Abstracts Womens Studies

Fräscht, feminint och förpackat : En kvalitativ studie om hur ZYN:s marknadskommunkation skapar och upprätthåller attityder hos unga kvinnor gentemot varumärket.

by Sacharias Ivarsson Elers

The purpose of the study was to examine how ZYN's marketing communication creates and maintains perceptions among young women towards the brand, and how the marketing communication influences young women's views of white snus as a gender-neutral or female-coded product. The results are based on five commercial films produced by ZYN, as well as five semi-structured interviews with the target group, which consists of young female students. The commercials are analyzed through semiotic analysis based on Goffman's book Gender Advertisements (1987) and a thematic analysis based on Braun & Clarke (Bryman, 2018, s. 707). The semiotic analysis is applied on five commercials produced by the trademark named ZYN, whereas the thematic analysis is applied to five transcribed interviews with young women studying at Swedish universities. The study reveals that ZYN's marketing of nicotine pouches partially challenges gender stereotypes by positioning the product as gender-neutral and socially acceptable, appealing to female consumers. However, traditional gender roles are reinforced through visual portrayals in advertisements, where women are often depicted as passive. While ZYN creates space for women in a previously male-dominated industry, its attempts at empowerment appear superficial and risk being perceived as feminism washing, which in turn can hurt the trustworthiness of the brand. By shedding light on the societal implications of gendered marketing, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how brands can shape attitudes and drive progress toward gender equity in advertising.