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Asian Americans in Magazine Advertising: Portrayals of the ''Model Minority'' Charles R. Taylor, Stacy Landreth and Hae-Kyong Bang Journal of Macromarketing 2005 25: 163 DOI: 10.1177/0276146705280634 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jmk.sagepub.com/content/25/2/163

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DECEMBER JOURNAL OF MACROMARKETING 2005

Asian Americans in Magazine Advertising: Portrayals of the “Model Minority” Charles R. Taylor, Stacy Landreth, and Hae-Kyong Bang

Prior studies of portrayals of Asian Americans in advertising have found limited representation and portrayals that are skewed toward technology-based products, business and science magazines, and business settings and relationships. This article examines current Asian American portrayals. Findings indicate that, despite improved representation, stereotyped portrayals persist. The “model minority” stereotype, which suggests that Asian Americans are hardworking, technologically savvy, business oriented, successful, and well assimilated, is clearly reflected in advertising portrayals. Portrayals of Asian Americans in family and social contexts are seldom seen. Moreover, even magazines with high Asian American readership reflect the same stereotypes. Keywords: Asian Americans; advertising portrayals; expectancy theory; marketing to minorities; model minority

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or many years, researchers have looked at both the managerial and social impacts of advertising (Mittal 1994). Today, successful advertisers must recognize the diverse nature of the U.S. society (Tharp 2001). Lee, Williams, and LaFerle (2004) asserted that diversity, as represented in advertising, contributes to a more representative and inclusive society. Thus, from a macro perspective, it is important to look at the societal impacts of advertising portrayals of minority groups. Research on whether portrayals of Asian Americans have changed during the past decade is timely. Asian Americans represent a fast-growing market that is an increasing target for marketers. The Asian American population grew from 3.5 million in 1980 to 10.7 million by 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau 2004). Furthermore, continued growth is forecast, with the Asian American population projected to be 33.4 million, or 10 percent of the U.S. population, by 2050. In addition to population growth, the increasing buying power of Asian Americans has contributed to their growing attractiveness to marketers. According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia, Asian Americans’ buying power

rose to $254.6 billion in 2000, more than double its 1990 level. By 2007, Asian American buying power is expected to increase to $454.9 billion (Vence 2004), reinforcing the attractiveness of the group. Although the Asian American market clearly has gained more attention from marketers, questions about how the group is portrayed in advertising persist. Prior studies of portrayals of Asian Americans have found that the group is largely underrepresented in both magazine and television advertising. In addition, the portrayals that do exist are generally stereotyped (Taylor and Lee 1994; Taylor and Stern 1997; Mastro and Stern 2003; Bowen and Schmid 1997; Bang and Reece 2003). Of interest in this study is the issue of whether portrayals of Asian Americans in magazine ads have become more frequent and/or less stereotyped during the past ten years. The purpose of this article is to update and extend the Taylor and Lee (1994) article by examining several aspects of portrayals of Asian Americans. These aspects include the following: (1) the frequency and prominence of Asian American portrayals, (2) the representation in different types of publications of ads depicting Asian models, and (3) the types of settings and relationships in which Asian Americans are depicted. There is ample evidence that including a member of a minority group in an ad enhances the chance of the ad being effective, so it is worth examining whether advertisers targeting Asian Americans are more likely to include an Asian model (Stevenson and Swayne 1999). Thus, as an additional extension, we examine whether magazines with high Asian readership have more frequent portrayals of Asian Americans.

The authors thank Andrea Chelariu, Megan Mahoney, Nicole Rios, Lindsay Taylor, Jennifer Masiak, Matthew Dufner, and Johnna Schifillitti for their invaluable assistance. Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 25 No. 2, December 2005 163-174 DOI: 10.1177/0276146705280634 © 2005 Sage Publications

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LITERATURE REVIEW Asian Americans as a Vulnerable Population The notion that Asian Americans represent the “model minority”—a group that is educated, affluent, successful, and well assimilated—has existed for some time (Delener and Neelankavil 1990; Cohen 1992). Some demographic characteristics of Asian Americans have helped contribute to the “model minority” image. For example, aggregate data at the educational level, the proportion of the population in managerial and professional positions, and the income levels of Asian Americans appear to describe a highly successful group. According to the 2000 U.S. census, 44 percent of Asian Americans have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 24 percent of the total U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau 2004). Given their educational level, it is not surprising that the median annual household income of Asian Americans is $59,324, which is substantially higher than the $50,046 U.S. average (U.S. Census Bureau 2004). It has been argued that the demographic profile of Asian Americans contributes to the group being stereotyped as having a very strong work ethic and as being good at math, advanced in the use of technology and, in general, intellectually talented (Delener and Neelankavil 1990; Taylor and Stern 1997). While the “model minority” stereotype may appear “positive” on the surface, it has been observed that it, along with other stereotypes of Asian Americans, contributes to vulnerability. For example, in an article on the impacts of stereotypes on Asian American students, Kim and Yeh (2002, 1) observed: “The various stereotypes assigned to Asian American students cause them emotional distress and create conflicts with their peers, both those of different races and those in their own racial group. Even more important, stereotyping limits students’ opportunities and access to resources (Fisher, Wallace and Fenton, 2000; Lee 1996). Indeed, Fisher et al. (2000) found higher levels of distress from peer discrimination (being threatened, called racially insulting names, and excluded from activities) in Chinese and Korean students than in African Americans, Hispanics, and whites” (p. 1). A study by Lee (1996) found that pressure to uphold “model minority” expectations contributed to anxiety among both high- and low-achieving Asian American students. The impact on low achievers was especially compelling, as they experienced depression and were embarrassed to seek help. Another study by Lorenzo, Frost, and Reinherz (2000) found that while Asian American students were involved in less delinquent behaviors than others, they were more likely to have social problems, poor self-images, and experience depression. Kim and Yeh (2002) also noted that a 1997 study by the Educational Testing Service found substantial variation in test scores among Asian American subgroups (e.g., Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese) and noted how stereotypes had contributed to the neglect of many Asian American students who are undereducated and have low socioeconomic status.

