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Drivers to divasimage portrayal of female drivers was first seen withSarah Fisher in 2003 and became quite evident in2006 with Danica Patrick. While most of theadvertisements in the official Indy programme thatfeatured contemporary female drivers still containedaspects of expertise, there was the added dimensionof attractiveness used to promote products. Adiscussion of views about using sex appeal to sellproducts is presented, and it is argued that sourcecredibility is most effective when expertise is combinedwith attractiveness. Female athletes who are able tocapitalise on both of these factors may experience themost success in garnering endorsement opportunities.Further research is recommended to empirically testthe influence and interaction of these two componentsof source credibility.IntroductionAdvertising is an important art form with significantfinancial implications for many businesses. Millions ofdollars, thousands of hours and a profusion ofcreativity are used in developing each print andelectronic advertisement we see and hear becausedesigners want to make their work meaningful toviewers on a personal level. Those in the advertisingindustry know that consumers respond best when theycan identify with themes and/or characters in ads, andthey realise that using celebrities to promote productsis an effective means by which to influence consumersto identify with certain brands (Irwin et al, 2002;Petty et al, 1983; Ohanian, 1990).The fame and popularity of athletes makes themappealing choices as celebrity endorsers (Boyd &Shank, 2004). The use of athletes as productendorsers has principally been a strategy to reach themale market. Sutton and Watlington (1994) explainthat men, more than women, respond to the “heroworship” associated with celebrity endorsements.Women in sport have traditionally endorsed productstargeted at females, and the athletes themselves haveprimarily been those who participate in activities‘appropriate’ for females such as figure skating, tennisand golf (Cuneen, 2001; Cuneen & Claussen, 1999;Cuneen & Sidwell, 1998; Cuneen & Spencer, 2003).Not only were these traditionally feminine, genderappropriatewomen athletes matched with productsassociated with female consumer markets, but femaleathletes were usually portrayed in posed, rehearsedpositions wearing feminine ‘street’ clothes and not intheir game gear or in an athletic pose (Lumpkin,2007; Media Education Foundation, 2002;Spencer, 2003).Social ideals of masculinity and femininity havelimited female athletes’ endorsement opportunities andearning potential (Cuneen, 2001; Cuneen & Claussen,1999). Thus one would assume that women whosesporting interests challenge society’s definition ofgender appropriateness, such as those in the maledominatedsport of auto racing, would lacksponsorship.Interestingly, an examination of advertising imagesof pioneer women racers indicates that a variety ofcorporate sponsors have enlisted women drivers topromote their products. Furthermore, in contrast toother female athletes, these women were recognisedas drivers first, and the product advertisementsfocused on their talent or expertise rather than on theirfemininity. The treatment of early women racers insponsorships and endorsements appeared to be moreequitable in the male-dominated stronghold of Indycar racing than in other sporting realms. Some of theadvertising portrayals of more contemporary femaledrivers, however, have increasingly included moreemphasis on their femininity and attractiveness.Cuneen et al (2007) conducted a content analysisof advertisements depicting female drivers thatappeared in the official Indianapolis 500 programmesfrom 1977 to 2006. The advertisements wereanalysed for pose, connotation, role portrayal andcamera angle. Results from the study were reported asdescriptive statistics, with no attempt to explain theirmeaning based on a theoretical framework.The purpose of this study is to broaden and extendthe work of Cuneen et al (2007) by examining theRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship205
Drivers to divasRESEARCH PAPERsame advertisements of women in motorsport andapplying the concept of source credibility (Ohanian,1990) to gain a better understanding of the portrayalof female athletes as celebrity endorsers. In this paper,we will show how the advertising image of femaledrivers has changed over time. Furthermore, we willargue that in today’s media culture, attractivenesscoupled with expertise can result in successfulendorsement relationships.The endorsement game: how does onebecome a credible spokesperson?Advertisements are designed to touch consumers’emotions and tune into their identities by depictingcharacters in stereotypical settings that induceconsumers to buy a product (Kilbourne, 1999;Shields, 2001; Smithsonian World, 1991). Sportscelebrities are popular as ad characters (i.e. productendorsers) because fans identify with their favouriteathletes and will readily identify with products praisedby their favourite players (Irwin et al, 2002). Researchhas linked celebrity endorsers with positive consumerbrand attitudes towards products (Petty et al, 1983),intention to purchase (Ohanian, 1991), and positiveexpected future profits for a company (Agrawal &Kamakura, 1995).Millions of corporate dollars are paid to athleteendorsers and billions more are spent on promotingthe association between the athlete and the company(Boyd & Shank, 2004). Yet most of theseendorsement opportunities are for male athletes. Intheir analysis of sports and non-sports broadcasts,Turner et al (1995) found that only 3% of athleticfigures employed in television commercials werefemale. Nevertheless, endorsement opportunities forfemale athletes may grow as sports consumers andsponsors look for more positive athletic role models. Itis widely believed in the marketing and advertisingindustries that there is a significant link between thepersuasiveness of a message and the character of thespokesperson (Ohanian, 1990).The concept of source credibility provides a usefulframework for examining the use and portrayal offemale athletes as product endorsers. Sourcecredibility is a term used to imply a communicator’spositive characteristics that affect the receiver’sacceptance of a message (Ohanian, 1990). Afterfinding inconsistencies in the literature and a lack ofpsychometric assessment of scales regarding theimpact of communicator credibility, Ohanian (1990)developed a valid and reliable scale to measure sourcecredibility.This 15-item semantic differential scale comprisesthree distinct dimensions: expertise, trustworthinessand attractiveness. Expertise is based oncharacteristics such as experience, knowledge,qualifications, skill and expertise. Trustworthiness isoperationalised as a composite of being perceived asdependable, honest, reliable, sincere and trustworthy.The attractiveness dimension consists of items toassess whether the source is considered classy,handsome/beautiful, elegant, sexy and attractive.These three dimensions of credibility can makeindependent contributions to the effectiveness of thesource as well as combine to influence the overallimpact of the message (Ohanian, 1991).Boyd and Shank (2004) explored how the gender ofthe athlete endorser and the type of product they areendorsing relates to perceptions of credibility. Theyused Ohanian’s (1990) Source Credibility Scale toanalyse respondents’ perceptions of magazineadvertisements with female and male athleteendorsers, and found that athlete endorsers are mosteffective when the target market is male, the athlete ismale and the product is sports-related. Their resultsalso suggest that when the gender of the target marketis the same as that of the endorser, credibility isenhanced due to greater trustworthiness.206 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●
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