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University of Nigeria Research Publications
MBAZIE, Sunny Chiawolamoke J.
Aut
hor
PG/MA/91/12581
Title
Consumers’ Attitude Towards the Use of Sex Appeal in Advertising
Facu
lty
Arts
Dep
artm
ent
Mass Communication
Dat
e August, 1997
Sign
atur
e
Consumers* Att i tude Towards The Use of Sex Appeal i n Advertising
~ b a z i e , Sunny Chiawolamoke Jeremaiah
Department of mps Univers i ty of ~i
August, 1997
T i t l e Paue
Consumers* A t t i t u d e Towards The U s e of Sex Appeal i n A d v e r t i s i n g
A p r o j e c t Repor t P r e s e n t e d to t h e Department o f Mass Cornmunica t i o n
u n i v e r s i t y o f N i g e r i a , Nsukka
I n P a r t i a l F u l f i l m e n t o f t h e Requirement F o r The Award o f t h e Degree o f Mas te r o f
A r t s i n Mass Communication
Mbazie, Sunny Chiawolamoke J e r e m a l a h ~ G / ~ ~ / 9 1 / 1 2 5 8 1
Department o f Mass Communication U n i v e r s i t y o f N i g e r i a , Nsukka
August, 1997
D e d i c a t e d to God and my e l d e r b r o t n e r ,
Mr. Rufus Chukwuemeka Mbazie
- t h e g e n e s i s and triumph
of an a m b i t i o n .
C e r t i f i c a t i o n
Sunny Chiawolamoke Mbazie, a p o s t - g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t
i n t h e Depar tment of Mass Communication w i t h t h e
R e g i s t r a t i o n Number ~ G / ~ ~ / 9 1 / % 2 5 8 1 , h a s s a t i s f a c t o r i l y
c o m p l e t e d t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r c o u r s e and r e s e a r c h work
f o r t h e degree of Master of A r t s i n Mass C o m m ~ n i c a t i o n .
The work embodied i n t h i s r e p o r t i s o r i g i n a l and h a s n o t ,
to t h e best of my knowledge, been s u b m i t t e d i n p a r t o r
' f u l l for o t h e r Diploma o r Degree of t h i s o r a n y o t h e r
W i v e r s i t y .
S u p e r v i s o r
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
w r i t i n g a t h e s i s may n o t be t h e s i n g l e e f f o r t
of a r e s e a r c h e r - An u n a s s u m i n g r e s e a r c h e r o u g h t t o
a c k n o w l e d g e t h e e f f o r t s o f e v e r y o n e t h a t contributed
to t h e s u c c e s s of h i s o r h e r work.
However , i n my own case, o n l y a f e w p e r s o n s
were a c k n o w l e d g e d f o r t h e s a k e o f b r e v i t y . I s a y
s p e c i a l t h a n k y o u to t h o s e whose names d i d n o t a p p e a r
h e r e who? may h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d to t h e r e a l i z a t i o n
of t h i s d ream.
May I, w i t h o u t r e s e r v a t i o n , t h a n k P r o f e s s o r S - A ,
~ k w e l i e , my s u p e r v i s o r , f o r h i s f a t h e r l y u n d e r s t a n d i n g
of my p l i g h t f n c o u r s e o f w r i t i n g t h i s s t u d y .
I n t h e same v e i n , I t h a n k my c o l l e a g u e s , Messrs
Sassey o k o n a n d Uzoma Okugo, f o r t h e i r a d v i c e a n d
a s s i s t a n c e i n p r o o f r e a d i n g some of t h e s c r i p t s .
S i m i l a r l y , I commend my e l d e r b r o t h e r , M r . R u f u s
Chukwuemeka Mbazie , f o r s a c r i f i c i n g ' e v e r y t h i n g ' t o
see me t h r o u g h t h e programme,
Of c o u r s e , t h i s a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t c a n n o t be c o m p l e t e
w i t h o u t m e n t i o n i n g M r - & M r s . N - 0 . Mwankpa a n d c h i l d r e n
PREFACE v i i
A r e s e a r c h work i s like ,A t h i ck -wide f o r e s t , no
matter how h a r d you wander a b o u t i t , you c a n n o t exhaus - a n
I:ively espl.ore its v a s t n e s s . Mine w a s n o t / e x c e p t i o n , - considering t h e f a c t t h a t t h e top ic was a r e l a t i v e l y
v i r q i n a r e a a n d , moreso , i t was a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s e x ,
I n t h i s p a r t of t h e w o r l d , s e x e x p r e s s i o n i s s e e n
by many as o b s c e n e m d i n c o n g r u o u s w i t h o u r c u l t u r e .
The i n h i b i t i o n c a s t by o u r society o n s e x e x p r e s s i o n
even i m p e d e s s c h o l a r s h i p o n t h e s u b j e c t .
However, i n s p i t e of o u r s o c i e t y ' s g a g o f s e x
z x p r e s s i o n , t h e r e h a s b e e n r a m p a n t i n d u l g e n c e i n sex.
T h i s pretence h a s s p u r r e d a d v e r t i s e r s t o u s e s e x a p p e a l
to persuade c o n s u m e r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n b e v e r a g e s s u c h I
3 s a l c o h o l .
An a t t e m p t was, t h e r e f o r e , made i n t h i s s t u d y t o
s t r i p t h e h y p o c r j s y o f f the s o c i e t y b y s o l i c i t i n g t h e
o p i n i o n of the c o n s u m e r s of a l c o h o l o n w h e t h e r t h e y do
a p p r e c i a t e t h e use of s e x a p p e a l b y a d v e r t i s e r s ,
The s t u d y 8 1 . ~ 0 d w e l t o n w h e t h e r t h e u s e of s e x
ap!.<eal by a d v e r t i s e r s was r e a l l y drawn f r o m t h e a t t i t u d e
of t h e consumers. In t h a t c a s e , w h e t h e r consumers o f
a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e associate s e x a p p e a l a d v e r t i s e m e n t
with t h e i r sexual b e h a v i o u r .
It i s , t n ~ r e f s r e , m y belief t h a t this psycho-
a n a l y t i c s t u d y will expose to a great: e x t e n t t h e
s u b l i i i ; 9 nsl ir,fluer.rce exerted by sexua1.i ty on the
cons1;mers of s l coho i .
Sunny Mbazie Nsukka
CONTENTS
Title P a g e
D e d i c a t i o n
C e r t i f i c a t i o n
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t
Page
... ii
... iii
... iv
- * . v
P r e f a c e .. . v i i
C o n t e n t s
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: o o . 1
sex Appeal ... 4
Researcher's I n t e r e s t i n t h e Study 5
1.2 Statement of Problem ... 1.3 O b j e c t i v e s of t h e Study ... 1 .4 The s i g n i f i c a n c e s of t h e Study
1.5 Scope of Study ... 1 . 6 Research Q u e s t f o n s ...
References
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
References
CHAPTER THREE : METHODOLOGY 0 . 0
3.2 The Popula t ion of t h e Study
3.3 Sample Method . . 3.4 sample S i z e ... 3.5 Sampling Procedure . b o
Page
3.6 Method of Data C o l l e c t i o n . . . 3.7 V a l i d a t i o n of Data Gather ing Instrument
3.8 Method of Q u e s t i o n n a i r e Admin i s t ra t ion
References
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND DATA INTERPRETATION m a .
4 ,1 R e s u l t s ... ... 4-2 A n a l y s i s and I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Data
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
5 .2 Summary ... 5.3 Conc lus ion . . . References
CI-XPTZR ONE
INTRODUCTION
The t i t l e , lTonsumers l A t t i t u d e Towards T h e Use of
Sex Appeal I n A d v e r t i s i n g v , may n o t p r o p e r l y be under-
s t o o d i f t h e c o n c e p t of a d v e r t i s i n g i s n o t e x p l a i n e d ,
A d v e r t i s i n q , l i k e any o t h e r c o n c e p t i n t h e social
s c i e n c e s , h a s v a r i o u s d e f i n i t i o n s , depend ing on how the
writer p e r c e i v e s i t , A d v e r t i s i n g h a s been v a r i o u s l y
d e f i n e d by many writers. ~ n e v i t a b l y , however, no
d e f i n i t i o n i s p e r f e c t ; any d e f i n i t i o n h a s i ts
l i m i t a t i o n s . 1
N o n e t h e l e s s , t h e d e f i n i t i o n t h a t f i t s t h e n a t u r e
of t h i s s t u d y is t h e o n e from FmPw ish hop.
H e d e f i n e d a d v e r t i s i n g a s :
a v a s t a p p a r a t u s of p e r s u a s i o n , by which t h e e y e s and t h e e a r s of t h e p u b l i c are a s s a i l e d w i t h c u n n i n g inducemen t s to d o t h i s , o r to buy t h a t , o r t h i n k f a v o u r a b l y of t h e o t h e r . 2
P e r h a p s , of much i m p o r t a n c e i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n of
B i shop i s i n t h e words - c u n n i n g inducemen t s , It p re -
s u p p o s e s t h a t a d v e r t i s i n g h a s t h e charm to c l e v e r l y l u r e
consumers t o p r e f e r t h i s p r o d u c t o r t h a t service to t h e
o t h e r , To d o t h i s e f f e c t i v e l y , t h e a d v e r t i s e r more
u s u a l l y employs t h i s or t h a t a p p e a l t o a t t r a c t and r e t a i n
t h e a t t e n t i o n of t h e consumer.
2
Appea l
Appea l i s , among o t h e r s , o n e of t h e a d v e r t i s i n g
t e c h n i q u e s . ~ d v e r t i s e r s u s e i t t o a t t r a c t and s t i m u l a t e
t h e e m o t i o n a l d e s i r e of t h e c o n s u m e r s i n demanding a
p r o d u c t or s e r v i c e . I t i s u s u a l l y drawn f rom t h e b u y i n g
m o t i v e - " t h e r e a s o n why a p e r s o n b u y s a p a r t i c u l a r good
o r s e r v i c e " . 3
T h i s p a c k a g e o f e n t i c e m e n t c a l l e d a p p e a l c a n b e
t u c k e d i n t o an a d v e r t i s e m e n t s i l l u s t r a t i o n , h e a d l i n e ,
t e x t , s l o g a n , v o i c e , sound e f f e c t o r t h e e n t i r e copy .
Appea l i s n o t j u s t employed t o a r r e s t t h e a t t e n t i o n
of t h e a u d i e n c e a s p r e v i o u s l y b e l i e v e d b u t a l s o t o e n t i c e
t h e a u d i e n c e t o p r e f e r a b r a n d or s e r v i c e t o t h e o t h e r .
W i l l i a m L e i s s - et. - a l . e x p l a i n e d t h i s b e t t e r when t h e y
d e c l a r e d t h a t " g e t t i n g t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e a u d i e n c e was
j u s t t h e f i r s t s t e p i n p e r s u a s i o n ; a d v e r t i s i n g s h o u l d
a p p e a l r a t h e r t h a n j u s t a t t r a c t , f o r if no d e s i r e was
e v o k e d , t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t w a s n o t l i k e l y t o be successful^. 4
Appeal c a n be p r i n c i p a l l y c l a s s i f i e d i n t o t w o - , p r o d u c t o r u t i l i t a r i a n and u s e r a p p e a l s .
