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Drivers to divasRussian tennis player, known more for her sex appealthan her on-court success. Kournikova's name issynonymous with unfulfilled potential, yet Patrick isnot insulted to be placed in her company.She wasn’t all that bad, Patrick says good-naturedly.“She was pretty darned good at tennis and obviously apretty girl. That’s where people seem to think if you’rereally popular and famous, you’re supposed to bedoing certain things. Other people set the rules onhow successful you’re supposed to be and it’s not thateasy. As a result, some people are under-publicised forhow good they are and some people are overpublicised,but we can’t control that as athletes. I dofeel badly for [Kournikova]. It’s sad that her [sexappeal] overshadowed her career. But she still wasvery successful financially. And why shouldn’t shehave [capitalised on that]?” (Isaacson, 2007, p.1)Interstate Bakeries Corporation realised thecommercial potential of an association with DanicaPatrick and their Hostess brand of packaged snacks,and Patrick welcomed Hostess as a sponsor (Reyes,2005). Hostess was eager to make the most of thephenomenon of females in motorsport by launching acomprehensive campaign introducing the ‘HostessDivas’. The Divas comprised IRL driver Patrick,National Hot Rod Association driver Melanie Troxel,and Leilani Munter, who raced NASCAR until herAugust 2007 IRL debut.The Divas were featured on Hostess brand snackboxes, point-of-purchase displays and in a number ofother formats. Hostess believed the Divas were eachexcellent ambassadors for their sports and couldinspire a diverse fan base, giving the company aleverage opportunity to connect their brand with theDivas’ prominence and the enthusiasm that surroundsmotorsport (Reyes, 2005). There is an effort in theHostess campaign to show athletic expertise byportraying the Divas in their racing uniforms onpackages of Hostess goods. The women also depict atraditionally feminine/attractive image, with styled,wind-blown hair, make up and jewellery.Conclusion: driving in reverse?An examination of women in motorsport over time(1979-2006) shows that pioneer racers such as JanetGuthrie and Lyn St. James were portrayed as expertdrivers with little or no emphasis on traditionalfemininity. In the current age of celebrity, theattractiveness of drivers such as Sarah Fisher andDanica Patrick has become more of a focal point oftheir endorsements. By moving from endorsementportrayals that focus on the expertise of women driversto those that place a much greater emphasis onphysical attractiveness, are women in motorsportdriving in reverse in terms of advertising images forfemale athletes? Is Patrick harming the reputation offemale athletes or has she found a combination ofcredibility factors that can work together to enhanceher image as well as positively promote the corporatebrands she is endorsing?Many of the advertising images of contemporarywomen racing car drivers contain a dual-role portrayalthat connects attractiveness with some element ofathleticism and a strong connotation of competence.Strong and competent women athletes are becomingincreasingly accepted by society (Castelnuovo &Guthrie, 1998; Dworkin, 2001; Kane, 1995), butperhaps more so than strong and competent maleathletes, they are also judged by their attractiveness.Researchers examining the portrayal of femaleathletes by the media have expressed concerns thatwomen are often objectified when they are depicted inpassive, non-sporting and gender-stereotypical ways(Blinde et al, 1991; Jones et al, 1999; Lynn et al,2002; Lumpkin, 2007; Lumpkin & Williams, 1991).The current stance of the Women’s Sports Foundationregarding the ‘sex sells’ attitude towards women’ssports acknowledges “a remarkable insensitivity to theharmful effects of sexist stereotyping. The advertisingor sports media should not perpetuate harmful,limiting images towards any group of individuals.Saying ‘This is what the audience wants’ and ‘This iswhat sells’ would not be tolerated if the imagesperpetuated racist or anti-Semitic stereotypes. TheRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship211
Drivers to divasRESEARCH PAPERposition should not be tolerated if the imagesperpetuate the stereotype of women as sex objects”(Women’s Sports Foundation, 2007).Roth and Basow (2004) adamantly opposed thepresentation of athletic women’s bodies as sexy,judging that one way to limit and de-emphasisewomen’s physical power and capabilities is toassociate female athleticism with female sex appeal.The Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Womenin Sport has piloted a research project examining the‘sex sells’ approach to marketing. This research,partially funded by the Women’s Sports Foundation,recognises a gap in the understanding of howrepresentations of women athletes in the media areinterpreted by consumers. In examining intent to viewor attend a women’s sporting event, Kane andMaxwell (cited in Blount, 2007) stated that their initialfindings from surveys of men aged 18-34 did notsupport that promoting sexy images of women athletesattracts men to games. In fact, Kane and Maxwellbelieve this approach may be counterproductive andmay also alienate women as consumers. Theirresearch suggests that selling out women to sexiststereotypes does nothing to advance the cause ofwomen’s sport.Nevertheless, attractiveness is an importantdimension of source credibility, and research hasshown that physically attractive communicators aremore successful in altering beliefs than those who areunattractive (Chaiken, 1979; Ohanian, 1991), andattractive endorsers have positive effects on brandattitude and purchase intent (Till & Busler, 2000). Theconstruct of physical attractiveness is not unidimensionaland can be operationalised in a variety ofways. Attractiveness is often described in terms ofphysical appearance, but it can also be interpreted assimilarity of the source to the receiver of the message,familiarity or whether the source is liked or admired(Boyd & Shank, 2004). Attractiveness alone, however,may not be enough to convince consumers. Expertisehas been found to be a significant component ofcredibility (Boyd & Shank, 2004; Ohanian, 1991).Attractiveness and expertise, as two sources of sourcecredibility, can work independently or together toenhance the effectiveness of the source. Thus anattractive spokesperson with knowledge about aproduct is likely to be a successful endorser.Highlighting attractiveness without diminishing awoman athlete’s expertise may not constituteexploitation. In fact, an expert woman athlete whotakes advantage of her attractiveness may be thoughtof as a savvy businesswoman capitalising on her ownendorsement potential while increasing efficacy for hersponsors. Danica Patrick aptly summed up theprevailing attitude that a woman athlete’sattractiveness and expertise are both importantaspects that influence endorsement success: “You usewhat you have… I’m a girl, I can promote products,and I’ll use that to my advantage. But in the end itboils down to speed” (Inkrott et al, 2002, p. 38).Directions for future researchThis paper has focused on two factors of sourcecredibility – expertise and attractiveness – to examineadvertising images of female athletes. It explored theevolution of how women in motorsport have beenportrayed in product advertisements. Surprisingly, theendorsement portrayal of the pioneer women autoracers who broke into the male bastion of motorsportwas more equitable than for female athletes in othersports realms. Early endorsement opportunities formost female athletes highlighted femininity rather thanathletic competence. Women racing car drivers, on theother hand, were treated as athletes, and advertisingimages most often focused on their trade andcompetency rather than their gender.A new era in female drivers’ advertising portrayalsarrived with Danica Patrick. She has unapologeticallyused sex appeal to promote herself and the productbrands that she endorses. Nevertheless, she and hermarketing team realise that attractiveness alone is notenough to maximise her effectiveness as a productspokesperson; expertise is the most persuasive212International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●
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Page 14 and 15: Drivers to divasimage portrayal of
Page 16 and 17: Drivers to divasAttractiveness and
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Editorial policyThe Journal welcome
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