Fashion brands and gay/lesbian-inclusive advertising in the USA

Abstract

Within the United States general attitudes towards gays and lesbians (GL) are rapidly undergoing change. Several researchers have previously documented that heterosexual consumers respond negatively to advertisements featuring same-sex couples. At this critical juncture, it is important to reexamine consumer response to fashion advertisements featuring GL images. Using a small qualitative study (n = 10) and an experiment (n = 202) our research purpose was to determine whether consumer attitude towards advertisements, brand attitude, brand distinctiveness and/or brand attractiveness varied based on the level of inclusiveness of GL images (i.e. GL-inclusive vs. non-inclusive). Results from the qualitative project demonstrated most participants responded positively to the advertisements featuring GL images although two participants were worried about unidentified 'negative' influences on the sexual orientation of heterosexual viewers. The inclusiveness level of GL images did not negatively influence attitude towards the advertisements or brand attitude. Rather, GL-inclusive advertising resulted in higher ratings of brand distinctiveness and attractiveness as compared to the non-inclusive advertising. Implications and limitations of this study as well as suggestions for future research are discussed. 252

Gay-Friendly as an Advertising Resource

“…Previous studies [3,9] have shown that moderate exposure of sexual minorities can lead to higher levels of empathy and social connection as long as this process is subtle and continual.…”

“…Sixteen participants claim that brands such as Movistar acknowledge that their audiences appreciate added value, position on an issue, problem, and social contribution, which adds points in favor of the brand. Previous findings [2,9,10] have shown that consumers do not want materialistic brands, but rather brands which are socially responsible, and that as a result, brands obtain the benefits of loyalty, trust and retention from their customers [1,11]. Four participants questioned Movistar's social background, and due to the continuity of the topic, the use of exaggerated homosexual representation, the broadcasting schedule, and the poor service, they would reconsider leaving the brand.…”

“…According to the respondents, there is a short exchange between the father and the boyfriend because of the effervescence, passion, euphoria caused by the soccer game and possibly in a similar situation they would act the same, although they would then look for a way to start a conversation. One of the advertising strategies is to exemplify hidden everyday situations (insight) so that the viewer feels emotionally represented and discover things they didn't know because they hadn't taken the time to imagine or think about them [9]. They use football that produces emotions of joy, euphoria, optimism, and many people identify themselves (…) (There) are emotions when you watch a game and even more when your team is winning.…”

“…Therefore, the concept gay-friendly was born to encompass those companies, places, people and institutions that collaborate in charitable organizations in favor of the LGBT community, with inclusive and non-discrimination corporate policies [7,8]. This discourse has been used for 30 years, where they present a standardized sexuality between same-sex couples both implicitly and explicitly generating good economic results and brand image [3,4,9]. Marketers have portrayed this market as atypically rich, educated and informed; and, involved in the various social, political and economic spheres [3,10,11].…”

Queervertising: An empowerment tool for the gay men and lesbian community

“…Consequently, consumers can use brands to form their self-concept (Akermanidis & Venter, 2014). Several works evidence the contribution that can be made by advertising imagery to individuals' sexual identity (Chae et al, 2016;Gong, 2020;Holz Ivory, 2019;Mikkonen, 2010;Oakenfull et al, 2008). As result of this, the use of gay men and lesbians' subculture symbols in advertising, that reflect gay/lesbian identity, for instance referencing clothes, language, lifestyle etc, have meaning for the community and generate empathy with them (Oakenfull et al, 2008).…”