The power of religious diversity in advertising

The advertising industry has faced some changes throughout the last decades with society's strong call for diversity. The effect of depicting religious minorities, however, is still an ongoing debate, with once-leading brands receiving backlash and facing accusations of cultural appropriation. Some scholars state that including religious minorities can be beneficial to target specific consumer groups or promote niche products. Others argue that depicting religion can backfire and lead to lower consumer responses. A large body of research has focused on Christianity in advertising, while Islamic signs in Western European are understudied. To address this gap in gap in literature, this thesis addresses the following research question: 'What is the effect of including religious minority endorsers in advertising on consumers' responses in Europe?' The hypotheses posed in the theoretical framework were tested using an experimental survey design with three treatment groups. All participants were randomly assigned to one condition using the randomization from the program Qualtrics. It was found that participants belonging to a religious minority had a more favorable attitude toward the ad compared to participants belonging to a majority group. Additionally, participants who identify as atheists tend to have a lower attitude toward the brand than religious participants. No other effects between endorsers’ religion on the defined consumers’ responses showed significance. The study concluded that depicting religion and especially a minority endorser does not influence consumers' ad and brand evaluation. Thus, marketers nowadays do not risk a negative backlash or lower consumer attitude toward the ad or brand anymore when depicting a religious minority in Europe. This research contributed to the existing literature on religious minorities in advertising and its effect on consumers' responses. Lastly, some suggestions for future research are provided. These recommendations comprise looking into various religious signs and focusing on other religious groups. Further research will provide a deeper understanding of the impact of depicting religious minorities in advertising on consumers’ responses.