Nerd Alert: Gender Stereotypes in Advertising

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Nerd Alert: Gender Stereotypes in Advertising"

Podcast Information

• Title: The Marketing Architects
• Host/Author: Marketing Architects
• Episode: Nerd Alert: Gender Stereotypes in Advertising
• Release Date: December 12, 2024
• Description: A research-first podcast that addresses pressing marketing trends and news through discussions grounded in marketing, psychology, and economics research. Focuses on marketing accountability, category leadership, brand-building, and effective marketing strategies.

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Nerd Alert: Gender Stereotypes in Advertising," hosts Alina Jasper and Rob Demars delve into the pervasive issue of gender stereotypes in advertising and their broader societal impacts. Emphasizing a research-first approach, the discussion is grounded in an academic study that explores how gender-stereotyped advertising affects not just the depicted gender but also the opposite gender viewers.

Exploring Gender Stereotypes in Advertising

Alina introduces the episode by presenting a study titled "Gender Stereotypes and Advertising have Negative Cross Gender Effects" authored by Nina Akistan, Sarah Rosengren, Michael Dolan, Karina Lil Jadal, and Hannah Berg from the Stockholm School of Economics. She defines "cross gender" as the impact that advertising stereotypes have on individuals of the opposite gender from those portrayed.

Alina Jasper [00:58]:
"This week I read a study titled Gender Stereotypes and Advertising have Negative Cross Gender Effects..."

Before delving into the study's findings, Alina engages Rob in a conversation about common gender stereotypes in advertising. Rob shares his observations and personal reactions to male and female stereotypes.

Rob Demars [01:39]:
"No, I think there's probably enough. I mean, come on, guys are. There's just so much to make fun of us about, you know..."

Cross Gender Effects: Study Insights

Alina connects Rob’s experiences to the study’s central theme, revealing that gender stereotypes in advertisements don't only affect the same gender but also elicit negative reactions from the opposite gender. The research conducted involved two experiments:

1. Physical Stereotypes: Participants viewed ads featuring stereotypical body images, such as slender women or muscular men.
2. Role Stereotypes: Participants viewed ads depicting traditional gender roles, like women as caregivers or men as unemotional and tough.

The study aimed to understand how these portrayals influence viewers' perceptions of the brand and their broader social implications.

Alina Jasper [05:22]:
"The stereotype portrayals, they don't just annoy or turn off people of the same gender. They create something called a cross gender effect."

Findings: Negative Reactions Across Genders

The study found that:

• Men’s Reactions to Female Stereotypes: Men experienced reactance, a feeling of frustration or resistance, when viewing advertisements that portrayed women in limiting roles. They were concerned about the broader social impact and how such portrayals might influence the perception of women in society.

  Rob Demars [02:31]:
  "I do feel obligated to. Yeah. Yeah, I do, because I just feel like that is a sensitive area..."

• Women’s Reactions to Male Stereotypes: Women also reacted negatively to ads portraying men in traditional, restrictive roles, such as being tough and emotionless. However, their reactions were sometimes less intense when the stereotypes involved physical attributes, possibly due to societal norms that associate body image more closely with women.

Alina Jasper [07:10]:
"Men watching stereotype portrayals of women in ads tended to experience reactance... Women watching stereotype portrayals of men had similar negative reactions..."

Hosts' Perspectives and Real-World Examples

Rob and Alina share their personal insights and relate the study’s findings to real-world advertising examples. Rob brings up the use of sex appeal in ads as a potential area where stereotypes and marketing strategies intersect.

Rob Demars [08:34]:
"I wonder, where does sex appeal fit into that matrix?... How does that sometimes cross that line into violating stereotypes?"

Alina acknowledges the complexity of the issue, noting that the study doesn't directly address the impact of stereotypes on sales, but rather on audience perception and potential brand alienation.

Alina Jasper [09:32]:
"This is more about, like, I don't know how the audience is feeling... How could you be more effective by not getting into these stereotypes?"

Rob cites the example of a controversial Peloton ad that portrayed stereotypical gender roles, sparking widespread backlash.

Rob Demars [12:08]:
"Remember that Peloton ad that everybody got upset about because they were portraying the wife?... maybe it depends on the severity of it."

Implications for Marketers

The discussion culminates in actionable insights for marketers:

1. Avoiding Stereotypes: Relying on gender stereotypes can alienate not just one gender but also the opposite gender, reducing the overall effectiveness of advertising efforts.
2. Brand Connection: Moving away from stereotypes allows brands to connect more authentically with a broader audience, fostering positive associations and enhancing brand perception.
3. Creative Advertising: Emphasizing creativity over traditional, stereotyped portrayals can lead to more inclusive and resonant advertising strategies.

