Sixth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

In advertisements, the match-up hypothesis suggests that models and spokespersons with certain attributes will be more successful at conveying the advertising message because of their perceived fit with the product or service they are promoting. Consumers may associate a product or service with a certain gender, race, or ethnicity, suggesting a model or spokesperson fitting that description may add credibility to the marketing message. While content analyses have traditionally found minorities to be underrepresented in advertisements, this study explored whether this was true for audio headphone advertisements. This product type was selected because match-up hypothesis has previously revealed a tendency for Asians to be associated with products of a technical nature, while African-Americans have been associated with music. While white males are represented disproportionately in advertisements more generally, it was believed that these associations may lead to Asian and African-Americans accounting for a disproportionate number of roles in this field of advertising. A content analysis of 62 advertisements from 14 prominent audio headphone manufacturers revealed that both African-American and Asian models and spokespersons were represented at statistically-significantly higher rates than their population rates, supporting the hypothesis.