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Summary
We know from prior research that different consumers have different emotional responses to ads that show images of gay men and women. New research shows evidence that political ideology is a key determinant, suggesting that marketers consider geopolitical segmentation and targeting to reduce potential negative outcomes to sales.
The researchers—academics and an agency planning manager—took a detailed look at political ideology, gender and sexuality in ads and the impact of each on consumer attitudes. Their work appears to be the first to find a link between consumers’ political ideology and reactions of disgust toward LGBTQ-themed ads.
Using a sample of 859 U.S.-based respondents, the authors discovered that political “conservatives (versus liberals) experienced a high level of disgust when viewing advertisements containing male-to-male homosexual imagery.” This aversion, however, was not evident when the same cohort reacted to ads that depicted female-to-female homosexuality. And, there was the same kind of equanimity for both conservative and liberal research participants when heterosexual couples were featured. A replication study reported the same outcome.
To avoid alienating conservative customers, the authors suggest the following:
- Marketers should consider geopolitical segmentation to guide marketing and media strategy.
- Therefore, marketers can utilize election data as a proxy for consumers’ political ideologies.
- By doing this, they can develop and run different creative content and messages on the basis of geopolitical segments.
Gavin Northey (g.northey@griffith.edu.au) is a senior lecturer at Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, in Queensland, Australia. He specializes in the effects of advertising on consumer decision making.
Rebecca Dolan (rebecca.dolan@adelaide.edu.au) is a senior lecturer in marketing at University of Adelaide. Her research focuses on contemporary issues in marketing, such as digital disruption, social media and customer engagement.
Jane Etheridge (jane.etheridge@shoppermediagroup.com) is a planning manager at Shopper Media Group Ltd. In London. She coauthored this article when she was a strategist at Dentsu Aegis Network in Auckland, New Zealand.
Felix Septianto (f.septianto@auckland.ac.nz) is a lecturer in marketing at University of Auckland. His work explores the influences of feelings and emotions on consumer behavior.
Patrick van Esch (patrick.van.esch@aut.ac.nz) is a senior lecturer in marketing at Aukland University of Technology. His main research interests are in artificial intelligence and consumer behavior.