The effect of provocation in the form of mild erotica on attitude to the ad and corporate image: Differences between cause-related and product-based advertising

Provocative advertising is characterized by a deliberate attempt to gain attention through shock. This research investigates the reactions of individuals to a provocative appeal for a cause as opposed to a provocative advertisement for a standard consumer product, using mild erotica as the element of provocative imagery. An experiment using 391 adult subjects was conducted, and two analyses were performed. The first examined the effect of stimulus type (mildly erotic/nonerotic) by product category (cause appeal/consumer product) on attitude to the ad. The second examined the effect of stimulus type (mildly erotic/nonerotic) by cause (AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]/SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome]) on corporate image. Both analyses also included gender as a third independent variable. The results suggest that people prefer mildly erotic ads generally, that an organization using mild erotica in appeals for a cause will be viewed more favorably where the erotica is congruent with the cause, and that women may be more responsive to mild erotica in cause appeals than are men.

Trinity, love, and pastorial mirroring

This paper focuses on the positive mirroring (admiration, acceptance, and approval) that Heinz Kohut posits as the primary healing agency in work with clients with narcissistic personality disorder. Donald Capps has demonstrated the pastoral significance of Kohut's theory. Capps' work is extended through an analysis of the role love plays in mirroring. It is suggested that mirror love has agapic, erotic, and philial elements. The loving action of the counselor is viewed as an image of the love of the triune God.