Demographic data clearly bear out the notion of differences in Asian American subgroups. Asian Americans come from more than thiry countries and speak more than 100 languages. According to the 2000 U.S. census, Asian Americans include, in order of population, Chinese, Filipinos, Asian Indians, Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese, Cambodians, Hmong, Laotians, Pakistanis, Thais, and numerous Other national groups. When aggregate statistics are segmented by subgroup, the diversity in the Asian American group is apparent. For example, while the total proportion of Asian Americans with a high school diploma is 80 percent (the same as for the overall U.S. population), 60 percent of the American Hmong population and half of Laotian Americans have less than a high school education. In terms of median household income, the median range by subgroup varies a great deal, ranging from Japanese Americans ($70,849) and Indian Americans ($70,708) on the high end, to Vietnamese Americans ($47,103), Laotian Americans ($43,542), Cambodian Americans ($35,621), and Hmong Americans ($32,384) on the lower end (U.S. Census Bureau 2002). Also, overall poverty rates for Asian Americans are similar to those for the overall United States, and the rates of some groups (e.g., Hmong and Cambodian Americans) are higher than those of the overall population. A few additional factors should be considered when assessing the vulnerability of the Asian American population. First, the Asian American population is divided roughly equally between (1) those who were born in the United States, (2) immigrants who have become naturalized citizens, and (3) noncitizens. In fact, a majority of the Asian Americans entered the United States in the past twenty years, and 69 percent of the group is foreign-born. Thus, it is not surprising that about 80 percent of Asians speak a language other than English at home. In addition, about 40 percent of Asian Americans indicate that they do not speak English very well (U.S. Census Bureau 2002). Despite the diversity of the Asian American population, the U.S. population tends to think of Asian Americans, or at least East-Asian Americans, as a distinct group (Taylor and Stern 1997). As a result, stereotypes of Asian Americans appear to be generalized. For example, other Americans have been found to describe Asian Americans as hardworking and thrifty (Delener and Neelankavil 1990). A fascinating survey by Yim (1989) found that when the general public was asked about traits of Koreans in comparison to the general U.S. population, overwhelming proportions of those surveyed agreed that Korean Americans are intelligent (99 percent), industrious (98.6 percent), and self-disciplined (96.8 percent). Lee (1996) found that Asian Americans were stereotyped by other students as being “geniuses,” overachievers,” “nerdy,” “great in math and science,” “competitive,” and “uninterested in fun” (cf. Kim and Yeh 2002). In terms of personality, students describe Asian Americans with terms including “submissive,” “humble,” “quiet,” “obedient,” “stay within their


JOURNAL OF MACROMARKETING

own race,” “want to be Caucasian,” “poor communicators,” and “act FOB (fresh off the boat)” (Lee 1994, 1006; Yeh 2001). Randall (2002) asserted that simply describing Asian Americans on socioeconomic and educational levels masks the needs of individual Asian American communities. Randall (2002) argued that such stereotypes can stifle assimilation by group members because of an image that the group is “generic and one-dimensional.” Ikemoto (1997) went further, arguing that the “model minority myth” is used by the majority population as a way to maintain white privilege against African Americans and Latinos by citing the success of Asians. She stated further that Asians Americans are viewed as “honorary whites,” thereby denying the group their own racial identity and masking the effects of racism against Asian Americans. Hong (1993) offered a similar view: “During our 160 year history, most portrayals of Asian Americans have perpetuated insidious stereotypes, including the Eurocentric perception of Asian Americans as foreign, exotic, and non-American. There have been few images that reflect the complexity of Asian American experiences” (p. 15). While this view may strike some observers as being extreme, it is one that some within the Asian American community are airing increasingly. The above discussion suggests that despite of some standout demographics, Asian Americans do have significant vulnerabilities. It is not difficult to relate to the notion that being stereotyped as a quiet, nerdy, tech-savvy person not interested in social activities and who is simply “different” from the majority creates vulnerabilities. Theoretical Perspectives on the Impact of the “Model Minority” Stereotype To the extent that they exist, the impact of stereotypical advertising portrayals should be scrutinized carefully by those with an interest in the societal consequences of marketing practices. Cultivation theory and expectancy theory provide useful theoretical explanations of the possible negative effects of stereotypical advertising portrayals on a minority group such as Asian Americans. As outlined by Jussim (1990), expectancy theory suggests that repeated media portrayals, including advertising portrayals, can build or reinforce expectations that are held for a group. For Asian Americans, this theory would suggest that if advertising portrayals show Asian Americans to be intelligent, hardworking, and good at math, society will build expectations on this basis. For many individual Asian Americans who may not be high academic achievers, such expectations may be difficult to meet (Graham 1983; Taylor and Lee 1994). Thus, to the extent that Asians are portrayed as the “model minority” in advertising, there may be a negative impact on many individual members of the group. Gerbner’s cultivation theory suggests that repeated exposures to media portrayals of a stereotype may result in public

