| dc.description.abstract | Sinceno study has been done in Kenya to look at consumers' responses to sex appeal advertising,
the study attempts to address this gap in advertising by examining the Kenyan consumers'
responsesto advertisements which use sex appeal. The study sought to determine the extent to
whichthe use of sex appeal in advertising influenced the purchase intention of saloon cars by MBA
ModuleIT students at the University of Nairobi, and also to see if this influence differed between
maleand female students.This was a across sectional survey which targeted all Module IT MBA
students of the University of Nairobi. A total of 120 students were sampled for study using
conveniencesampling design. Data was collected with the help of structured questionnaires, which
werepersonally administered by the researcher. Groups of MBA students were identified and the
questionnairesdistributed to them, giving them clear instructions on how to fill the questionnaires.
Coloredimages as in the questionnaires were projected on the wall for all to see as they responded
to questions. A response rate of 83% out the targeted 120 respondents was achieved. The data was
analyzed using descriptive statistics i.e. frequencies, percentages, mean scores and standard
deviations.
The findings indicated that sex appeal influenced purchase intention in advertisement to a large
extent. To a large extent the respondents felt that they could remember the advertisements, the
messages were convincing, they were attracted towards the advertised cars, felt like driving the
cars,had a positive feeling towards the cars, felt drawn towards the advertisements, had a positive
feeling towards advertisement and after seeing advertisements the respondents said they would
consider purchasing the cars. The influence of sex appeal iD.J.Ilaleand female was found to differ
acrossgenders in that more male respondents were attracted to the advertisement, the advertisement
evoked more of their emotional responses, they felt the car would better fit their needs, their
chances of buying the car was increased, their interest in processing the advertisement was
increased at a higher degree and the advertisements left them with a more positive feeling as
comparedto female respondents. The study implies that car marketers should consider the role sex
appeal in influencing purchase intention. Religious and the traditional backgrounds of the
respondents which may have significantly influenced their responses were not factored in the
questionnaire, hence a limitation for the study. Further to this, future studies should target the other
car categories, as well as other cadres of people.' The study was also limited to purchase intention
and so there is room for further studies to determine influencers of actual purchase. | en |
