Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian American Adolescents' Responses to Culturally Embedded Ads

The researcher digitally manipulated the race of characters in ads and the number of race-specific cultural cues in the ads while maintaining all other visual features of these ads. Three hundred forty-nine Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian American adolescents evaluated Black character or White character ads based on their: (1) perceived similarity to the characters in the ads; (2) identification with the characters in the ads; (3) belief that the ads were intended for them; and (4) overall rating of the ads. The findings indicate that, overall, White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American adolescents respond more favorably to Black character ads than they do to White character ads.