P r o d u c t a p p e a l i n v o l v e s making t h e p r o d u c t or b r a d
t h e centre o f a t t e n t i o n i n t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t . I t means
t h a t t h e f o c u s of some o r a l l t h e e l e m e n t s i n a c o p y i s
aimed a t a r o u s i n g t h e i n t e r e s t of t h e consumers i n t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e p r o d u c t or i t s u t i l i t y ,
T h i s t y p e of a p p e a l ' s e d u c e s ' t h e a u d i e n c e i n t o
p r e f e r r i n g a p r o d u c t o r s e r v i c e to t h e o t h e r by m e r e l y
p l a y i n g up t h e p r o d u c t ' s b e n e f i t s , c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ,
p e r f o r m a n c e or c o n s t r u c t i o n , " L i t t l e r e f e r e n c e i s made
a b o u t t h e u s e r o r t h e c o n t e x t of u s e of t h e p r o d u c t ,
e x c e p t fo r i n s t r u c t i o n s o r s p e c i a l of ferson 5
User a p p e a l on t h e o t h e r hand i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h
t h e p r o d u c t ' s u s e r , I t e x p l o r e s t h e u s e r ' s psycho-
social e x p e r i e n c e s and a c t i v i t i e s t o solicit p a t r o n a g e
of t h i s p r o d u c t o r t h a t s e r v i c e , To t h i s end , L e i s s
wrote: wGmotions t h a t e n g a g e p e o p l e i n human i n t e r c o u r s e
( l o v e , s e x , a n x i e t y , p r i d e , b e l o n g i n g , f r i e n d s h i p and so
o n ) a l s p e n g a g e them w i t h An a d v e r t i s i n g
e x e c u t i v e , J e r r y Goodis , i n b u t t r e s s i n g u s e r - c e n t r e d
a p : j e a l s a i d :
A d v e r t i s i n q i n d e e d d r a w s d e e p l y from t h e p r e d i s p o s i t i o n s , hopes and c o r ' c e r n s of i t s a u d i e n c e s , b u t i t r e f o r m u l a t e s t h e m t o s u i t its own p u r p o s e s , n o t r e f l e c t i n g meaning b u t r a t h e r r e c o n s t i t u t i n g i t . 7
I n o ther words, a d v e r t i s i n g draws from t h e consumers8
l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s , p e r c e p t i o n s , a t t i t u d e and o t h e r psycho-
s o c i o l o g i c a l v a l u e s r a t h e r t h a n t h e p r o d u c t to p e r s u a d e
t h e a u d i e n c e ,
F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e s e x u a l a t t i t u d e of t h e
consumers of a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s c a n be drawn i n a n
a d v e r t i s e m e n t to i n d u c e p u r c h a s e of t h e b e v e r a g e s even
though s e x may n o t he t h e u t i l i t a r i a n e s s e n c e of t h e
beve rages .
s e x Appeal - User a p p e a l can be classified a c c o r d i n g to t h e t y p e
of e m o t i o n s i t a r o u s e s , I t c o u l d be emot ion on s e x ,
p r i d e , comfort, p r o t e c t i o n , a f f l u e n c e and so on , I f
an a d v e r t i s e r p l a y s up t h e consumer*^ s e x u a l emot ion
f o r t h e o p p o s i t e s e x w i t h a view to i n d u c i n g him o r
h e r to demand a p r o d u c t o r s e r v i c e , s e x a p p e a l is
s a i d to h a v e been u s e d ,
Sex appeal c a n be p e r c e i v e d i n t h e manner of
d a n c i n g , e y e i n g , d r e s s i n g , v o i c i n g , g e s t i c u l a t i o n ,
s l o g a n , words , symbols , sound and romance, a s t h e
case may he, employed by t h e e n d o r s e r i n an
a d v e r t i s e m e n t , The i n t e n t i o n h e r e i s to a t t r a c t
members of t h e o p p o s i t e s e x to o n e a n o t h e r , 8
But why i s s e x a p p e a l employed by a d v e r t i s e r s ?
C h a r l e s Okigbo a c c o u n t s :
If s e l f - p r e s e r v a t i o n i s t h e first l a w of n a t u r e , sex urge i s p r o b a b l y t h e second . Many of o u r b e h a v i o u r , are founded on t h e d e s i r e f o r s e x u a l s a t i s f a c t i o n and t h e a p p r o v a l of t h e o p p o s i t e sex.9
To e x p l a i n t h i s better, W,B, Key, an a d v e r t i s i n g
s c h o l a r , wrote t h a t a d v e r t i s e m e n t s were f u l l o f h idden
s u b l i m i n a l s e x u a l meanings , H e r e p o r t e d t h a t " s e x u a l l y -
a r o u s i n g messages s t i m u l a t e d p e o p l e i n buy ing
L e i s s f u r t h e r b u t t r e s s e d t h e l o g i c b e h i n d t h e
r e l a t i o n s h i p be tween s e x a p p e a l and p r o d u c t s or
services when h e w r o t e t
F o r c e r t a i n r a n g e of p r o d u c t s , the r o m e n t i c a n d l o v i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p between a man and woman become a me taphor for t h e I n t e r p r e - t a t i o n o f t h e consumer*^ newly eroticised a t t a c h m e n t t o t h e p r o d u c t . The romance me taphor s u c c e s s f u l l y c o n v e y s t h e n o t i o n of sensu21 bonding t h e t i s deeply r o o t e d i n human e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n s e s a s a new 11 basis for t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p to p r o d u c t s .
I t i s t h i s newly found r e l a t i o n s h i p between sex
a p p e a l 'and soilie produc ts or 'services t h a t made
o k i g b o c o n c l u d e that-- "many p r o d u c t s now p r o m i s e a
morc f i t t l n g f ilcpre a n d sexu51 f u l f i l m e n t w . 12
~ e s e a r c h e r ' s I n t e r e s t i n t h e S t u d v
As Osuala , an education r e s e a r c h e r , s a i d ;
IT, t r o t u c t i ~ r sctnetirnes l a b e l l e d b a c k g r o l ~ n d of s t u d y serves j u s t t h a t purpose . I n i t t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r e x p l a i n s how h e became i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e problem and why h e f e l t t h e s t u d y was w o r t h p u r s u i n g , e s t a b l i s h e s t h e need f o r t h e s t u d y and sets f o r t h i t s pt~rpases.13
6
The i n t e r e s t i n t h i s s t u d y w a s p r e d i c a t e d o n a
c a r e f u l o b s e r v a t i o n of t h e mass media which r e v e a l e d
t h a t a d v e r t i s e r s u s e more of s e x a p p e a l t h a n o t h e r
t e c h n i q u e s i n a d v e r t i s i n g a l c o h o l i c d r i n k s .
To men t ion a f e w , a n a d v e r t i s e m e n t o n G u l d e r ,
a b r a n d of beer, had a n i l l u s t r a t i o n i n a magaz ine
i n which t w o men, l n a r o m a n t i c embrace w i t h t w o
l a d i e s , were d r i n k i n g . Ano the r o n e on a b rand of
S t o u t beer, Leqend, had a p i c t u r e i n w h i c h a p r e t t y
l a d y hat: h e r h a n d s r e s t i n g c.w k l i ~ shouLdcr s of a
young, handsome man, h o l d i n g a glass of beer,
A t e l e v i s i o n commerci&l on Johnnie hlal .ker,
a b r a n d of S c o t c h Whisky, had p i c t u r e s I n which
t w o ha l f -nude couples were a l i g h t i n a from a b o a t to
t a k e t h e d r i n k . Another employment cf t h e t e c h n i q u e
was slso o b s e r v e d i n a newspaper a d v e r t i s e m e n t of
Dubonnet, a b r a n d of wine , I n which a man and a
woman w e r e hugging each o t h e r P u s t f u l l y ,
Sfraf l a r o b s e r v a t i o n s had been made by Okigbo
when h e wrote i n a paper , 9 h c ? C o n t e x t Is T h e
Messaqew, t h a t l f s o n e a d v e r t i s e m e n t s fo r s p i r i t s
employ t h e r o m a n t i c con t e x t w i t h o b v i o u s s e x u a l 34 motives': .
Given t h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s , one p o n d e r s w h e t h e r
consumers h a v e a f a v o u r a b l e d i s p o s i t i o n t o w a r d s t h e
s e x a p p e a l t e c h n i q u e . A r e a d v e r t i s e r s s e n d i n g t h e
r i g h t a p ~ e a l t o them?
The outcome of t h i s s t u d y may g i v e a f r e s h
v a l i d i t y to t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e t e c h n i q u e . T h i s
l i n e of t h i n k i n q is s u p p o r t e d by Okigbo who s a i d :
A d v e r t i s e m e n t i s based on c e r t a i n human a p p e a l s as love, s e x , i m n o r t a l i t y , affec- t i o n and f e a r . A c o p y w r i t e r o u g h t to clearly uncers tand the p r o d u c t , the prospects ancl t h z m a r k e t i n g s i t u a t i o n so t h s t an a p p r o p r i a t e appeal can be c h o s e n as t h e v e h i c l e f o r d e l i v e r i n g t h e a r ' v e r t l s i n g mcssage, Noth ing can be r;roie d i s a s t r o u s t h a n u s i n an I n a p p r o p r i a t e advertising appec-1. 13
I n e x p l a i n i n g t h i s f u r t h e r , Ckigbo wrote:
An a d v e r t i s e m e n t must r e c o g n i s e t h e s a l i e n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s employed i n t h e segmenting cf t n e t a r g e t m a r k e t and , t h u s , employ o n l y t h o s e a p p e a l s and t e c h n i q u e s t h a t are c o n s o n a n t w i t h t h e n e e d s a n d a t t i t u d e s o f t h e p r o s p e c t s . I 6
T h i s , t h e r e f o r e , p r e s u p p o s e s t h a t a n y a d v e r t i s i n g
t e c h n i o u e employed to i n f l u e n c e t h e buy ing S e h a v i o u r
o f t h e consumer of a m r t i c u l a r p r a d u c t or service
s h o u l d c o n s i d e r s u c h consumerc s d i s p o s i tlan to t h e
p r o d u c t o r s e r v i c e i t s e l f , the a d v e r t i s i n g message
and t h e m a r k e t i n g s i t u a t i o n ,
8
1.2 S t a t e m e n t of Problem
A d v e r t i s e r s of a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s h a v e been
using sex a p p e a l as a way of i n d u c i n g p o t e n t i a l
c u s t o m e r s Z n t o p a t r o n i s i n g t h e i r p r o d u c t . The
a s sumpt ion i s t h a t t h i s t e c h n i q u e i s a c c e p t a b l e to
t h e consumer snd would a r o u s e h i s i n t e r e s t i n t h e
beve rages . However, t h i s a s s u m p t i o n may n o t be
correct a l t o g e t h e r . Sven if t h e t e c h n i q u e i s a
p r o d u c t of r e s e a r c h and not T I a s s u m ~ t l m , t h e need
also e x l s t s ta r e - i n v e s t i g a t e it, t o know t h e p r e s e n t
a t t i t u d e af t h e consumers of alcoholic S e v z r a g e s
t c w z r f s t h e techrlque,
?'tLs stxdy w i l l . set out t o i n v e s t i g a t e wha t t h e
consumere ' ~ t t i t u d e s e r e - ideas, b e l i e f s o r a f e e l i n g
of liking or d i s l i k i n g - tow3rds sex appeal employed
fn t h e advertisement of a l c c h o l i c Sevcrages.
The s t u d y v i l l , t h e r e f o r e , s o l i c i t t h e o p i n i o n of
t h e consumers about s e x appea l Ir! o r d e r to d e t e r m i n e
t h e i r a t , t i t u d c toward the nmss rneaic7 u s e of t h e t e c h n i q u e ,
s i n c e s good apneal is one that takes i n t o a c c o u n t t h e
c ~ n s t m e r s * ~ t t l t u d c .
