Sex sells. I will present you AIDA advertising concept and maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how it works together in advertising. After that some testimony for you to believe and chosen examples to understand it better.

1. Sex sells

2. Look at this picture. You can see this
passionate gesture, his palm is touching softly
her cheek, her ear between his fingers. Open
lips as natural signal of openness for the
seduction. It is human nature to be curious
about sex. You know this and so do
advertisers.

3. Sex sells
Advertising concept
Why it works
Maslow hierarch of needs in
advertising
Axe effect – testimony
From pants to milk – short
journey through examples
Your choice

4. AIDA
AIDA is simple and powerful tool of advertising. It shows all functions of advertising step by step leading to
purchase. Attention Interest Desire and Action. This is how your ad should be created. Attention to find it,
Interest to keep you with the message, Desire to create needs and Action to pull you for a shopping. OK but
Where is sex in it? All scientists agreed that the answer is “attention”, sex caches much more your attention.
But from this concept we know that attention is not enough to sell. Still next steps should be done. My
answer you can find in Maslow hierarch of needs.

5. Maslow hierarch of needs
How it works? Human beings first must fulfill lower levels of needs to feel higher levels. Desire
for physiological needs is always on as a desire for air to breathe. Sex is the easiest need for
humans as food or sleep. Desire is always on.

6. AIDA
Coming back to AIDA. It means that sex takes you from attention level directly to desire level.
It’s kind of shortcut for your minds.

7. Axe effect
Launch in the US market
in 2002
Market leader in 2004
$100 million revenue
80% market share in
men's deodorant market
Target young males from
the 18 to 34 year olds
Let me prove it. Unilever introduced AXE body deodorant in the US market in 2002. The launch
signaled the birth of a new male grooming product, body deodorant with odor controlling
properties. In 2004 two years from the launch, AXE became the leading brand in US men’s
deodorant market with an 80% market share, and a 13% share in total deodorant market. By
2005, AXE was the fastest growing deodorant brand and had achieved sales of over $100 million.
Unilever used TV advertising, interactive consumer events linked to the product website and online video games to promote the product among the young males from the 18 to 34-year olds.
All communication based purely on sex.

8. Does sex sell everything?
• Life, Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle, McCall's, Glamour, Time and
People magazines between 1963 and 1983.
Galup and Robinson research company tested hundreds of ads in different magazines through
many years. The research showed that all related with sex attracted readership well above
average, interestingly, these both Calvin Klein and Jockey scored higher with women than men.

9. Romantic or sexy
Brand: DeBeers, Magazine: Glamour
Date: February 1972
Brand: DeBeers, Magazine: Time
Date: March 16, 1981
But don’t mistake romantic with sexy. You can see The same brand DeBeers different approach.

10. Romantic or sexy
Brand: Sand & Sable Fragrance,
Magazine: Mademoiselle
Date: June 1991
Brand: Calvin Klein Escape Perfume
Magazine: Mademoiselle
Date: October 1991
Here, Both perfumes, both on the beach. Calvin Klein Escape attracted almost 50% more readers
than the previous left one.

11. Next door girl or pure nudity?
Brand: Cheryl Tiegs Clothing
Magazine: Glamour
Date: September 1980
Brand: Studio 54 Jeans
Magazine: Cosmopolitan
Date: October 1979
Next examples. Lovely next door girl pictures in comparison sexy whatever it is. Studio 54 janes
ad was on recall 4 times more than product norm.
G&R tested these ads in Cosmopolitan, Playboy and Glamour.

12. Avoid bad taste
tested ad in Mademoiselle magazine, May 1987
But it’s not so easy tool. You mast avoid bad taste. G&R tests showed that Charlie (on the right
side) attracted 2 and half times more readers than Illegale.

13. Does sex sell everything?
Brand: Napier Jewelry
Magazine: Glamour
Date: March 1982
Brand: Arpeggios Shoes
Magazine: Cosmopolitan
Date: September 1984

14. Does sex sell everything?
Brand: Budweiser Beer
Magazine: Playboy
Date: May 1989
Brand: Spicer's Wheat Snacks
Magazine: Cosmopolitan
Date: April 1989

15. Does sex sell everything?
When this ad ran in Mademoiselle Magazine,
one woman's reaction was “Use Obsession for
a great sex life. I used it and nothing
happened. I'm not having a great sex life.”
There were almost 3 times as many negative
comments about the ad (57%) as positive
(20%). Some negatives were mild, such as, “It's
a silly picture.” Some were stronger, “Maybe a
naked woman and a naked man prefer
Obsession. It was obscene; there's nothing
about love, purely physical pornography.
Absolutely useless for selling perfume.”
G&R tested ad in Mademoiselle, February,
1991.
Brand: Calvin Klein Obsession Perfume
Magazine: Mademoiselle
Date: June 1991

16. Does sex sell everything?
Brand: American Dairy Farmers
Association
Magazine: Self
Date: October 2001
Brand: Miu Miu Shoes
Magazine: Allure
Date: March 2002

17. Your choice
It is pseudoscientific lecture about
reason why sex sells. You know AIDA
advertising model and how sex busts
attention, gives transition directly form
first step to desire.
Today, tomorrow or whenever you will
see sex in advertising you can chose
between two ways of your behavior.
One is to analyze how it impact you,
what this add does with your mind or
event you can protect yourself against
this impact or you can chose other way,
you can enjoy deep excitement of your
unconscious mind which is more than
happy to imagine sexual engagement.

18. About the author
Demand Generation (Sales and Marketing) and
Revenue Management Expert.
Follow me on Twitter @Ment_adventure
Let’s connect on Linkedin pl.linkedin.com/in/grzegorzurban/
My blog: http://metamarketing.blogspot.com/