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Irrespective of where marketing campaigns are being run,  sex appeal is often used in advertising as it grabs attention of the reader.

Marketers know that both males and females are attracted to this type of advertising. It is a powerful instinctive attraction that will take our focus from anything else we may be doing. This form of advertising exploits our natural curiosity for beauty. As marketers, we know that it will be more likely to be recalled than most other forms of appeals because of the generated interest and discussions created within BBS's and SNS.

I would not suggest that every company now rush out and start putting 'soft porn' images into ad banners to attract eye balls (traffic). It is imperative that companies use 'sex' and a 'sexy' message as part of a carefully thought out marketing strategy. It’s not right for everyone. There are a number of factors to consider, including what type of product or service you’re promoting, your corporate image, and current or future branding plans. You also must take into account which digital channels that you are using; maybe a banner or flash ad unit works in a media buy but for an eDM or a social marketing campaign it may not be suited. This should be determined in you marketing plan and strategy.

So what did we see as some key differences between the Chinese and Western markets in terms of using 'sex' on the Internet and in marketing?

• The use of keywords for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is impacted by the type of keywords and ad copy that can be used in China (More restrictive than Western markets)
• Soft Porn photo sites were called “vulgar” by the Chinese Government and ordered shut down. However, much of this photo imagery has resurfaced on  'art' sites and suggests that there is real value for these images as a traffic acquisition tool.
• Some of the most heavily trafficked blogs/BBS sites are ones discussing "sex". For example, sex columnist Mu Zimei (Muzi mei) became a national celebrity after she began reporting intimate details about her sex life in her blog. By some counts, her posts had 10 million hits a day.
• The ad copy was typically brand focused but included seductive images to attract readers where in West messages would be more 'risky' and 'cheeky'.
• Ads banners in China that used images of sexy girls/guys but mostly one dimensional- no hidden messages or innuendo unlike some of the Western campaigns
• Western 4A agencies in China vs local Chinese Ad agencies have quite different approaches to using 'sex' in ads however both seem to push out simple campaigns.

So what does this mean? How can a marketer leverage this knowledge in China?

Firstly, if the use of 'sexy images', 'messages' and 'ad copy' is appropriate for your Brand/Product etc then make sure you understand the purpose for using this approach. Yes, traffic and attention will be grabbed. But what next? Is your client happy because you got a heap of impressions or clicks? Are the clients wanting to see more action based outcomes?

Many of the creative teams responsible for the design the Chinese ad banners are doing a great job on the creative, the models are beautiful and ads themself are world-class. Where I think the effort needs to go now is on the overall strategy, move away from just taking a pretty girl and putting her in a seductive pose too incorporating 'clever messages' or taking a more integrated campaign approach where social media is also leveraged to make the ad viral (even banners can become viral if designed well) or use the ad as a catalyst for BBS discussions. It comes down to the strategy/design of the campaign.

I would be interested in doing an empirical study that compares Chinese consumers' responses to sex appeal advertising with those in Western countries and testing out some of our slightly drunken theories. Let me know what you think..