Motherhood, fatherhood, and advertising: How Polish consumers perceive the image of parenthood in femvertising and menvertising?

Consumer expectations regarding the creation of the world depicted in advertising are constantly evolving. In response to these needs, relatively new trends in marketing communication, such as femvertising and menvertising, which oppose gender stereotypes, are emerging. The main goal of this paper is to explore how Polish consumers aged 23–34 perceive the unconventional portrayal of parenthood depicted in femvertisements and menvertisements. The study was conducted in the form of three focused group interviews in March and April 2023. Participants were individuals who have children or intend to have them in the future – eight women and seven men. The study provided insights into participants' opinions on the portrayal of motherhood and fatherhood in femvertising and menvertising, as well as allowed identifying categories influencing attitudes towards such advertisements. Furthermore, it revealed a range of emotions evoked by them.

Bibliografia/References

Abitbol, A., & Sternadori, M. (2018). Championing women's empowerment as a catalyst for purchase intentions: Testing the mediating roles of OPRs and brand loyalty in the context of femvertising. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(1), 22–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2018.1552963

Accenture (2018). To affinity and beyond: From me to we, the rise of the purpose-led brand. https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/a-com-migration/custom/_acnmedia/thought-leadership-assets/pdf/Accenture-CompetitiveAgility-GCPR-POV.pdf#zoom=50 (accessed on 26 June 2024).

Akestam, N., Rosengren, S., & Dahlen, M. (2017). Advertising "like a girl": Toward a better understanding of "femvertising" and its effects. Psychology & Marketing, 34(8), 795–806. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21023

Akestam, N., Rosengren, S., Dahlén, M., Liljedal, K. T., & Berg, H. (2021). Gender stereotypes in advertising have negative cross-gender effects. European Journal of Marketing, 55(13), 63–93. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0125

Baxter, S. M., Kulczynski, A., & Ilicic, J. (2015). Ads aimed at dads: Exploring consumers' reactions towards advertising that conforms and challenges traditional gender role ideologies. International Journal of Advertising, 35(6), 977–978.

Buckley, A. C., Yannopoulou, N., Gorton, M., & Lie, S. (2024). Guilty displeasures? How Gen-Z women perceive (in)authentic femvertising messages. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 25(4). 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2024.2305753

Center For Reproductive Rights. (2023). European abortion laws: A comparative overview. https://reproductiverights.org/european-abortion-lawscomparative-overview/

Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej (CBOS). (2019). Rodzina – jej znaczenie i rozumienie. Komunikat z badań nr 22/2019.

Ciochetto, L. (2008). Images of women in advertising both consumer and object of consumption. Media Asia, 35(4), 241–249.

Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (2nd Ed.). University of California Press.

Gentry, J., & Harrison, R. (2010). Is advertising a barrier to male movement toward gender change? Marketing Theory, 10(1), 74–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593109355246

Donath, O. (2015). Regretting motherhood: A sociopolitical analysis. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 40(2), 343–367. https://doi.org/10.1086/678145

Drake, V. E. (2017). The impact of female empowerment in advertising (femvertising). Journal of Research in Marketing, 7(3), 593–599.

Eisend, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of gender roles in advertising. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(4), 418–440.

Elhajjar, S. (2022). Attitudes toward femvertising in the Middle East: The case of Lebanon. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 13(5), 1111–1124. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA04-2020-0108

Ellemers, N. (2018). Gender stereotypes. Annual Review of Psychology, 69, 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011719

Ford, J. B., LaTour, M. S., & Lundstrom, W. J. (1991). Contemporary women's evaluation of female role portrayals in advertising. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 8(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363769110034901

Gawlina, Z. (2003). Macierzyństwo jako wartość w kontekście przemian społecznych. Blaski i cienie życia rodzinnego. Roczniki Socjologii Rodziny, XV, 33–45.

Grau, S. L., & Zotos, Y. C. (2016). Gender stereotypes in advertising: A review of current research. International Journal of Advertising, 35(5), 761–770. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2016.1203556

Hainneville, V., Guevremont, A., & Robinot, E. (2023). Femvertising or femwashing? Women's perceptions of authenticity. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 22(2). 933–941. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2020

Heffernan, V., & Wilgus, G. (2018). Introduction: Imagining motherhood in the twenty-first century – images, representations, constructions. Women: A Cultural Review, 29(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/09574042.2018.1442603

Hsu, C.-K. (2018). Femvertising: State of the art. Journal of Brand Strategy. 7(1), 28–47.

Janowicz, K., & Jasielska, A. (2021). Komercjalizacja tacierzyństwa. Relacja ojca z dzieckiem na tle działań marketingowych. Człowiek i Społeczeństwo, 60, 79–100. https://doi.org/10.14746/cis.2021.51.4

Kapoor, D., & Munjal, A. (2019). Self-consciousness and emotions driving femvertising: A path analysis of women's attitude towards femvertising, forwarding intention and purchase intention. Journal of Marketing Communications, 25(2) 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2017.1338611

Karulkar, Y., Arya, S., Gujral, S., Sharma, A., & Pokharna, M. (2019). Does femvertising matter? A study in the Indian context. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 6(1), 815–825.

Kaźmierczak-Kałużna, I. (2016). Rola kobiety-matki i jej przemiany na przestrzeni wieków. In: I. Przybił, & A. Żurek (Eds.), Role rodzinne. Między przystosowaniem a kreacją (139–152). Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Społecznych UAM.

Kmita, G. (2016). Parenting beliefs and practices in Poland. In: G. Nicolas, A. Bejarano, & D. L. Lee (Eds.), Contemporary parenting: A global perspective (142–155). Routledge.

