Consumer Advertising in Germany and the United States:

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the pervasiveness of seven sexual advertising elements in selected German and U.S. magazines targeted toward upscale female readers. Results indicate a trend between 1986 and 1992; sexual-oriented visual stimuli were used 60% more in the United States than in German magazines; advertisements depicting suggestively clad models appeared almost twice as often, while ads with partially clad models declined fifty percent during the time period studied. The use of more sexually explicit messages, such as nudity and sexual contact(s) between male(s) and female(s), was limited but stable over the periods studied. Representative advertisements and analytical procedures are included to foster further studies in other media and countries.