This research study aimed to provide the South African fast food industry and their advertising representatives with insights into 18-28-year-olds‟ perception of using sexual appeal to elicit their attention, and whether using this advertising technique is gaining positive brand recognition with this target market. This research study aimed to determine the selected sample‟s (NMMU students) perceptions of three South African fast food brands, namely KFC, Nando’s and Steers, in terms of their use of sexualised fast food advertisements. An electronic survey questionnaire was conducted with both closed and open-ended questions relating to the use of sexual appeal in advertising within the three South African fast food brands. The survey questionnaire helped determine what the selected sample‟s perceptions were of each advertisement, and whether the use of sexual appeal captured their attention. A semiotic analysis of each advertisement was conducted to determine if the advertisements do contain the use of sexual appeal, by examining the sign. This includes looking at the three aspects of a sign namely the signifier, the referent and the signified. In terms of this study, the signifier represents the T.V. advertisements; the signified represents the meaning of the advertisements and the referent represents to what the advertisements are initially referring. The results of the study indicated that each of the three fast food advertisements incorporated the use of sexual appeal in varying degrees. Respondents indicated that the sexual appeal in the advertisements was appropriate if they were directed at the right age group. The respondents indicated that these three advertisements were more likely to attract the males, in the target market and they felt that the advertisements leaned towards objectifying the women, which would be offensive to the females in the target market. It was determined that if the advertisements contained humour, they were more effective and memorable.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:8408 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Wignall, Andrea |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Arts |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | xii, 121 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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