Although the phenomenon and importance of so-called femvertising, female empowerment advertising, are growing in recent times, little research has been done on how consumers react to it and what factors are related to the evaluation of femvertising in the Japanese context. This study investigates response to femvertising and the factors in the process, focusing on young consumers. Femvertising may bring positive brand awareness to consumers and play an important role in social change in gender awareness. However, it can receive backlash when it fails to show a clear message. The preliminary survey highlighted the high level of youth awareness of gender in advertising. Participants viewed that gender stereotypes in advertising remain prevalent, mentioning a specific body image and gender stereotypes of occupations and roles portrayed in advertising. Some participants evaluated favorably that some brands reverse the roles of men and women doing the housework in the ads. However, there were some opinions that those depictions are not about gender equality, leading to another gender stereotype. In the analysis of main survey respondents aged 18 to 29, the findings revealed that self-referencing, the degree of consumers relates advertising content to their personal experiences and memories, was an important factor in the femvertising effects : Respondents who can relate themselves to femvertising messages tended to show positive ad and brand attitudes, and purchase intention. Besides, the self-referencing and need for emotion were significant factors in the effects of femvertising on forwarding intention and social change in gender awareness. Respondents with egalitarian gender role attitudes were more likely to evaluate femvertising positively. It is also worth noting that discomfort with advertisements in general regarding gender portrayals was associated with femvertising preference.
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