The role of gender and personality traits in response to ads using violent images to promote consumption of sports entertainment

The promotion of violent media has become an issue for both marketers and public policymakers. One common form of mediated violence can be found in televised sports. Some media research suggests that males tend to enjoy violent sport media more than females. However, personality research related to the notion of Optimum Stimulation Levels (OSL) suggests certain audiences might be drawn to violent media stimuli, to help maintain their OSL, regardless of gender. Building upon marketing and media psychology, the current study examines the effect of central (sensation seeking, SS) and surface (Curiosity About Morbid Events, CAME) traits, along with gender, to account for variance in consumer reactions to advertisements utilizing violent/non-violent images to promote sports media. Regression results indicate that subjects' ad response is moderated by OSL constructs, while CAME is found to mediate the effect of SS. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed along with future directions for research.