ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.08.027
A Study on the Visual Narratives and Development Trends of Virtual Endorsers in Feminist Brand Marketing in the Digital Age: An Analysis Based on Typical Cases
Wenhui Liang, Yuan Xiong*
Faculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau, Macau 999078, China.
*Corresponding author: Yuan Xiong
Published: August 31, 2026
Abstract
Virtual endorsers are a new form of advertising that brands use to
promote their progressive values in the age of the metaverse and digital human influencers.
This paper will explore them as a brand marketing tool for feminism and how
visual images and narrative approaches influence the perception of consumers.
The research involves a literature review and analysis of six virtual
endorsers: Shiseido (SHI), SK-II (Yumi), L'Oréal (Miss M), Prada Candy, Lil
Miquela, AYI. Collectively, these six cases suggest that they can be seen as
not only breaking the stereotype of the female gender by presenting different
types of females who are empowered but also creating an emotional bond with the
audience through the use of various types of narratives such as personal
development or career success. The paper focuses on the need to create a
balance between the commercial aspect and the feminist value expression. It is
cautioned about the femvertising, which is a shallow approach. In this article,
I will explain why it is necessary to create virtual endorsers in three ways: (1) Create characters
with affective backgrounds; (2) Brand story and actual brand actions should be
consistent; (3) Consumers should have
opportunities to participate in the creation of the brand.
Keyword
Feminism; virtual endorsers; brand marketing; visual image; narrative strategy
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Copyright
© 2026 by the author(s).
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not modified or adapted.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
How to cite this paper
A Study on the Visual Narratives and Development Trends of Virtual Endorsers in Feminist Brand Marketing in the Digital Age: An Analysis Based on Typical Cases
How to cite this paper: Wenhui Liang, Yuan Xiong. (2026) A Study on the Visual Narratives and Development Trends of Virtual Endorsers in Feminist Brand Marketing in the Digital Age: An Analysis Based on Typical Cases. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 10(8), 1027-1033.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.08.027