Trends: Sex in Advertising and the "Vampire Effect"

BrandNewDay blogger David Kiley gives ex-Wal-Mart employee Jule Roehm some advice: "...enough already with always pushing the envelope, at least as it relates to sex. We all like entertaining and engaging ads. But in the history of automotive and mass-market retailing, I have never once seen ads pushing the sexual innuendo envelope build a brand."

Roehm, who, before her Wal-Mart stint was director of marketing communications for Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge, approved a Lingerie Bowl sponsorship to try to attract young, affluent males, Dodge's hard to reach target audience. Chrysler later backed out of the deal.

The decision to try to sell with sex, says Advertising Age columnist Bob Garfield is "dangerous for a company like Chrysler with multiple brands and constituencies, because it's difficult to pander to the baser instincts of one customer base without offending the others."

In a print campaign ripped from current headlines, Moet & Chandon. recently launched "Be Fabulous," featuring a bevy of hard partying, fashionably but scantily clad Paris Hilton doppelgangers, bottles of Moet champagne in hand. The ads are guaranteed to attract attention---but is that enough?

Research on sex in advertising yields some interesting conclusions. Sexual imagery definitely attracts the attention of men (how women react is a post for another day). But guess what? The sexual imagery draws the attention of the men away from the other elements of the ad, in a phenomenon that research firm MediaAnalyzer calls the "vampire effect." The vampire effect results in lower recall for sexual than nonsexual ads.

There's nothing wrong with sexual imagery in advertising if it's consistent with the brand. But used indiscriminately as an attention getter reflects the mistaken belief that 'awareness' is advertising's only objective.

Moet Campaign via Fadtastic, MediaAnalyzer study via BrandAutopsy

Comments

[grtgtr]

if you try and sell a mathematics text book with paris hilton in a bikini, that won't sell either

[anne]

You've got me, Jackie. Maybe someone will spot your question and know.

[Jackie]

What designer made the dress in the Moet and Chandon be fabulous limo ad?

[Quality Hosting Support]

If you try to sell hamburger by featuring Paris Hilton in bikini, this can be a low advertising strategy. Remember consumers evaluate the advertisement and particular brand, they can not be fooled.