A cross-cultural analysis of perception towards sex appeal advertising: An study of whether adverts containing sexual content offend women from a particular culture - Essay Example

Advert With Sexual Content By: Location s Perception Advertisement for long has been a creative wayof creating and influencing consumer need and want of certain product (Sullivan). This has often been done through images that consumers emotionally connect and process as reality (Sullivan). From perspective of marketing according Sullivan, it is crucial to understand that consumers often act or react based on perception and not on reality of the object. The stimuli which an individual should be exposed need to be above threshold level for them to be perceived since a stimuli exposed to consumer have to pass through the frame of reference which consist of previous beliefs and experience held (Sullivan).

Due to great number of stimuli exposed to individual and the fact that risk is perceived during decision making where consumer pay attention and interpret and retain information acquired selectively, also from the fact that stimuli coincide with beliefs that are held hence frame of reference of conflicting information can not be changed easily (Sullivan). As explained by Sullivan, advert image is a persuasive control tool in the hand of each advertiser, however the image portrays should be grounded in ethical and some moral responsibilities, this is an issue that is prevalent not only in the advertisement realm that is aim at reaching the customers but also the images that reach entire citizens of a democratic society, since an image can manage and stimulate a certain way of thinking about a product.

(Sullivan). An advertisement images should reflect society value, hence it can be inferred that images have strong powers on individuals, thus advertiser or creator of advert image as well should analyze thought process of targeted population. Cross Cultural Communication According to Ahmed (1996), Cultural differences exit not only between countries but also within a country as well as within a city. This micro cultural difference present a challenge to marketing, this is because value system, perception and attitude toward advertisement image or message is culturally shaped (Ahmed, 1996).

Cultural difference define the message that different people derive from an advertisement image, however also advertisement image or message also shape the value of its consumer over period of time ( Ahmed, 1996). It has been pointed by Ahmed (1996), an advertisement image aim at an idealizing achievement of personal goal of happiness, success and security and it achieve this by depicting a world that is over presented often using young , beautiful , successful wealthy people and hence creating desire in the involved audience to achieve the attribute demonstrated in advertisement image.

However, advertisement is supposed to reflect culture and social norm in order to attract and hold potential customers and create an attitude that is favorable toward the product (Ahmed, 1996). Research Methodology Introduction The aim of this research paper is to investigate whether adverts containing sexual content offend women from a particular culture. This chapter will cover an overview of the research methods that will be applied to conduct the research study. Also, the chapter will review the research design and offer a discussion on the target population in addition to sample selection procedure.

The tools that will be used in data collection and the checks and balances to ensure that the validity and reliability of the data are maintained will be described. Research Design The study will make use of qualitative research design approach. According Kumar (2010), qualitative research methods can be used to gain an understanding of the underlying behavior or reasons for a particular social phenomenon. Qualitative methods are critical to a researcher since they help to uncover the prevalent trends in a social setting and generate possible hypothesis regarding a specific issue (Kumar 2010).

The qualitative methods are appropriate for this study since they can help to establish how adverts containing sexual content offend women from a particular culture. Also, the use of a survey approach is important in order to enable the researcher to obtain information from the target population. The Study Population and Sample According to Kumar (2010), a population can be defined as all the elements that meet the specified sample criteria for inclusion in a given study. The study population will comprise of women of different cultures in research town.

This is the category of population that is most affected by advert containing sexual content hence they will provide crucial information for the study. Women are main target of this kind of advertisement; therefore they can be of help in determining how women perceive advertisement containing sexual content. A sample is representative portion of a population that can be investigated to provide findings that can be generalized for the entire population (Kumar, 2010). The study will use a convenience sample to investigate the research questions.

According to Kumar (2010), convenience sampling is the least rigorous technique, involving the selection of the most accessible subjects. It is the least costly to the researcher, in terms of time, effort and money therefore helping the researcher in saving of resources. However, it should be noted that convenience sampling may result in poor quality data and lacks intellectual credibility (Silverman, 2010). There is an element of convenience sampling in many qualitative studies, but a more thoughtful approach to selection of a sample is usually justified.

In this regard, the researcher will be keen to select a convenience sample that can effectively represent the target population in order to guarantee the relevance of the data that will be collected. Ethical Considerations Research process requires integrity and diligence on the part of the researcher (Kumar, 2010). Therefore, this study will make sure that it adheres to ethical considerations by ensuring that women involved are well informed about the purpose of research. The researcher will also adhere to confidentiality requirement.

Conclusion The research in focus will involve the use of qualitative research methods. Questionnaires and individual depth interviews will be used to collect data from the target population. The sample for the study will be selected from women of different culture. The data collected will be analyzed to gain relevant insights in regards to the objectives of the study. References Kumar, Ranjit. 2010. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. New York: Sage Publications Limited.

Silverman, David. (Ed.). 2010. Qualitative research. New York: Sage Publications Limited. Niaz Ahmed . 1996.Cross cultural content analysis of advertising from united state and india Retrieved On April 12, 2013from. http:// www.bookpump.com Katherine Sullivan.   Perception of Images in Advertising and Impact on Consumers’ Lives. Retrieved On April 12, 2013.from. http:// ethicalpublishing.com