EXPRESS: Ethnic Diversity in Advertising: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Although research on ethnic diversity in advertising is extensive, its findings remain fragmented and often inconclusive. This limits practical guidance for marketers. Beyond marketing- and consumer-specific factors, differences between ethnic minority groups within a country and cross-national socioeconomic and cultural factors can play a role in shaping responses to ethnic diversity advertising of consumers belonging to either ethnic majority or minority groups. This study develops and empirically tests a theoretical framework to examine the impact of ethnic diversity in advertising along with the factors that moderate this impact. We conduct a meta-analysis based on 1,276 effect sizes derived from 106 studies published between 1969 and 2024, encompassing 155 unique datasets from 21 countries. The findings reveal that ethnic diversity effects are small, but are moderated by country-level variables such as migration rates and rule of law, in addition to product, advertising, and consumer characteristics and that some of these moderator effects work differently for ethnic minority compared to majority consumers. Furthermore, within the U.S. context, the sociopolitical power position of ethnic minorities enhances advertising effectiveness among majority consumers. These insights offer implications for both researchers and practitioners.