Situational effects of ethnic phenotype in marketing: Investigating inter-and intra-ethnic preferences for minorities in advertisements

Previous research rooted in phenotypicality bias has investigated consumer attitudes derived from observing ethnic models' differential skin tones in advertising. In previous research the roles of situational valence and shared physical traits between the ethnic models and ethnic consumers have largely been ignored. This research was developed to first understand consumer preferences for ethnic models (operationalized as Black) representing in positively/negatively positioned brand personalities. Results indicate both White and Black respondents express preferences that would be deemed stereotypical, where more (less) Afrocentric models are preferred as representative of negatively (positively) positioned brand personalities. White respondents' reported preferences significantly more extreme than Blacks in both situations. Secondarily, this research uses ethnic consumers' self-reported Afrocentrism to understand preference deviations of Black consumer subgroups versus White consumers. On a subgroup level, some ethnic subgroups report preferences that are markedly more moderate and counterstereotypical, indicating a potential for marketers to be more liberal in the variety of ethnic models selected to represent brands.