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acceptance of the stereotype as reality (Gerbner et al. 1980). Gerbner emphasizes that the perpetuation of stereotypes can lengthen the assimilation process of a minority group. When stereotypes are portrayed, two things happen: those stereotypes get reinforced, and what is not portrayed can also become accepted as reality. For example, if Asian Americans are not depicted as being fun loving or stylish, people will not associate these characteristics with the group. In general, it has been shown that viewers learn from what they see in the media (Bandura 2002). Learning about stereotypes and having those stereotypes reinforced may have negative consequences for both the minority and majority populations. In a similar vein, Faber, O’Guinn, and Meyer (1987) asserted that minority groups may interpret consistently stereotypical portrayals to mean society as a whole does not understand their culture. Prior Research on Portrayals of Asian Americans Although studies of African Americans and Latino Americans have a longer academic history, research on Asian American portrayals in advertising did not begin until the 1990s (Lee, Williams, and LaFerle 2004). In an analysis of portrayals of Asian Americans in magazines, Taylor and Lee (1994) found that Asian representation was disproportionately high in advertisements for technology-based products, advertisements in the popular business press and scientific magazines (versus women’s magazines and general interest magazines), and in advertisements depicting business settings (versus other settings) and business relationships (versus family or social relationships). Although overall representation of Asian Americans in the sample was 4 percent, which was higher than the 3.3 percent of the U.S. population that Asian Americans comprised at the time, Asian Americans were depicted in major roles in just 2.1 percent of the ads. In a content analysis of magazines published in 1992, Bowen and Schmid (1997) found Asians to be “woefully underrepresented.” Their data showed Asian Americans to be portrayed in just 1.8 percent of the 1,039 ads in a sample that was drawn from nine mass circulation magazines, a figure that was lower than the 2.5 percent of Asian American portrayals that the authors reported for a comparable 1987 sample. The authors observed that during the period from 1987 to 1992, portrayals of Asian Americans actually decreased, while the rates of portrayals of African Americans in ads increased from 6.8 percent to 10.6 percent during the same period. In a study of television advertising portrayals, Taylor and Stern (1997) found both higher representation of Asian models and ample evidence of stereotyped portrayals. Asian Americans appeared in 8.4 percent of the 1,313 ads analyzed. However, the authors found that Asian Americans were more likely to appear in background roles than other groups were


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and that Asian models were underrepresented in home settings and family or social relationships and overrepresented in product categories associated with the “model minority” stereotype. In a more recent study of advertising portrayals on television, Mastro and Stern (2003) found that only 2.4 percent of the speaking characters were Asian Americans. Consistent with the Taylor and Stern (1997) findings, Asians appeared most often in commercials for technology-related products and in work settings. The authors also classify the portrayals of the Asian models as being passive. The authors observed that these depictions may contribute to perceptions of Asian Americans being submissive, devoted to work, and only able to feel self-worth through superior achievement. In a study of children’s television advertising, Bang and Reece (2003) found Asian American models in 3.7 percent of a sample of 808 ads, a figure very similar to the overall percentage of the U.S. population that is Asian American. However, the authors reported that there was not even a single ad that showed Asian models exclusively and that Asians were underrepresented in ads for toys, clothing, and movies. In addition, none of the ads showed an Asian in a family setting. A cross-national study of magazine ads from 2000 and 2001 found Asian Americans to be dramatically underrepresented in U.S. women’s magazines (Frith, Cheng, and Shaw (2004). Out of 481 ads appearing in Glamour, Vogue, and Elle, just five contained Asian models. The hypotheses for this study are based on the knowledge about advertising portrayals of Asian Americans that has been acquired from the aforementioned studies, and these hypotheses are the subject of the next section. HYPOTHESES The literature on advertising portrayals of minorities suggests that there has been a gradual improvement in the frequency of the representation of minority groups over time and at least some improvement in the nature of the portrayals of Asian Americans. Thus, it is important to periodically update and extend the literature in this area. In outlining implications of the findings from this study, expectancy theory and cultivation theory will be used to assess the potential significance of the findings. Frequency of Representation and Prominence in Ad Wilkes and Valencia (1989) cited the proportionality criterion as a useful way to assess the frequency of the representation of a group in advertising portrayals. The proportionality criterion refers to whether the frequency of the ads in which the minority group appears exceeds the group’s level of representation in the population. Although various prior studies of the portrayals of Asian Americans in magazine advertising have found different levels of representation, there appears to

be an upward trend in overall representation (Taylor and Stern 1997). Recent population data indicate that there are 13.5 million Asian Americans, which accounts for 4.6 percent of the U.S. population. Thus, Hypothesis 1: The proportion of Asian American representation in magazine advertisements exceeds the overall Asian American proportion of the U.S. population.

