Study: Consumers tiring of gender-based beer ads

‘Bring back the frogs,’ say consumers about beer advertisements. OK, not really, but the results of a new survey of consumers in the United Kingdom did show people are tiring of beer advertisements that lean on gender stereotypes. In fact, the results show beer advertisements suffer more from this backlash than other product categories.

The survey conducted by Canadean Custom Solutions, based on the response of 2,000 UK adults, showed: 69 percent believed grocery advertisements aimed at men are outdated and stereotypical, while 68 percent said the same of advertisements aimed at women. The young generation is the most skeptical one: 76 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds think ads aimed at men are outdated, whereas the 25- to 34-year-olds are more likely to have this view on ads aimed at women (74 percent).

According to Michael Hughes, research manager at Canadean Custom Solutions, this survey sends a message to manufacturers that ads reinforcing gender stereotypes could have an adverse effect on brand perceptions.

“Such types of ads are becoming increasingly outdated with consumers — particularly young adults — seeking out products that make them feel sophisticated and stand out from the crowd. Whilst such humor-based advertising that serves to reinforce gender stereotypes may be perceived as funny, they can actually have an adverse effect on brand perceptions.”

Canadean Custom Solutions is the consumer and shopper insight division of Canadean Ltd. Canadean provides market research, reports, databases and custom solutions to the global FMCG, retail, packaging and ingredients industries. With headquarters in the UK and regional offices around the world, Canadean has built a reputation as the benchmark for consumer market intelligence.