivity, women's instinctively unfavourable reaction toward sexual imagery softens.
"Women generally show spontaneous negative attitudes toward sexual images," writes psychological scientist Kathleen Vohs. "Sexual economics theory offers a reason why: The use of sexual imagery is inimical to women's vested interest in sex being portrayed as infrequent, special, and rare."
To test their theory experts made men and women watch adverts for women's watches. The watch was either associated with a sexually explicit image or a majestic mountain range.
Some ads priced the watch at $10 and others at $1,250.Vohs writes: "As predicted , women found sexual imagery distasteful when it was used to promote acheap product, but this reaction to sexual imagery was mitigated if the product was expensive. This pattern was not observed in men."
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