Humour trumps gender in ads, study says

PETALING JAYA: Advertisements which steer clear of gender stereotypes deliver the best bang for buck, but only a third of global brands achieve this, according to market research group Kantar.

In a study released today, Kantar said brands that portray a balance between the genders generate US$20.6 billion, versus female-skewed brands (US$16.1 billion) and those skewed towards males (US$11.5 billion).

However, only 33% of brands do so.

The study, titled “AdReaction: Getting Gender Right”, analysed 30,000 advertisements, survey responses of 450 global marketers, consumer advertising attitudes among almost 40,000 consumers and brand equity analysis of over 9,000 global brands.

Kantar said advertisements which feature authoritative female characters tend to generate more reaction from the audience, and can even help achieve a short-term boost in sales.

On the other hand, ads featuring only women have less of an impact and are less likely to generate interest than ads featuring only men.

“The industry struggles to make great ads starring women,” Kantar said in a statement today.

The study even played down any need to create gender-based content, saying there is no identifiable overall difference in response to advertisements across gender lines.

“Good adverts are usually good for everyone and bad adverts are bad for everyone – irrespective of intended gender targeting,” it added.

For example, Kantar said, advertisements which draw on humour elicit a better reaction, regardless of which gender is featured.

However, it noted that advertisements featuring women use comedy less than half the time, compared to advertisements featuring men, at 22% versus 51%. - FMT