Does Sex Sell You?

[Warhawk83]

Kahr Arms for instance uses the pitch "Thin is Sexy" with scantily clad women in provocative poses.

Just have to say, the Asian lady looks like she may be a Transvestite. Seriously.

No,sex in ads don't affect my purchase decisions generally (option I chose),in the rare instance that it does, it's negatively.

 

[22-rimfire]

Sex doesn't sell me on a particular product. BUT, I might pay just a little more attention to an advertisement with an attractive young lady displaying a product as opposed to a man. Hence, the advertising works.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I don't drink beer, but beer commercials have some very sexy models. The commercials don't make me want to buy beer, but I have considered buying the models.

 

[indykappa]

sex definitely sells, but i am far from impressed with the ladies on the "thin is sexy" ad campaign.

to each his own, but those bony chicks don't do anything for me. they look like they should be in highschool, and i'm not with the whole "to catch a predator" thing, so i will pass on the young-looking chicks!

 

[NMGonzo]

Sex in ads have their place.

Guns ads ... not so much.

 

[Sam1911]

I still say the Kahr ads are selling to women, not men, and for the very reasons that men don't like them: she's too skinny (women WANT to be too skinny); she's not particularly attractive (women don't like other women to be prettier); and she's wearing a great dress (women love clothes).

Wow. That made serious sense. I think I just completely changed my opinion of Khar's advertising. It still isn't for me, but -- all of a sudden -- they don't seem quite so low-budget cheezy, but well thought-out and possibly effective.

 

[Warhawk83]

I still say the Kahr ads are selling to women, not men, and for the very reasons that men don't like them: she's too skinny (women WANT to be too skinny); she's not particularly attractive (women don't like other women to be prettier); and she's wearing a great dress (women love clothes).

Going from that shouldn't the models be overweight and homely?
If they don't want them to be prettier, why would they want them to be thin or thinner?

I still think the Asian lady looks she may be hiding something....

 

[Sam1911]

Going from that shouldn't the models be overweight and homely?

Well, that's the balance of it, I'd bet. There has to be something there that causes a woman (or any prospective customer) a twinge of jealousy. If you show slovenly, unattractive people shooting your guns, no one is going to want to identify with them at all.

On the other hand, (what Karen is saying, I think) is that if you show a knockout gorgeous model who's a size 2 but extremely curvacious and feminine, and wearing exquisite, flattering clothing carrying your gun, it is just too much. An "average" woman looks at that and DOESN'T identify with this supermodel at all and is instead put off by the sales pitch rather than being drawn in.

By showing a woman who represents an almost attainable level of beauty and sophistication choosing this gun as part of her ensemble, a woman is more inclined to project herself into that scene. ("If I lost 10 lbs, max, I'll bet that gun and dress would look BETTER on me than her!")

Of course advertising for guys is quite different. We all know in our hearts that we're a notch MORE attractive than Tom Sellack and a hair tougher than Stallone, so ads aimed at guys tend to feature the biggest, baddest, most ruggely handsome dude they can find to hold up that AR-15 or those tactical pants. Or, of course, the most desirable woman imaginable.

IMHO...

I still would prefer to just see the gun. They're eye-catching enough on their own.

 

[MetalHead]

"Cmon y'all; You have two pictures to choose a free car from; one is a red mustang sitting there against a white background. Another is a blue mustang flying down the road with a gorgeous blond, scantilly clad, in the passenger seat, with her hair flying back and a dumpy middle-aged man in the driver's seat. I'm betting there would be a 100-1 sales ratio of red vs. blue mustangs from males.",

Guess I'm in that 1%, I gotta thing for blue Mustangs, own two right now! That and red ones draw cops like doughnuts.

 

[Warhawk83]

^

I've noticed as a consumer, all those products that show attractive women in the ads, the woman never comes with it.

 

[Ala Dan]

Sex is kind'a like alcohol and/or drugs, in relationship to firearms~!

It does absolutely nothing for me.

 

[Roadkill Coyote]

The ultimate cheesy subliminal ad

Does anybody remember the ultimate cheesy ad? The one for some kind of gunsmithing program that used to run in all the major magazines. It had a guy behind the counter of a gun store. He's got a stock with the tool for measuring drop on it, and he's holding it up at an angle. The customer is a woman, and she's got her hand slightly extended across the counter. Classic old school subliminal cheese. Never had any interest in their product, but I stopped to laugh every time I paged by it over the years.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I am certainly not unmindful, but I don't base buying decisions on it.

