Given the task of exploring a topic within "sex in advertising", my team and I chose to perform research on the prevalence of violence and sex in advertising. (Project completed April 2013).

1. S E X I N
A D V E R
T I S I N G

3. BROOKE
SHIELDS
1 5 Y E A R S O L D

4. N U D I T Y

5. B L O O D
V I O L E N C E
S E X

6. A G E N D A
I N T R O D U C T I O N
S E C O N D A R Y D ATA
P R I M A R Y D ATA
R E L E VA N C E O F F I N D I N G S
R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S
C O N C L U S I O N

7. H Y P O T H E S I S
The threshold of the acceptability of
sexualized violence will be higher for men
than women, due to the desensitizing and
normative influences of advertising media on
consumers.

8. S E C O N D A R Y D A T A
O V E R V I E W
The evolution of sex in
advertising
• Focused on desensitization
• Normative influences
Sexualized violence

9. E V O L U T I O N O F S E X
I N A D V E R T I S I N G
Consistent trend to push the boundaries of
acceptability
• Contingent upon socio-cultural climate
Sex transcends product categories
• The progression is increasingly controversial
Sex is an attention-grabbing
technique

10. F E A T U R E D S T U D Y
Research looked at ...
“Influence of sexualized violence as an
advertising appeal on consumers’
beliefs, attitudes, and intentions within
the theoretical framework of social
learning.”
T H E I M PA C T O F V I O L E N C E A G A I N S T W O M E N I N
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

11. F E A T U R E D S T U D Y
( C O N T ’ D )
Three dependent variables Compared across
G E N D E R
• Males generally held positive
attitudes towards the ads
compared to females
A G E
• Younger respondents had
higher levels of acceptance
towards sexual ads
A T T I T U D E
TOWARDS
THE AD
ATTITUDE
TOWARDS
THE FIRM
PURCHASE
INTENTIONS
AGE
GEN D ER

12. M A R K E T I N G
I M P L I C A T I O N S
“Women are being
trivialized and sexual
violence is being
glamourized.”
- John Beyer, Director of MediaWatch
UK (2007)
• Sexism & sexualized violence
DESENSITIZATION

13. M E T H O D O L O G Y
Exploratory research
University students (19-22
years old)
• Projective techniques
• Free association
• Group discussion
Facilitation:

14. L I M I T A T I O N S
T I M E
A C C E S S
T O
P O P U L A -
T I O N
Q U A N T I T Y
O F
P R I M A R Y
D AT A
N O T A
R A N D O M
S A M P L E

15. P R I M A R Y D A T A
FORMS OF
COLLECTION
FOCUS
GROUP
EXPERT
INTERVIEW

16. F O C U S G R O U P
P O W E R P O IN T 1 : C O C A - C O L A
• Ads from the 50’s: “Conservative,
not scantily clad and respectful.”
• Ads today: “There is a lack of
clothing; it takes away from the
value of women.”

17. F O C U S G R O U P
F I N D I N G S
POWERPOINT 1: CLOTHING
• Ads from the 80’s: “sexual for people who
were living back then but with what we’re
used to these days, it’s hard for us to get
affected.”

18. A D S T O D A Y
PARTIAL NUDITY
SEXUAL POSITIONS
BORDERLINE PORNOGRAPHIC

19. F O C U S G R O U P
F I N D I N G S
POWERPOINT 1: ANALYSIS OF GENDER
DIFFERENCES
: “it doesn’t bother me that much because we
always relate women to sex.”
: “there are always guys in ads with just
underwear on, but no one gets offended. But if
it’s a girl, then everyone would find it offensive.”

20. F O C U S G R O U P
F I N D I N G S : A N A L Y S I S
ACCUSTOMED TO
SEXUAL
ADVERTISING
TODAY
“COP-OUT” FOR
MARKETERS
DESENSITIZATION
TO SEX
“Sex is sort of boring now, it doesn’t make the ad stand out. I
may find the girl hot, but that’s about it.” (Male Respondent)

21. F O C U S G R O U P
F I N D I N G S
POWERPOINT 2: SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN
ADVERTISING
ANSWERS
• “RAPE”
• “GUY IS CONTROLLING THE
GIRL”
• “GANG-RAPE”
• “DIRTY”

22. W E R E T H E V I O L E N T
A D S O F F E N S I V E ?
“No, because I wouldn’t remember what it
was for. It’s also not depicting real women
because, if women had a choice, no woman
would do that because it’s not okay”.
(Female Respondent)

23. G E N D E R & O P I N I O N O N
S E X U A L L Y V I O L E N T
A D V E R T I S I N G
• No apparent difference
• Both showed signs of desensitization
• Unrepresentative of real life
• Never knew what the ad was selling

24. I N T E R V I E W : P R A G N I
S A N G H V I
• Senior Marketing Manager at Kutoto Inc.
• Bachelors in Mass Media and Advertising from
the University of Mumbai
• Masters of Science in Advertising from the
University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign
CREDENTIALS

25. I N T E R V I E W B A S I S
QUESTIONS
• Experience working with sex in advertising
• Use of sex in advertising today
• Different perceptions between genders

26. T H E E F F I C A C Y O F
S E X I N M E D I A
“Sex always sells.
Morally it doesn’t
work, but it works
commercially.”

27. G E N D E R D I F F E R E N C E S
• Tolerant
• Comfortable associating violence with sex
MEN ARE MORE…
“They are psychologically and physically built in such a
way that makes them think that they can take a lot more,
so it makes them okay with it. They don’t know about the
fragility of women.”

28. W H Y A R E C O M P A N I E S
U S I N G S E X A N D
V I O L E N C E ?
SEX
Create the
“double-
take” factor
Stimulate
consumer
pull factor
Companies
want to
stand out
Establish
the “shock
factor”
“They’re
not selling
a product
anymore.”

29. W H Y A R E C O M P A N I E S
U S I N G S E X U A L I Z E D
V I O L E N C E ?
• Found the shock factor in violence
• Needed something “new and raw”
• Contributing to increasing consumer
desensitization
• Unconscious acceptance of something that
is wrong

30. R E L E V A N C E O F
F I N D I N G S
• Many of the findings are supported
• Ads have become controversial and
offensive
“Women have
become
objects of
sexual desire
for men.”

31. F O C U S G R O U P V S .
R E S E A R C H
P r i m a r y : F o c u s
G r o u p
Vi o l e n c e i n a d s
i s n ’ t r e a l i s t i c
S e c o n d a r y D a t a
Vi o l e n c e i s b e i n g
g l a m o u r i z e d
Desensitization
towards sex
Desensitization
towards sexualized
violence

32. R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S
• Gradually tone down the sex and couple it
with other stimuli
HUMOR
Romanticism

33. S E X Y & F U N N Y

34. R O M A N T I C I S M

35. R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S
• Avoid overreliance on sex in
advertising due to its
saturation
FIRST
• It is the responsibility of
marketers to provide
meaningful advertising
SECOND

36. C O N C L U S I O N
• Moral implications
– How media portrays sex has normative
influences on how the public perceives these
issues
– Desensitization could lead to tolerance of
sexualized violence and rape
• Saturation of sex in advertising
– Doesn’t stand out

37. Q U E S
TIONS