The Role of the Accent in Radio Advertisements to Ethnic Audiences: Does Emphasizing Ethnic Stereotypes Affect Spokesperson Credibility and Purchase Intention?

Advertisers often employ spokespeople who speak with an accent ("accented spokespeople") to promote products and services that are stereotypical of (or related to) a speaker's background.

The Role of the Accent in Radio Advertisements to Ethnic Audiences: Does Emphasizing Ethnic Stereotypes Affect Spokesperson Credibility and Purchase Intention?

Aarti S. Ivanic, Kenneth Bates and T. Somasundaram

University of San Diego

Management slant

  • Highlighting similarities between a spokesperson and listener increases message recall.
  • Accented spokespeople advertising products and services stereotypical of their ethnicity increases the likelihood of purchase.
  • Using accented spokespeople to convey similarity with the listener is a more effective strategy than advertising products and services stereotypical of the spokesperson's ethnic group.

INTRODUCTION

A 2013 radio commercial for Taco Bell featured a Hispanic-accented...

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