Sex does NOT sale: New Research dispels marketing myth

It turns out that showing a little bit of cleavage can be more of a distraction than an attraction. A recent study in the US has shown that graphic images have an adverse affect on consumer engagement. According to the results, people tend to overlook the marketing message because they are distracted by the image. The team at Ohio University also noted that this applies to ads shown in between sexual and violent programmes.The findings suggest that advertisers might want to rethink how they use sexual images to sell their products or services.

But I still think these types of images can be used to good affect. They just need to be used creatively and not to objectify or misrepresent. True, striking the right balance between sexy and just plain 'sex' is difficult but it is not impossible, and the Dove Real Women campaign is a testament to that fact. Research undertaken by their parent company Unilever, suggested that women no longer believed that their products worked because the women using them in the ads were so unrealistic. Dove's marketers sensed an opportunity, and they set out to reassure women about their insecurities by showing them as they are- wrinkles, freckles, pregnant bellies and all. As you can see in my cover photo, despite these women being in their underwear, they the 'object' of the advert rather the 'subject'. The women still look beautiful and sexy but it is an untampered, un-enhanced depiction of their bodies meaning the women themselves become the focus of our attention instead of their "assets". Indeed, the consumer's attention is initially caught by the sight of scantly dressed women on a billboard but how they are being presented means the consumer is also able to process the marketing message.

So, if marketers want to us sexual images in their ads they need to take a leaf out of Dove's book. This will ensure that that they do not offend or distract the consumer while still allow them to be used for the purpose of getting the prospects attention.