Alina Jasper [07:50]:
"If you can move away from those stereotypes, brands might actually be able to better connect with consumers and create ads that everybody feels a little more positively about."

Conclusion

In wrapping up the discussion, Alina and Rob reflect on the importance of understanding the deeper social implications of advertising strategies. They emphasize that as audiences become more aware and concerned about social impacts, marketers must adapt by developing more nuanced and inclusive advertising narratives.

Rob Demars [11:45]:
"Whether the data actually reflects sales... would also be kind of like an interesting follow-up study."

Alina Jasper [12:31]:
"Maybe it depends on the kind of severity of it... This could just be an interesting thing to bring up if you wanted to try maybe changing some of the stereotypes you typically have in your ads."

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Key Takeaways:

• Cross Gender Impact: Gender stereotypes in advertising negatively affect both the depicted gender and the opposite gender viewers.
• Reactance and Resistance: Both men and women may feel frustrated or resistant when encountering limiting stereotypes of the opposite gender.
• Marketing Strategies: Moving away from stereotypical portrayals can enhance brand connection and reduce alienation across diverse audience segments.
• Further Research: Exploring the correlation between audience perceptions of stereotypes and actual purchasing behavior remains an area for future studies.

Notable Quotes:

• Rob Demars [05:43]:
  "Men are capable of caretaking and women are capable of achievement in the workplace. So that's where I'm going to go with option two."

• Alina Jasper [07:50]:
  "If you can move away from those stereotypes, brands might actually be able to better connect with consumers and create ads that everybody feels a little more positively about."

• Rob Demars [10:56]:
  "It's interesting debate."

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For more insights and to stay updated with the latest in marketing research, connect with Marketing Architects on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and help us build great marketing together.

Transcript

[Rob Demars]

Nerd alert. Learning is important, right?

[Alina Jasper]

Yes, exactly. What a bunch of nerds.

[Rob Demars]

Nerd alert, Right? Marketing Architects.

[Alina Jasper]

Hello and welcome to the Marketing Architects, a research first podcast dedicated to answering your toughest marketing questions. I'm Alina Jasper. I run the marketing team here at Marketing Architects, and I'm joined by my co host, Rob demars, the chief product architect of misfits and machines.

[Rob Demars]

Hi, Elena.

[Alina Jasper]

We're back with your weekly nerd Alert. Every week I'll take you to.

[Rob Demars]

Hey, don't say hi.

[Alina Jasper]

I feel like I don't.

[Rob Demars]

I mean, that was so cold. It's very cold.

[Alina Jasper]

Hi, Rob. Hi, Rob. It's. It's so great to see you today. I'm so happy. I'm excited recording this with you. We're back with your weekly Nerd Alert. Every week I'll take a deep dive into academic marketing research and translate its complex ideas into simple, understandable language for Rob, and of course, for all of you. Are you ready to nerd out, Rob?

[Rob Demars]

It's. It's nerd hunting season here in Minnesota. Let's do it.

[Alina Jasper]

I don't know if that's good for us, but. All right, let's get into it. As always, we'll link the research we cover in the episode notes. This week I read a study titled gender Stereotypes and Advertising have Negative Cross Gender Effects by Nina Akistan, Sarah Rosengren, Michael Dolan, Karina Lil Jadal, and Hannah Berg. And just to define a term before we get going, cross gender refers to the effects that gender stereotyped advertising has on individual of the opposite gender from those portrayed in the advertisements. But before I get into things, Rob, let me ask you this. Is there any male gender stereotype that you see in advertising often that bothers you?

[Rob Demars]

No, I think there's probably enough. I mean, come on, guys are. There's just so much to make fun of us about, you know, so. Yeah, no, I. I think we're pretty fair game to poke fun at and I don't personally get offended by any of it. We're pretty simple creatures and pretty stupid, so there's plenty to laugh at.

[Alina Jasper]

Okay, fair enough, fair enough.

[Rob Demars]

I mean, I just, I just don't. You know, I love those Dr. Rick Progressive Insurance commercials that make a lot of dad jokes. Like, it's just. They're funny. Whether it's dad jokes or just stupid like CRO Magnon young college kid men doing stupid things. We're just. I mean, it doesn't matter what age range. You can pick on the guy all you want.

[Alina Jasper]

Okay, well, Then let me ask you a follow up then.

[Rob Demars]

Okay.

