Merchandising/Marketing/Retailing: Branding

Brand Personalities and Sexuality in Luxury Fashion Advertisements

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Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the perceived personality of brands featuring different levels of sexuality in luxury fashion advertisements. In this study, the stimuli were luxury fashion advertisements categorized at different sexuality levels: 1) demure, 2) suggestive, 3) partially clad, and 4) nude. The survey had 25 brand personality items grouped to represent five personalities: 1) Consciences/Responsibility, 2) Extraversion/Activity,3) Emotional Stability/Emotionality, 4) Agreeableness/Aggressiveness, 5) Openness/Simplicity. Each brand personality was rated on a 5-point Likert scale from not (1) to very (5) characteristic of this brand. Upon approval from the University’s IRB, the survey was available on Amazon Turk for two weeks. Each participant responded to one advertisement with a model of his/her gender. Results from the 1266 participants found different associations made about luxury fashion brands given levels of sexuality, supporting theories related to identity and brand. For example, perceptions of Consciences/Responsibility(“down-to-earth, “responsible,” etc.) decreased as the level of sexuality increased. In another example, both genders perceived brands with more sexuality as less emotional. Further research is warranted, such as examining sexuality levels in advertisements and purchasing behavior.

Keywords: Sex in Advertisements

How to Cite:

Adomaitis, A. D. & Saiki, D., (2019) “Brand Personalities and Sexuality in Luxury Fashion Advertisements”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 76(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.8752