Communion-over-Agency Effects on Advertising Effectiveness

Abstract

Gender-stereotypical portrayals of communal women and agentic men are highly common in advertising. But past research indicates that advertising effectiveness is higher when endorsers are portrayed as communal À irrespective of their gender. The aim of the current research is to explore this communion-over-agency effect on advertising effectiveness and its underlying mechanism. Two studies provide evidence for a communion-over-agency effect on advertising effectiveness (i.e., attitude toward the ad and brand). These studies show that the communion-over-agency effect on attitude toward the ad is mediated by endorser likeability (simple mediation). The effect on attitude toward the brand is mediated by endorser likeability and attitude toward the ad (serial multiple mediation). In concert, this research underscores the significance of communion (and agency) on endorser evaluation and advertising effectiveness.

Gendered advertising: content, effectiveness and effects – psychological perspective

“…More recent studies report more favorable affective and cognitive responses to non-traditional/ househusband (vs traditional/businessman) print advertisements for gender neutral products such as vitamins (Zawisza, Cinnirella and Zawadzka, 2006), mineral water (Zawisza and Cinnirella, 2010) and orange juice even cross-culturally . Similar preference of the communal male (father with a baby) over the agentic one (businessman) was reported at the level of descriptive statistics by Infanger and Sczesny (2015) but the two ad conditions used different products which limits comparability. Baxter, Kulczynski and Ilicic (2016) also report a preference for ads using the non-traditional male (bathing a baby) but this role was compared to a similar female role as opposed to a traditional male role.…”

“…purchase intent) for gender neutral products. They replicated this communion-over-agency preference with advertisements for unisex perfume as well as for stereotypical vs counterstereotypical female advertising characters (communal/mother with a baby vs agentic/businesswoman) but these portrayals were paired with different products (baby food vs financial services; Infanger and Sczesny, 2015).…”

“…The mixed pattern of findings with regards to the female depictions might be partly due to the inconsistent operationalization of ad effectiveness across the studies. These include: affect and purchase intent (Jaffe and Berger, 1994); ad evaluation and recall (Whipple and Courtney, 1980); affective and cognitive responses to the ads (Zawisza and Cinnirella, 2010;; purchase intent (Infanger, Bosak and Sczesny, 2012;Zawisza and Cinnirella, 2010;Zawisza et al, , 2018 as well as attitudes to the ad and brand (Baxter, Kulczynski and Ilicic, 2016;Infanger and Sczesny, 2015). However, the same methodological inconsistencies did not seem to affect the pattern of findings reported for male gender portrayals.…”

Does it pay to break male gender stereotypes in advertising? A comparison of advertisement effectiveness between the United Kingdom, Poland and South Africa

“…This has proven applicable to gendered advertising (Infanger & Sczesny, 2015;Zawisza & Cinnirella, 2010). Moreover, 'warmth' is afforded primacy over 'competence' , such that warmth influences affective and behavioural judgements to a greater extent than competence (Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick, 2006).…”

Where has the research on client–agency relationships gone? The need for a deeper understanding of the future of account management

“…The authors found that, consistent with prior research, that clients themselves need to be cognizant of trade-offs that may be present between originality and achieving strategic goals. While not studied from both the client and agency side, recent studies have looked at whether gender issues may affect campaign evaluations (e.g., Infanger and Sczesny 2015;Roca et al 2016).…”