sex and violence in advertising
Do Sex and Violence Work in Advertising?
For many years, advertisers thought that using sex or violent themes could influence consumer purchasing. Well, guess what? It ain’t necessarily so!
A new study by the American Psychological Association (APA) says that violent and sexual media content may impair advertising’s effectiveness and ultimately deter purchasing. (Well, there goes the marketing neighborhood.)
We found almost no evidence that violent and sexual programs and ads increased advertising effectiveness,” said Brad J. Bushman, PhD, professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University, and a co-author on the study, which appeared in the journal Psychological Bulletin®. “In general, we found violent and sexual programs, and ads with violent or sexual content decreased advertising.”