1.3 O b j e c t i v e s of t h e Study
The o b j e c t i v e s of t h i s s t u d y a r e c o n c i s e
a s s u g g e s t e d by Black and Champion t h a t :
If a r e s e a r c h e r h a s too many research o b j e c t i v e s , he may e n c o u n t e r g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y i n t r y i n n to t ie t o g e t h e r a l o t of loose ends.17
i, The o b j e c t i v e i s to d e t e r m i n e a l c o h o l i c consumers, a t t i t u d e towards t h e mass media u s e of s e x a p p e a l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of
t h e beverages .
ii, It i s a l s o to d e t e r m i n e whether a l c o h o l i c consumers a s s o c i a t e s e x a p p e a l w i t h t h e i r
s e x u a l behav iour ,
1.4 The S i q n i f i c a n c e s of t h e Study
The s t u d y is meaningful i n a l o t of ways to t h e
a d v e r t i s i n g i n d u s t r y .
i, The f i n d i n g s may h e l p to encourage o r d i s c o u r a g e
t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l as a n a p p r o p r i a t e t e c h n i q u e i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of alcoholic beverages ,
i . It may be of immense b e n e f i t t o a d v e r t i s i n g p r a c t i t i o n e r s and a d v e r t i s e r s i n d e s i g n i n g e f f e c t i v e a p p e a l s for a l c o h o l i c beverages .
iii. The s t u d y w i l l p r o v i d e d a t a fo r t h e r e s e a r c h needs of s t u d e n t s , l e c t u r e r s a s w e l l a s
a d v e r t i s i n g p r a c t i t i o n e r s ,
1,s Scope of S t u d y
T h e s t u d y i s l i m i t e d to t h e consumers ' a t t i t u d e
t o w a r d s t h e N i g e r i a n mass media uLseof sex a p p e a l i n
t h e a d v e r t i s i n g o f a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s .
The s t u d y f o r a l l p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s i s a l s o
r e s t r i c t e d to t h e consumers o f a l c o h o l i n t h e
U n i v e r s i t y of N i g e r i a , Nsukka, t h e t i t le
no t w i t h s t a n a i n g ,
f avo l l r ab ly d f s p a s e d towards the mass i3cdi.a
u s e of sex a p p e a l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of t h e
b e v e r a g e s ?
Dc s e x , aqe and sense of m o r a l i t y o f t h e
co:-:suners af f cc t tilei r c l i spas i t i on towards t h e
u s e of sex appea l7
Can s e x appeal, emnloyed in the advertising
of a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s , be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
t h e s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r of t n e consumers of
thz kevcrages?
REFERENCES
Okigbo, C h a r l e s , A d v e r t i s i n s And P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s : Enugu Snaap P r e s s Ltd., 1990 , p. 18.
S t i g l e r , ~ r o r g i . , "The Economics of I n f o r m a t i o n " , J o u r n a l of P o l i t i c a l Econolny, J u n e 1961, fjp. 213-
S t a n l e y , R i c h a r d , Promot ion , A d v e r t i s i n q , P u b l i c i t y , P e r s o n a l S e l l i n q , s a l e s Promotion, Englewood C l i f f s : P r e n t i c e - H a l l , n 7 7 , p, 42.
L e i s s , ~ i l l i a m et. a l . , s o c i a l Communication i n . ~ d v e r t i s i n c 2% E d i t i o n , Rev i sed and E n l a r g e d , O n t a r i o : Thomson Canada Ltd.9 1990, p, 138.
I b i d 0 , P. 251,
I b i d * p, 200.
The E n c y c l o p a e d i a B r i t a i n n i c a : V o l 1 6 , E n c y c l o p a e d i a B r i t a i n n i c a I n c , , W i l l i a m nen ton p u b l i s h e r , 1963 , c h i c a g o , p. 344,
.Okigbo, C h s r l e s , A d v e r t i s i n q and P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s : Enugu, Snaap P r e s s L tdo , 1990, p. 86.
L e i s s , W i l l i a m et. al., 2. Okigbo, C h a r l e s , z. - c i t , p. 61.
O s u a l a , E ,C. 1 n t r o d u c t i o n to Resea rch Methodoloqy, smi th tow E x ~ o s i t i o n P r e s s r N e w York, 1982 ,
Okiqbo, C h a r l e s , x, - ci t . p. 100.
I b i d 0 9 P. 59.
Black , J.A. and Champion, D.J. Methods and I s s u e s i n S o c i a l R e s e a r c h ( N e w York) John w i l l e y
& Sons 1976, p. 106,
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The a r e a u n d e r s t u d y i s a r e l a t i v e l y new one.
T h i s , however, a c c o u n t s for t h e d e a r t h of related
l i t e r a t u r e , On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e u n a v a i l a b i l i t y
of materials on t h e topic may p r o b a b l y be a t t r i b u t e d
to t h e u s u a l i n h i b i t i o n s cas t on t h e e x p r e s s i o n of
s e x by t h e s o c i e t y .
I n s p i t e of these c o n s t r a i n t s , however , t h e
researcher was able to r e v i e w some t e x t s and j o u r n a l s
related to t h e s t u d y . An a t t e m p t was made to r e v i e w
m a t e r i a l s on works t h a t t e n d to s u p p o r t t h e v i ew t h a t
a p p e a l s t h a t are e f f e c t i v e a m u s u a l l y d e r i v e d from
t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e a u d i e n c e . T h i s w a s done to s u p p o r t
t h e r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n which s a y s t h a t sex a p p e a l c a n
be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r of t h e
consumers ,
Second ly , t h e c h a p t e r r ev i ewed materials t h a t
d w e l t on t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s of u s i n g a p p e a l s n o t
s u p p o r t e d by t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e aud ience . T h i s ,
of c o u r s e , f l o w s from t h e p r i m a r y o b j e c t i v e of t h e
s t u d y .
T h i r d l y , it.. rev iewed p a s t s t u d i e s d o n e on
a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s a n object, which are n o t n e c e s s a r i l y
on a d v e r t i s i n g , I n d o i n g so, t h e r e s e a r c h e r r ev i ewed
o n l y t h o s e a s p e c t s of t h e s t u d i e s t h a t were r e l e v a n t
to h i s s t u d y , The review of p a s t s t u d i e s on a t t i t u d e
was i n t e n d e d to g u i d e t h e r e s e a r c h e r i n d e s i g n i n g and
u n d e r s t a n d i n g h i s work,
I n t h i s chapter, t h e work of W i l l i a m L e i s s w a s
rev iewed. L e i s s , w h i l e w r i t i n g on e m o t i o n a l a p p e a l s
i n m e r c h a n d i z i n g , s a i d :
A p r o d u c t i s now u s u a l l y p r e s e n t e d as a s e n s u a l t h i n g , e x p e r i e n c e d t h r o u g h consump t i o n . The consumer Xnows t h e p r o d u c t t h r o u g h e m o t i o n a l r e a a t i o n s - p l e a s u r e , h a p p i n e s s , fear, worry, l o v e , relief and so f o r t h - n o t so much c a u s e d by d i r e c t u s e o f t h e p r o d u c t b u t more a s a g e n e r a l a t t r i b u t e of human e x p e r i e n c e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h u s e , 1
What L e i s s meant was t h a t t h e era of s e l l i n g a
p r o d u c t b a s e d on i t s c o n t e n t b e n e f i t s w a s o v e r . A
p r o d u c t was more or less s e e n a s a me taphor of t h e
emot ion i t conveys , Such emot ion i s drawn from t h e
g e n e r a l of human e x p e r i e n c e a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h t h e p r o d u c t ' s u se . T o t h i s , h e said: "The
p r o d u c t had to be f i t t e d i n t o t h e consumer's d e e p e s t
sense of self, de fend ing i f and g i v i n g i t g r e a t e r
a x p r e s s i o n v l , 2
T h a t meant t h a t what i t r e q u i r e d w a s f o r t h e
advertiser t o i n j e c t t h e emotion i n t o t h e minds of
t h e consumers for them t o t e n a c i o u s l y b e l i e v e i n it.
C u r t i (1967) agreed w i t h him when h e wrote t h a t
human nature was viewed by a d v e r t i s e r s as malleable
and n o t f i x e d . H e contended t h a t such a state of human
mind made i t p o s s i b l e f o r a d v e r t i s i n g to s u g g e s t ,
d i s p l a y p i c t u r e s , g a t h e r a t t e n t i o n and a r o u s e s t i m u l i
on hurnan emotion and sympathy, ~ h S . s , h e s a i d , was
n e c e s s a r y to p e r s u a d e the cansumer to desire a p roduc t ,
C u r t i f u r t h e r obse rved t h a t w a c l v e r t i s i n y campaigns
were based on emot iona l a p p e a l s and imputed mot ives and
t h a t t h e i r a c c e p t a n c e would depend on how w e l l t h e
a d v e r t i s e r c o u l d t a k e advan tage of p e o p l e ' s
c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s , shame, d e s i r e fo r a p p r o v a l , p e r s o n a l
appearance , a t t r a c t i o n of t h e o p p o s i t e s e x and so onw. 3
~ h a l y (1984) w r i t i n g on p r o d u c t image a d m i t t e d
t h a t a d v e r t i s e r s u s e " t h e power of a product to
i n c r e a s e a consumer's own s e x u a l a t t r a c t i v e n e s s and
t h a t such i s woven f i r m l y i n a w e b of social c o n t e x t m . 4
I n s p i t e of what a d v e r t i s e r s t h o u g h t they c o u l d
do w i t h emot iona l a p p e a l s , S c o t t , an a d v e r t i s e r ,
c a u t i o n e d t h a t "a p r o d u c t s h o u l d be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
p l e a s a n t e x p e r i e n c e s and ideas t ha t . t h e r e a d e r s of
a d v e r t i s e m e n t would a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e i r own f e e l i n g s
and m o t i v e s w . 5
Freud , a s c h o l a r , o b s e r v e d from a m o t i v a t i o n
research h e c o n d u c t e d t h a t e m o t i o n s u s e d i n a d v e r t i s i n g
b u t n o t d e r i v e d from t h e c o n s u m e r Q s f e e l i n g s and
m o t i v e s were less remembereS by them, H e , t h e r e f o r e ,
came to t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t "many a d v e r t i s e m e n t s
w e r e l i t t l e remembered and t h a t consumers ceme away
from e x p o s u r e to them w i t h o n l y v a g u e i m p r e s s i o n s .
To ac%j.eve i m p ~ c t , an a d v e r t i s e m e n t h3.d t o s t r i k e
deep by not b e i n g s u p e r f i c i a l f ' , 6
C u r t i s h ~ r e c ! t h i s w i t h F reud when h e wrote:
A d v e r t i s e r s l e a r n e d from p s y c h o l o g i s ts t h a t w h a t e v e r d e c i s i o n w e make, however, p u r e l y r a t i o n a l it may seem; i s d e e p l y i n f l u e n c e d by e m o t i o n a l forces, c o n s c i o u s , s u b c o n s c i o u s or u n c o n s c i o u s , T h a t o n l y a p p e a l s f i s h e d o u t from t h e consumers a t t i t u d e s , c o u l d e v o k e more e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n s e s . 7
I n c o n c u r r i n g w i t h C u r t i , L e i s s r e p o r t e d t h a t
b o t h c r e a t i v e and r e s e a r c h o r i e n t e d p r o f e s s i o n a l s
b e l i e v e d t h a t knowing more a b o u t t h e consumer was
c e n t r a l to e f f e c t i v e a d v e r t i s i n g .
