earticle

영어

Cross-gender advertising is an emerging strategy in which models of one gender are used to promote products typically associated with the opposite gender. Despite its growing adoption, past research has produced mixed findings regarding its effectiveness. Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), schema incongruity theory, and cognitive dissonance theory, the present study integrates individual difference variables—specifically, Need for Cognition (NFC) and Gender-role Stereotype (GRS)—to examine the conditions under which cross-gender advertising is persuasive and to uncover its underlying mechanisms. A series of experiments was conducted to investigate the moderating effects of NFC and GRS on advertising evaluations. The results indicate a significant interaction between ad type (traditional vs. cross-gender) and consumers’ NFC and GRS. Consumers with high NFC or weak GRS tend to show a more favorable attitude toward cross-gender advertisements, whereas those with low NFC prefer traditional ads. Further, bootstrapping analysis (Hayes, 2017) reveals that positive evaluations of cross-gender ads are driven by perceived novelty, while negative evaluations stem from psychological discomfort. Moreover, the findings suggest that consumer attitudes toward cross-gender advertising vary according to the ad models’ gender identity; individuals high in NFC or low in GRS are more inclined to favor cross-gender ads with a pronounced gender identity portrayal. The findings offer substantial theoretical contributions by clarifying the boundary conditions and underlying mechanisms of cross-gender advertising effectiveness. Managerially, the results provide practical guidance for designing targeted ad campaigns—suggesting that marketers can enhance advertising impact by tailoring the gender portrayal and messaging to align with consumers’ cognitive styles and gender-role expectations.