In 2016, Prof. Dr. Georg Felser of Harz University of Applied Sciences, Germany, undertook a unique research study aimed at establishing whether everyday objects can be somehow be imbued with ‘sexiness’ in order to enhance returns in advertising campaigns. His experimental study found that, yes, they can – even if the object is paper clip.
“Marketing practitioners claim that sex in advertising only works for products that are related to sex. The presented experiment underpins that this folk hypothesis is not true. Via semantic conditioning (a variant of evaluative conditioning) erotic meanings can be transferred to any product including those totally unrelated to sex.”
To find out how, consult : ‘How Sexy Can a Paper Clip Get? Evidence For the Transfer of Erotic Meaning to “Unsexy” Products’ which can be read in full here. (Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 44, 2016).
Also see : The Paper Clip and the Law
Coming Soon: Medical uses for paper clips.