H e f u r t h e r s t a t e d t h a t " a d v e r t i s e r s now s e e k to
g a i n access t o t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l make-up of consumers
t h r o u g h p e r s o n n e l who are i n t u n e w i t h times and who
u n d e r s t a n d t h e o r d i n a r y consumerN. 8
Tony S c h w a r t z (1974) l e n t s u p p o r t to t h i s t r e n d
i n a d v e r t i s i n g when from h i s r e s o n a n c e t h e o r y o f
communicat ion propounded t h a t " t h e core purpose of
a d v e r t i s i n g is n o t t h e message itself as a communica tor
" of meaning b u t r a t h e r i ts r e l a t i o n s h i p to t h e aud iencevv . 9
H e wen t f u r t h e r t o s a y t h a t t h e jab of an
a d v e r t i s e r i s to know t h e world of t h e seqmented
a u d i e n c e i n t i m a t e l y , so t h a t t h e s t i m u l i c r e a t e d c a n
e v o k e a s s o c i a t i o n s w i t h w h a t e v e r is s t o r e d i n t h e i r
memories and i m a q i n a t i o n .
~ e i s s viewed t h i s i n t 9 c same p e r s p e c t i v e w i t h
S c h w a r t z and said:
Lookinq a t a d v e r t i s e r v e n t s t o d a y i s a bit l i k e w a l k i n g t h r o u g h a c a r n i v a l h a l l of rnircore, w h e r e the e l e m e n t s of o u r o r d i n a r y l i v e s a r e m a g n i f i e d and e x a g g e r a t e d b u t s t i l l recognf s a h l . ~ ~ ,
G. P, Murdock w h i l c writhq on sex ap;~eaL o b s e r v e d
t h a t humans were c o n s t m t l y zxposed to sexual s t i m u l i
when s e e i n g a t t r ac t ive p e r s o n s and a r e s u b j e c t e d t o
sexv~a l . t h e m s in ~ d v c r t l . s i n , g and the inass media. 11
16
H e , however, s a i d t h a t most s e x u a l a r o u s a l d o e s n o t
lead to s e x u a l a c t i v i t y w i t h a n o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l .
Y e t , p e o p l e d o n o t a p p r o v e of it,
Murdock blamed t h i s on t h e s o c i e t y which i s faced
w i t h t h e p rcb lem of r e c o n c i l l i n g t h e need to c o n t r o l
sex and t h a t of q i v i n g i t a d e q u a t e e x p r e s s i o n . H e
w r o t e t h a t t h e c o m h i n a t i m of c u l t u r a l taboos, permis-
sions and i n j u c t i o n s i n h i b i t s i n d i v i d u a l s i n a c c e p t i n g
s e x u a l l y r e l a t e d messages ,
I n g i v i n g a c c o u n t of a f a i l e d a p p e a l which d i d
not consider t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e a u d i e n c e , Wiston
F l e t c h e r , a n a d v e r t i s i n g a u t h o r , wrote a b o u t a
which was l a u n c h e d i n t h e e a r l y c i g a r e t t e , S t r a n d ,
1960s i n B r i t a i n .
H e wrote t h a t w i t h i n weeks of t h e l a u n c h i n g of
t h e c l q a r e t t e and t h e s u b s e q u e n t m a s s i v e a d v e r t i s e m e n
campaign , the p u b l i c became aware of it, F l e t c h e r
s ~ i d the a d v e r t i ~ e r a employed c o n s o l a t i o n as t h e
a p p e a l , The ~ d v e t t i n e r s in ? h e i r own o p i n i o n f e l t t h e
choice of c o n s 9 l . a t i a n was a measu re of t h e i r c r e a t i v i t y .
They conqrakuZated t h e v e l v e c for a !oh w e l l done.
F l e t c h e r d e s c r i b e d t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t t h u s :
The a d v e r t i s e m e n t showed a s i l e n t man i n a r a i n - c o a t wande r ing on h i s own, l a t e a t n i g h t t h r o u q h I ~ n d o n * s ra in - soaked streets, The s l o g a o r a n , 'you are n e v e r a l o n e w i t h s t r a n d V . l 2
Al though t h e a p p e a l was good and c r e a t e d i m p a c t ,
i t was d i s l i k e d by t h e consumers of c i g a r e t t e , T h a t
was b e c a u s e t h e a d v e r t i s e r s d i d n o t take into a c c o u n t
t h e consumers* a t t i t u d e to t h e a p p e a l ,
F l e t c h e r n a r r a t e d t h e r e a c t i o n o f t h e c o n s u n e r s :
The s m o k e r s f e l t g u i l t y a b o u t smokincj ?lone; and t h e l o n e l y f i g u r e a p p e a r e d to have no home, n o f r i e n d s and nu s u c c e s s A s a r e s u l t , t h e campaign was a d i s a s t e r , S t r a n d d i d riot sell an^ was soon wl thdrawn from t h e rnarket ,13
T h i s , therefore, presuppose ; t h a t u n d e r s t a n d i n g
t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e consaners towards srl a y ~ e a l is a
r+;quisi te to effac t i ve a d v e r t i s i n g .
M.chae1 Oarnes, i n h i s s t u d y of r 9 ~ u b l i c A t t i t u d e
T3'dares 9dv1~lr tLsInt-~ from 196'3 t o "1981 i n A m e r i c a w ,
o b s e r v e d th3 t " t h e r e was f a i r l y l o w l e v e l of s p o n t a n e o u s
d i s c u s s i o n whqn c e s ~ o n d e n ts were q u e s t i o n e d a b o u t
s p e c i f i c advertisi~g t e c h n i q u e , but after prompt ing ,
f t Nas t h e use of sex and s t e r e o t y p e s t h a t a r o u s e d
The f i n d i n g s a lso showed t h a t t h e age factor affected
t h e l e v e l of a p p r o v a l of a d v e r t i s i n g , "Young p e o p l e
show the h i g h e s t level of a p p r o v a l and t h e n t h e r z i s
a d e c l i n e t h r o u g h t h e a g e g r o u p s , w i t h t h e e l d e r l y
r e c o r d i n q s i g n i f i c a n t l y a l o w l e v e l of a p p r o v a l t h a n
t h e a v e r a g e n . The h i g h l e v e l of a p p r o v a l of
a d v e r t i s i n g by youths was m o s t l y a t t r i b u t e d t o sex
r e l a t e d messages,
However, t h e most f r e q u e n t l y men t ioned r e a s o n
far d i s a p p r o v i n g a d v e r t i s i n g was t h a t i t was m i s l e a d i n g ,
111 reviewing Barnes ' work, t h e r e s e a r c h e r
o b s e r v e d t h a t the p u b l i c in America ,tended to a p p r o v e
a d v e r t i s i n g ' mcssages and t h a t substan tiel nuinbers of
a d v z r t i s i n q messages depic ted s e x u a l i t y , T h i s cross-
m a t c h e s w i t h the o b s e r v a t i o n o f t h e r e s e a r c h e r a b o u t
t h e u s e of sex a p p e a l i n t h e mass media a l t h o u g h t h e
researcher's o b s e r v a k i o n was s p e c i f i c a l l y o n t h e
a d v e r t i s i n g cf alconoi ic beverages,
In another stu3y done oy Jonald 2 , S t i c k l a n d on
"Alcohol A d v e r t i s i n q : C o n t e n t and Conc rove r sy l ' , t h e
r e s e a r c h e r o b s e r v e d t n e u s e of l i f e s t y l e a p p e a l s
based on references to s e x u a l e n c o u n t e r s and
s u g g e s t i o n s of sex or sexua l a r o u s a l . He also found
the use of love, romance, i n t i m a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p s or
s imple sssocia t i o n of t h e p r o d u c t w i t h the vocabulary of
love i n a l m o s t equal p r o p o r t i o n s o f magaz ine and
tel.evisjon adve r t2se rnen t s . 16
P a r t of t h e resul-ts of the s t u d y showed t h a t
sexual c o n n o t a t i o n s were found i n 6.7 p e r c e n t of
maqazine a d v e r t i s e m e n t s and 6.1 p e r c e n t of t e l e v i s i o n
commercfa7.s whereas l o v e / r o m m c e was found i n 3.4% and
.. 3.8% of t h e magaz ine and t e l ~ v i . ~ i o n a d ~ r a r t i s a m ~ n t s
r e s p e c t i v e l y .
Another study w a s c o n d u c t e d bv Robert S c h a f e r on
' :News W d i a and C o m p l a i n a n t s ' Attitude Towards The
N1nncac.t-a 1)re.t.s C o u n c i l f l i n 2979, A l t h a q h t h e study
had not much in cormon w i t h t h e r e s a s r c h e r * ~ study,
there were ?reas o f s i m i l x i t y r e ~ u i r 3 . n g c c m p a r l s o n
with each o t h e r .
. % h a f ~ r ~ s study, l i k e this researchercs study,
was correrned wl. t h t b e a t t i t u d e towards an object. The
a t t l t u d c , t d ~ the pres? council was ~nessurred f rom the
l e a r n e d p r e d i s p o s i t i o n s of t h e i n d i v i d u a l t o
e v a l u a t e s i t u a t i o n s or objects i n a f a v o u r a b l e or
unf a v o u r a b l e mannert9. 18
Thc a u t h o r a p a r t from u n r a v e l l i n g t h e a t t i t u d e
o f t h e news media and c o m p l a i n a n t s towards t h e p r e s s
c o u n c i l , a l s o wanted to f i n d o u t t h e r e a s o n s why t h e y
approve or d i s a p p r o v e t h e c o u n c i l .
The a u t h o r a lso wanted to f i n d o u t t h e segments of
t h e news media t h a t w e r e more a f f e c t e d t h a n o t h e r s
and i f t h e r e was p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e whe the r it was
shared by most newspapers , t e l e v i s i o n and r a d i o s t a t i o n s .
A t t h e end, S c h a f e r c s s t u d y showed t h a t t h e
Minnesota P r e s s C o u n c i l en joyed a h i g h d e g r e e of
a p p r o v a l from t h e news media and compla inants . The '
a p p r o v a l was h i g h e s t among t h e d a i l y newspapers
(4.29 on 5-point scale). The weakes t r e s p o n s e came
from b r o a d c a s t e r s (3.29) b u t i t s t i l l r e f l e c t e d
o v e r a l l approva l .
REFERENCES
L e i s s , W i l l i a m e t , a,, S o c i a l Communication i n ~ d v c r t i s i r , 2nd ~ d i t i o n , Revised and En la rged , d o m s o n Canada Ltd., 1990, pp, 276-277.
I b f d *, P* 146,
I b i d * Y P* 226,
I b i d ., p e 138.
I b i d p, 147. -* 9
I b i d *, P* 148.
Ibid.9 pe 158. - I b i d p, 199. -* ' I h i d *, P* 200.
The Encyc lopaed ia ~ r i t a n n i c a , V o l , 16 : ~ n c y c l o p a e d i a B r i t a n n f c a Inc . W i l l i a m Benton p u b l i s h e r , 1963, Chicago, p, 245,
F l e t c h e r , Winston, A d v e r t i s i n , Hodder and S tough ton : K e n d i t a i n , 1978, p, 133.
I b i d p .134. -* 9
Barnes , Michael : J o u r n a l o f A d v e r t i s i n q : P u b l i c . A t t i t u d e s t o ~ d v e r t i s i n g , V o l . 1, N o , 2,
~ p r i l - ~ u n e : 1982, p, 121.
