THE SHADE EFFECT: HOW COLOURISM AND SKIN TONE SHAPE SOUTH ASIAN CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION IN ADVERTISING

Abstract

Colourism, the preference for lighter skin tones over darker ones within and between racial and ethnic groups, remains a persistent issue across many cultures, particularly among South Asians, as well as in media and advertising. Yet very little marketing research has examined how skin-tone representation in advertising shapes South Asian consumers’ perceptions when viewing another South Asian individual with a lighter or darker skin tone. This research investigates whether South Asian consumers respond differently to advertisements featuring lighter-skinned versus darker-skinned South Asian models. Using an experimental design, participants were randomly assigned to view either a lighter- or darker-skinned South Asian model and then evaluated the model and the advertisement. They also completed measures of ideal self/model congruence, Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). Contrary to expectations, there were no significant differences in consumer responses across the two skin-tone conditions. Ideal self/model congruence did not mediate the relationship between skin tone and attitude toward the model and ad. Likewise, neither SDO nor RWA moderated the association between skin tone representation and ideal self/model congruence. These findings suggest that consumers responded similarly to both lighter and darker-skinned models, highlighting the need for future research to examine whether colourism-based perceptions continue to shape South Asian consumers’ perceptions, how these attitudes may be changing, and what factors might contribute to such shifts in a multicultural context.