Femvertising: State of the art

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Abstract: This paper aims to enhance consumer brand managers’ understanding of the growing practice of femvertising, discussing factors that have contributed to its rise, how it differs from traditional portrayals of women and girls in advertising, potential benefits and criticisms of this advertising approach, and a list of ten themes that brands have recently used in femvertising. To femvertise effectively, marketers are recommended to build pro-female messages on their brand purpose and research insight, depict realistic images and lifestyles of women and girls, transcend gender divisions in representing females’ expanding roles and aspirations, and be authentic in practising what they preach in femvertising.

Keywords: femvertising, women empowerment, pro-female advertising, brand purpose, consumer brands

Chung-Kue (Jennifer) Hsu is an instructor of Marketing in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. Her research and teaching interests focus on advertising and consumer behaviour. She originally came from Taiwan and worked at Kimberly-Clark, Taiwan, as an assistant brand manager. She received her PhD in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, she was a visiting assistant professor at the Rutgers University and an assistant professor at the Montclair State University in New Jersey