[Alina Jasper]

What about like a female stereotype? Does it. Have you ever been bothered by something like that in a commercial?

[Rob Demars]

I feel obligated to. Yeah. Yeah, I do, because I just feel like that is a sensitive area. And I know it's funny, right? Like, and I have a daughter, so it's like I kind of feel offended. Yeah. So I do. I actually do. So, like, I'm not trying to like, placate both sides here or play it safe or be politically correct, but I, I do feel like guys just tend to be rich in humor. And as a guy, I am not offended. But for women, I do feel more sensitive to those stereotypes.

[Alina Jasper]

That's interesting, Rob, because that actually lines up pretty well with the study that we're going to talk about today. So. Yeah, so you are not on your own with that. I think that's a feeling that a lot of men share. And for me, I, I say offended is a pretty loaded term. I wouldn't say I get offended, but it does bother me when women are like really enthusiastic about household products. Like when they're spraying, like spraying down a counter and they're smiling, right? Someone like, drops a big thing of spaghetti on the floor and they're like, grinning while they're cleaning it up. Because I've never experienced, like, smiling while I'm cleaning up the mess, even if the product is working really well. And I'm sure everybody listening can think of a few times when maybe they saw their own gender or the opposite gender portrayed in an ad and were maybe a little bit turned off. And there's already a lot of studies on gender stereotypes and ads, and those have focused more on how female viewers respond to female stereotypes and then how male viewers respond to male stereotypes. This study expands on that because they examine how people react to stereotypes when they see advertisements depicting the opposite gender. So think ads where women are depicted as nurturing caregivers or men as tough and emotionless. And researchers from the Stockholm School of Economics decided to dig into this question. They wanted to understand how people actually respond to stereotype portrayals in ads. And most of the research on this, again, has focused on how women react to ads featuring stereotypical women or how men feel about male stereotypes. So if you see an ad with a woman in a stereotypical motherly role, it's been assumed that only other women would be bothered or impacted. But these researchers had a hunch that something more might be going on, that these ads might be affecting everyone watching, not just people of the same gender. So they ran two experiments. In one, participants looked at ads featuring stereotypical body images. Slender women or muscular men. And in the second, they looked at ads showing women and men in stereotypical roles, like women caring for children or a man at the gym. And throughout these tests, they tracked the participants responses to see how they felt about the ad, their opinion of the brand, and whether these stereotypes had a deeper, possibly unexpected impact. So, Rob, if you had to guess, what type of stereotyped ad do you think would trigger the strongest negative reaction across genders? Something with more physical stereotypes or more focused on traditional roles? What do you think?

[Rob Demars]

I'm going with traditional roles. I feel like it's just so overplayed. The man is the breadwinner and women are the caretakers. And I think that can actually be offensive on both sides. Like men are capable of caretaking and women are capable of, you know, achievement in the workplace. So that's where I'm. I'm going to go with option two. Elena, you'd be correct.

[Alina Jasper]

But let's talk a little bit more about the study, because what they found was that these stereotype portrayals, they don't just annoy or turn off people of the same gender. They create something called a cross gender effect. So men might get frustrated or uncomfortable when they see ads with stereotyped women, and women might react negatively to ads with stereotyped men. And the reason isn't just because people dislike the stereotypes. It's because they assume these ads will influence how others see themselves. So it's more of a concern for social impact, which the study calls the influence of presumed influence. So men watching an ad featuring a stereotyped female character may feel it sends a message that limits all women and vice versa. Which is, Rob, kind of similar to what you were saying before. When you see an ad like that, you're thinking about the women in your life. And one thing I found interesting about this study was the intensity and reasons behind their reactions varied. So this is going to get into kind of what that question I just asked you more. Men watching stereotype portrayals of women in ads tended to experience reactance. So that's a feeling of frustration or resistance due to what they perceived as a limiting portrayal that might negatively influence others, especially women. They were concerned about the broader social impact feeling the ad sent a restrictive message about women's roles. Women watching stereotype portrayals of men had similar negative reactions, particularly when the stereotypes focused on roles or behaviors like men being shown as tough and emotionless. However, women's reactions were sometimes less intense when they were viewing physical stereotypes of men, such as muscular body images. So that could be due to cultural norms that historically associate physical image concerns more closely with women. So men more likely to react about portrayals they saw as limiting others. Which, Rob, is what you were saying, like more of a tradition seeing someone put in a traditional role that might limit them where women had a somewhat heightened sense to social role stereotypes. So that nuance might suggest that audience reactions aren't entirely uniform. So people's own gender can influence how they perceive the impact of stereotypes. So I know that a little bit confusing at the end there, but I think the takeaway for marketers is if you're relying on stereotypes, you don't just risk alienating one gender. You're creating broader negative feelings that could turn off everybody. So if you can move away from those stereotypes, brands might actually be able to better connect with consumers and create ads that everybody feels a little more positively about. So it might be time to rethink the traditional formula, get a little bit more creative, especially when your audience is increasingly aware of and concerned about those social impacts. So now for our Rob GPT. This study is like a mirror maze where every reflection, no matter who it shows, distorts how everyone feels about themselves and each other, proving that stereotypes and ads cast a shadow over us all, not just their intended targets. Woo.

