Sexual stimuli in advertising: The opposite sex effect

Sexual stimuli in advertising often evoke an emotional state able to shape both attitude towards the advertisement and towards the brands that interact in fostering consumers’ purchase intention. These relationships can be influenced by the interaction between the gender of the respondent and the gender of the model (opposite sex effect). The present study focuses on the interaction between brand and advertising attitude and their conjoint effect on purchase intention in the light of the opposite sex effect. Results show that such effect influences the attitude towards the advertisement while it does not emerges whit reference to attitude towards the brand and purchase intention. Implications for advertising and brand management are discussed. Keywords: sexual stimuli, opposite sex effect, print advertising, attitude towards the brand, attitude towards the advertisement, purchase intention.