Sounds Like Respect. The Impact of Background Music on the Acceptance of Gay Men in Audio-Visual Advertising

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-237236
  • Companies increasingly seek to use gay protagonists in audio-visual commercials to attract a new affluent target group. There is also growing demand for the diversity present in society to be reflected in media formats such as advertising. Studies have shown, however, that heterosexual consumers (especially men), who may be part of the company's loyal consumer base, tend to react negatively to gay-themed advertising campaigns. Searching for an instrument to mitigate this unwanted effect, the present study investigated whether carefully selectedCompanies increasingly seek to use gay protagonists in audio-visual commercials to attract a new affluent target group. There is also growing demand for the diversity present in society to be reflected in media formats such as advertising. Studies have shown, however, that heterosexual consumers (especially men), who may be part of the company's loyal consumer base, tend to react negatively to gay-themed advertising campaigns. Searching for an instrument to mitigate this unwanted effect, the present study investigated whether carefully selected background music can shape the perceived gender of gay male advertising protagonists. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects online experiment (musical connotation × gender of the participant), 218 heterosexual participants watched a commercial promoting engagement rings that featured gay male protagonists, scored with feminine- or masculine-connoted background music. As expected, women generally reacted more positively than men to the advertising. Men exposed to the masculine-connoted background music rated the promoted brand more positively, and masculine music also enhanced (at least in the short term) these men's acceptance of gay men in general (low and medium effect sizes) more than was the case for feminine background music. Carefully selected background music affecting the perceived gender of gay male advertising protagonists may prevent negative reactions from heterosexual audiences and, therefore, motivate companies to use gay protagonists in television commercials on a more regular basis.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Ann-Kristin Herget, Franziska Bötzl
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-237236
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Fakultät für Humanwissenschaften (Philos., Psycho., Erziehungs- u. Gesell.-Wissensch.) / Institut Mensch - Computer - Medien
Language:English
Parent Title (English):Frontiers in Psychology
ISSN:1664-1078
Year of Completion:2021
Volume:12
Article Number:645533
Source:Frontiers in Psychology 2021, 12:645533. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645533
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645533
Dewey Decimal Classification:1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie
Tag:acceptance of gay men; advertising; music; musical stereotypes; perception
Release Date:2022/02/03
Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2021
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International