Female Role in Advertisements / 59

Robert A, Peterson and Roger A. Kerin

The Female Role in Advertisements: Some Experimental Evidence

Do male and female respondents react the same to nudity?

N recent years widespread attention has focused upon the roles portrayed by women in advertisements. Considerable research has been conducted on this issue and, for the most part, study findings have been disparaging of advertising.^ In particular, advertising has been criticized for presenting women as simple-minded, noncareer oriented, and male-dependent. Essentially, say the critics, advertising perpetuates archaic and distorted sex role stereotypes.^ While controversy over the occupational and social roles portrayed by women in advertisements continues to simmer, there is a second, related phenomenon which may possess even more long run significance both for marketing managers and society in general. This is the trend toward increasing eroticism and nudity in advertisements. As Wise, et al have previously noted, the use of erotic or sexual appeals in advertisements is hardly new.^ What is new is the intensity of such appeals and the increasing number and variety of products being marketed with sexual overtones. Likewise, one need only peruse almost any magazine to personally observe the increasing use of nudity, primarily female nudity, in advertisements. No longer are fringe media, questionable products, or shady firms solely associated with

nudity in advertising. Now, not only are nude models used to advertise well-known consumer products such as cosmetics, ski equipment, and wearing apparel, but they are even used by companies like Amoco, Arco and Ashland Oil to market industrial products. No longer is nudity employed solely as a shock device or attentioncreating ploy. It is increasingly being used in a more sophisticated and aesthetic sense in a functional communication role. Perhaps the epitome of this new "functionalism" is the Faberge advertisement initially appearing in the October, 1976 issue of Cosmopolitan. In this four-color advertisement, a well-known New York model is posed in an above-the-waist frontal nude illustration for a skin moisturizer. The general thrust of the advertisement is geared directly toward women and can be described as "female communicating with female.'"*

Purpose
While there has been considerable discussion about this particular advertisement, and nudity in advertisements generally, surprisingly little is known about the effects of employing either nudity or sexual overtones in advertising. The few empirical studies which have been conducted relied heavily upon secondary data analyses or were less than generalizable due to the subjects employed.* It is readily understandable that companies employing nudity or sexual overtones in their advertisements would be reluctant to release sales

About the Authors

ROBERT A. PETERSON is Associate Professor Marketing, The University of Texas at Austin. ROGER A. KERIN is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

60 / Journal of Marketing, October 1977

data permitting direct measurement of the effects of such advertisements. Still, it should be possible to partially evaluate the effects of such advertisements by means of pertinent attitudinal studies. This is the purpose of the present study. Specifically, the objectives of this research were to investigate consumer attitudes toward: An advertisement. The product displayed in the advertisement. The company producing the product.

blouse and slacks. However, in this instance the blouse was completely unbuttoned, and was fastened only by knotting the blouse at sternum level. Hence, the blouse was relatively open, and exposed some midriff and cleavage. This was termed the "seductive model" advertisement. The Nude Model In a third advertisement the .model was completely undressed. This was characterized as the "nude model" advertisement.

All three were viewed as a function of the role of a female model in the advertisement.

Research Design
To accomplish the research objectives an experiment was designed with three factors or independent variables. These were product type, advertisement content, and respondent sex. The first two factors were manipulation factors, the latter was a control factor. Two products were employed in the studya body oil (a personal feminine product) and a ratchet wrench set (an impersonal masculine product). The brand name assigned to both products was the same; both products were called Four advertisements were prepared for each product. The copy was identical for each advertisement. Only the illustration differed among the advertisements.

Study subjects were 224 middle-class adults in three southwestern metropolitan areas. Because sex of subject was an experimental factor, data were analyzed separately for the 112 males and 112 females. Data collection was carried out by means of in-home personal interviews. Subjects were handed a portfolio of three "mock-up" advertisements and requested to independently evaluate each advertisement under the guise of a new product test. Two of the advertisements were "dummies", and were identical for all subjects. The third advertisement was the experimental one. After viewing the advertisements, respondents were asked to indicate on 7-point scale: whether the advertisement itself is appealing . . . unappealing. whether the product advertised is high quality . . . low quality. whether the company which produces the product advertised is repMfflb/e . . . not reputable.

Product-Only Advertisements
In this advertisement the product was presented by itself on a covered, waist-high pedestal. The pedestal stood in front of an innocuous brick background.