As it has been widely observed that the simple frequency of representation may provide an inadequate picture of a group’s representation, because of the possibility of models being included in the background of an ad or as tokens (Bristor, Lee, and Hunt 1995; Bang and Reece 2003), the perceived importance of the characters will also be assessed. On the basis of prior research findings (Taylor and Lee 1994; Mastro and Stern 2003; Bang and Reece 2003), the following prediction is made: Hypothesis 2: When Asian Americans appear in the ads, they tend to be depicted in major roles less often than other races.

Stereotyping Variables: Product Category, Magazine Type, Settings, and Relationships Past studies have consistently found Asian American portrayals to be skewed toward certain types of product categories, magazines, settings, and relationships. Below are hypotheses for each of these variables, which are similar to those measured in the Taylor and Lee (1994) study. Product Category Cohen (1992) theorized that white consumers would react more positively to ads with Asian models when the ads were for a “technology-based” product. She conducted an experiment that confirmed the positive reaction of whites toward these types of ads with Asian models. Her study also found a less favorable response from whites to ads for men’s suits and food products that depicted Asian models. Consistent with the “model minority” stereotype, Taylor and Lee (1994) and Taylor and Stern (1997) predicted that Asian models would appear more frequently in ads for technology-based products than for non-technology-based products. In examining the products classified as technology based, the label technology and business-oriented products and services may actually be more appropriate for capturing those categories consistent with the “model minority” stereotype. For example, one might expect the model minority to be heavily depicted in ads for investment services or insurance products. At the same time, in nontechnology categories, such as food, health, and beauty aids, and sporting goods, one would not expect to see Asian Americans as often. Thus, Hypothesis 3: Asian Americans are frequently represented in advertisements for technology-based and business-oriented



products but are less frequently represented in advertisements for non-technology-based products.

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frequently in an effort to target the group more effectively. Thus,

Magazine Type Consistent with the “model minority” stereotype, prior research has shown that Asian models appear frequently in business and science magazines but rarely appear in women’s or general interest magazines (Taylor and Stern 1997; Frith, Cheng, and Shaw 2004). Thus, Hypothesis 4: Asian Americans are more frequently portrayed in advertisements that appear in popular business press and technological publications than they are in general interest and women’s magazines.

Settings and Relationships The “model minority” stereotype suggests that Asian Americans have a strong work ethic and are serious and hardworking. If these stereotypes are reflected in advertising, we would expect to see Asians frequently depicted in business settings but infrequently depicted in social and family settings. Indeed, the results of prior studies have found an underrepresentation of Asian models in certain types of settings such as home settings and social settings outside the home (Taylor and Lee 1994; Bang and Reece 2003; Mastro and Stern 2003). Thus, Hypothesis 5: When Asian American models appear in ads, they are depicted frequently in business settings, but they do not appear frequently in other types of settings.

Similarly, for relationships depicted, it stands to reason that a group portrayed to be technically competent and intellectually skilled would be shown more often in business relationships than in familial or social relationships. Thus, Hypothesis 6: Asian American models are depicted in business relationships in advertising more frequently than they are depicted in familial or social relationships.

High Asian Readership Magazines Recent years have brought an increased study of how to effectively target minority groups. In general, there is mounting evidence that including an actor from an ethnic group in an ad enhances the ad’s effectiveness within that ethnic group (Appiah 2001; Dimofte, Forehand, and Deshpande 2004; Forehand and Deshpande 2001; Grier and Deshpande 2001; Martin, Lee, and Yang 2004; Whittler and DiMeo 1991). As marketers increasingly have attempted to target racial and ethnic minority groups, it has been asserted that advertisers need to emphasize strategies that boost the salience of ethnicity to the consumer (Forehand and Deshpande 2001; Forehand, Deshpande, and Reed 2002). In the context of this study, one would expect publications with high Asian American readership to portray Asians more

Hypothesis 7: Magazines with high Asian American readership have a higher frequency of the portrayal of Asian models in their advertisements.

