Itโs not uncommon for advertisers to use sexual imagery to help sell their brand โ especially when theyโre trying to appeal to a certain demographic. But whatโs the end goal? Some advertisers use sexual imagery to stand out from the crowd. Others may simply rely on sexual imagery to define their brand and their offering. So how do advertisers know if itโs effective?
To counter their run-of-the-mill burger ads, quick-service restaurant Carlโs Jr. has leveraged sexual imagery in a number of its television ads in recent years. A deep-dive using Nielsen TV Brand Effect and Creative Evaluation compared Carlโs Jr. creatives that used sexual imagery with those that didnโt to better understand their effectiveness in advertising. While industrywide conclusions cannot be drawn from one advertiserโs strategy, this analysis makes one thing clear: audience matters.
