Children's responses to gender-role stereotyped advertisements

Research indicates that adult's gender-role perceptions can influence their responses toward different types of advertising appeals; however, it is not known whether the same is true for young children. Given that children's gender-role stereotypes vary across both age and gender, it is possible that their responses toward different types of advertisements might also vary. Accordingly, this study examines whether preadolescent boys and girls differ in their attitudes toward advertisements that incorporate agentic or communal gender-role attributes. The results are managerially relevant. The findings suggest that marketers can target young boys and girls with a common set of advertisements. However, advertisements should convey agentic themes when targeted toward older preadolescent girls, and communal themes when targeted toward younger preadolescent girls. Considering that children represent a large and growing consumer segment this issue deserves greater attention.