Diversity and inclusion in advertising research

Abstract

Diversity in advertising research refers to the portrayal of people with distinct attributes in advertising, while inclusion refers to the valuation of their presence and perspectives in advertising. The most commonly investigated diversity attributes in advertising research are gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age. Extant research indicates a mis- and underrepresentation of certain groups in society but shows that diverse and inclusive advertising can have favorable brand and social effects. Future research should include other diversity attributes (e.g., disabilities, gender identity, and religion), consider multiple diversity attributes and intersectionality, and include an advertiser perspective to understand why advertising sometimes is neither diverse nor inclusive.

Keywords:

• Diversity in advertising
• gender issues in advertising
• multicultural advertising
• race/ethnicity

Introduction

While diversity refers to the description of individual and social differences of people with distinct attributes (e.g., race, gender, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, physical abilities), inclusion describes the engagement with diversity and emphasizes the incorporation and valuation of the presence and perspective of different groups of people into an environment (Bernstein et al. 2020). Both diversity and inclusion refer to a basic human right of not being disadvantaged, but being recognized, understood, and appreciated based on any diversity attribute. While diversity and inclusion are quite recent topics in many areas of business research, advertising has emphasized these topics for more than 50 years. Based on a previous review papers dealing with diversity and advertising as well as a keyword search in major databases, this paper gives a brief overview of prior research, emphasizing studies that have been published in the International Journal of Advertising, and provides avenues for future advertising research on diversity and inclusion.

Prior research

Advertising researchers’ interest in diversity and inclusion started with studies on the portrayal of men and women and of the elderly in advertising during the 1970s (Belkaoui and Belkaoui 1976; Silverstein and Silverstein, 1974; Smith, 1976). Research on the portrayal of different social groups, often performed as content analyses, lacks a comprehensive theoretical approach. However, studies dealing with the effects of portrayals of minority groups, disadvantaged social groups, and stereotypes often relies on the theoretical concept of congruency (see Osgood and Tannenbaum 1955). The effects of portrayals in advertising are more positive when they are congruent with products, messages, and consumer characteristics (e.g., De Meulenaer, Dens, Pelsmacker, and Eisend 2018). For instance, if older people are perceived as congruent with certain products, advertising effects of portraying older endorsers are positive. In general, research in this area is motivated by the notion that advertising is not inclusive and does not sufficiently and correctly represent the diverse composition of people in society (Haller and Ralph 2001). The most commonly investigated diversity attributes in advertising are gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age.

Gender

Research on gender in advertising investigates how men and women are depicted and the effects of these portrayals. An inclusive and diverse portrayal would represent women and men in a non-stereotypical manner, such that women and men appear equally and are depicted in similar ways (for an overview, see Grau and Zotos, 2016). Research, however, shows that males appear more often in advertising than women, and that women are often depicted in stereotypical ways, such as housewives, in the background, or in minor roles. As for advertising effectiveness, extant research shows that gender depictions in advertising are most effective when they are congruent with consumers’ existing social and cognitive schemata and are in line with their gender-role expectations and values (Chu, Lee, and Kim, 2016; Lee, 2014; Putrevu, 2004). That is, less stereotypical depictions lead to more positive ad and brand responses by consumers with a nontraditional gender-role ideology and vice versa. The congruency between stereotypical depictions and consumer expectations and values vary over time, between genders of consumers, and across cultural contexts. Traditional and non-diverse gender portrayals tend to alienate consumers in today’s societies more than in the past because gender role expectations and values, as well as general attitudes towards diversity became more favorable towards more diverse portrayals (Middleton and Turnbull 2021; Pounders 2018). These changes occur at different speeds in different societies and are more advanced in Western and developed countries (Cheng 1997; De Meulenaer et al. 2018; Sengupta 1995; Wiles and Tjernlund 1991). As for the gender of consumers, men and women do process advertising information differently (Putrevu 2001); in particular, traditional and non-diverse gender portrayals lead to more favorable responses among men as compared to women (Eisend, Plagemann, and Sollwedel 2014; Whipple and Courtney 1985).

