Femvertising practices on social media: a comparison of luxury and non-luxury brands
Journal of Product & Brand Management
ISSN: 1061-0421
Article publication date: 7 June 2022
Issue publication date: 4 October 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how luxury and non-luxury brands portray women in social media advertising shedding light on their femvertising practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative content analysis and multiple correspondence analysis are used to examine female representations in the advertising of personal care products on social media. The sample includes brand posts from 15 brands on two social media platforms.
Findings
The results demonstrate that non-luxury brands use femvertising to a greater extent compared to luxury brands. In particular, this study shows that luxury brands rely more on stereotyped gender expressions and use more sexualisation in their advertising, relative to non-luxury brands.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides an analysis of luxury and non-luxury brands’ femvertising practices on social media. In doing so, this study extends the study of femvertising to the context of luxury and social media, which is currently underexplored. In terms of practical implications, this study sheds light on the extent of the application of femvertising across luxury and non-luxury brands on social media.
Practical implications
The findings drive a number of suggestions for luxury marketers, including the use of more independent gender roles and more racial diversity in their social media advertising and the lessening of unrelated sexuality.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to compare femvertising practices of luxury and non-luxury brands on social media, delineating different facets of femvertising (e.g. gender roles, diversity, etc.) and extending scholarly understanding of the possible facets of this concept.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Author contribution: Nina Michaelidou: Conceptualization, methodology, analysis and writing – original draft; Nikoletta Theofania Siamagka: Conceptualization and writing – original draft; Leonidas Hatzithomas: Analysis and writing – original draft; and Luciana Chaput: Data collection and analysis.
Citation
Michaelidou, N., Siamagka, N.T., Hatzithomas, L. and Chaput, L. (2022), "Femvertising practices on social media: a comparison of luxury and non-luxury brands", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 31 No. 8, pp. 1285-1300. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2020-3074
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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