Crafting Mixed Sexual Advertisements for Mainstream Media: Examining the Impact of Homosexual and Heterosexual Imagery Inclusion on Advertising Effectiveness

Inclusive identities: re-imaging the future of the retail brand?

“…This relates to a number of identity markers, such as race (Ivory, 2019; n a t i o n a l J o u r n a l o f R e t a i l & D i s t r i b u t i o n M a n a g e m e 5 Quach et al, 2017), gender, sexuality (Oakenfull and Greenlee, 2005;Quach et al, 2017), values (Ritch and Brownlie (2016) and age (Peters et al, 2011;Cole and Yoon, 2008). Perhaps because consumers prefer seeing models consistent with how they perceive their own identity (Ivory, 2019;Gong, 2019;Quach et al, 2017), marketers' like to use easily identifiable, often stereotypical representations within their targeted marketing activities (Dotson et al, 2009).…”

“…Yet, Nölke (2018) questioned the value of using sexual orientation for target marketing, because much of the advertisers' understanding may be constructed within stereotypical assumptions that exclude the spectrum of sexuo-gendered identities. Gong (2019) and Nölke (2018) posited that minority sexuogendered identities, such as genderqueer, 'femme' males, 'butch' lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals are invisible in media representations. Further, similar to heterosexual advertising, they suggested that lean youthful identities are preferred by marketers, to sell a sense of perfectionism rather than presenting destabilising gender and sexual identities that challenge social narratives.…”

“…Consequently, it would be logical to explore perceptions of other members of the sexuo-gendered community that are represented in marketing. Although retailers and marketers have long recognised financial opportunities in attracting sexuogendered consumers (Ivory, 2019), even lesbian and gay marketing imagery has remained outside of mainstream advertising to avoid negative responses from heterosexual consumers (Ivory, 2019;Gong, 2019;Um, 2016;Dotson et al, 2009). In mainstream marketing, symbols and markers that have meaning for the lesbian and gay community were used to subtly attract lesbian and gay consumers, remaining unobserved by mainstream consumers (Ivory, 2019); a strategy termed 'gay window advertising' (Kates, 1999).…”

“…As societal attitudes have become more accepting of same sex relationships (Ivory, 2019), mainstream organisations are beginning to illustrate their support for sexuo-gendered communities (Grau and Zotos, 2016) by featuring gay, lesbian and trans couples (for example, American Airlines; Abercrombie and Fitch; Proctor and Gamble; Dolce and Gabbana (see Ivory, 2019)). As mainstream marketing provides a wider reach than other, segment-specific channels, this not only extends market opportunities but, also, authenticates sexuo-gendered communities within wider society (Ivory, 2019;Gong, 2019;Nölke, 2018) as 'legitimate customers' (Sender, 1999: 175).…”

“…Page 26 of 32 International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management n a t i o n a l J o u r n a l o f R e t a i l & D i s t r i b u t i o n M a n a g e m e 3 These categories have emerged from Gong (2019) and Nölke (2018) commenting that minority sexuo-gendered identities are not represented in mainstream media representations (see page 5):…”