Consumers Reaction to Gender Cues in Advertising

In this research, we investigate the effect of implicit gender cues on brand warmth and competence perception. Further, we examine how consumers react to implicit gender cues when exposed to additional warmth/competence cues. We propose a framework that takes multiple warmth and competence cues into account. The framework is then used to assess the effects of implicit gender, warmth and competence cue on consumer perception of brands and purchasing intention. Consistent with the framework, across 2 studies we find that implicit feminine gender cues enhance perceived brand warmth and purchase intention when paired with a high competence cue yet backfire when paired with a low competence cue. In contrast, implicit masculine gender cues enhance perceived brand competence and purchase intention when paired with low competence cues yet backfire when combined with high competence cues.