...C H A P T E R 7 Gender and Advertising How Gender Shapes Meaning The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, “It’s a girl.” —Shirley Chisholm Men are dogs and women are cats. Women are from Venus and men are from Mars. Writers, filmmakers, psychologists, and advertisers all have used the idea that men and women are different to develop stories, create conflict, and provide persuasive imagery. Not only do advertisers view men and women differently, but men and women also bring different perspectives to advertising. Thus, we can assume that men and women create dif-ferent meanings from the advertisements they see. Gender roles in our society have changed dramatically since the 1950s, and portrayals of men and women in advertising have been researched since nearly the same time. Researchers have consistently sought to evaluate these roles to examine whether advertising has kept up with societal changes. In this chapter, we examine the different ways men and women view advertising and mes-sages, as well as some of the ways that advertising portrays gender roles today. The last several decades have seen changes in the role of women in society, both as those who earn money and those who spend money. In 1940, women comprised about 20% of the workforce in the United States, while today that percentage reaches 50% (U.S. Department of Labor, 2000). In addition, the family structure in the United States has changed: smaller...
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...Gender bias in advertising Advertising has a significant role in society of consumers. Nowadays it can be seen almost everywhere and it becomes more and more obsessive. Any goods or service that advertised has its own customer. To make the advertising work, it is important to show a certain image of a person or how it called “the reflection of the recipient”, for whom the advertising is made (Wolska). As a result a lot of gender stereotypes and biases can be observed. Though the difference between social status of men and women is smaller now than in past, mass media monumentalizes a lot of traditional stereotypes. Advertisements show women more often than men because it’s considered that purchases usually made by them (Wolska). They usually have a specific role like housewife, who tries to clean house properly or to make a nice dinner for her family. Another example is a beautiful and mystery woman who advertises some cosmetics or clothing etc. As for men, they usually imagined like self-confident businessmen or sportsman with great physical training etc. It is interesting fact, that both male and female products commercials usually interacts towards women in the same way as they often buy male products too for their husbands or children. So it is important to show such male stereotypes in commercial that could be acceptable for both men and women. At the same time, it is very rarely when commercial aimed toward women work in the same way on men (Edmonds). Is presence...
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...In modern society, advertising is used as a powerful tool to communicate a message. But it is more than simply selling a product. Advertisers not only just sell products, they sell ideals, values and normalcy. They also help to create or express consumers' identity, including gender (Van den Bulck, Van Hellemont 623). Gender roles are defined as the behavioural patterns indicating to others you are a male or a female. In other word, this is also linked to masculinity and femininity. In North America, advertising labels masculinity with traits such as dominance, assertiveness and independence. In contrast, we have femininity in which advertising labels as passive, beautiful and co-dependant. These two images advertisers try to paint normalize the stereotypes of different gender roles. Different companies use different strategies to sell products and encourage consumers to part with their hard earned money. Advertising reinforces particular gender norms. Through an analysis of a case study of anti-aging cream aimed towards women, this paper will argue that all advertising fundamentally plays on dominant ideologies to make people believe that in order to be “normal” or “successful”, they must buy product X. In particular, it will focus on how dominant norms surrounding masculinity and femininity are encouraged. These norms suggest what is considered an acceptable male and female appearance. It will also focus in particular on gender norms which female attractiveness is above all...
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...Compare and Contrast Gender in Advertising Advertising is a multimillion-dollar industry that targets people of various ages and gender to aid in selling gather products. The images or visual and verbal sense of the messages vary considerably by targeting different people with images and messages, which may even lead to the use of stereotyping in order to reach to a wider array of audience. For example, adverts that are solely directed for the teenage audience persuade them that purchasing a specific product makes them “fit in” with other teenagers or their role models. A comparison of advertisements that are aims at men and women show that advertisers are still using the standard gender role to advertise for their products which is causing a lot of stereotyping and biases to be seen. In order to understand stereotypes and gender bias found in the advertisements, it is first imperative to understand what stereotyping is and how it is implemented into advertisements. Stereotyping is defined as a thought that can be adopted from specific types of individuals or ways of doing things, however, that certain belief may or may not be an accurate reflection of reality. Stereotyping fits in with other types of inter group attitudes. Stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice are comprehended to be related but are still different concepts. Stereotyping is though more as rational components of an individual since it is a reflection god expectations and beliefs about the characteristics...