I b i d 127. * 9
S t r i c k l a n d , Donald: J o u r n a l of A d v e r t i s i n q : Alcohol A d v e r t i s i n g C o n t e n t and Con t rove r sy : V o l , 1,
Rober t S c h a f e r : J o u r n a l i s m Q u a r t e r l y : N e w s Media and Compla inant A t t i t u d e Towards The Minesota P r e s s C o u n c i l V a l . 56, NO, 4 , 1979, pp, 744-752.
Okigbo, C h a r l e s : A d v e r t i s i n g and P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s : Enugu Snaap Press Ltd, , 1990, p. 44,
CHAPTER THREE
3 e 1 METHODOLOGY
The s u r v e y method w a s u s e d i n t h i s s t u d y . The
method was c h o s e n b e c a u s e t h e s t u d y r e q u i r e s
e l i c i t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n from o n l y a s a m p l e of t h e
p o p u l a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of a
q u e s t i o n n a i r e , The e s s e n c e is to d e t e r m i n e t h e
consumers ' a t t i t u d e to t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l i n t h e
a d v e r t i s i n g of a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e by g e n e r a l i z i n g
from t h e sample.
I n a d d i t i o n , t h i s method p r o v i d e s fo r t h e
o p i n i o n s of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s to be t a k e n as their
a t t i t u d e . ' T h i s is i n a g r e e m e n t w i t h Alex I f e z u e ' s
p o s i t i o n t h a t :
' o p i n i o n s are t h e verbal e x p r e s s i o n of a t t i t u d e s , S i n c e a t t i t u d e a re n o r m a l l y elicited from t h e r e s p o n d e n t s t h r o u g h q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h e d i s t i n c t i o n be tween t h e t w o terms may n o t be s i g n i f i c a n t to a d v e r t i s e r s . A s a r e s u l t , w e s h a l l t r ea t a t t i t u d e s and o p i n i o n s i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y a s r e p r e s e n t i n g a p e r s o n ' s i d e a s , beliefs or a f e e l i n g of l i k i n g o r d i s l i k i n g w i t h res~ect to a s p e c i f i c object or i d e a e l
3.2 The P o p u l a t i o n of t h e S t u d y
A s B o n i f a c e Nworgu, a research s c h o l a r , e x p l a i n e d ,
A p o p u l a t i o n c a n be classified i n t o t w o - t a r g e t and a c c e s s i b l e , The t a r g e t p o p u l a t i o n i s a l l members of a s p e c i f i e d group to which t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n r e l a t e s , w h i l e t h e a c c e s s i b l e p o p u l a t i o n i s d e f i n e d i n terms of t h o s e e l e m e n t s i n t h e g roup w i t h i n t h e r e a c h of t h e r e s e a r c h e r . 2
The p o p u l a t i o n of t h e s t u d y would have been t h e
e n t i r e consumers of a l c o h o l i c beverages i n N i g e r i a ,
o t h e r w i s e c a l l e d t h e t a r g e t p o p u l a t i o n ,
For o b v i o u s r e a s o n s , however, t h e a c c e s s i b l e
p o p u l a t i o n to t h e r e s e a r c h e r was t h e consumers of
a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s i n t h e U n i v e r s i t y of N i g e r i a ,
Nsukka.
The choice of t h e consumers of a l c o h o l i c
b e v e r a g e s on t h e Nsukka campus of t h e U n i v e r s i t y
of q i g e r i a a s t h e a c c e s s i b l e p o p u l a t i o n was
p r e d i c a t e d upon t h e f o l l o w i n g reasons :
i. The u n i v e r s i t y community was composed
of p e o p l e of d i v e r s e n a t i o n a l i t y , backqround and s o c i a l i z a t i o n ,
ii. The community w a s e a s i l y accessible
t o the r e s e a r c h e r ,
iii. The r e s e a r c h e r d i d n o t have t h e time and r e s o u r c e s to c o v e r a w i d e r p o p u l a t i o n ,
T h e p o p u l a t i o n of s t u d y , t h e r e f o r e , comprised
t h e s t u d e n t s , members of t h e academic and non-
academic s t a f f of t h e U n i v e r s i t y who t a k e a l c o h o l i c beverages.
3.3 Sample Method
The s t ra t i f i ed random sample method was
employed. I n t h i s method of sampl ing , t h e
p o p u l a t i o n i s u s u a l l y s t r a t i f i e d i n terms of o n e
o r more var iables of i n t e r e s t t o t h e r e s e a r c h e r , 3
The a p p l i c a t i o n of t h i s method e n s u r e s greater
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s of t h e s t r a t a ( c h o s e n v a r i a b l e s 1
i n t h e sample,
F o r t h i s s t u d y , t h e p o p u l a t i o n w a s s t r a t i f i e d
i n terms of o c c u p a t i o n and sex,
3.4 S a m ~ l e size
The sample s ize s e l e c t e d f o r t h e s t u d y was
200, u s i n g o c c u p a t i o n a s a s t r a t u m , t h e r e s e a r c h e r
allocated 100 u n i t ? of t h e sample s i z e t o s t u d e n t s ,
T h i s was based on t h e e d u c a t e d g u e s s t h a t s t u d e n t s
were more i n number t h a n o t h e r s on campus. S e v e n t y
u n i t s were a l l o c a t e d t o t h e members of t h e non-
academic s t a f f who were assumed t o be more i n
number t h a n t h e academic s t a f f , The academic
s ta f f w e r e a l l o t e d 30 u n i t s .
The s a m p l e s i z e f u r t h e r reflected s e x as a
s t r a t u m . Each of t h e sample s i z e s fo r o c c u p a t i o n
w a s d i v i d e d i n t o e q u a l h a l v e s to r e p r e s e n t e a c h s e x ,
24
T h i s comprised e q u a l numbers of males and f e m a l e s i n
t h e sample. The e q u a l numbers o f t h e s e x e s i n t h e
sample were done to e n s u r e t h a t e q u a l v iews and
o p i n i o n were n o t o n l y sough t b u t r e p r e s e n t e d ,
However, i n t h e c a s e of age, a n o t h e r n e c e s s a r y
v a r i a b l e i n t h e s t u d y , it was assumed t h a t t h e sample
would be able t o c o n t a i n r e a s o n a b l e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s
of y o u t h f u l and advanced ages. T h i s was based on t h e
c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h a t most s t u d e n t s would p robab ly be of
y o u t h f u l a g e s w h i l e t h e members of t h e non-academic
and academic s t a f f would p r o b a b l y be of t h e advanced
ages ,
3.5 Samp1ina P-rocedure
' Bear ing i n mind t h a t t h e universcl of t h i s s t u d y
i s t h e u n i v e r s i t y of Nigeria, Nsukka, i n f i g u r a t i v e terms,
t h e r e f o r e , t h e sample p o p u l a t i o n of this s t u d y i s (200)
t w o hundred.
u s i n g t h e s t r a t i f i e d sampl ing method as a
gu ide , t h e sample p o p u l a t i o n was s t r a t i f Ped i n t o
s t u d e n t s , academic s t a f f and non-academic s t a f f ,
Based on t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f u n i t s of the
sample p o p u l a t i o n , 100 s t u d e n t s , 70 non-academic
25
s t a f f and 30 academic staff were sampled. Of
these, another sr!h-stra turn of sex w e r e worked o u t
i n a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e manner, t h e r e b y , g i v i n g u s
100 male r e s p o n d e n t s and 100 female r e s p o n d e n t s ,
Also, based on p u r p o s j ve sampl ing p r o c e d u r e ,
+,he r e s p o n d e n t s were sampled on a f a c u l t y basis,
I n awplyjmg t h i s p r o c e d u r e , t h e r e s e a r c h e r a l s o
t.oot i n to c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e S e c u r i t y Department,
S t u d e n t s ' Affairs Depar tment , Worlcs Services
Srepartment, ReqLskra r8s arid Vice -Chance l lo r ' s
O f f i c e s which are exctusivcly f o r non-academic
s t a f f .
The r e s e a r c h e r a l s o employed t h e random
s a m p l i n g method to a r r i v e a t t h e a c t u a l (200)
r e s p ~ n d e n t ~ e As a guide, the r e s e a r c h e r usod t h e
table of random numbers which was based on t h e
s a m p l e frame - f ~ c u l t y and d e , m r t m n k a l . lists,
3.6 Method of D a b Collection - - . I l . I I I L - - The method of d a t a c o l l e c t i o n was by a d m i n i s t e r i n g
ques t . b n n a 5 , r e t o t h e r e s p o n d e n t s . The q u e s t i o n n a i r e
was cons t - ruc t ed i n s u c h a way t h a t i t c o n t a i n e d close-
ended and open-ended questions,
The c lose-ended q u e s t i o n s had p r e d e t e r m i n e d
answers , The r e s p o n d e n t s , therefore, s e l e c t e d f ram t h e
l is t of a n s w e r s i n e a c h q u e s t i o n , t h e o n e ( s ) t h a t i n
26
h i s or h e r o p i n i o n s u i t e d most to t h e q u e s t i o n . The
u s e of c lose -ended q , u e s t i o n s was s u p p o r t e d by Black
and champion when t h e y o b s e r v e d t h a t llmost m e a s u r i n g
i n s t r u m e n t s i n t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e form are o f the f i x e d
r e s p o n s e va r i e ty" .4 The u s e of t h i s t y p e of q u e s t i o n s
s h o u l d , however, be h i n g e d on t h e f o l l o w i n g a s s u m p t i o n s :
(a) ' ' t h a t t h e r e s e a r c h e r had some idea a b o u t t h e s a m p l e h e s t u d i e d , to t h e e x t e n t t h a t h e pre-
empted some of t h e r e s p o n s e s r e s p o n d e n t s g e n e r a l l y g a v e t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r q u e s t i o n s .
(b) and t h a t t h e u n i t s of t h e s a m p l e had an i d e a a b o u t Lile matter i n t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e " . 5
On t h e other hand , open-ended q u e s t i o n s g a v e
t h e r e s p o n d e n t s t h e i m p e t u s to f r e e l y p r o v i d e s h o r t
or l e n g t h y r e s p o n s e s t o t h e q u e s t i o n s as t h e y
deemed n e c e s s a r y . The open-ended q u e s t i o n s also g a v e
t h e r e s p o n d e n t s t h e l e v e r a g e to e x p r e s s t h e i r
o p i n i o n s *
T h e s e two a p p r o a c h e s i n q u e s t i o n n a i r e
c o n s t r u c t i o n do i n most cases complement e a c h o t h e r
i n social s c i e n c e r e s e a r c h .
3.7 V a l i d a t i o n of Data Giitherinq I n s t r u m e n t
The d a t a - g a t h e r i n g i n s t r u m e n t , w i i i c t l i n this
case, i s t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e , was v a l i d a t e d t h r o u g h a
27
p i l o t s t u d y ,
T h i s was, however, v a l i d a t e d f i r s t l y by my
c o l l e a g u e s who went through t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e
s c h e d u l e .to e n s u r e a n s w e r a b i l i t y and comprehensi-
b i l i t y of t h e i n s t r u m e n t ,
I t was s e c o n d l y v a l i d a t e d by t h e manner of
s t r u c t u r i n g and wording of t h e q u e s t i o n s to e n s u r e
f l e x i b i l i t y of response , The f l e x i b i l i t y o f t h e
q u e s t i o n s was such t h a t s u i t e d t h e r e s p o n d e n t s 1
i n d i l i t l u a l p r e d i s p o s i t i o n .
