Ad Schema Incongruity as Elicitor of Ethnic Self-Awareness and Differential Advertising Response

It is proposed that targeting strategies that are incongruent with existing advertising schemata due to unusual use of identity cues can increase the salience of particular self-identifications and influence consumer response to advertising targeting specific audiences. In an experiment, Hispanic and Anglo consumers were exposed to one of two versions of a Hispanic-targeted advertisement. The two versions were identical except that the first version featured an English-language voice-over (congruent with existing advertising schemata) whereas the second version featured a Spanish-language voice-over with English subtitles (incongruent with existing advertising schemata). Experimental participants were more likely to spontaneously report their ethnicity in self-descriptions (a measure of ethnic self-awareness) if they were exposed to the schema-incongruent ad than if they were exposed to the schema-congruent ad. Ad schema congruity also moderated the impact of target market membership on consumer attitudes toward the spokesperson and advertising.