Ethnic minorities

Most content analyses on depictions of ethnic minorities refer to Afro-American, Asian, and Latin-American ethnic minorities in the United States (e.g., Knobloch-Westerwick and Coates 2006; Mastro and Greenberg 2000). The findings show that ethnic minorities are underrepresented and often depicted in stereotypical ways. Research on advertising effects of ethnic minorities are plenty (e.g., Aaker, Brumbaugh, and Grier 2000; Kim et al. 2020; Lee, Fernandez, and Martin 2002; Rößner, Kämmerer, and Eisend 2017), but the findings are mixed. In general, they suggest congruency effects similar to the effects of gender in advertising, for instance, ethnic minority endorsers work better with ethnic products or for ethnic-minority consumers.

Sexual orientation

While large-scale, quantitative content analyses on the sexual orientation of people portrayed in advertising are missing, a recent meta-analysis has integrated the findings on the effects of homosexual versus heterosexual endorsers in advertising (Eisend and Hermann 2019). The findings show that the persuasive effect is the same for homosexual and heterosexual endorsers. However, incongruence between imagery, endorser gender, and product type results in unfavorable responses to homosexual advertising imagery (e.g., Li 2022; Um 2014).

Age

Despite the increasing consumption power of older consumers, older people seldom appear in advertising (Eisend 2022). Several studies have investigated age as a diversity attribute, revealing that older people are misrepresented and underrepresented in advertising (Carrigan and Szmigin 2000; Zhou and Chen 1992), particularly for product categories considered “youthful” such as cosmetics, beauty aids, or fashion (e.g., Simcock and Sudbury 2006), although research indicates that consumers are not necessarily alienated by older models (Greco, Swayne, and Johnson 1997).

Diversity and inclusion in advertising journals and advertising practice

Research on diversity and inclusion has intensified over the years and the International Journal of Advertising is a primary outlet for this research stream. For instance, a keyword search for “diversity” in abstracts of papers published in the International Journal of Advertising shows that out of 25 papers, 11 papers were published since 2015; for the keyword “gender roles” 10 out of 18 papers were published since; for “gay”, 11 out of 28 papers. This development is likely driven by the editorial policy aiming at a diverse audience. The journal has the most culturally diverse authorship of all advertising journals (Eisend 2017; Polonsky and Carlson 2009) and this diversity might contribute to the emphasis on topics related to diversity and inclusion.

As for practice, advertisers in many Western societies seem open for inclusive ads and representations, such as non-binary gender endorsers – famous examples being Gillette, Mastercard’s “True Name” commercial, and Starbuck’s “What’s Your Name” campaign. Although this trend does not occur at a global level and several countries have restrictions on diverse portrayals, including around 70 countries that criminalize homosexuality (Eisend and Hermann 2019), advertising has in general become more diverse and inclusive. Although advertising research has been promoting an inclusive and diverse approach to advertising in the past, current research runs the risk of falling behind progressive advertising practices. For instance, advertising researchers continue to rely on a traditional gender concept and exclude many consumers who exist outside of the gender binary (Eisend 2019).

Future research

Other diversity attributes

Studies on other diversity attributes are rather scarce, and only a few attempts have been made to investigate, for instance, disability images in advertising (Haller and Ralph 2001), transgender endorsers (Tsai 2010), religious minorities (Rößner, Gvili, and Eisend 2021), contemporary family structures (e.g., interracial couples, Hackenmueller 2020), and lifestyles (Raggiotto, Scarpi, and Moretti 2020). Future research should explore more attributes of diversity and how they might contribute to eliminating or changing stereotypes surrounding ethnicity, religion, and family groups. Research is also needed on how the potential over-representation of certain groups in advertising, such as interracial couples on television advertising, can influence how the dominant group sees them in real life (Hackenmueller 2020). It should also be acknowledged that advertising in a non-Western context remains understudied (Van-Tien Dao et al. 2014).

Opportunities also remain to study the impact of non-stereotypical portrayals of diversity (Chu, Lee, and Kim 2016). For example, in terms of gender roles, there is a growing literature investigating how portraying men being interested in traditionally female-oriented products (Barry and Phillips 2016) or men as caregivers (Baxter, Kulczynski, and Ilicic 2016) as well as using female endorsers who do not adhere to prevailing ideals (Bissell and Rask 2010; Del Rosso 2017) or are portrayed as empowered arbitrators of power (Kordrostami and Laczniak 2021) affect consumers. Future research should investigate the prevalence and effects of non-stereotypical portrayals for other diversity attributes. Moreover, researchers should examine portrayals of physical diversity, both in terms of body diversity and positivity, and how this type of diversity affects consumers’ behavior (Lou and Tse 2021). Lastly, issues involving socioeconomic (Van-Tien Dao 2014) and linguistic (Ahn et al. 2017) diversity remain underexplored.

