AGE DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO STEREOTYPICAL AND NON-STEREOTYPICAL ADVERTISING

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to determine which age groups demonstrate the greatest susceptibility to stereotypical advertising compared to non-stereotypical advertising, as well as to identify some causal relationships between the consumer's age and the presentation of a stereotype as a stimulus in advertisement. The research methodology includes the application of three of the four possible criteria for measuring stereotypical advertising - physical characteristics, trait descriptors and role behaviours, according to the theoretical and empirical framework of Eisend (2019) and Akestam et al. (2021). The results of the analyses of variance (ANOVA) showed that according to the criterion - physical characteristics of men and women, both in combined and in separate images, the greatest impact was achieved among users aged 25 to 35 years. According to the criteria of role behaviour of male and female images, as well as trait descriptors of male and female images, measured separately, the highest susceptibility was demonstrated by consumers aged 35 to 45 years, perceiving traditional images. The established correlations also support the idea of high susceptibility to both stereotypical and non-stereotypical advertising. Future research should establish some additional factors determining stereotypic versus non-stereotypic advertising influence.

Keywords

• age differences
• susceptibility to advertising stereotypes