They’ve got the look? Processing fluency and individual differences associated with responses to androgynous models in fashion advertisements

Glenna Read, Bart Wojdynski, Yen-I Lee (Grady Alum), & Rob Potter (forthcoming). “They've got the look? Processing fluency and individual differences associated with responses to androgynous models in fashion advertisements,” Young Consumers. 

Abstract: This research employs a social categorization and social identity theory lens to examine how androgynous models attract attention to ads and how individual difference factors, such as gender and transphobia, affect purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach: Using a within-subject experimental design with a Gen-Z sample of participants (n = 108), eye-tracking data were collected while participants viewed ads with androgynous or non-androgynous models. Findings: Participants gazed longer at androgynous versus non-androgynous models. Viewer gender was associated with purchase intention, but model gaze time was not. Transphobia and traditional beliefs about gender, together, mediated this relationship. Practical implications: Gen-Z consumers demonstrated increased visual attention to fashion advertisements with androgynous models. After attention is captured, other factors determine intended behavior. Transphobia and gender role beliefs were driving factors underlying the relationship between gender and purchase intention for fashion products with ads featuring androgynous models. Originality/value: The use of androgynous models in fashion advertising is widespread, but little research empirically investigates their effectiveness. This research is the first to reveal, using a sensitive psychophysiological measure, that ads with androgynous models are effective at attracting visual attention. Moving consumers to intended behavior requires consideration of individual differences in transphobia and gender role beliefs.