Multiple diversity and intersectionality

Only a few attempts have been made to investigate several diversity attributes simultaneously (e.g., An and Kwak 2019; An and Weber 2018). Nonetheless, the idea of diversity and inclusion suggests that each individual is unique and its identity differs from other individuals along several attributes. Identity attributes referring to gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, class, or physical ability can intersect with each other. Intersectionality refers to a person’s interconnecting social categories that can lead to discrimination or disadvantage (e.g., a lesbian woman with physical disabilities). Considering intersectionality in future research can create a more representative and inclusive picture of the world’s complexity, help to understand how consumers with different identities respond to endorsers with various identities, and ultimately help advertisers to increase advertising effectiveness while also promoting inclusion, acceptance, and reduce prejudice in society. Further research is thus needed to provide theoretical explanations on how consumers are affected by the intersectionality of endorsers in advertising.

Advertiser responsibility and advertiser/agency studies

More research is needed on advertiser responsibility regarding inclusion and diversity in advertising and the role of practitioners in making decisions about diversity and inclusion (Windels 2016). The production of advertising is dominated by young, white, male (Thompson-Whiteside 2020; Windels and Lee 2012), who may consciously or unconsciously choose endorsers with whom they can identify, which partly explains why advertising is often not inclusive and neglects diversity (e.g., Tuncay Zayer and Coleman 2015). At the same time, stereotypical portrayals (e.g., young female endorsers) might be considered more attractive and thus more successful, while non-stereotypical portrayals (e.g., older minority endorsers) might not resonate with expectations of a society’s majority. Thus, advertisers often face a dilemma: diverse and inclusive portrayals might introduce negative advertising effects but have positive social effects by reducing stereotypes and prejudices. Stereotypical portrayals are more congruent with the majority in a society and thus lead to more positive advertising effects but promote stereotypes. Future research should contribute insights that enable advertisers to use more diverse and inclusive advertising in a way that balances this dilemma. This requires an understanding that showing ethnicity in a multicultural advertising context is not synonymous with the erasure of problematic stereotypical meanings that might perpetuate the thoughts of the dominant group (Kim and Chung 2005). Furthermore, when advertisers focus upon a religious minority, there continues to be a lack of adherence to their religious mores. For example, if advertisers are genuine about following broader Islamic advertising traditions, they should remove offensive objects and sexual or emotional appeals (Ani and Yusoff 2021). Overall, academic research that provide guidance on how to avoid pitfalls in diverse and inclusive advertising is warranted.

Online and social media

Most prior studies have investigated advertising in traditional media, and only recently have studies shifted their attention towards diversity in online media. This research has, for example, investigated consumer reactions to advertising campaigns (e.g., Feng, Chen, and He 2019) and collaborations with influencers on issues and causes related to diversity and inclusion (e.g., Li 2022; Yang, Chuenterawong, and Pugdeethosapol 2021). More research is needed especially since both positive and negative reactions are likely to multiply via comments and sharing of advertising content in online and social media.

To conclude, advertising research has a long tradition of diversity and inclusion topics, but there are many areas in need of further investigation. We hope that this paper will contribute to future research, especially research on diversity attributes beyond gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age, that considers multiple diversity attributes and intersectionality, and includes an advertiser perspective.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Martin Eisend

Martin Eisend is a professor of marketing at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. His research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing communication, and empirical generalizations.

Adrienne F. Muldrow, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at East Carolina University, US. Her research interests include studying communication and behavior from diversity, inclusion, and equity issues.

Sara Rosengren is a professor of marketing and retailing at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing communications, and retailing.

Adrienne F. Muldrow

Martin Eisend is a professor of marketing at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. His research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing communication, and empirical generalizations.

Adrienne F. Muldrow, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at East Carolina University, US. Her research interests include studying communication and behavior from diversity, inclusion, and equity issues.

Sara Rosengren is a professor of marketing and retailing at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing communications, and retailing.

Sara Rosengren

Martin Eisend is a professor of marketing at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. His research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing communication, and empirical generalizations.

Adrienne F. Muldrow, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at East Carolina University, US. Her research interests include studying communication and behavior from diversity, inclusion, and equity issues.

Sara Rosengren is a professor of marketing and retailing at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing communications, and retailing.