Sex Is A Turnoff
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV Cycle C
You've seen the ads.
The car is red, sleek, and sexy. We know it's sexy because of the bikini draped over the hood with a blond babe barely in it.
Same for the Harley. Great-looking motorcycle. An even greater-looking leggy bimbo who's ready to shift, if not strip, your gears.
Using sex to sell products is old news. We've come to expect it. Even furniture ads often feature a long-haired beauty whose "come hither" look has been honed to perfection.
New research shows, however, that Americans may be getting tired of this ploy. Now we're learning that consumers prefer images of love when considering a product over images of sex. Selling cars? Then you'd better know that consumers prefer the love image to the sex gimmick by 32 percent to 15 percent. For furniture, it's 38 percent to 10 percent. Appliances, it's 35 percent to 8 percent. As for all the other consumers, they couldn't care less one way or another.
It's simple. Americans prefer the love connection. We admire companies that promote traditional values. Even the younger audience is attracted to messages that push the love-marketing approach. This is not true for the audience that is making more than $75,000 a year. They tend to be more cynical about wet-hanky, tear-yanking commercials. But for the rest of the audience, you produce a three-hanky commercial about love, and you'll sell your product.
Perhaps your vulnerability to love-marketing is affected by whether you're in a committed relationship. Maybe. Forty-nine percent of those who are not in any romantic relationship respond to images of sex compared to 28 percent of those in a committed relationship. On the other hand, 64 percent of those in just a casual relationship are more likely to buy a product pandered by love than one pimped by sex.
It makes sense. Love is what we're looking for. It's what we need more of. It's what the Apostle Paul calls "the greatest."
The car is red, sleek, and sexy. We know it's sexy because of the bikini draped over the hood with a blond babe barely in it.
Same for the Harley. Great-looking motorcycle. An even greater-looking leggy bimbo who's ready to shift, if not strip, your gears.
Using sex to sell products is old news. We've come to expect it. Even furniture ads often feature a long-haired beauty whose "come hither" look has been honed to perfection.
New research shows, however, that Americans may be getting tired of this ploy. Now we're learning that consumers prefer images of love when considering a product over images of sex. Selling cars? Then you'd better know that consumers prefer the love image to the sex gimmick by 32 percent to 15 percent. For furniture, it's 38 percent to 10 percent. Appliances, it's 35 percent to 8 percent. As for all the other consumers, they couldn't care less one way or another.
It's simple. Americans prefer the love connection. We admire companies that promote traditional values. Even the younger audience is attracted to messages that push the love-marketing approach. This is not true for the audience that is making more than $75,000 a year. They tend to be more cynical about wet-hanky, tear-yanking commercials. But for the rest of the audience, you produce a three-hanky commercial about love, and you'll sell your product.
Perhaps your vulnerability to love-marketing is affected by whether you're in a committed relationship. Maybe. Forty-nine percent of those who are not in any romantic relationship respond to images of sex compared to 28 percent of those in a committed relationship. On the other hand, 64 percent of those in just a casual relationship are more likely to buy a product pandered by love than one pimped by sex.
It makes sense. Love is what we're looking for. It's what we need more of. It's what the Apostle Paul calls "the greatest."
