Ethnic Evaluations of Advertising: An Examination of the Interaction Effects of Strength of Ethnic Identification, Media Placement, and Degree of Racial Composition

Abstract

Numerous advertising studies have examined the influence of human models on audience evaluations of advertisements. One particular area of focus has been on the attitudes among audiences towards ads of varying degrees of racial composition (i.e., ads containing all black models, all white models, or integrated ads featuring both races). The overwhelming majority of advertisements from the samples of past studies were drawn from media catering to mass, general audiences with little attention given to advertisements in racially-targeted media. There has been no general consensus as to how black or white audiences view advertisements featuring models of different racial backgrounds. However, most studies have focused on how members of the majority population view ads containing ethnic-minority models in general audience media. What has not been addressed in as much detail is how elhnic-minorities who are now being heavity targeted through media, view advertisements featuring majority models, particularly when these ads are placed in media which are racially- and culturally-specific. Advertisers spend approximately $865 million annually to reach African-American consumers, thus, there should be some understanding of how blacks respond to these advertising efforts. A major question left unanswered is, “ Is there any difference in how ethnic minorities view and ad featuring a model from the majority population (e.g., a white model) placed in general audience media (e.g., People Magazine) as opposed to racially- targeted media (e.g., Ebony Magazine)”? Given that ethnic minorities are being targeted, now more than ever before, through television programming as well as print publications, it is likely that the particular media in which ads are placed will have an impact on their evaluations of the ads.