Gender Selection Dilemma in FMCG Advertising

Choosing a celebrity’s gender for FMCG ads is a strategic challenge. Most research has focused on comparing celebrities with non-celebrities, overlooking the impact of male versus female endorsers. The study by Sinha, M., Misra, M. & Mishra, S. (2024) fills that gap using RealEye and surveys to analyze how a celebrity’s gender affects consumer attention and trust.

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Study Overview

The study aimed to explore how male and female celebrities influence consumer attention and purchase intentions in FMCG advertisements. Researchers hypothesized that advertisements featuring female celebrities would gather more attention, while those featuring male celebrities would generate higher purchase intentions due to perceived trustworthiness and expertise.

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Eye-Tracking with RealEye

RealEye offers a cost-effective alternative to infrared eyetrackers, and operates through standard webcams. This accessibility allowed the researchers to easily set up experiments and collect data without requiring external hardware.

Participants viewed a series of FMCG advertisements featuring both male and female celebrities. Each ad was shown for 10,000 milliseconds. The researchers measured two primary metrics on Areas Of Interest: fixation count (how many times viewers looked at specific areas of interest, such as the celebrity or product) and dwell time (total time spent looking at these areas). To learn more about AOI, see RealEye's Support Page.

After viewing the advertisements, participants completed a questionnaire designed to assess their perceptions of the celebrities' attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise, as well as their intention to purchase the advertised products.

Key Findings

The study revealed several significant insights:

1. Attention and Gender: Female celebrities captured more visual attention than their male counterparts. This was evidenced by higher fixation counts and longer dwell times on ads featuring female celebrities.
2. Purchase Intention: Despite the greater attention female celebrities received, advertisements with male celebrities were associated with higher purchase intentions. This suggests that while female celebrities attract more immediate visual interest, male celebrities are perceived as more trustworthy and expert, influencing consumers’ likelihood to buy.
3. Credibility Factors: Male celebrities scored higher on perceived trustworthiness and expertise, key factors in consumer decision-making. On the other hand, female celebrities were rated higher in terms of attractiveness, but this did not translate into purchase intentions as effectively as the trust and expertise attributed to male celebrities.

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Conclusions and Implications

The study concludes that gender plays a significant role in FMCG advertising effectiveness. While female celebrities may capture attention more effectively, male celebrities' perceived trustworthiness and expertise are more influential in driving purchase decisions. This has important implications for marketers in the FMCG sector, suggesting that the choice of celebrity endorser should align with the desired consumer response - attention versus purchase intention.

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You can run a similar study!

Follow the steps below to start your own experiment with RealEye:

Account Creation and License Activation

1. Go to RealEye Dashboard and create or log in to your account.
2. Purchase the License of your choice (https://www.realeye.io/pricing). If you need any custom adjustments, contact us at contact@realeye.io. We are happy to help!
3. Activate your license by following the instructions in the RealEye License Activation Guide

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Ready to set up your own study? Visit RealEye Support page to learn more and keep us posted on your results! 🚀