Femvertising to Reach Women Consumers and Close the Gender Equality Gap in Latin America

What is the stereotype of Mexican women? Women’s representation in advertising has long been a field of study in marketing. Gender in advertising has been approached from diverse perspectives, including its impact (negative or positive) on women, receiving criticism for representing women in a manner that is inferior to their potential and capacities. Nevertheless, over the past few years, the advertising industry has started to use a type of publicity that incorporates feminist ideals and women's empowerment. This strategy is called femvertising.

To understand how advertising influences women, we must first understand gender stereotypes, which are a series of psychological characteristics, behaviors and roles attributed to men and women. They are generally based on what people do in their daily lives.

Over the years, advertising has represented women in four main stereotypes: housewife, sex object, beauty object, and soft professionals (nurses, teachers, secretaries). Moreover, in collective cultures, such as Latin American countries, two additional stereotypes can be identified: trophy (an attractive woman who represents a successful status for a man) and sexual empowerment (in which women use their sexuality as a symbol of power and control). The use of gender stereotypes in advertising can be problematic, since it generates beauty ideals, thereby reducing satisfaction with one’s body, life, self-esteem and mental health.

Through femvertising, brands can connect better with female consumers, who make the majority of consumption decisions in Mexican homes. But, above all, they can also empower, encourage and strengthen women, which also benefits men and society in general. This article offers a guide for effective femvertising.

In this regard, studies in which participants were exposed to femvertising and traditional advertising messages, showed that brands that use fewer female stereotypes improve consumers’ brand attitudes. Another finding was the positive effect on purchase intent, particularly among millennial consumers. In the same way, they also brought to light a positive influence on the perception of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of brands that employ female empowerment messages. Several studies have shown that this type of advertising improves the self-esteem of little girls and teen girls, even in patriarchal and collectivist cultures.

Women do not feel represented by advertising and are aware of gender stereotypes

To understand how gender stereotypes in advertising influence society, a study was conducted among women aged 25 to 50 in Mexico. The investigation revealed that women do not feel represented in advertising, and that, in general, brands do not represent gender equality.

Mexican women are aware that gender stereotypes in advertising have a negative effect on self-esteem and self-confidence, because these stereotypes are often impossible to achieve.

"You see a super fit and fashionable woman with big eyelashes. and you start to question yourself. This is not how I look at 5 am…How we look is our biggest fear, and that image can damage the self-esteem and the confidence of women. [Ana, Mexico] " (Mexican woman, 37 years old). In the same way, another interviewee answered, "Brands and their advertisements use models or icons with high standards that are so difficult to reach. I can not be as fit as her. " (Mexican woman, 29 years old).

The same study analyzed how women would like to be represented in advertising. The results revealed that women would like to see more brands representing them in their different roles as women, mothers, athletes, workers and daughters. They also expressed that they prefer that brands use neutral phrases regardless of whether they are talking about a man or a woman.

Opportunity for brands

Women are looking for representation in the brands they buy. These results suggest that the route of persuasion in advertising is identification or proximity with the user profile that the brands represent in their commercials.

In general, advertising aims to represent an aspirational or idealized user profile, which generates curiosity and the desire in consumers to incorporate traits of this identity into their being. Therefore, consumers choose the brand so they can be more like or closer to this profile. This works well in certain consumer categories, such as fashion, cosmetics, luxury, hospitality, tourism, etc. However, recent research suggests that, for everyday consumer decisions, such as shopping for the home (which also includes men), consumers react better to a feeling of empathy, identification and proximity with the user profile reflected in advert. In Mexico, as in other Latin countries, women are responsible for making the majority of consumption decisions at home. Therefore, connecting effectively with female consumers is vital. 

What is the situation in Mexico?

Regulations have been issued in different parts of the world seeking to eradicate gender stereotypes in advertising. In Mexico, this reality is very distant, leaving the responsibly fully in the hands of brands. Concerning this, the American Marketing Association found that men dominate the advertising and marketing industry. In addition, the National Council to Prevent Discrimination discovered that Mexican society is used to seeing women represented in advertising as housewives and caregivers.

Moreover, the results of another study show that 50% of advertisements in Mexico use female stereotypes, and the product categories that most use them are: cleaning products, cosmetics and personal hygiene, and food. Nevertheless, over the past few years, Mexican brands have become aware of the social changes in gender roles and use messages that promote equality (for example, the Cloralex campaign #HazTuParte).

Three principles that brands can use to build their advertising and communication strategy

1. Represent women and girls accurately in advertisements.  The stereotypes of age, weight, skin color, professional roles and sexual orientation have to be eliminated.  We recommend constantly monitoring advertising campaigns, with inclusion, equality and diversity professionals.
2. Communicate the right message. Research results show that women are motivated to achieve their potential and their goals when advertisements communicate positive, inspiring messages. In addition, the use of femvertising makes women feel more connected to brands, and increases their purchase intent. By transmitting the right message, brands contribute to enhancing self-esteem and self-empowerment, especially in teens.
3. Diversity and inclusion are a must in female representation in advertising. Equality, inclusion, diversity, and justice are important topics that cannot be ignored. Brands must include in their advertising women of all ages, body types, skin color, ethnicity, roles played in society (mother, wife, mother, daughter), marital status, and sexual orientation.

Finally, we recommend the guidelines on factors to take into consideration for inclusive advertising created by ANA’s SeeHer, in collaboration with Getty Images:

• Gender: Equality in every sense, emphasizing gender equality in professional fields, hobbies and housework, including child and elder care.
• Ethnicity: Put women with different tones of skin color in focus, emphasizing women with darker skin.
• Sexual orientation: Embrace the different types of sexuality and different types of family.
• Body type: Use accurate real models, with a realistic style.
• Abilities: Empower and highlight the different types of professions, without contextualizing female and male professions.
• Age: Highlight the beauty of women of different ages.
• Religion and marital status: Turn complex subjects into opportunities to stand out.

Let’s remember that women are also guardians of the brands that go into (and out of) Mexican homes. Therefore, Latin American brands should view femvertising as an opportunity.

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