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...that the world of advertising has a close connection with sexuality and sexual images. Why wouldn’t someone include attractive pictures of barely clothed men and women to attract attention to their product? Well-known trademarks from Victoria’s Secret to Pepsi have incorporated these images to help promote their brand and merchandises. Sex in advertising and sexual messages to help promote and sell a product has maintained a presence in advertising since the very beginning. It has increased in helping businesses promote merchandise and help sell a new product. Through thoughtful reasoning and ethics these tactics and ideas have increased sales for all these companies. Why and how does this unrelated addition to an advertisement...
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...1. Sean Lang 2. MKT 115 –Sec 770 3. April 27, 2014 4. Gender Stereotyping in Advertisements 5. 1550 6. I am highly motivated, and I am committed to excellence. Advertising Gender Stereotypes Gender Stereotyping in advertisements happen all around us. Whether it is a commercial, billboard or a magazine, advertisements are everywhere. Gender stereotypes happen at an early age that includes children. Children’s advertisements implant the very gender roles that are portrayed in today’s society. Creating specific gender products is also creating large profits for companies. When first thinking of gender stereotyping in advertisements one might think of the negative aspect first and not realize that there are positive ways to advertise to specific genders for purchasing products. By using these gender specific advertisements, companies can sell products more efficiently. Advertising to children at an early age can play a significant role in shaping the expected role for him/her in today’s society. There are many examples that can clearly outline gender stereotyping. In many instances someone might not catch it because it is so normal in today’s culture. Monica Brasted is a psychologist and observed her child when the two of them went to McDonalds one day. Monica’s little girl was upset because she didn’t get the toy she wanted. “When I asked her what was wrong she asked why the woman had given her a care bear when she wanted a transformer” (Brasted). This then brought...
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...Attmann, J 2010, ‘The influence of gender, social cause, charitable support, and message appeal on Gen Y's responses to cause-related marketing’, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 27, no. 1-2, pp. 100-123. Reichert, T 2002, ‘Sex in advertising research: A review of content, effects, and functions of sexual information in consumer advertising’, Annual Review of Sex Research, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 241-273. Lass, P & Hart, S 2004, ‘National cultures, values and lifestyles influencing consumers' perception towards sexual imagery in alcohol advertising: An exploratory study in the UK, Germany and Italy’, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 20, no. 5-6, pp. 607-623. Reichert, T, Childers, CC & Reid, LN 2012, ‘How sex in advertising varies by product category: An analysis of three decades of visual sexual imagery in magazine advertising’, Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 1-19. Pathak, S 2011, ‘Clean your balls’ with Axe’s Aaron Calloway’, Fins Sales and Marketing: Your Industry, Your Career. Gould, SJ 1994, ‘Sexuality and ethics in advertising: A research agenda and policy guideline perspective’, Journal of Advertising, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 73-80. LaTour, MS & Henthorne, TL 1994, ‘Ethical judgments of sexual appeals in print advertising’, Journal of Advertising, pp. 81-90. Pollay, RW 2000, ‘The distorted mirror: Reflections on the unintended consequences of advertising’, Advertising & Society Review, vol. 1, no. 1...
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...Evaluation Essay on Gender in Advertising Gender differences and biases have been a part of the normal lives of humans ever since anyone can remember. Anthropological evidence has revealed that even the humans and the hominids of ancient times had separate roles for men and women in their societies, and this relates to the concepts of epistemology. There were certain things that women were forbidden to do and similarly men could not partake in some of the activities that were traditionally reserved for women. This has given birth to the gender role stereotypes that we find today. These differences have been passed on to our current times; although many differences occur now that have caused a lot of debate amongst the people as to their appropriateness and have made it possible for us to have a stereotyping threat by which we sometimes assign certain qualities to certain people without thinking. For example, many men are blamed for undermining women and stereotyping them for traditional roles, and this could be said to be the same for men; men are also stereotyped in many of their roles. This leads to social constructionism since the reality is not always depicted by what we see by our eyes. These ideas have also carried on in the world of advertising and the differences shown between the males and the females are apparent in many advertisements we see today. This can have some serious impacts on the society as people begin to stereotype the gender roles in reality. There has...