[Rob Demars]

That was a doozy. Yeah, I was keeping track. I was keep. I was keeping up with you, I think.

[Alina Jasper]

Yeah. What did you think?

[Rob Demars]

Well, I think it's fascinating. I also wonder, where does sex appeal fit into that matrix? So where am I going with that? Obviously there's the stereotype norms in terms of how people are perceived in the world and all that good stuff. Then there's also just a primal tactic of using sex appeal in ads. And how does that sometimes cross that line into violating stereotypes versus sometimes is that a good use of whatever the brand is that if it's a fashion brand, they're using sex appeal as a part of their brand because it might fit with their genre, with their clothing line, whatever that might be. At what point does that become sexist? Or what point is that just a. Using body imagery because we are primal creatures at the end of the day too?

[Alina Jasper]

Yeah.

[Rob Demars]

Is that. Is that confusing? Is that a confusing answer to a complicated topic?

[Alina Jasper]

No, I. It's a great question, and I think it is complicated because one thing this study, it doesn't say anything about, like, responsiveness to an ad or sales. It's. So that's that I'm curious about that too. Like, all right, well, what's the trade off for some brands that really want to portray their customer as a certain type of person? They want people to maybe look up to and, like, admire their customers and see them in, like, certain life situations. And so, yeah, this is more about, like, I don't know how the audience is feeling. I'm not sure of the short term impacts on sales or like the long term impacts on your brand. It's just kind of interesting to think about. How could you be more effective by not getting into these stereotypes? Because it's not just maybe bothering, like, one side of your audience, it might also be bothering the other.

[Rob Demars]

Right, right. Yeah. You don't know. It's like when you see a Calvin Klein ad in Times Square of the guy wearing the underwear with all of the, you know, the sick. I'm not even sure who they're targeting at that point, but it's certainly striking. And you're like, okay, as a guy, maybe I want to. I'm way past wanting to look like that person. But there's a large audience that wants to look like that. Or maybe there's the secondary. I don' Know. But that's obviously a tactic that's being used. But one could go, oh, are we that stupid of simpletons of creatures that that's what we need in order to buy male underwear? Maybe, but it's. Yeah, it's interesting debate.

[Alina Jasper]

Yeah, I wouldn't think we need that. But what do I know?

[Rob Demars]

I. I would agree. I would agree. But, you know, go through Times Square and there they'll be.

[Alina Jasper]

Yeah, and I suppose it's up to the brand, too. And different brands kind of serve different segments of the market. And again, yeah, they have their own brand personalities and make their own choices. But I don't know. I thought this was interesting and maybe could give someone some data if they're deciding who to feature in their next commercial and how to portray them. This could just be an interesting thing to bring up if you wanted to try maybe changing some of the stereotypes you typically have in your ads. This could be some evidence that, hey, this might be annoying, or a certain gender. But it could also be seen as limiting to the opposite gender, too, which I hadn't really thought about before.

[Rob Demars]

Yeah, I'm also with you too, on, you know, whether the data actually reflects sales, because I do feel like so many of the opinions there are progressive in nature and they feel good. Do they actually correlate with how people behave in the marketplace or not is would be, would also be kind of like an interesting follow up study.

[Alina Jasper]

It might depend on the severity because you know what I just thought of? Remember that peloton ad that everybody got upset about because they were portraying the wife? It's like, oh, my husband got me a peloton. I can't believe it. And, and every, I think I felt that way. You probably felt that way too. I think both genders united and felt like, all right, this is just, and that affected their sales. So it, maybe it depends on the, the kind of severity of it.

[Rob Demars]

Yeah, that's a good example.

[Alina Jasper]

That's it for this episode of the Marketing Architects. We'd like to thank Taylor De Los Reyes for producing the show. You can connect with us on LinkedIn and if you like the podcast, please leave us a review. Now go forth and build great marketing.