Marketers and agencies have been using sex as an advertising tactic from day one, but does it really work?
Is it Sex that Sells or… is it Attention that sells!
Getting people’s attention is the ultimate goal of putting attractive people in front of products to sell them. Advertisers will use many gimmicks to gain attention; humor, shock and awe and of course sex. But once you got this attention your product still has a lot of selling to do and the bigger issue to address…how do you earn the customers trust?
Successful companies are good at gaining attention and earning trust not just one or the other.We’re surrounded by advertisements that desperately compete for our attention. Everywhere we look, we find ourselves inevitably drawn to images of scantily clad attractive men and women that are supposed to somehow inspire us to purchase products they endorse. Sure, this attention-getting strategy is popular. But, is it effective?
Here is an example of a TV ad from the 1960s selling aftershave. Would it make you buy this aftershave?
Take a look at this modern day ad for Axe Body Spray. Notice the similarities, but still ask yourself would this ad make you buy this product?
http://youtu.be/I9tWZB7OUSU
The misuse of sex appeal, however, can be costly to a brand. Many campaigns deemed offensive have started brand boycotts that affect sales and damage brand reputation. Abercrombie & Fitch and Calvin Klein have been involved in several such scandals
Sex in advertising has and will continue to stir controversy for many years, an advertiser must be careful when incorporating it in a campaign. Great advertisers consider not only the attention-getting power of an advertisement or commercial, but also what kind of emotional response it provokes in customers. Studies show that the attractiveness of the endorsing model provokes positive responses. Nudity and graphic erotic content, while still increasing consumer’s attention, doesn’t really generate positive feelings among viewers. In other words, advertisers must be careful to avoid the “cheap shot,” which may negatively affect a brand’s image.
To avoid that, the sexual content in advertising should be appropriate to the product category and have a proper underlying message, not for just the sake of using it! ..like the GoDaddy commercials, for example and this one by JC Penney.
What does footage of Phobe Cates at 18 years old have to do with JC Penney selling Van Heusen clothing?
Nothing you say…but did it get your attention?
Does the “sex sells” tactic show a higher return on investment?
With the birth of Internet and digital advertising, in the form of Google Adwords & Facebook Ads, we can now tell exactly when certain advertisements generate a return. There are many more tools afforded to us today to measure these Ad ROI’s
Let’s Take A Look At Facebook Advertisements
Here are some quick Facebook facts:
- More than 500 million active users
- 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
With that many active users, Facebook has become an emerging option for online advertising. Businesses can choose their target demographic and Facebook will display their ad to those users. In this new approach to advertising, can we still find marketers using ads that use sex to sell? Yes.
But Does Sex Really Sell?
According to somerecently conducted case studies more than 60% of users click on the ad that contains a female. The researcher showed samples of users’ 5 different pages of Facebook Ads that allotted to a total of over 200,000 page views.
Clicks are great, but did they sell?
In fact, these ads did. The campaigns showed that ads using “sex to sell ” performed with a high click through rate, but more importantly, the traffic converted into leads.
What should you do?
If you have a small picture framing company, should you go out and hire a bikini model for your ads? Of course not!
Our Commentary
It is our belief and experience that when advertising agencies cannot think of a good concept, they try and get hold of a celebrity. When the client cannot afford a celebrity, they get a skimpily clad woman instead. Conversely, as long as money is being generated from ads containing sexual content, you will continue to see them. This is not the only answer, for it it was all ads would contain sexual content and be void of innovation and imagination. We would have never seen some of the crestivity thst we have seen over the hyears from compaines such as Coca Cola, Budweiser and the latest E-trade commercials.
Remember the following:
- All ad and marketing campaigns must be thought out with your brands image at the forefront.
- Your goals in advertising is first to create attention to your product. But remember it is customer trust and loyalty to your product that will ultimately generate sales.
- If an agency presents a campaign in front of you the incorporates the “sex sells” tactic. Question them on;
- How many different approaches did they consider? (remember, more often than not, the “sex sells” approach is the easy way out)
- Is the use of sexual content appropriate to your product category?
- How will this tactic enhance your brand, build customer trust?
If you are not comfortable with the answers that you receive, then it may be time to seek out a new agency. Contact Us!
