The outbreak of novel coronavirus, which is declared as a ‘Global Pandemic’ by the World Health Organization (WHO), has affected around 210 countries and India is not an exception. It is an unprecedented ‘public health emergency’ and therefore, it is important that individuals should not fall into a prolonged depression or any other unhealthy psychological condition. Being concerned about the population at risk, the current study thus investigates how Big Five personality model can help in building emotional resilience during pandemic conditions. The current study thus investigates a sample of 254 adults at Delhi, selected through purposive sampling. Cluster analysis and stepwise regression analysis were conducted to establish the relationship and identify the significant personality traits required for building emotional resilience. The cluster analysis showed three main personality types (resilient, overcontrollers, and emotionally dysregulated) and further stepwise regression showed that individuals high on conscientiousness, openness and neuroticism were found to be associated with more change in emotional resilience. The findings thus achieved are a step towards psychological health of the individuals at risk. Additionally, the results of the study may be added to the psychological first aid (PFA) guide as reference point. Bearing in mind the potential for future research, it is recommended that longitudinal studies should be conducted, and the relationship should also be examined in the presence of other variables such as culture, life stressors and gender.

Researchers in different parts of the world have shown great concern on gender stereotyping in advertising. However, very few studies have analyzed the effect of such a message strategy on consumers, more so in the case of India. As per the census data, there is an increase in the literacy rate, education status and work participation rate of women in India. Therefore, it is imperative to assess the consumer responses towards the appropriateness of such a message strategy. A structured questionnaire was administered to 450 respondents comprising males and females in the age group of 20–50 years in the Delhi region. Consumer responses were evaluated to understand the effect of female portrayals in advertising on the dimensions of the following: preference for advertisement, attitude towards the advertisement (with respect to ad liking and believability of the ad), towards the brand (with respect to brand liking, brand recall, brand recognition and brand image) and intention to buy. Demographic factors were also evaluated to assess the impact of female portrayals on consumer evaluations. Several hypotheses were developed and tested in this study. Analysis of variance, T-test, correlation and regression were employed to test the hypotheses. Findings of the study indicate that the portrayal of females in advertisements is associated with ad liking, believability of ad, brand liking, brand recognition, brand recall and brand image, and has a lesser impact on intention to buy. The study also reports new findings on female portrayal and communication impact. Implications for marketing practitioners have also been discussed in the article.

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The role of advertising as an effective vehicle of communication has long been acknowledged. It has become the important 'part of the cultural and economic fabric of a society and continues to be a primary tool for marketing communication' (Lane et. al., 2005). The current study examines the portrayal of women in contemporary Indian magazine and television advertisements in various product and service categories. The present study is an effort to fill the gap of limited research on gender representation in Indian context. Using content analysis, a total of 275 advertisements comprising print and television ads were examined. The result reveals the dominance of female stereotyping in Indian advertising where females were mostly depicted as a housewife, predominantly endorsing household products and mostly young female models were preferred for brand promotion by advertisers.