METHOD Sample To ensure comparability to the Taylor and Lee (1994) study, the sample for this study used the same magazines and chose issues in the same manner. This selection method involved the use of a quota sampling procedure to ensure that a sufficient number of ads from each category would be analyzed. Specific issues of the magazines from 2003 and 2004 were chosen using a table of random digits. Each of the publications in the sample was among the top ten in circulation within its general category (women’s, popular science and mechanics, general interest, and popular business press). In each of the four months chosen, all ads that were at least one full page were included. For weeklies, all issues in the chosen month were selected. Only ads with human models were included in the analysis. Following Wilkes and Valencia (1989), Stevenson and McIntyre (1995), and Taylor and Stern (1997), duplicate ads were kept in the sample to give a more accurate picture of the overall exposure of the general public to ads with Asian American models. From the main sample, three magazines had high Asian American readership indices (greater than 200). The magazines were Business Week (263), Fortune (245), and PC World (280). Three additional magazines were selected randomly from among the top ten magazines (excluding newspaper supplements) that have an Asian American readership index number of more than 200. The selected magazines were Elle (230), Marie Claire (200), and Tennis (308). It should be noted that no general interest magazine had an Asian readership index of more than 200. Unlike the Taylor and Lee (1994) study, which did not content analyze those ads that contained only white models, this study analyzed all ads in the sample. Ads featuring Caucasians, African Americans, and Latinos, as well as integrated ads, were analyzed. The main sample (of magazines comparable to the Taylor and Lee 1994 study) yielded 1,333 ads. An additional 552 ads appeared in the high-readership magazines, leading to a grand total of 1,885 ads. The Coding Process The coders were four undergraduate students who were not familiar with the hypotheses tested in the study. The coders were paid for doing the coding. The coders were trained by the researchers, following the guidelines recommended by Kolbe and Burnett (1991). These guidelines included the fol-


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lowing: providing a written code book with detailed operational definitions of each variable and category, training the coders in a formal training session, using ads not included in the general sample for the purposes of training, and having the coders code the ads independently for the purposes of reliability testing. The sample was halved so that all of the ads were coded by two coders. Therefore, each coder coded approximately 943 ads. Disagreements among the coders were resolved in consultation with the researchers. The coders recorded an assigned advertisement number and coded the following: the magazine name; the magazine type; the product category; the presence of Asian, Caucasian, African American, Latino, and “other minority” models; the number of models (up to a maximum of nine); the perceived importance of the most prominent model of each racial/ethnic group in the ad; and the relationships and settings depicted in the ads. For operational definitions of the perceived importance of the minority characters, settings, and relationships, as well as for the product category classification scheme, please see the appendix. Asian Americans were defined in the same manner used in Taylor and Lee (1994): “persons whose ancestry is rooted in any Asian country other than the Indian subcontinent, those countries that Americans refer to as the Middle East (e.g., Saudi Arabia) and those who are former members of the Soviet Union. Therefore, Asian Americans include people from Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong” (p. 241). It should be stressed that this definition does not included South Asians, which has been defined as an “all-encompassing term for the Indian Subcontinent, used to differentiate from East and Southeast Asia. The seven countries of South Asia [are] Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka” (South Asian Journalist’s Association 2005). Because of the need for comparability with the 1994 Taylor and Lee study, South Asians were included in the “other minority” category and are not included as part of the Asian American totals reported. However, it is strongly recommended that future research include South Asians as a distinct category. RESULTS

TABLE 1 BREAKDOWN OF MAIN SAMPLE BY MAGAZINE TYPE Magazine Type

Number of Ads

%

Business Week Fortune Popular business press total

77 246 323

4.1 13.1 24.2

Good Housekeeping Vogue Women’s magazine total

149 361 510

7.9 19.2 38.2

Time Newswseek General interest total

167 143 310

8.9 7.6 23.2

Scientific American Popular Mechanics Popular Science PC World Technical publication total Main sample total

33 51 14 92 190 1,333

1.8 2.7 0.7 4.9 14.2 100.0

Elle Marie Claire Tennis Additional high readership magazines total Grand total

282 226 44 552 1,885

51.1 40.9 8.0 100.0

standards for content analysis (Perrault and Leigh 1989; Rust and Cooil 1994). General Characteristics of the Sample The main sample for the study, drawn following the same procedure used by Taylor and Lee (1994), consisted of 1,333 ads. An additional 552 ads from publications with high Asian American readership were analyzed as well. In the main sample, 422 ads (31.7 percent) contained at least one minority model, up from just 17.8 percent of the Taylor and Lee (1994) sample. This represents a striking increase over a ten-year period in the proportion of ads containing at least one minority model. In the current sample, 16.7 percent of the ads were integrated with other races, while 83.3 percent of the ads featured models of just one race. See Table 1 for sample totals. Hypothesis 1—Representation

Reliability Reliability was computed using Perreault and Leigh’s (1989) index of reliability. Reliability figures were as follows: presence of Asian American model, .99; presence of Caucasian model, .96; presence of African American model, .98, presence of Latino model, .96; perceived importance of model .97; product type .89; setting .87; relationship among characters .97. While product type and setting were somewhat lower in reliability, all these variables meet accepted

As shown in Table 2, 140 ads in the main sample (10.5 percent) contained Asian Americans. This represents a substantial increase over the 4 percent reported by Taylor and Lee (1994). It is also well in excess of the 4.6 percent of the U.S. population that is represented by Asian Americans. Therefore, Asian representation exceeds the proportionality criterion, and Hypothesis 1 is supported. In terms of the representation of other groups in the sample, Caucasians appeared in 84.2 percent of the ads, African Americans in 18.5 percent, and Latinos in 6.8 percent.



