When Diversity Backfires: The Asymmetric Role of Multicultural Diversity on Brand Perception.

This article investigates how brands’ use of multicultural diversity in marketing campaigns affects consumer perceptions and responses, focusing on the "sellout effect" experienced by marginalized-focused brands—those originally targeting historically marginalized consumers such as Black communities. Through six studies involving Black and White U.S. consumers across various product categories, the research finds that when marginalized-focused brands expand to multicultural diversity (e.g., including both Black and White models), marginalized consumers often perceive the brand as "selling out," characterized by a loss of authenticity, deviation from roots, and prioritizing profits over original consumer needs, which leads to decreased feelings of inclusion and less favorable consumer behavior. Conversely, brands originally focused on nonmarginalized consumers (e.g., White consumers) tend to receive positive responses when adopting multicultural diversity. The studies also identify mitigation strategies for marginalized-focused brands, such as signaling a multicultural focus from inception or including similarly marginalized groups (e.g., Hispanic models) in campaigns, highlighting the nuanced role of brand history and consumer identity in diversity marketing.