They're gr-r-reat! Introduction to the special issue

Brown, Stephen; Ponsonby-McCabe, Sharon

doi:10.1080/0267257x.2012.762184

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…One of the strongest human connections is emotional bonds and studies have found that anthropormophism and emotional connection go hand in hand (Aggarwal and McGill 2007). Until now, there has been very little research on how the gendering of a brand name impacts consumer evaluation (Brown and Ponsonby-McCabe 2013). Our results make it clear that male consumers' consumption decisions are impacted by gender bias.…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 64%

Real Men Don’t Buy “Mrs. Clean”: Gender Bias in Gendered Brands

Spielmann¹,

Dobscha²,

Lowrey³

2021

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

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Our article examines how products are valued differently depending on if the product has a male or female brand representation and if the consumer is male or female. This research extends previous research that categorizes brands as "gendered" (masculine vs. feminine) using stereotypical gender representations ("soft" vs. "hard") by showing that male and female brand names are evaluated with a bias that favors male brands. Across five studies (online, field), using a mixed-method approach (implicit association test [IAT], experiments, sales data), we examine genderneutral product categories (champagne, chips, tea, board games) that have male or female brand representations. We find that men devalue brands with female names, whereas women made no such distinctions, which we explain is due to gender bias created by the "precarious manhood" principle. This bias by men can be overcome using agentic brand descriptions. This research has implications for brand management, marketing communications, and public policy.Léa recently took over the family business from her father, Eric, and would like to refresh the brand name and logo. She wonders if she should keep the brand as is, Eric Humbert, or rebrand as Maison Humbert or, ideally, Léa Humbert. However, would consumers keep buying her products if her brand was clearly identified as feminine?

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Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 64%

Real Men Don’t Buy “Mrs. Clean”: Gender Bias in Gendered Brands

Spielmann¹,

Dobscha²,

Lowrey³

2021

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

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“…The Epic Split, Dove's viral movie 'Beautiful' and the BMW movies mentioned above are examples of branded video, while the meerkats Aleksandr, Sergai and Oleg, 11 along with their vegetable counterpart, Kevin the Carrot, 12 are part of a long tradition of brand characters going back to the Pillsbury Doughboy from the 1960s, the PG Tips Chimps and Kellogg's Frosties's Tony the Tiger in the 1950s, and the Rice Crispies elves Snap, Crackle and Pop from the 1940s, deployed for their well-known ability to anthropomorphise the brand, cueing an emotional response from the consumer, and helping to make the brand easier to remember. 13 Advertising posters and billboards, often grouped together with ads on urban street furniture or bus stops as Out Of Home (OOH) advertising, and PR (Public Relations) initiatives designed to generate news coverage about brands, are both old school techniques, in contrast to influencer 14 and social media advertising which are part of the murky and hyperbolic world of digital promotion. Digital media have taken sponsorship to new places as video sharing platforms have extended audience reach for video clips of sponsored sports events to hundreds of millions, opening up opportunities for clips that have Red Bull, GoPro or Nike involved in some way.…”

Section: The Commonality Of Paratextual Advertisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advertising as paratextual communication

2022

Understanding Advertisements as Social Texts

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“…Indeed, there is a growing body of literature on the significance of anthropomorphism in branding. Brown and Ponsonby-McCabe (2013) suggest that people are prone to attribute human-like characteristics to all things. Marketers frequently use anthropomorphic characters – Marlboro Man, Michelin Man, Ronald McDonald, Aleksandr the Meerkat – to communicate with consumers about everything from tyres, insurance and cigarettes to fast food (Hossany et al, 2013; Patterson et al, 2013).…”

Section: Ta and Marketplace Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Games people play with brands

2017

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Relationships have been normalized in marketing theory as mutually beneficial, long-term dyads. This obscures their emotional content, ignores critical conceptualizations of corporate exploitation and fails to capture the range of possible marketplace relationship forms, including those that may result from individuals’ biographical psychology and that lead to repeated dysfunctional exchanges. In this article, we offer Berne’s (1964) transactional analysis (TA) as a way to uncover the biographical psychology that informs marketplace relationship structures and their accompanying emotions and to provide a critique of such arrangements. We first explain TA, its origins, its relationship with psychoanalysis, its limitations and contemporary extensions beyond therapy. We then present the structural basis of marketplace relationships from a TA perspective, before illustrating how a game in TA can be applied through an analysis of the iPhone and related mobile phone contracts and the Games If I didn’t Love Apple and Smallprint. Finally, we discuss the implications of such an approach for transforming market practices based on recognition of marketplace Games and their modification.

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They're gr-r-reat! Introduction to the special issue

Abstract: Sharon Ponsonby-McCabe is a lecturer in marketing communication at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. Her research examines axiological issues in marketing, customer co-creation, retro branding strategies, and the construction of marketing ideas.T +44 28 90368904

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Real Men Don’t Buy “Mrs. Clean”: Gender Bias in Gendered Brands

Real Men Don’t Buy “Mrs. Clean”: Gender Bias in Gendered Brands

Advertising as paratextual communication

Games people play with brands

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