‘Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’ —T.S. Eliot
We meta-analyzed the effects of sexual media, violent media, sexual ads, and violent ads on the advertising outcomes of brand memory, brand attitudes, and buying intentions. The meta-analysis included 53 experiments involving 8,489 participants.
Analyses found that brands advertised in violent media content were remembered less often, evaluated less favorably, and less likely to be purchased than brands advertised in nonviolent, nonsexual media. Brands advertised using sexual ads were evaluated less favorably than brands advertised using nonviolent, nonsexual ads. There were no significant effects of sexual media on memory or buying intentions. There were no significant effects of sexual or violent ads on memory or buying intentions.
As intensity of sexual ad content increased, memory, attitudes, and buying intentions decreased.
When media content and ad content were congruent (e.g., violent ad in a violent program), memory improved and buying intentions increased.
Violence and sex never helped and often hurt ad effectiveness.
{ Psychological Bulletin/American Psychological Association | PDF }
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