We've all seen how advertisements nowadays tend to use naked bodies and bloodshed to try to attract consumers. This is due to a long-standing belief that sex and violence sell.
Researchers from the American Psychological Association, however, recently found out in a study, published in the journal "Psychological Bulletin," that this belief is not at all true. In fact, sex and violence can even have a negative effect on advertising.
The authors of the study, Robert Lull and Brad Bushman, said violent and sexual media content may even deter consumers from buying a product or availing a service.
"We found almost no evidence that violent and sexual programs and ads increased advertising effectiveness," said Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University.
He added that using sexually charged or violent content "may even backfire by impairing memory, attitudes and buying intentions for advertised products."
"In general, we found violent and sexual programs, and ads with violent or sexual content decreased advertising effectiveness," the researcher said.
To arrive at these conclusions, Bushman and Lull did a meta-analysis of 53 studies conducted last year and participated by a total of 8,489 individuals.
The researchers assessed the effectiveness of advertisements in movies, television programs, video games and print using three measures: brand memory, brand attitudes and buying intentions.
According to the study, brands advertised during commercial breaks of shows with violent content were often less remembered and were less likely to be bought by consumers, compared to those aired during nonviolent shows.
The same is true for brands advertised in between gaps of shows with sexual overtones, although there's a small difference in viewers' brand memory or intention to buy.
"Advertisers should think twice about sponsoring violent and sexual programs, and about using violent and sexual themes in their ads," Bushman said.