As shown in Exhibit 1, there were 16 different cells in the experiment with each corresponding to one particular treatment combination:
Sex (2) X Ads (4) X Products (2)

Product and Model Advertisements

In three advertisements a professional model was positioned partially behind the product and pedestal. Her hands rested lightly on the pedestal to the side and rear of the product. The Demure Model In one advertisement the model was dressed in a long-sleeved, medium dark blouse which was completely buttoned down the front and tucked into a pair of tan slacks. This was called the "demure model" advertisement. The Seductive Model In a second advertisement the model was dressed in the same
EXHIBIT 1 Experimental Design
Type of Advertisement Product Demure Only Model 1 5 9 13 2 6 10 14 Seductive Nude Model Model 3 7 11 15 4 8 12 16

Product Body Oil

Respondents Male Female Male Female

Ratchet Set

Female Role in Advertisements / 61

EXHIBIT 2 Significance Levels for Experimental Effects

Dependent Variables Advertisement Appeal N.S. .000 .10 N.S. .02 .01 N.S. Product Quality N.S. .001 .000 N.S. .000 N.S. N.S. Company Reputation N.S. .08 .000 N.S. .02 N.S. N.S.

EXHiBiT 3 Advertisement Illustration Evaluation

100 | -

60

Effects Product (P) Respondent (R) Advertisement (A) PXR PXA RXA PXRXA

High Product Quality Highly Reputable Company Very Appealing Advertisement

50

40

30

n
K

20 -

Fourteen subjects were randomly assigned to each cell. For example, cell 1 contained 14 males who were exposed to a body oil advertisement in which the illustration consisted solely of a container of body oil.

Product Only

Demure Model

Seductive Model

Nude Model

Type of Advertisement lilustratlon

Computed by dividing appropriate mean score by Its scale base and multiplying the result by 100% .

Results
Data were analyzed by means of standard analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques. This was done separately for each of the three dependent variables. Exhibit 2 contains summary findings from these analyses. In general: There were no differences between the manner in which the two productsbody oil and ratchet setwere perceived. Males were more favorably disposed toward the advertisements, products and producing company than were females.^

ment combination. This combination resulted in the least appealing advertisement with the lowest product quality and least reputable company. Finally, there was one statistically significant Respondent X Advertisement type interaction effect, and that was for advertisement appeal. Males perceived the Seductive Model/Body Oil advertisement to be the most appealing, while females evaluated the Nude Model/Ratchet Set as least appealing.

Implications
It is tempting to broadly generalize the results of this experiment, especially those relating to advertisement type. However, restraint must be maintained, and findings interpreted in light of the usual study caveatssubjects, manipulation effectiveness, and data collection. Still, statistically significant findings were obtained. The fact that the nude model consistently elicited the least favorable evaluations of advertisement, product, and company is, to say the least, intriguing, and certainly merits further investigation. One general issue which obviously requires attention is that of consistency. While prior research has demonstrated the need for advertisement/audience consistencythe need for an advertisement to be appropriate for a given target audiencethis study suggests the need for product/model congruency within an advertisement as well.

Most important, significant differences were found in subject perceptions as a function of advertisement type. Exhibit 3 portrays, in diagrammatic form, the main effect due to type of advertisement. Across products and respondents, the advertisement containing a nude model was consistently perceived as the least appealing, while the associated product and producing company were perceived as, respectively, possessing the lowest quality and being the least reputable. Additionally, there was a consistently significant product-by-advertisement type interaction effect. As can be noted in Exhibit 4, the Seductive Model/Body Oil treatment combination was simultaneously perceived as the most appealing advertisement containing the highest quality product produced by the most reputable company. The opposite was true for the Nude Model/Body Oil treat-

62 / Journal of Marketing, October 1977

EXHIBIT 4 PXA Interaction Effect for All Dependent Variables: Means and Standard Deviations
Type of Product
Body Oil Ratchet Set Company Reputation M 3.59 3.51 3.15 5.41 SD 1.84 1.91 1.52 1.90 Ad Appeal M 4.48 4.14 4.92 4.88 SD 2.20 2.12 1.76 2.15 Product Quality M 3.71 3.75 2.36 2.65 SD 2.07 1.09 1.28 1.63 Company Reputation M 3.54 3.93 4.82 5.07 SD 2.01 1.70 1.85 1.57

Type of Advertisement

Ad Appeal fVI SD 1.75 2.21 1.63 1.87

Product Quality M 3.82 3.46 4.42 2.07 SD 1.73 1.77 1.71 1.33

Product Only Demure Model Seductive Model Nude Model

4.25 5.08 3.68 5.33

The smaller the Mean, the more appealing the advertisement, the lower the product quality or the more reputable the company was perceived to be.

