Journal Press India®

International Journal of Management Issues and Research
Vol 13 , Issue 2 , July - December 2024 | Pages: 44-57 | Research Paper

Understanding the Advent of “Femvertising” in Contemporary Indian Advertisements

Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

1. * Geetanjali Batra, Associate Professor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship, Jawaharlal Nehru University , Haryana, Haryana, India (ms.geetanjali.batra@gmail.com)
2. Anamika Kadam, Associate Professor, Commerce, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharam College, University of Delhi, New Delhi , Delhi, India (jovialanamika@gmail.com)
3. Niranjana Kundu, Senior Marketing Executive, Systems Controls and Switchgears, Systems Controls and Switchgears, New Delhi , Delhi, India (niranjanakundu11@gmail.com)

There is an increasing presence of an advertising style that emphasizes the idea of women’s empowerment and revolves around pro-woman themes, messages, and imagery. This advertising style counters gender stereotyping and is popularly known as ‘Femvertising.’ This phenomenon results from growing activism for the representation of women in advertisements and rising awareness about feminism. This study aims to analyze the content of pro-women advertisements. For the study, eighty-seven commercial advertisements on diverse issues were viewed. Out of them, twenty-one advertisements portraying women in influential roles have been selected and analyzed. The results show a rising trend in pro-women advertisements, especially apparel, beauty, personal hygiene products, kitchen appliances, edible oil, etc.

Keywords

Femvertising; Advertising; Women empowerment; Gender; Stereotypes

  1. Abitbol, A., & Sternadori, M. (2019). Championing women’s empowerment as a catalyst for purchase intentions: Testing the mediating roles of OPRs and brand loyalty in the context of femvertising. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(1), 22-41.
  2. Akestam, N., Rosengren, S., & Dahlen, M. (2017). Advertising “like a girl”: Toward a better understanding of “femvertising” and its effects. Psychology & Marketing, 34(8), 795-806.
  3. Azanza, G., Ronda, L., & Sanz, B. (2024). Women, antifeminism, and platforms: The discourses of misogyny resistance to profem employer messages in talent attraction: The case of employer femvertising campaigns on LinkedIn. International Journal of Communication, 18(1), 24.
  4. Burn, S. M. Aboud, R., & Moyles, C. (2000). The relationship between gender social identity and support for feminism. Sex Roles, 42(11), 1081-1089.
  5. Buunk A. P., & Dijkstra, P. (2011). Does attractiveness sell? Women’s attitude toward a product as a function of model attractiveness, gender priming, and social comparison orientation. Psychology & Marketing, 28(9), 958-973.
  6. Champlin, S., Sterbenk, Y., Windels, K., & Poteet, M. (2019). How brand-cause fit shapes real world advertising messages: a qualitative exploration of ‘femvertising’. International Journal of Advertising, 38(8), 1240-1263.
  7. D’Alessandro, S., & Chitty, B. (2011). Real or relevant beauty? Body shape and endorser effects on brand attitude and body image. Psychology & Marketing, 28(8), 843-878.
  8. Eisend, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of gender roles in advertising. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(4), 418-440.
  9. Ford, J. B., LaTour, M. S., & Lundstrom, W. J. (1991). Contemporary women′ s evaluation of female role portrayals in advertising. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 8(1), 15-28.
  10. Grau, S. L., & Zotos, Y. C. (2016). Gender stereotypes in advertising: a review of current research. International Journal of Advertising, 35(5), 761-770.
  11. Halliwell, E., & Dittmar, H. (2004). Does size matter? The impact of model’s body size on women’s body-focused anxiety and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(1), 104-122.
  12. Hoad-Reddick, K. (2017). Pitching the feminist voice: A critique of contemporary consumer feminism (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Western Ontario (Canada).
  13. Kapoor, D., & Munjal, A. (2017). Self-consciousness and emotions driving femvertising: A path analysis of women’s attitude towards femvertising, forwarding intention and purchase intention. Journal of Marketing Communications, 25(2), 137-157.
  14. Kelly, L., Kerr, G., Drennan, J., & Fazal-E-Hasan, S. M. (2021). Feel, think, avoid: Testing a new model of advertising avoidance. Journal of Marketing Communications, 27(4), 343-364.
  15. Knoll, S., Eisend, M., & Steinhagen, J. (2011). Gender roles in advertising: Measuring and comparing gender stereotyping on public and private TV channels in Germany. International Journal of Advertising, 30(5), 867-888.
  16. Lima, A. M., & Casais, B. (2021). Consumer reactions towards femvertising: A Netnographic study. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 26(3), 605-621.
  17. McCleary, C. M. (2014). A not-so-beautiful campaign: A feminist analysis of the Dove campaign for real beauty. Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects, 6(1) 1-20.
  18. Richins, M. L. (1991). Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(1), 71-83.
  19. Rodrigues, R. A. (2016). Femvertising: empowering women through the hashtag? A comparative analysis of consumers’ reaction to feminist advertising on Twitter (Doctoral dissertation, Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal).
  20. Vadakkepatt, G., Bryant, A., Hill, R. P., & Nunziato, J. (2022). Can advertising benefit women’s development? Preliminary insights from a multi-method investigation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(3), 503-520.
  21. Varghese, N., & Kumar, N. (2022). Feminism in advertising: irony or revolution? A critical review of femvertising. Feminist Media Studies, 22(2), 441-459.
Abstract Views: 1
PDF Views: 5

Advanced Search

News/Events

Ramachandran Interna...

Ramachandran International Institute of Management (RIIM), Pune Org...

PCETs Pimpri Chinchw...

PCET's Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering and Research Org...

Institute of Managem...

Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur Organizing International...

GENDER CULTURES: Mul...

IIULM University, Milan, Italy Organizing GENDER CULTURES: Mul...

Dept. of MBA, Karnat...

Department of MBA, KLS, Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi Org...

Indira School of Bus...

Indira School of Mangement Studies PGDM, Pune Organizing Internatio...

Indira Institute of ...

Indira Institute of Management, Pune Organizing International Confe...

D. Y. Patil Internat...

D. Y. Patil International University, Akurdi-Pune Organizing Nation...

ISBM College of Engi...

ISBM College of Engineering, Pune Organizing International Conferen...

Periyar Maniammai In...

Department of Commerce Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science &...

By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.