The Effects of Sexual Social Marketing Appeals on Cognitive Processing and Persuasion
Author(s)
Reichert, Tom; Heckler, Susan E; Jackson, Sally
Abstract
The author examined the effects of sexual social marketing appeals on cognition and traditional communication variables, including persuasion. 658 individuals (aged 17-51 yrs) viewed matched sexual and nonsexual public service announcements (PSAs) regarding 13 social marketing topics, then reported impressions. Results show that sexual appeals were more persuasive overall than matched nonsexual appeals for social marketing topics. Sexual appeals also stimulated more favorable ad execution-related thoughts but had a negative effect on cognitive elaboration such as support and counterarguments. Participants also reported that sexual appeals were more attention getting, likeable, dynamic, and somewhat more apt to increase their interest in the topic than were nonsexual appeals. It is concluded that persuasion is largely the result of peripheral processing and distraction from somewhat unpleasant messages when receivers are expected to counterargue the message or be resistant to change.