Knutson, M., & Waldner, M. (2017). Reshaping the man in the mirror: The effects of challenging stereotypical male portrayals in advertising (BSc thesis in marketing). Stockholm School of Economics.

Konecki, K. (2000). Studia z metodologii badań jakościowych. Teoria ugruntowana. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

Lantos, G. P. (1987). Advertising: Looking Glass or Molder of the Masses? Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 6, 104–128.

Leader, C. F. (2019). Dadvertising: Representations of fatherhood in Procter & Gamble's tide commercials. Communication, Culture and Critique, 12(1), 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcz002

Lee, J. (2022). Empowering women or selling empowerment to women?: Young consumers' response to femvertising in the Japanese context. Keio Communication Review, (44), 61–82.

Leszczuk-Fiedziukiewicz, A. (2009). Rodzina w polskiej reklamie telewizyjnej po przełomie w 1989 roku. Dom Wydawniczy DUET.

Lewicka, M. (2020). Przemiany roli ojca we współczesnej kulturze. Implikacje pedagogiczne. Teologia i Moralność, 15(1/27). https://doi.org/10.14746/tim.2020.27.1.13

Lin, C.-L., & Yeh, J.-T. (2009). Comparing society's awareness of women: Media-portrayed idealized images and physical attractiveness. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(1), 61–79. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/sl0551-009-0026-z

Macias, K. (2021). Femvertising and its perception by Polish female consumers. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets, 1(22), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.7172/2449-6634.jmcbem.2021.1.4

Mager, J., & Helgeson, J.G. (2011). Fifty years of advertising images: Some changing perspectives on role portrayals along with enduring consistencies Sex Roles, 64, 238–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9782-6

Mikolajczak, M., Gross, J. J., & Roskam, I. (2019). Parental burnout: What is it, and why does it matter? Clinical Psychological Science, 7(6), 1319–1329. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702619858430

Morgan, D. L. (1996). Focus groups. Annual Review of Sociology, 22(1), 129–152. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.129

Mueller, S., Morton, C. R., Johnson, B. K., Sharma, B., & Morris, J. D. (2023). Like the dad in the ad: Testing a conceptual model for new fathers' responses to dadvertisements. International Journal of Advertising, 42(3), 488–517. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2022.2091377

Negm, E. (2024). Investigating consumers' reactions towards female-empowerment advertising (femvertising) and female-stereotypical representations advertising (sex-appeal). Journal of Islamic Marketing, 15(4), 1078–1096. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-05-2022-0128

Pando-Canteli, M. J., & Rodriguez, M. P. (2021). "Menvertising" and the resistances to new masculinities in audiovisual representations. International Journal of Communication, 15, 493–513.

Paszek, J. (2018). Girl power! Femvertising jako nowy trend w komunikacji marketingowej. Analiza zjawiska na podstawie wybranych kampanii. Dziennikarstwo i Media, 8, 157–168.

Piotrkowski, K. (2021). How many parents regret having children and how it is linked to their personality and health: Two studies with national samples in Poland. PLoS ONE, 16(7), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254163

Plakoyiannaki, E., Mathioudaki, K., Dimitratos, P., & Zotos, Y. (2008). Images of women in online advertisements of global products: Does sexism exist? Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 101–112.

Ruddick, S. (1995). Maternal thinking: Toward a politics of peace. Beacon Press.

Skey, S. (2015). #Femvertising: A new kind of relationship between influencers and brands. iBlog Magazine. https://cdn.sheknows.com/corporate.sheknows.com/production/nodes/attachments/24521/iBlog_Magazine-SheKnows-FemvertisingFeature.pdf?1429105587 (accessed on 26 June 2024).

Sternadori, M., & Abitbol, A. (2019). Support for women's rights and feminist self-identification as antecedents of attitude toward femvertising. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 36(6), 740–750. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-05-2018-2661

Sternadori, M., & Abitbol, A. (2022). How male consumers respond to "enlightened manvertising" campaigns: Gender schema, hostile sexism, and political orientation feed attitudes. Journal of Advertising Research, 62(1), 87–101. https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-2022-006

Suwada, K. (2021). Genderizing consequences of family policies in Poland in 2010s: A sociological perspective. Society Register, 5(4), 41–60. https://doi.org/10.14746/sr.2021.5.4.03

Teng, F., Hu, J., Chen, Z., Poon, K., & Bai, Y. (2021). Sexism and the effectiveness of femvertising in China: A corporate social responsibility perspective. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 84(5–6), 253–270.

The European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights. (2023). Contraception policy atlas: Europe. https://www.epfweb.org/node/89

Titkow, A. (2007). Tożsamość polskich kobiet: ciągłość, zmiana, konteksty. Wydawnictwo IFiS PAN.

Um, N. (2021). Antecedents and consequences of attitude toward femvertising. The Journal of the Korea Contents Association, 21(1), 66–74. https://doi.org/10.5392/JKCA.2021.21.01.066

Wan, F. & Ansons, T. & Chattopadhyay, A. & Leboe, J. (2013). Defensive reactions to slim female images in advertising: The moderating role of mode of exposure. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 120, 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.07.008

Westkaemper, E. (2017). Selling women's history: Packaging feminism in twentieth-century American popular culture. Rutgers University Press.

Zayer, L. T., McGrath, M. A., & Castro-González, P. (2019). Men and masculinities in a changing world: (de)legitimizing gender ideals in advertising. European Journal of Marketing, 54(1), 238–260. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejm-07-2018-0502