Women's Reactions to Sexy Female Models - A Quantitative Study in an Online Apparel Retail Setting

Sammanfattning: This thesis explores how female sexual appeals in advertising affect female consumers. The effects on arousal levels as well as respondents' affective, cognitive and conative responses were examined. Two commonly used types of sexual appeals were studied: sexual movement and nudity. The effects of the two treatment conditions are examined separately and together through an experiment set in an online apparel retail context. Respondents were subjected to visual stimuli in the form of fictional product images, and their reactions were recorded through an online survey. It was hypothesised that increased sexual intensity would not have an effect on respondents' arousal levels, and affect advertising effectiveness negatively. The results were analysed and compared to previous studies on the subject. Findings conclude that women in the study perceived the manipulations of sexual appeals, but did not find the female model sexy. Moreover, they did not experience arousal from viewing increased sexual intensity. While sexual movement affected advertising effectiveness measures negatively, the effects of nudity were either dependent upon sexual movement, not significant, or positive. It is concluded that the widely used sexual appeals in marketing aimed at women might not have the intended effects. Practical implications for managers are suggested based on these findings.