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TABLE 2 GROUP REPRESENTATION AND PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE—CURRENT STUDYa Asian Americans

Total representation All models Perceived importance Major role Minor role Background role

n

%

140

10.5

90 36 14

64.2 25.7 10.0

Caucasian Americans

African Americans

Latino Americans

%

n

%

n

%

1,123

84.2

246

18.5

90

6.8

1,022 79 22

91.0 7.0 2.0

178 46 22

72.3 18.6 8.9

58 19 13

64.4 21.1 14.4

n

GROUP REPRESENTATION AND PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE—TAYLOR AND LEE (1994) Asian Americans

Total representation All models Perceived importance Major role Minor role Background role

n

%

65

4.0

33 24 8

50.8 36.9 12.3

Caucasian Americans n

African Americans

%

Latino Americans

n

%

n

%

NA

184

11.4

76

4.7

NA NA NA

87 56 41

47.4 30.3 22.4

28 25 23

37.0 33.2 29.9

a. Total number of ads in main sample = 1,333.

Hypothesis 2—Perceived Importance Although the overall representation of Asians has increased, Table 2 also shows that Asian Americans appear in major roles in just 64.2 percent of the ads in which they appear, a percentage that is substantially lower than the comparable number for Caucasians (91 percent) and African Americans (73.2 percent). Latinos appear in major roles at approximately the same rate as Asian Americans. The relative frequency of Asian American appearance in the perceived importance categories is statistically significant (χ2 = 1,270, p < .001). Although Latinos also appear in background roles frequently, the data partially support Hypothesis 2, which suggested that Asian models would appear in major roles less frequently than other groups. In addition, while the proportion of portrayals of Asian Americans in major roles has risen during the past ten years (from 50.8 percent to 64.2 percent), it has not increased as dramatically as the proportion of African Americans in major roles has, with the latter proportion rising from 37 percent in 1994 to 72.3 percent in 2004. This finding suggests that some ads may include Asians in background or token roles (Bristor, Lee, and Hunt 1995). Hypotheses 3—Product Category Our data show striking evidence for portrayals of Asian models in mainstream media being skewed toward technology and business-related products (see Table 3). Although 59.9 percent of the ads in the sample are for nontechnical products, just 22.8 percent of the appearances of Asian mod-

els were in ads for nontechnical products. The remaining 77.2 percent of the ads in which Asian models appeared are for technical- and/or business-related products. The difference in relative frequencies is statistically significant, supporting Hypothesis 3 (χ 2 = 87.5, p < .001). The comparable proportions for technical- and/or business-related product categories for Caucasians, Latinos, and African Americans are 38.3 percent, 48.8 percent, and 55.6 percent, respectively. Stated in raw numbers, just 32 Asian models appeared in ads for non-technology-based products, while more than three times as many (108) appeared in ads for technology-based products. Thus, Hypothesis 3 is supported. The finding of a disproportionate number of ads for technology-based and/or business-related product categories with Asian models is consistent with the “model minority” stereotype, as Asians are viewed as hardworking and competent in technology- and business-related fields. The relative absence of portrayals in product categories such as food, cosmetics, sporting goods, and clothing suggests that society does not associate Asians as closely with these product categories. Hypothesis 4—Magazine Type Table 4 shows partial support for Hypothesis 4, which predicted higher Asian representation in the popular business press and in science/technology magazines than in general interest and women’s magazines. Asian American models appeared in 16.4 percent of the ads in business magazines, followed by 15.1 percent of the ads in general interest magazines, 11 percent of the ads in science/technology magazines,


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TABLE 3 REPRESENTATION BY PRODUCT CATEGORYa Overall Sample n Nontechnology based Technology based Total

798 535 1,333

Asian Americans

%

n

%

59.9 40.1

32 108 140

22.8 77.1

Caucasian Americans n 692 431 1,123

African Americans

Latino Americans

%

n

%

n

%

61.6 38.3

109 137 246

44.3 55.6

46 44 90

51.1 48.8

a. See appendix for list of product categories.

TABLE 4 REPRESENTATION BY MAGAZINE TYPE Asian Americans

Popular business press (323) Women’s magazines (510) General interest (310) Technology (190)

Caucasian Americans

African Americans

Latino Americans

n

%

n

%

n

%

n

%

53 19 47 21

16.4 3.7 15.1 11.0

323 510 310 190

80.5 89.0 79.0 86.3

79 54 83 30

24.5 10.6 26.8 15.8

22 25 32 11

6.8 4.9 10.3 5.7

NOTE: Numbers in parentheses indicate total number of ads in the category. Total number of ads in main sample = 1,333.

and 3.7 percent of the ads in women’s magazines. The difference in relative frequencies is statistically significant (χ2 = 44.1, p < .001). Only the general interest finding runs counter to expectations. Although this finding is encouraging in terms of increased representation in a major magazine category, the very low figure for Asian American representation in women’s magazines persists. This may be explained, at least in part, by the product categories in women’s magazines, which are more skewed toward clothing, health and beauty aids, household products, and other non-technologybased products.

appear in social settings at a higher relative frequency than Caucasians do, the raw number of such portrayals was just eight for Asians versus fifty-one for Caucasians. Moreover, Asian models appear in social settings at a lower relative frequency than Latinos and African Americans do. Again, these findings appear to support the “model minority” stereotype. In accordance with the notion of serious, technically skilled people with a strong work ethic, Asian models appear to be shown commonly in the office but seldom are portrayed in the home or in social settings. Hypothesis 6—Relationships