Product/model congruency can be conceptualized as lying along a continuum, shown in Exhibit 5. At one extreme, the model serves a communicative role; his/her presence is integral to conveying the message desired. Depending upon the exact copy employed, this functional role might be best illustrated by treatment cell 8 (body oil, female respondent, nude female model). The exploitive end of the continuum is represented by "cheesecake" advertisements in which the model only serves a titillating function. This advertisement type is represented in the present study by treatment cells 12 and 16; the nude model has no relationship to the product advertised other than physical proximity. In the middle of the continuum the model fills a decorative role, neither strictly communicative nor exploitive. This is perhaps the most common model role in an advertisement, and it is illustrated to a certain extent by both the demure and seductive model advertisements for the body oil product. To a limited extent the above notion of product/model congruency was empirically supported by the data in the present study. Analyses of those advertisements containing the female model indicated that perceptions were more favorable when the product was body oil as compared to the ratchet set. Indeed, more favorable ratchet set evaluations were obtained when the product was presented with no model in the advertisement. Needless to say, however, such findings must be replicated prior to formulation of any substantive conclusions. A second aspect worth briefly mentioning relates to a broader issue of whether advertising reflects or causes (or simultaneously does both)

EXHIBIT 5 Product/Model Congruency

* Communicative High Congruency Functional Roie of ModelDecorative
Exploitive Low Congruency

societal values. While there appears to be a trend toward increasing nudity in advertisements, albeit "functional" or "tasteful" nudity, in the present study use of a nude model resulted in the least favorable perceptions. Hence, at this time it is perhaps appropriate to question whether marketers are making a fundamental mistake by employing nudity in their advertisements. Rather than appearing as innovative (fashionable?), the use of nudity may ultimately produce deleterious effects, not only regarding perceptions toward the firm's advertisements, but even towards its products and corporate image.

ENDNOTES
1. Donald E. Sexton and Phyllis Haberman, "Women in Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 14 (August 1974), pp. 41-46; Ahmed Belkaovi and Janice M. Belkaovi, "A Comparative Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Print Advertisements: 1958, 1970, 1972," Journal of Marketing Research,

Vol. XIII (May 1976), pp. 168-72; Alice E. Courtney and Sarah Wemick Lockeretz, "A Woman's Place: An Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine Acivertisements," Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. VIII

(February 1971), pp. 92-95; Louis C. Wagner and Janis B. Banas, "A Woman's Place: A Follow-up Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. X (May 1973), p p . 213-14.

Female Role In Advertisements / 63

2. Mary Harvey, "Images of Women in Advertising," The Corporate Examiner (July 1975), pp. 3A-3D. 3. Gordon L. Wise, Alan L. King and J. Paul Merenski, "Reactions to Sexy Ads Vary with Age," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 14 (August 1974), pp. 11-16. 4. "Faberge Uses Nude Woman in Ad to Women," Advertising Age, September 27, 1976, pg. 8. 5. Bruce John Morrison and Richard C. Sherman, "Who Responds to Sex in Advertising?" Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 12 (April 1972), pp. 15-19; Major Steadman, "How Sexy Illustrations Affect Brand Recall,"
Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 9 (February 1969),

pp. 15-19; Robert Danielenko, "Do Sexy Ads Sell Products?" Product Management, (February 1974), pp, 21-26; Wise, et al, same as reference 3 above, 6. The brand name Vade has been shown to be an innocuous name. See Robert A. Peterson and Ivan Ross, "How to Name New Brands," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 12 (December 1972), pp. 29-34. 7. There were no statistically significant effects for the "dummy" or control advertisements (median p = .59). This attests, in part, to the internal validity of the study.

Alarketing Alemo
The Social Responsibility of Business and Business Greed The contention that business has an overriding "responsibility" to devote its resources to the resolution of certain "social problems," raises another question with long-term implications: Is the basic purpose of business to promote the interests oi owners of the business, or the interests of non-owners? The popular response may be to opt for the latter, with the argument that businessmen should elevate their motives above the "greedy" pursuit of material gain, and, instead, use their resources to serve others. But since such a response normally comes from non-owners who might anticipate benefitting from such a reordering of business priorities, one might conclude that their definition of a "greedy" person is "one who puts his selfish interests ahead of mine." Butler D. Shaffer, "The Social Responsibility of Business: A Dissent," Business and Society, Vol. 17 Number 2 (Spring 1977), pp, 11-18, at page 13.