3.8 14sthod of Q u e s t i o n n a i r e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n
The q u e s t i o n n a i r e was a d m i n i s t e r e d to t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s i n t h e i r offices and classrooms,
' T h e r e w e r e , however, f e w cases i n which
some r e s p o n d e n t s were d i s c o v e r e d to have d i e d ,
r e t i r e d , withdrawn from or t r a v e l l e d o u t of t h e
campus, Such r e s p o n d e n t s were s u b s t i t u t e d by t h e
r e s e a r c h e r . I n t h e cases i n wh ich some s e l e c t e d
r e s p o n d e n t s do n o t t a m a l c o h o l , t h e r e s p o n d e n t s
were c o n s e q u e n t l y s u b s t i t u t e d through a ranaom
p r o c e s s ,
REFERENCES
1, Okigbo, C h a r l e s , A d v e r t i s i n g and P u b l i c Rela- t i o n s : Znugu, Snaap Press L t d , , 199 - 0, pa 44.
2, Xworgu, Eoniface, Sducational y e s e a r c h ( B a s i c I s s u e s and Methodology): Ibadan, wisdom publishers L t d , , 1991, p. 68.
3. Nworgu, B.G., Fundamentals cf Research Methods i n Educat ion and Behavioural S c i e n c e s , -- Sub-Department of Science Educat ion , U,N,N, ( u n p u b l i s h e d ) p. 8.
4, Black, J.A. and Champion, D.J. Method and I s s u e s
5 . 9 . 0 , 1 . Beer Pe rcep t i on (Masters ' Thesis, Department of Mass Communication, U o N m N m ) : p e 47.
28
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS I ANiiL'iS IS ;\KC DATA INTEXPHtZT:i'TXOIJ4
4e2 Restllts
he a n a l y s i s and data i n t e r p r e t a t i o n were done
after a careful e x t r a c t i o n of t h e results of t h e s tudy
from the 200 c o p i e s of q u e s t i o n n a i r e re turned by the
sampled units of t h e populat ion,
The results i n d i c a t e d t h a t 4 5 respondents or
22,5% were of the ages of i6 to 22 years. Forty-nine
respordmt:; or 24,5X had a y e rmges or' 23 to 4 0 w h i l e
1-96 or 53% were of t h e ages of 41 y e a r s and above,
Ninoty-f ive respondents or 47,5% were married and
99 or 49.5% were not, Four responaent s or 2% were
d i v e r c e d w h i l e 2 or 1% separated from t h e i r spouses ,
1 '; ?.ras observed tna t C h r i s t i a n re spondents were
142 or 71$. The h i g h representaLion of C h r i s t i a n s i n
the sarnpl? was griiS;rbly ail i n d i c a t i 0 2 of the fact t h a t
the rna jor l ty of members of t h e u n i v e r s i t y community
were ris t i ~ i s , T h r e e respondenks or 1.5% were
Moslems; 14 o r 7% sclieved i n traditional r e l i g i o n
whlle 43. or 20.5% had no r e l i g i o n or d i d not c l a s s i f y
themselves.
29
T h e r e s p o n d e n t s were asked i n an open-ended
q u e s t i o n to g i v e r e a s o n s why t h e y t a k e alcoholic
beverage. The r e a s o n s t h e y gave ranged from a l c o h o l
g i v i n g them happ iness , b e i n g a s t i m u l a n t , enhancing
t h e i r s e x u a l power, g e t t i n g them e x c i t e d and h e l p i n g
them f o r g e t t h e i r worries. The r e s p o n s e s a s shown
i n Table I i n d i c a t e t h a t 78 r e s p o n d e n t s o r 39% s a i d
t h e consumption of a l c o h o l g a v e them happiness .
Forty-two o r 21% s a i d i t s t i m u l a t e d them. T h i r t y or
15% were of t h e o p i n i o n t h a t i t enhanced t h e i r s e x u a l
performance, p a r t i c u l a r l y , S t o u t and s p i r i t s w h i l e
50 or 25% s a i d it made them overcome t h e i r worries.
TABLE 1: WRY. PEOPLE TAKE ALCOHOL
I Responses I No. of Respondents I P e r c e n t a g e
I I I 1 It makes them happy I 78 I 39%
2 1 It acts as a s t i m u l a n t I 42 I 21%
3 1 It enhances t h e i r s e x u a l power 1 15%
It drowns t h e i r sorrows 50 I 2 5% . I TOTAL 1 200 I 100%
The respondents were f u r t h e r a s k e d w h e t h c r t h e y
l i k e d t a k i n g a l c o h o l i n t h e company of someone a s shown
i n Tablz I1 below. A hundred and f i f t y - s i x or 78% said
y e s ; 24 o r 12% s a i d no, w h i l e 20 r e s p o n d e n t s or 10%
were of t h e o p i n i o n t h a t I t i t d o e s n o t m a t t e r t t .
TABLE 11: HOW PEOPLE TAKE ALCOHOL
I Responses I NO. of Responden t s I P e r c e n t a g e
1 ~ r i n k i n g i n t h e I Company of someone 1 156 I 78%
2 1 ~ r i n k i n g a l o n e I 24 1 12%
3 1 I n d i f f e r e n t I XI 1 10%
TOTAL I 200 I 100%
.They were also a s k e d w h e t h e r t h e y e n j o y e d t a k i n g
a l c o h o l i n t h e company of t h e o p p o s i t e s e x , s p e c i f i -
c a l l y f r i e n d s , as shown i n T a b l e I11 below. A hundred
a n d s i x t y o r 80% sa id y e s ; 1 6 or 8% said no, w h i l e
24 r e s p o n d e n t s o r 12% f e l t i n d i f f e r e n t .
TABLE 111: THEPEitiiNCC FOR D R I N K I N G WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX
Responses I NO. of Respondents P e r c e n t a g e
1 P r e f e r e n c e for d r i n k i n g i n t h e company of t h e o p p o s i t e s e x
bjhen probed f u r t h e r i n a n open-ended q u e s t i o n to
160
s t a t e t h e r e a s o n s fo r t h e i r answers , some of those who
Non-pref e r e n c e I 16
3
s a i d "yest1 s t a t e d t h a t under t h e i n f l u e n c e of a l c o h o l ,
24 - 200
I n d i f f e r e n t
TOTAL
they. had t h e u r g e to make l o v e or s e x advances t o
12%
' 100%
t h e i r oppos i t e - sex f r i e n d s , Some d e s c r i b e d d r i n k i n g
i n company of opposi te-sex f r i e n d s as enjoyment w h i l e
some s a i d "it makes them feel h i g h u - e x c i t e d , Some
r e s p o n d e n t s who s a i d 'ho'were of t h e o p i n i o n t h a t t h e
p r e s e n c e of oppos i t e - sex f r i e n d s might be embar rass ing
when drunk w h i l e t h o s e w i t h n e u t r a l o p i n i o n s a i d flit
does n o t m a t t e r n .
bihen asked whether t h e respondents had seen or
h e a r d any a d v e r t i s e m e n t on a l c o h o l i c beverages , 100%
of t h e m s a f d yes .
on w h e t h e r t h e y observed t h e u s e o f s e x a p p e a l
i n z l c o h o l a d v e r t i s i n g as i n d i c a t e d i n T a b l e I V ,
160 r e s p o n d e n t s or 80% s a i d yes ; 10 or 5% s a i d no,
w h i l e 30 or 15% were n e u t r a l ,
TAYLX SV: THE USE OF SEX APPEAL I N ADVERTISEMENTS
Responses
1 Yes
TOTAL I 200 I 100%
No. of Respondents P e r c e n t a g e
160 80%
2 NO.
3 1 N e u t r a l
The r e s p o n d e n t s were also asked whe the r t h e y
I
10 I 5%
30 15%
p e r c e i v e d sex a p p e a l as s t i m u l a t i n g t h e i r d e s i r e f o r t h e
o p p o s i t e s e x ; 120 o r 60% s a i d y e s ; 30 o r 15% s a i d no,
w h i l e 50 or 25% were n e u t r a l .
They w e r e also asked to i n d i c a t e t h e mass media
i n which t h e y had f r e q u e n t l y obse rved t h e u s e of s e x
appeal . A hundred and t e n r e s p o n d e n t s o r 55% t i c k e d
t e l e v i s i o n ; 60 or 30% picked magazines; 12 or 6% s a i d i t
was newspapers; 8 o r 4% p o i n t e d a t r a d i o w h i l e 30 or 15%
s a i d i t was other media n o t l i s t e d o u t ,
On whe the r e x p o s u r e to sex-appeal a d v e r t i s e m e n t s
o n a l c o h o l does p e r s u a d e them to t a k e a l c o h o l , 1 7 0
r e s p o n d e n t s or 85% s a i d yes ; 10 r e s p o n d e n t s o r 5%
s a i d no, w h i l e 20 r e s p o n d e n t s or 10% w e r e n e u t r a l ,
AS shown i n T a b l e V below, t h e r e s p o n d e n t s *
o p i n i o n were e l i c i t e d on whether t h e y a s s o c i a t e d sex
a p p e a l w i t h t h e i r s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r w i t h r e g a r d to
a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s consumption, Ninety r e s p o n d e n t s
or 45% agreed ; 40 r e s p o n d e n t s or 20% s t r o n g l y agreed ,
20 r e s p o n d e n t s o r 10% d i s a g r e e d ; 30 r e s p o n d e n t s or
15% s t r o n g l y d i s a g r e e d w h i l e 20 r e s p o n d e n t s or 10%
were n e u t r a l ,
TABZE V: ASSOCIATION OF SEX APPEAL WITH SEXUAL F\SHBVIOU R
- Responses No, of
Agreed I 90 I
- -
S t r o n g l y Agreed I 40 - - 1 - 20%
Disagreed I 20 10%
s t r o n g l y Disagreed 30 15%
N e u t r a l
TOTAL
20
200
10%
100%
They w e r e f u r t h e r a s k e d i n an open-ended q u e s t i o n
to s t a t e t h e r e a s o n s for t h e i r answers , A hundred
a n d t w e n t y r e s p o n d e n t s or 60% who a g r e e d s a i d t h e
e x p o s u r e to s e x a p p e a l e x c i t e d them, F i f t y r e s p o n d e n t s
o r 25% h e l d t h e belief t h a t t h e e x p o s u r e and t h e
consumpt ion of a l c o h o l e v e n r e d u c e d t h e i r l i b i d o w h i l e
30 r e s p o n d e n t s or 15% d i d n o t s h a r e a l l t h e s e beliefs.
On w h e t h e r t h e r e s p o n d e n t s a p p r e c i a t e d t h e u s e of
s e x a p p e a l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of alcoholic beverages
as shown i n T a b l e VI, below, 8 0 or 40% s a i d t h e y l i k e d
it. S i x t y o r 30% d i s l i k e d i t; 30 r e s p o n d e n t s o r 15%
s t r o n g l y l i k e d it, 10 or 5% s t r o n g l y d i s l i k e d i t
w h i l e 20 or ' lO% were n e u t r a l .
