Effects of model race/ethnicity on responses to print advertising: Do popular culture identification and prejudice make a difference

The purpose of this research was to explore white non-Hispanic viewers' processing of black and Hispanic race/ethnicity in advertising. Previous research has offered mixed results in white subjects' evaluations of ads with black models, while little research has been done with white subjects' evaluations of ads with Hispanic models. An experiment with a repeated measure design was used to investigate the impact of model race/ethnicity on white attitudes and purchase intentions. Participants saw three print advertisements with Hispanic, black, and white models. Prejudice and a new variable, popular culture identification (PCI), were used as covariates in the experiment. Popular culture identification was defined as the identification with popular culture as represented in the following current media products: television programs, movies, rap or hip-hop music, and mainstream magazines. The sample included 76 white non-Hispanic students attending a Midwestern university. Two theoretical perspectives, Tajfel's social identification theory (1978) and Kelman's (1958) social influence theory, were used in the study. Hypotheses predicted that white participants would favor ads with white models after prejudice and PCI were controlled. Findings indicated that model race/ethnicity was not a salient characteristic for whites. Prejudice was a possible cause for some backlash against non-white models by high prejudiced whites. In addition, PCI was found to have a relationship with consumers' attitudes. The potential for PCI as an explanatory variable in consumer research was discussed.