Sexy programmes hinder brand recall in adverts

Sex sells, goes the adage. But according to new research, as far as TV advertising goes, too much sex is a bit of a turn-off.

Psychologists have discovered that advertisements in programmes with adult scenes lose out. Both men and women were able to recall fewer advertisements in a programme that had a sexual content - such as Sex and the City - than in one with a non-sex content, Malcolm in the Middle. They also found that, overall, male viewers were able to recall more adverts with a sexual content than women.

"This study revealed that brand recall for advertisements was hindered by sexual content of programmes, suggesting that there is something particularly involving or disturbing about sexual programmes," say the researchers from University College London.

In the research, men and women were shown Sex and the City, featuring explicit insights into the lives of four female thirtysomething New Yorkers, or Malcolm in the Middle, a sitcom about an American family. The two programmes were chosen because they were very similar in style and length, and neither contained canned laughter, which could have been distracting.

During the ad breaks the test subjects were shown a range of up to 12 sexual or non-sexual advertisements for CDs, beer, fragrances, hair products, spirits and mobile phones. They were then asked to recall details of the advertisements.

Both men and women recalled far fewer details about both types of advert when they appeared in Sex and the City. The researchers said why this happens is not clear. Viewers may be so engrossed in the programme that they are annoyed at the interruption and pay less attention. Another theory is that the sex programme is more involving, making recall of interruptions less likely.

When the researchers looked at the type of advert, the results, reported in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, appear to prove that sex does not make adverts more memorable. "Males recalled more sexual advertisements whereas females recalled more non-sexual adverts," say the researchers. "Sex seems to have a detrimental effect on females' recall. It appears that sex is a useful advertising tool only when selling to men."