Exploring the attitudes of South African female consumers towards Femvertising

Abstract

The following research report examined the attitudes of female South African generation Z consumers on Femvertising. Femvertising was based on the assertion that brands can simultaneously empower women while selling products (Green, 2020). The use of such advertisements is increasing, as such marketing communications not only curb stereotypes about females (Sternadori and Abitbol 2019) but also generate a positive attitude toward the products advertised (Drake 2017). Brands are shifting from traditional to modern representations of women to showcase personal relationships with the brand and provide a medium to express emotions through the products (Varghese and Kumar 2020). Through an interpretivist approach, this explorative study sought to gain insight the Femvertising phenomenon and the overall attitudes of South African generation Z female consumers toward this marketing tactic via the respondents’ subjective perceptions. Research was conducted through semi-structured interviews, whereby six participants were interviewed, and data saturation was met. The findings, along with past and current research, raised the concerns about Femvertising being used as a marketing gimmick which is driven by patriarchal attitudes instead of being an authentic action for social change (Hoad-Reddick 2017). Findings indicated that brand alignment and the choice of how women were represented in the adverts played a large role in whether female consumers felt that the ad was genuine and trustworthy. These findings aim to further contribute to the existing knowledge of consumer attitudes towards Femvertising. These results offer insights to brands and into people’s responses toward women-empowering advertisements and have practical implications for advertisers and marketers who are interested in using such an advertising tactic to promote products and services.