Session recording: EyeSee x Twitter at Quirk’s Virtual Event

Session recording: EyeSee x Twitter at Quirk’s Virtual Event

Women’s participation in sports competitions has been on a steady rise throughout history, albeit lined with many hurdles to overcome. Inspired by the historic high in female participation at the now postponed Tokyo Olympic games, where 48.8% of participants would be women, Twitter decided to take a deep dive into the way advertising portrayal of gender roles in sports influences brand perception and their consumers.

Check out the full session recording of the thought-provoking conversation!

Michelle Grushko, (Data Scientist, Marketing Insights & Analytics, Twitter) and Mila Milosavljevic (Senior Insights Manager, UX and Digital team) presented the pioneering study in a session at Quirk’s Virtual event. The conversations on redefining gender roles are becoming a fast-evolving trend on Twitter – people are starting to explore the meaning of femininity and masculinity more and more and challenge traditional gender roles.

Even though female athletes deliver outstanding athletic performances, there’s still a gender disparity – not only in earnings – but in the way they are presented in the media. Despite their athletic achievements, sportswomen are rarely praised just for that: the media tends to focus on their physical appearance, femininity (or lack thereof), sexual orientation, etc.

Twitter’s research has found that cultural relevance is incredibly important to a consumer’s purchase decision, and correlates with performance on brand effect metrics. We found that it’s important to consumers that brands are involved in culture (such as events and trends) and social issues. Consumers are increasingly talking about gender recognition in campaigns, with a 93% increase in volume over the last few years. A brand’s cultural involvement accounts for a quarter of a consumer’s purchase decision. This research specifically might help brands connect with what’s happening around the growing conversation of gender equality and gender roles, especially in sports.

The study included a total of 2400 respondents, out of which 1800 were exposed to with embedded tested advertisementsThe study entailed a combination of implicit and explicit methods, measuring ad visibility and emotional engagement with two behavioral methods – eye-tracking and facial coding. Furthermore, virtual shopping provided insight into whether the advertised brand will be bought in a highly competitive environment, and which tested ads stimulate the purchase. Lastly, respondents completed a survey that also included a Reaction Time measurement test – adding another layer of implicit insight into the respondent’s biases.

Ads with female athletes are the front-runners

The ads in the study made up four different categories. Two focused on female athletes, and two on male athletes, each represented in traditional and non-traditional roles. Ads that showed traditional roles included common stereotypes around gender – women shown as elegant, maternal, graceful, and men as strong, masculine, powerful, etc. Whereas, ads that highlighted non-traditional portrayal emphasized women’s stamina and engagement in sports that are typically considered masculine, and men as paternal, caring, emotional.

Ads that featured female athletes outperformed campaigns that portrayed male athletes as the main protagonist on many KPIs.

All tested ads had absolute visibility, which may be due to the positioning of the ads as they were on the top of the feed. However, the tested ads also featured famous athletes, elements of humor, passion for sport, and some were also emotionally charged – all of which contributed to the high engagement. Moreover, all tested ads pushed purchase behavior in a positive direction. There was an increase in no. of shoppers, no. of bought items and consequently, the amount of money spent – compared to control cells that weren’t exposed to test creatives.

Low credibility of ads with male athletes

Ads featuring females in sports activities contradict stereotypes by default – women athletes are seen as strong, skillful, and persistent, even when the emphasis is on their gracefulness and elegance. These ads are also seen as more empowering and memorable, compared to those with male athletes. Regardless of the protagonists’ gender, however, ads with non-traditional roles yielded better purchase behavior results.

Another finding is that ads with male athletes had a higher effect on the shopping behavior of female viewers, while ads with sportswomen had a more significant impact on the shopping of the male audience. This isn’t anything new though, as our previous research also showed that purchase intent grows when the viewer and the protagonist are of the opposite gender.


Ads with male athletes in both traditional and non-traditional roles fall flat when it came to credibility and a sense of empowerment, which indicates that men are still looking for more relatable role models to feel empowered.

Stay ahead of the game with your sports ads

A study done by Twitter showed that 65% of people expect ads to be creative and culturally relevant for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Here are EyeSee’s tips for advertisers planning their campaigns for the coming year or any other sports event:

  • Media is highly saturated with typical gender roles – bring an element of surprise and novelty by introducing non-traditional creatives to your brand
  • While emphasizing gender equality in ads is relevant, it shouldn’t be done for the sake of it alone – watchers will see through dishonest campaigns
  • Make sure that equality naturally fits the plot, creating a context that is believable and in line with the advertised product and target group
  • Be brave to explore the whole continuum of possible non-traditional roles (for both women and men)
  • Avoid going into extremes, as these kinds of scenarios are less relatable to viewers

Key takeaways

  • Ads featuring sportswomen blow the competition away – they out-perform on many KPIs
  • Representation matters! Not only do ads with women breaking the traditional stereotypes drive engagement – they are incredibly important to see
  • It’s not just the representation in sports advertising that’s vital, but opening the broader conversation around gender equality and inclusivity