Humanizing brands through inclusive marketing: the role of social judgements and anthropomorphism in luxury and non-luxury branding

Inclusive marketing, which emphasizes diversity and representation, has gained recognition in the fashion industry but remains underexplored in luxury brand marketing. This study investigates how inclusive marketing impacts social judgements of brands (i.e., warmth and competence) by comparing how the effects of inclusive marketing on brand social judgements differ between luxury and non-luxury brands. Further, this study examined the effects of social judgements of brands on brand anthropomorphism and brand attitudes. A 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design tested a stimulus featuring a Down syndrome model in inclusive marketing campaigns for Gucci (luxury) and GAP (non-luxury). Structural equation modeling with multi-group analysis results showed that inclusive marketing enhanced brand social judgements of warmth and competence, particularly a stronger effect on warmth for luxury than non-luxury brands. Further, these social judgements positively influenced brand anthropomorphism (cognitive experience and emotional consciousness), leading to positive brand attitudes. This study offers the first empirical evidence of how inclusive marketing influences consumers’ human-like judgements and perceptions of brands and provides practical insights for fashion luxury and non-luxury marketers.