Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal

by Tom Reichert (Editor), Jacqueline Lambiase (Editor)

Overview

Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal is the first book to thoroughly tackle important issues about sex in advertising. What is it? Does it work? How does it affect individuals and society? Well-respected scholars and popular writers answer these questions as they address the following issues associated with sex in today's advertising environment: gender differences and representation, unintended social effects, subliminal embeds, appeals to the homosexual community, and new media. The book contains a blend of perspectives, including original experimental studies, interpretive and historical analyses, and cultural critiques.

The definitive source on sex in advertising, this book:
*is centralized around a singular theme: Understanding how sex in advertising appeals work and why they are so prevalent;
*includes multiple perspectives to capture the richness of sexual appeals;
*brings together viewpoints from both well-known scholars and writers;
*provides a wealth of ideas and research questions for those interested in the topic; and
*contains discussions of sex in advertising from its roots in the 1700s to online advertising today and beyond.

The book is must reading for advertising and gender researchers, scholars, and students. Anyone interested in mass media, consumer psychology, and popular culture will find this book an essential resource.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135638207
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/04/2014
Series:	ISSN
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Tom Reichert, Jacqueline Lambiase

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface. T. Reichert, J. Lambiase, One Phenomenon, Multiple Lenses: Bridging Perspectives to Examine Sex in Advertising. Part I: Research Approaches to Sex in Advertising.T. Reichert, What Is Sex in Advertising? Perspectives From Consumer Behavior and Social Science Research. J. Sivulka, Historical and Psychological Perspectives of the Erotic Appeal in Advertising. J.E. Schroeder, J.L. Borgerson, Dark Desires: Fetishism, Ontology, and Representation in Contemporary Advertising. Part II: Consumer Responses to Sex in Advertising.M.S. LaTour, T.L. Henthorne, Nudity and Sexual Appeals: Understanding the Arousal Process and Advertisement Response. A. Lang, K. Wise, S. Lee, X. Cai, The Effects of Sexual Appeals on Physiological, Cognitive, Emotional, and Attitudinal Responses for Product and Alcohol Billboard Advertising. C.G. Brooke, Sex(haustion) Sells: Marketing in a Saturated Mediascape. S.J. Gould, Toward a Theory of Advertising Lovemaps in Marketing Communications: Overdetermination, Postmodern Thought, and the Advertising Hermeneutic Circle. Part III: Cultural Impact and Interpretation.J. Kilbourne, Advertising and Disconnection. J.B. Twitchell, Adult and Gender. W.B. Key, Subliminal Sexuality: The Fountainhead for America's Obsession. Part IV: Contexts and Audiences.B.B. Stern, Masculinism(s) and the Male Image: What Does It Mean to Be a Man? G.R. Hicks, Media at the Margins: Homoerotic Appeals to the Gay and Lesbian Community. J. Lambiase, Sex--Online and in Internet Advertising. Part V: Conclusion.J. Lambiase, T. Reichert, Future Questions and Challenges: Advertising Research in the Midst of Sex Noise.

Editorial Reviews

"Each author probes the subject in a unique way....a certain quality of this specific combination of authors creates an irresistible tempo that urges one to read on....engaging enough for general readers, yet informative enough for scholars and advertising executives. Upper-division undergraduates might enjoy it most for its subject and educational value."
—CHOICE

"In all, the book presents a contemporary look at an important media and cultural issue and would be appropriate as a supplemental text for use in a media-criticism, advertising and society, or media-sociology course for advanced undergraduates or graduate students."
—Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

"This collection of articles provides an excellent overview of the wide range of research on sex in advertising....Sex in Advertising presents a well chosen collection of articles whose range and quality make a real contribution to the field."
—Journal of Advertising Education

"A remarkable collection of essays has been assembled here, each of them deserving close inspection and mindful consideration. The worlds of psychology, sociology, neurophysiology, communications theory, art, politics, even moral reasoning, are examined in these pages, as a group of scholars once again make respectable that pulsating field known as popular culture.
—Television Quarterly

"The work of Reichert and Lambiase is ambitious. Like the topic of sex itself, working with sexual appeals as one's unit of analysis can be misunderstood, rejected, or simply ignored. This volume represents great strides toward drawing together disparate research interests."
—Communication Research Trends

From the Publisher