TABLE YI: APPRECIATION OF THE USE OF S E X APPEAL
- Responses I NO. of Kesponses I P e r c e n t a g e
-
Liked I t
S t r o n g l y l i k e d i t 1 3 0 I 15 I
D i s l i k e d i t I 60 I 30 - --- I I S t r o n g l y D i s l i k e d i t [ 1 0 5
TOTAL I 200 I 1 0 0
35
When t h e r e s p o n d e n t s were e s k e d to s t a t e r e a s o n s
for t h e i r o p i n i o n , 130 or 65% who l i k e d i t s a i d t h e
u s e of s e x a p p e a l was e n t e r t a i n i n g . F i f t y or 25%,
who d i s l i k e d it, s a i d i t was immoral and c o r r u p t s t h e
young w h i l e 20 r e s p o n d e n t s o r 10% were n e u t r a l .
The r e s p o n d e n t s were also a s k e d w h e t h e r t h e i r
s e n s e of m o r a l i t y a f f e c t e d t h e i r l i k i n g o r d i s l i k i n g
t h e u s e of sex a p p e a l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of a l c o h o l i c
" beve rages . S i x t y - s i x r e s p o n d e n t s or 33% s a i d y e s ;
94 r e s p o n d e n t s or 47% s a i d no, w h i l e 40 r e s p o n d e n t s w e r e
n e u t r a l .
4.2 &;~lysis and I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Data
The d a t a o b t a i n e d from t h i s s t u d y were a n a l y a e d
and i n t e r p r e t e d --- v i s - a -v i s t h e r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s .
par a c l . e a r e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g , a t t i t u d e was t r e a t e d a s
r e p r e s e n t i n q the r e s p o n d e n t ' s ideas, beliefs or a
feeling of l i k i n q and d i s l i k i n g , i n t h i s case, a b o u t
t h e use of s e x a p o e a l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of a l c o h o l i c
b e v e r q e s ,
The i lrst r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n :
Are t h e cmnsumers of a l c o h o l i c bewraqes f a v o u r a b l y d i s p o s e d toward t h e mass media use of sex a p p e a l i n t h e advertising of t h e b e v e r a q e s ?
T a b l e I shows t h e d i r e c t i o n of f e e l i n g s t o w a r d s t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l in a l c o h o l i c a d v e r t i s i n g .
TABLE I:
V a r i a b l e s % o f F requency
T h e table s h o w s t h a t 55% of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s
- -
F a v o u r a b l e d i s p o s i t i o n
lrnf a v o u r a b l e d f s p o s i t i o n
Neu tra 1
f a v o u r e d t h e u s e of s e x a p r ~ e a l w h i l e 35% o f t h e res-
p o n d e n t s d i d n o t f a v o u r it, I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e were
o t h e r p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s s e x a p p e a l , F o r
3.10
70
20 , .
i n s t a n c e , 65% o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s a g r e e d t h a t t h e u s e of
5 5
35
10
sex a p p e a l a p p e a r e d e n t e r t a i n i n g , However, 25% of t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s condemned i t a s immoral and c a p a b l e of
corrup t :mg t h e young.
I n r e s p o n s e t o t h e f i r s t r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n , a m a j o r i t y
of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s d i s p l a y e d f a v o u r a b l e d i s p o s i t i o n t o w a r d s
t h e u s e 3f s e x a p p e a l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of t h e b e v e r a g e s ,
T h e second r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n :
DO ser s q e and seLse o f mora l i t y of t h e consumers ---A- 02 a l m h a l i c b e v c r a q s s a ~ f ect t h e i r -- d i s p o s i t i o n towards the use s f sex a p ~ c a l i n t h e b e v e r a q e a d v e r t i s i n q ?
the T 8 b l e XI shows t h a e s e x o f the r e s p o n d e n t s a f f e c t e d
t h e i r d i s p o s i t i o n towards the use o f t h c t e c h n i q u e .
37
TABLE II:
Table I1 s h c ~ ~ s t h a t 33.5% of the r c s p a n d ~ n t s xho
Vnriablaa
Favourable d f sposltian
1
Neutral I 8
21.5% of the respondent s who are female. On the
Freauency requency Male %
I
C 7 33.5
Frequency Female
c o r ~ ' i ~ i r r y , 22.5% or t h e r e s p o n d e n t s i~!io are female
Unf avourahls disposition
- 4 3
4
dis n o t favour it, sa d i d 12.5% of t h e respondents
21.5
who are male.
12
In r e s p o n s e to one of the second r e s e a r c n questions,
22.5 I
25 1 12.5
C
more male respclndents sp ;xec ia tc?d t h e use of s e x a p p e a l
45
-
than the female resjondents.
The i m p l i c a t i o n i s that t h e use of sex , ~ p p e a l
e x c i t e s m o s t l y t h e maie audience and such a d v e r t i s e -
ment mould be d i r e c t e d to them,
'i'able 111 shows how the age of t ne respondent s
affected their disposi t i ~ n towards t h e t echn ique .
TABLE 111:
I n answer to w h e t h e r a g e a f f e c t s t h e consumers ' dispo-
s i t i o n t o w a r d s t h e use of sex a p p e a l , t h e t a b l e shows
Frequency %
27.5
22.5
3
t h a t more r e s p o n d e n t s who a r e of t h e y o u t n f u l age
V a r i a b l e s
F a v o g r a h l e d i s p o s i t i o n
Unf a v o u r a b l e d i s p o s i t i o n
K e u t r a l
f a v o u r e d t h e u s e o f sex a p p e a l t h a n t h e r e s p o n a e n t s
Frequency S:
37.5
2m5
7
Frequency of Y o u t h f u l a g e s 16-40
75
5
14
who a r e niore advanced. On the c o n t r a r y , ove r -whe l rdng ly
marc r e ~ p o n d e n t s who are of t h e advanced a g e s d i d n o t
f a v o u r t h e use of sex s p p e e l t h a n t h e r e s p o n d e n t s who
Frequency of Advanced 41-above
55
4 5
6
are younger . That no twi t h s t a n d i n r ; , a rna jori t.y of t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s of t h e advanced a g e s s t i l l f a v o u r e d t h e
u s e of s e x a w ~ e a l ,
T s l ~ l e v shows hou t h e s e n s e o f m o r ~ l f ty affected
responc3ents dlsposltfon t owards t h e use of sex ap3eal .
Tabic. I V shows t h a t 33% o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s d i d
ccr~sicier m o r a l i t y i n l i k i r i q or d i s l i k i n q t h e u s e of
sex ap;eal w h i l e 47% did n o t c o n s i d e r .it i n l i k i n g
X n a n s w e r to w h e t h e r t h e c o n s u m e r s conSidered
r i ~ o r ~ t i i t y i n their o p i n i o n t o w a r d s t n e u s e o f s e x
a ; ~ p z : ~ l , s 3 a j ~ ) r i t y of t h e i - e s ; m n d e n t s d i d n o t .
The third research q u e s t i o n :
Car, s e x apv3eal em~loyeij i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of -- L . - ---.----I- - - - alcoholic b e v e r a g e s , be associated wi t h t h e sexua l E F F ' = i Z E T € E Z - " T i Z G > i ~ 5 ' f - r e be ve r s qe -- s ?
Table V shows t h e o p i n i o n s of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s o n
w h e t h e r sex appeal c a n be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s e x u a l
b e h a v i o u r .
4 0
TABLE V:
Associated w i t h s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r
-,
Table V i n d i c a t e s t h a t 65% of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s
Not a s s o c f a t e d w i t h s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r
N e u t r a l
a s s o c i a t e d s e x a p p e a l w i t h t h e i r s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r
w h i l e 25% of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s d i d n o t associate s e x
1 3 0
a p p e a l w i t h t h e i r s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r .
65
5 0
2 0
Anothe r i n t e r e s t i n g o b s e r v a t i o n was t h a t 80% of
I
25
'10
t h e r e s p o n d e n t s e n j o y t a k i n g a l c o h o l i n t h e company
of t h e o p p o s i t e - s e x f r i e n d s . Not o n l y t h a t , 60%
of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s had t h e u r g e t o make l o v e or s e x
a d v a n c e s t o s u c h f r i e n d s . F u r t h e r m o r e , 47% of t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s s a i d when they do make l o v e , a l c o h o l e n h a n c e s
t h e i r s e x u a l p e r f o r m a n c e s ; 13% a s s o c i a t e d i t w i t h over-
i n d u l g e n c e i n s e x w h i l e 25% s a i d i t reduced t h e i r
libido.
Based o n t h e e v i d e n c e p r o v i d e d by t h e s t u d y , a
m a j o r i t y of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s associated sex-appea l
a d v e r t i s e m e n t w i t h t h e i r s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r .
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION, SUMMARY A N D CONCLUSION
5.1 Discuss ion
The f i n d i n g of t h i s s t u d y have made q u i t e i n t e r e s t -
i n g r e v e l a t i o n s , Though t h e s t u d y h a s r e i n f o r c e d some
e x i s t i n g beliefs, i d e a s and o p i n i o n s on s e x a p p e a l
a d v e r t i s i n g , i t h a s d i s c a r d e d some and i n t r o d u c e d new
o n e s a 1 t o g e t h e r .
The f i n d i n g s have j u s t i f i e d t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l
by a d v e r t i s e r s i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of a l c o h o l i c beverages.
However, such a g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s h o u l d n o t be h a s t y b e c a u s e
more r e s p o n d e n t s gave e n t e r t a i n m e n t a s t h e i r major r e a s o n
f o r approv ing s e x a p p e a l , I f r e a l l y so, i t means t h a t
t h e r e s p o n d e n t s may as w e l l p r e f e r a n o t h e r t e c h n i q u e i n
p l a c e of s e x a p p e a l t h a t may be more e n t e r t a i n i n g .
It is p e r t i n e n t to mention h e r e t h a t i n s p i t e of
t h e endorsement of s e x a p p e a l by t h e m a j o r i t y of res-
pondents , i t s c o n s t r a i n t h a s been t h a t i t o f f e n d s
m o r a l i t y , I f i t r e a l l y c o r r u p t s t h e young, then i t r u n s
i n a c o l l i s i o n c o u r s e w i t h t h e Obscene P u b l i c a t i o n s A c t
Furthermore, o n e of t h e f i n d i n g s which show t h a t
more male r e s p o n d e n t s a p p r e c i a t e d t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l
42
i n t h e mass media t h a n female r e s p o n d e n t s may n o t
be s u r p r i s i n g , T h i s c o u l d be a t t r i b u t e d to a m e d i c a l
f a c t t h a t s a y s males are more e a s i l y e x c i t e d s e x u a l l y
t h a n females.
Ano the r o b s e r v a t i o n w o r t h y of d i s c u s s i o n i s t h a t
a l t h o u g h o n e of t h e f i n d i n g s showed t h a t more female
r e s p o n d e n t s d e t e s t e d t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l t h a n those
i n s u p p o r t , t h e d i f f e r e n c e i s o n l y o n e p e r c e n t , The
c o n c l u s i o n may, t h e r e f o r e , be m i s l e a d i n g i f w e s a y
t h a t f e m a l e consumers are not l i k e l y to a p p r e c i a t e
t h e use of s e x a p p e a l .