Hypothesis 5—Settings Hypothesis 5 predicted that Asian Americans would be well represented in business settings, but poorly represented in home and social settings. As shown in Table 5, the differences in relative frequencies are substantial and statistically significant (χ2 = 82.8, p < .001). Thus, Hypothesis 5 is supported. With the exception of the “other” category, which consisted primarily of ads with studio settings, Asian models were depicted far more frequently in business settings (34.3 percent of ads). In contrast, Asian models appeared in home settings in just 9 ads (6.4 percent of their appearances) and social settings in just 8 (5.7 percent) of the 1,333 ads in the main sample. The relative frequency of Asian representation in business settings is much higher than that for Caucasians (13.4 percent), Latinos (15.6 percent), and African Americans (17.0 percent). Moreover, Asian models appear in home settings less frequently than the other groups do, with Caucasian representation at 15.6 percent and African American representation at 13.0 percent. Although Asian models

Table 6 shows support for Hypothesis 6. Of those ads with an Asian American model, 70.4 percent appeared in a business relationship. Asians appeared in social relationships in just 22.9 percent of the cases and in family relationships a mere 6.5 percent of the time. The difference in relative frequencies is statistically significant (χ2 = 1,178, p < .001). In sharp contrast, portrayals of Caucasians in the three types of relationships were relatively evenly split. For family relationships, African Americans were the next lowest of the major groups (18.9 percent), suggesting dramatic underrepresentation of Asian Americans. Consistent with the Taylor and Lee (1994) study, the data show continued underrepresentation of Asian Americans in both social and family relationships. Notably, however, the Taylor and Lee (1994) breakdown was 60 percent business, 34.2 percent social, and 5.7 percent in family relationships, suggesting that Asians are represented in social settings even less often now than they were ten years ago.



TABLE 5 SETTINGS DEPICTED IN ADS (IN PERCENTAGES)

Business Home Outdoors Social Other

Asian Americans

Caucasian Americans

African Americans

Latino Americans

34.3 6.4 18.6 5.7 35.0

13.4 15.6 20.4 4.5 46.1

17 13 19.1 8.1 42.7

15.6 7.8 20.0 7.8 48.9

Hypothesis 7—High Asian Readership Magazines There was not a statistically significant difference between those magazines with Asian readership indices of 200 or more and those at lower levels (χ2 = .410, p = .522). Of the 967 ads in the high-readership category (Business Week, Fortune, PC World, Tennis, Elle, and Marie Claire), 87 (9.0 percent) ads contained Asian models. The remaining magazines, accounting for 918 ads, had 75 Asian models (8.2 percent). Ironically, the high Asian readership publications added to the main sample (see Table 1); all had proportionately fewer Asian Americans than the main sample as a whole: Tennis (6.8 percent), Elle (2.2 percent), and Marie Claire (5.0 percent) lowered the proportion of ads with Asian models to 8.6 percent. Popular press publications such as Business Week and Fortune had respectively, 18.4 percent and 15.6 percent of their ads depicting Asian Americans, while Asian representation was much lower across all of the women’s magazines samples. Thus, it appears that magazine type is a more potent predictor of Asian American representation than Asian American readership is. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Collectively, the results of this study show that the “model minority” stereotype is reflected in mainstream magazine advertising. Although overall representation of Asian Americans has increased during the past ten years, the portrayals continue to conform to stereotypes of the group. Asian Americans are more heavily represented in ads for technologybased products, in business and science publications, and in business settings and relationships. There has been some improvement in Asian American representation in general interest magazines, but Asian models remain almost invisible in women’s magazines. Expectancy theory suggests that exposure to stereotypes in the media can build expectations that members of a group have traits that are consistent with the stereotype. The findings of this study suggest that mainstream magazines portray Asian Americans as successful, intelligent, work oriented,

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TABLE 6 RELATIONSHIPS DEPICTED IN ADS (IN PERCENTAGES) Asian Americans Family Social Business