 

[benEzra]

Regarding the Kahr ads, at least, I think Karen is correct, and they are aimed largely at women. Particularly if you notice that in at least two of the ads, the woman is posing as if she has just drawn the gun from her stylish purse. And the fact that the ad's slogan is "Nothing fits better undercover".

Contrary to some of the discussion upthread, the women are not "scantily clad" and are not in what I would consider "provocative poses", unless you come from a subculture that is very far removed from the U.S. mainstream. The poses suggest someone who is self-assured, possibly urban, rather sophisticated, comfortable with herself, and confident of her attractiveness, but I wouldn't consider them suggestive.

The ads in question:

http://www.kahr.com/OR-1B.html

To me, the two on the left suggest that the gun has just been drawn:

Oh, and if you don't think Kahr is very actively thinking about the female CCW market, tell me this gun is aimed at men:

http://www.kahr.com/PA-1_380_p.html

And FWIW, I'm with GEICO, but I always watch the Progressive commercials; I think Flo is cute, and "she has a great personality" shouldn't be an insult.

 

[420Stainless]

I carry a Kahr for the specific benefit that is advertised (it is thin and light), but I don't find the ad model attractive. She is representative of the product though. Thin is ok, but bony doesn't do it for me.

I always look at ads that have sexy women, so they are effective against me in that way. I miss having the Blue Press delivered, but I haven't bought anything from Dillon lately.

 

[rustysragsinc]

No. I like looking at the nice looking women though. But not a buying decision by how fine the women are. The product speaks for itself.

 

[Maverick223]

The product speaks for itself.

Your product certainly does. Hope your business is doing well...despite not having "scantily clad women" on your webpage.

 

[mustang_steve]

It won't influence me to buy an more than a non-sexual ad will, but it may draw my eyes to it.

that said, when i see someone use a sex sells ad approach to me it comes off as desperate. A good product doesn't need such tactics to sell well.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

Any blatant attempt to appeal to my masculenity as an attempt to sell me something is a real turn off.

"Black Rose Edition" barf, it sounds like a truckstop commemorative piece.

 

[benEzra]

Any blatant attempt to appeal to my masculenity as an attempt to sell me something is a real turn off.

"Black Rose Edition" barf, it sounds like a truckstop commemorative piece.

That's because it was almost certainly aimed at women. I can see my style-conscious-engineer sister really liking that one, and going for the ads too. (And yes, she has a CHL.)

 

[Boba Fett]

Though I haven't done so with firearms (no opportunity yet), I have chosen companies that do not use slutty women to promote their product.

Perfect example is GoDaddy.com. They used to be an excellent web hosting site. Then they started in with the most disgustingly salacious TV commercials and content on their website.

I told them I would no longer do business with them or recommend them to any of my clients or friends. I switched to a much nicer "family friendly" hosting company.


But that goes the same for firearms.

 

[bigalexe]

In the area of Guns my purchases are based on many factors and advertising isn't really one of them, however excessively sexual advertising will drive me AWAY from a brand.

Why?

It drives me away because it means that the brand marketing is looking for name recognition or fantasy to help sell their product. When I buy a gun I am not buying a toy, I am buying a serious tool and an expensive tool. I expect that tool to be backed with hard evidence of its reliability and worth, not fantastical images.

 

[kimberkid]

I voted;

"Sex in ads turns me on to the product, more likely to buy"

But only because sexy ads tend to get my attention more so than non-sexy ads

That doesn't mean I'm going to buy it, but if the ad gets my attention it has a better chance ...
... isn't that the whole point of advertising?

 

[pockets]

The poses suggest someone who is self-assured, possibly urban, rather sophisticated, comfortable with herself, and confident of her attractiveness, but I wouldn't consider them suggestive.

Then she and ad boys at Kahr are the only ones "confident of her attractiveness".
I find the model in those ads to be quite unattractive.
Most certainly not sexy. Scary perhaps, but not sexy.

 

[wishin]

But only because sexy ads tend to get my attention more so than non-sexy ads

That doesn't mean I'm going to buy it, but if the ad gets my attention it has a better chance ...
... isn't that the whole point of advertising?

Very well put!