F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e f i n d i n g t h a t s a y s y o u t h s
f rom t h e a g e s of 1 6 to 40 a r e more l i k e l y to a p p r e c f a t e
t h e use of sex a p p e a l t h a n those i n t h e advanced a g e s
of 4 1 and above were n o t s u r p r i s i n g , T h i s i s b e c a u s e
y o u t h s a r e m e d i c a l l y s a i d to h a v e s t r o n g l i b i d o i n con-
t r a s t to t h e advanced i n a g e , It was, however, s u r p r i s i n g
t h a t i n s p i t e of t h e f a c t t h a t a g r e a t e r number of
y o u t h s a p p r e c i a t e d t h e t e c h n i q u e more t h a n t h e advanced
i n age, a m a j o r i t y of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s who were advanced
i n a g e s t i l l a p p r e c i a t e d t h e t e c h n i q u e , It p r o b a b l y
c o u l d be either b e c a u s e more p e r s o n s of advanced age
w e r e i n t h e s ample o r b e c a u s e t h e a c c e p t a n c e of t h e
t e c h n i q u e c u t s a c r o s s a g e barriers,
O t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g o b s e r v a t i o n s are t h a t 80
p e r c e n t of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s a d m i t t e d e n j o y i n g
t a k i n g a l c o h o l i n t h e company of t h e o p p o s i t e sex
and a l s o h a v i n g t h e u r g e to make l o v e or s e x
a d v a n c e s to s u c h f r i e n d s , T h e s e s u g g e s t t h a t s e x
a p p e a l i n alcoholic b e v e r a g e a d v e r t i s i n g i s l i n k e d
to t h e s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r of t h e consumers . I n
a d d i t i o n , some r e s p o n d e n t s a s s o c i a t e d t h e consump-
t i o n of alcoholic b e v e r a g e s w i t h t h e enhancement
of s e x u a l pe r fo rmance , Above a l l , a m a j o r i t y of t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s a g r e e d t h a t when e x p o s e d a t o sex -appea l
a d v e r t i s i n g t h e i r d e s i r e f o r t h e o p p o s i t e s e x was
s t i m u l a t e d , T h i s , t h e r e f o r e , p r e s u p p o s e s t h a t t h e
s t i m u l a t i o n of t h e d e s i r e for t h e o p p o s i t e sex may
s u b s e q u e n t l y r e s u l t i n t h e consumpt ion of a l c o h o l .
5.2 Summary
The f i n d i n g s a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of data are
summarized h e r e s u c c i n t l y as f o l l o w :
(1) he m a j o r i t y of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s h a v e a f a v o u r a b l e
d i s p o s i t i o n t o w a r d s t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l ,
(2) More male r e s p o n d e n t s h a v e a f a v o u r a b l e
d i s p o s i t i o n towards t h e u s e of s e x a p p e a l
t h a n females,
( 3 ) More female r e s p o n d e n t s have an u n f a v o u r a b l c d i s p o s i t i o n towards t h e u s e of t h e t e c h n i q u e
t h a n males ,
( 4 ) More y o u t h f u l r e s p o n d e n t s h a v e a f a v o u r a b l e d i s p o s i t i o n t o w a r d s the u s e of t h e t e c h n i q u e than t h e i r e l d e r s .
( 5 ) The majority of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s of t h e advanced
a g e s have a f a v o u r a b l e d i s p o s i t i o n t o w a r d s t h e u s e of t h e t e c h n i q u e ,
( 6 ) The m a j o r i t y of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s d i d n o t c o n s i d e r m o r a l i t y i n t h e i r d i s y o s i t i o n t o w a r d s the use of sex a p p e a l ,
( 7 ) The m a j o r i t y of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s associated sex
a p p e a l w i t h t h e i r s e x u a l behav iou r .
5.3' C o n c l u s i o n
The f i n d i n g s h a v e prompted t h e a u t h o r to
g e n e r a l i z e t h a t consumers of a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s
h a v e a f a v o u r a b l e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t h e u s e of sex
a p p e q l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of t h e b e v e r a g e s .
The f i n d i n g s h a v e a lso p roved t h a t male consumers
a r e more l i k e l y to h a v e a f a v o u r a b l e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s
t h e u s e of t h e a p p e a l t h a n female consumers ,
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e consumers who are young m e more.
l i k e l y to have a f a v o u r a b l e a t t i t u d e to s e x a p p e a l
t h a n t h e consumers who a r e o l d e r , Nevertheless, a
m a j o r i t y of t h e consumers who a r e of t h e advanced a g e
s t i l l h a v e f a v o u r a b l e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t h e a p p e a l .
It i s i n t e r e s t i n g to s a y t h a t a m a j o r i t y of
t h e consumers may n o t a l l o w t h e i r s e n s e of m o r a l i t y
to b e c l o u d t h e i r judgement towards s e x a p p e a l ,
Above a l l , t h e consumers a s s o c i a t e d t h e i r
own s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r w i t h t h e a d v e r t i s e r s 1 u s e of
s e x appeal. T h i s , t h e r e f o r e , reinforces t h e idea
I t h a t a d v e r t i 8 i n g a p p e a l s s h o u l d he drawn from t h e
n e e d s and a t t i t u d e of t h e consumer w i t h r e g a r d to
t n e p r o d u c t and t h e a d v e r t i s i n g message,
J e r r y Goodis e x p l a i n e d i t better when h e saido
h d v e r t i s i n g does n o t o n l y mirror how p e o p l e . a re a c t i n g b u t how t h e y a r e dreaming , I n a
s e n s e , wha t w e a r e d o i n g i s wrapp lng up y o u r e m o t i o n s and s e l l i n g them back to you,2
I n c o n c l u s i o n , t h e a c c e p t a n c e of t h e u s e of sex
a p ~ e a l i n alcoholic-beverage a d v e r t i s i n g b y consumers
h a s been e s t a b l i s h e d ,
REFERENCES
1, Obscene Publications A c t , 1961, S e c t i o n 2.
2. L e i s s , William a, a,, Socia l Communication i n A d v e r t i s i n ~ , 2nd Z d i t i o n , Rcviscd and - Enlarged : Ontario: Thomson Canada Ltd., 1990, p, 200,
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
B l a c k , J o A e a n d Champion, D,J . Methods a n d 1ssu.1 i n social k e s e a r c h , (New ' Y o r k $ J o h n k i l e y & s o n s , 1976 .
Dunn, Se1~!. a n d R a r b a n , I,.P!, 3 n Fiodern ~ a r k e t i n q Press, 4 t h ~ d i t i o n , 1978,
F n ~ l e , J.P., Kollat, ?.T,, a n d 3 l a c k w a l i , ROD,, Consumer B o h a v i o u r (New York) Holt, ~ e n e h a r t a n d W i n s t o n , 2nd e d i t i o n , 1973,
F l e t c h e r , W i n s t o n , A d v e r t i s i z , ( K e n t ) Hodder a n d s t u r q h t o n , I~'I~.--~--
Leiss, d i l l i a r n et , go, S o c i a l Communica t ion i n ~ d v e r t i s i n ( ~ n t a r i o ) Thomson Canada Ltd., ~ i d 9 0.
Malickson, David a n d J o h n Nason, A d v e r t i s i n : How to ivrite t h e Kind t h a t ' b Y o r k ) C h a r l e s S c r i b n e r ' s Sons, 1977.
Nelson, Woy P., 'The D e s i g n of A d v z r t i s i n g (Amsterdam) C.W.C. Zrown Company ~ u b l i s h c r s , 1973,
Nworgu, Zonlf see, Educa t i o n a 1 :?esearch (Basic I s s u e s and ~ . i e k ~ o " i h ~ y ~ ? ~ i d a n j m n Pu3lPshers Lkd,, 1.991,
Okigbo, C h a r i e s , ~ d v e r t i s i n g a n d p u b l i c elations ( ~ n u g u ) Snaaw P r e s s Ltd., 1990,
Onyebuagu, C h a r i e s S o , ' ' A d v e r t i s i n g T h e o r y a n d P r a c t i c e f i i n P l a r k e m - l n ~ i q e r f a ( L c n d o n ) C a s s e l , 1 9 8 0 .
C s u a l a , E ,C, , I n t r o d u c t i o n to R e s e a r c h M e t h a d o l c g y (Mew Y o r k ) s m i t h t o n E x p o s i t i o n P r e s s , 1982,
~ h u l t z , Don K , anc5 M a r t i n , D e n n i s G., S t r a t e q i c (Chicago) G r a i n C o m m u n i c a t i o n s
S t a n l y , Richard , Promotion, A d v e r t i s i n q , Publicity, P e r s o n a l S e l l i n q and Sales Promotion ( P r i n tlcc-'L!s11) Cnglewood C l i f f s , 1 9 7 7 .
Tull, D . S . and Hawkiris D e l I*, Market inq Research (New Y o r k ) Macmillan P u b l i s h i n g C o . I n c 2nd e d . 1900.
w i g h t , Robin, The Day the Piqs Refused to be Driven to t h e Market: A d v e r t i s i n g and Consumers sevclution ( ~ e w York) Random
Liright, ~ohn, Warner Daniel, and winter i d i l l i s ( N ~ W York) Mcgraw-Hill
P l e a s e t h e i n f o r m a t i o n is r e q u i r e d f o r r e s e a r c h
p u r p o s e s and r e s p o n d e n t s a r e a s s u r e d of anonymi ty and
c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y ,
P e r s o n a l D a t a
O c c u p a t i o n :
S ex:
Age Bracke t :
M a r i t a l
S t a t u s :
R el i g i o n :
S t u d e n t /117 ncademic s t a f f /----7
on-academic s t a f f 1-7
Male Female
41-and above 1-1
~ a r r i e d s i n g l e D i v o r c e d
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I n f o r m a t i o n D a t a
O t h e r s {7
1. DO you t a k e ~ l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s s u c h a s beer, s p i r i t s - .
( h o t d r i n k s ) and w i n e . 2. If y e s , why d o you t a k e a l c o h o l i c b e v r a g e s ?
J
3. go you l i k e t a k i n g i t i n t h e company o f somebody?
y e s (-/ N O f7 it does n o t matter (-/
4. go you e n j o y i t most i n t h e company of y o u r o p p o s i t e
s e x f r i e n d d s)
Y e s 1-1 N O I-/ i t d o e s n o t m a t t e r /--7
5. S t a t e t h e r e a s o n fo r y o u r a n s w e r
6. , Have you s e e n any a d v e r t i s e m e n t on a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s
such a s beer, w i n e and h o t d r i n k ?
7 , Have you o b s e r v e d t h e u s e of s e x u a l romance, d r e s s e s ,
d a n c e s and o t h e r ser a p p e a l s i n such a d v e r t i s e m e n t ?
Y e s /-7 N o (-1 I d o n c t know 1-1
8. Have you e v e r p e r c e i v e d s u c h messages a s s t i m u l a t i n g . y o u r d e s i r e for t h e o p p o s i t e sex.
Y e s m NO rn N e u t r a l /-/ 9. I f y e s i n NOSO 6 and 8 w r i t e o u t i n t h e o r d e r of
i m p o r t a n c e w h e t h e r ~ a d i o , TV , Newspaper, Magaz ine and
o t h e r s ,
30. ~ o e s s u c h a d v e r t i s e m e n t p e r s u a d e y o u t o t a k e a l c o h o l i c
b e v e r a g e s ?
H a v e n o t t a k i n g n o t i c e of
13. D o you t h i n k t h a t s e x a p p e a l i n a l c o h o l i c a d v e r t i s i n g
c a n somewha t b e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h y o u r s e x u a l b e h a v i o u r ?
s t r o n g l y a g r e e d a g r e e d n e u t r a l /--7
isa agreed s t r o n g l y d i s a g r e e d [-
12. S.tate y o u r r e a s o n s f o r y o u r a n s w e r ?
3 DO y o u a p p r e c i a t e s ex a p p e a l i n t h e a d v e r t i s i n g of
a l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s .
L i k e i t 1-1 isl like i t - N e u t r a l
S t r o n g l y l i k e d i t &Z_q s t r o n g l y d i s l i k e d it.
14. s t a t e y o u r r e a s o n s .
