The Role of Brand Spokes-Characters’ Gender in an Emerging Context – A Worthy Consideration for Brand Anthropomorphism?

Jade Verbeek, Liezl-Marié van der Westhuizen and Melanie Wiese

Journal of African Business, 2025, vol. 26, issue 4, 867-886

Abstract: According to the cognitive consistency theory, non-human brand stimuli with gender cues can trigger perceptions of their human-likeness and associated gender stereotypes. Gender’s role in (de)humanization of human beings has been well studied, whereas its role in brand anthropomorphism remains underexplored, despite its impact on consumer behavior. Therefore, the influence of the acknowledged gender of brand spokes-characters on their anthropomorphism within the NPO sector of South Africa was the primary objective of this study. Additionally, the secondary objective was its influence on their perceived masculine and feminine brand personality and credibility. Data from an online panel of 600 respondents, analyzed using ANOVAs, showed that the characters’ acknowledged gender did not influence their anthropomorphism, yet it influenced perceptions of their gendered brand personalities and credibility. These findings highlight the importance of non-human brand stimuli’s gender perceptions and the match-up hypothesis in this regard, offering several implications for marketing scholars and practitioners.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/15228916.2025.2548131

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