Advertisers classified foods by gender to exploit subconscious consumer preferences

Evidence

Dichter’s theory of “food genders” became especially sought out by advertisers; Dichter claimed that consumers had a subconscious, psychological response to foods, which influenced how they made their purchasing decisions. For this reason, Dichter believed it was important for advertisers to classify various food products along gender lines to gain insight into why consumers prefer one product over another. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1348

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: the pseudo-science of ‘motivational research’ in mid-century advertising — how psychobabble about subconscious urges was sold to brands as market insight.
• XREF: connects to: Personal branding reduces identity to a predictable pattern of consumer preferences — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the…, 472; Product differentiation in mass culture functions as consumer classification, not real variety. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 95; Advertising shifted from selling product qualities to selling user identity — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 550 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Advertising shifted from selling product qualities to selling user identity #expands (0.88) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 550
• Product differentiation in mass culture functions as consumer classification, not real variety. #expands (0.80) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 95
• Advertisers co-opted feminist rhetoric to sell household products #exemplifies (0.78) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 219
• Emotional labels change consumer behavior where scientific names do not #expands (0.78) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 359
• Personal branding reduces identity to a predictable pattern of consumer preferences #expands (0.72) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 472