6.5 22.9 70.4

Caucasian Americans 35.0 35.2 29.6

African Americans 18.9 39.4 41.6

Latino Americans 21.9 43.9 34.1

and well versed in technology. Such expectations may be difficult for many Asian Americans to meet. The danger of such expectations is that those not naturally talented in math, science, or business fields may be made to feel pressure to perform well in these areas and may feel inadequate if they do not—even if they do excel in other areas. Moreover, these stereotypes appear to reinforce the notion that Asian Americans are “different” and can lead to social problems, including feelings of depression. Cultivation theory argues that repeated exposure to stereotyped media portrayals can lead society at large to accept the stereotype as being reflective of reality. The stereotypes reflected in this study may well play into an image of all Asian Americans as being successful, hardworking, serious, and technologically savvy. Moreover, the lack of portrayals in family and/or social settings and relationships may cultivate the idea that Asian Americans do not spend much time socializing or at home with their families. The cultivation of such stereotypes may reinforce ideas such as Asian Americans being quiet, passive, and wanting to be white, among others. As indicated earlier, Asian Americans are actually a diverse group, composed of people of different nationalities, income levels, and occupations. Even if the stereotypes are “positive,” the reinforcement of them does a disservice to the group as a whole. From a societal perspective, it is important that advertisers show minority groups in a wide variety of contexts. In this way, both members of the minority group and society at large can obtain a fuller view of the group. For Asian Americans in particular, appearances in ads for product categories such as women’s clothing, cosmetics, food, and men’s clothing might help to provide a broader view of the group, as would appearances in family and social settings and relationships. Although additional research is needed on designing effective ads for minority groups (Forehand and Deshpande 2001), recent research suggests that nonstereotyped and realistic portrayals of a group tend to be effective. The finding that the frequency of the portrayals of Asian Americans does not vary by readership level also calls into question whether members of this group are being targeted as effectively as they could be. For example, Asian American women represent an attractive market for clothing and cosmetics; however, Asian models are seldom shown in ads for these products.


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Further research that truly delves into designing effective ads for the Asian American market is likely to lead to solutions that address both the managerial and societal issues. For Asian Americans, there is a pressing need to conduct qualitative research examining their reactions to how models are portrayed and how stereotypes affect them. Experimental approaches specifically examining the types of portrayals that are effective with Asian Americans are also needed. Furthermore, future research could help marketers focus on the nuances of the various Asian American cultures. CONCLUSION This study compared current portrayals of Asian Americans with those of ten years ago. The finding of increased overall representation of Asian Americans is somewhat encouraging. Clearly, if one is exposed to a wide range of magazines, Asian models have become increasingly common, as evidenced both by the increased number of portrayals and the appearance of Asian models in major roles in the ads. However, the portrayals of Asian Americans appear to be as stereotyped as ever, with Asian models often appearing in ads for technology and business-related products, in business settings and business relationships, and in business magazines. The continued portrayal of these stereotypes is questionable at a managerial level. It is also potentially damaging at a macro level.

APPENDIX Coding Schemes for Perceived Importance of Characters, Settings, Relationships, and Product Category Perceived Importance of Characters Major role: A character who is very important to the advertising theme or layout, shown in the foreground or shown holding the product. Minor role: A character who is of average importance to the advertising theme or layout. Generally, such characters are not spotlighted in the ad and do not hold the product but are not difficult to find in the ad while casually looking at it. Background role: A character who is difficult to find in an ad (i.e., not likely to be noticed by a reader glancing at the ad) and is not important to its theme or layout.

Setting Business: Factories, sales or office rooms, and retail settings in which consumers are depicted inside stores. Home, indoor or outdoor: Recognizable as a residence, room, or rooms, garage, yard, home or apartment driveway, or parking space. Outdoors/natural scenery: Includes forests, rivers, ocean, fields, or sky as well as streets, public roads, sidewalks, or pathways. Does

not include outdoor settings at individuals’ homes or outdoor social settings. Social setting outside home: Includes public places such as auditoriums, restaurants, or movie theaters where people meet and congregate for social purposes. Other: Includes artificial settings (stage or specially built props or backgrounds) and any other setting not listed above. Relationship to Others in the Ad Family context: Includes husband and wife and any relationship between relatives, including children as well as extended family such as aunts/uncles, grandparents, grandchildren, adopted children, and foster children. Social context: Includes friends or any other two people depicted in a social setting, with the exception of family members depicted in a social context. Business context: The depiction of members of, or workers in, the same company, those who are employed by the same company. Also colleagues in the same profession or occupation even though they may be employed by different companies. Any relationship between employees or professionals who work together. Impersonal context: More than one character appears in the ad, but there is no apparent relationship between the characters. Nobody else in ad: Choose this option when only one model appears in the ad. Other relationship: Any relationship other than those listed above. Product Categorization Scheme Food and beverages Alcoholic beverages Tobacco products *Automobile/auto related Over-the-counter drugs/medications Household/lawn and garden supplies *Electronic appliances Cosmetics/personal care Clothing/shoes/apparel Diet and exercise products Furniture Entertainment supplies *PCs/home computer supplies * Office equipment and supplies Sporting goods/toys Pets, pet food, and pet supplies Publications Movies Retailers *Banking/financial services *Telecommunications services *Transportation services Other products Other services * Coded as technology-based/business service–oriented product.

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Charles R. Taylor (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is the John A. Murphy Professor of Marketing at Villanova University, College of Commerce and Finance, Department of Marketing, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085-1678; phone: (610) 519-4386; fax: (610) 519-5364; e-mail: raymond.taylor@ villanova.edu. Stacy Landreth (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of North Texas, College


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of Business Administration, Department of Marketing and Logistics, P.O. Box 311396, Denton, TX 76203; phone: (940) 565-3120; fax: (940) 565-3837; e-mail: [email protected].

Commerce and Finance, Department of Marketing, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085-1678; phone: (610) 519-4386; fax: (610) 519-5364; e-mail: [email protected].

Hae-Kyong Bang (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an associate professor of marketing at Villanova University, College of


Journal of Macromarketing

Journal of Macromarketing

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