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...A Comparison and Contrast of Gender Stereotypes in Advertising According to a study conducted in 2005 by Nielsen Media Research, the average American watches over four hours of television per day and 25% of that hour is comprised of advertising. This gives advertising companies a captive audience to include men, women, young, and old. Turn on the children’s channels and there are ads for juice boxes and the newest toy; turn on the sport network and there are advertisements for beer and beef jerky; turn on the entertainment channel and there will be advertisements for feminine products and shampoo that make claims to leave hair voluminous and shiny. While both men and women are subject to product advertising, it can be expected that the advertising companies use general gender stereotypes to line their pockets and sell products. Simply turn on the television for 20 minutes and you will likely find a plethora of advertisements that use gender stereotyping. Now, take for instance the following scenario, “Girl’s Night Out”, a common tradition for young women in their 20’s and 30’s. Get the girls together and hit the town on a Friday night; dawn a new pair of stilettos and a cute skirt and off to the bar for some cocktails! The women are grouped together; catching up on the latest gossip and here approaches the token tall, dark, and handsome man to steal away hearts. Sounds like the picture perfect evening out. Isn’t this what every 20 or 30-something, single woman’s dreams...
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...Introduction: Advertising & Gender The adverts are carefully crafted bundles of images, frequently designed to associate the product with feelings of pleasure stemming from fantasies and anxieties (Craig 1997). Advertising can also be defined as a paid for mass-media communication, and a means of managing and controlling the consumer markets at the least cost (Brierley 1995). It is clear that advertisers seem quite willing to manipulate these fantasies and exploit our gender identities to sell products. Gender is a social construct, a dichotomy that exists in all societies (Costa, 1994). It is used to describe the socially constructed differences between men and women, referring not only to individual identity and personality, but also at the symbolic level, to cultural ideals and stereotypes of masculinity and femininity and, at the structural level, to the sexual division of labour in institutions and organisations (Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences). The definition of gender encompasses a great deal. Temperament, abilities and skills, activities and behaviours, ideal types and accepted and unacceptable deviations from the ideal, sensuality and culture based essence of what it means to be male or female, are all part of the gender constructs of a given society. Therefore, marketers perform their activities differently when their targets are male than they do when the targets are female, and consumers’ responses often differ on the basis of gender. Sales personnel...
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...n the American media, gender roles are still prevalent. The adaptation of gender roles has occurred because they are socially constructed. Gender roles are distinct and defined in the media. With great ferocity, gender roles are perceptible in our exposure everyday to the media, such as in advertising. The media demonstrates clearly the imposed and inevitable gender roles. For example, advertising for cleaning supplies consists of a woman stating the difficulty of removing stains. Advertising for motor oil consists of a man and his luxury car, often with a beautiful woman by his side. The function of gender roles are impediments of dreams, hopes and the future. Limitations, among both sexes, are set when gender roles are present in the media. Certain expectations and criteria are involved with gender roles, crippling the individual to act against the status quo because of the...
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...Semiotics: Signs, Syntax, and Linguistics Describe Advertising Mickey Mouse ears, sleigh bells, snowflakes, dog houses, mail boxes, and stop signs; chances are you know at least one of these things if not more. How do we describe them? In what way are they described to us? And above all How do we recognize and accept these things? The theory of semiotics aims to explain how we recognize these symbols in our lives and, more importantly tries to describe the way we communicate to, with, and around objects. The theory of semiotics has been around since the late 1800’s. A Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure developed the theory and explained it early on as the use of language and how certain symbols and objects obtain meaning. The theory or science of signs and their meanings became known popularly as semiotics. Language is something of a system of mutually defining entities. Saussure distinguished between diachronic and synchronic linguistics. Simply put the use of linguistics defines objects and the way that we, as a culture, see and describe the world with which we interact. From its inception the theory of semiotics has been useful in regards to all different aspects of communication. It can be used to examine persuasion, social interaction theory, media cultivation and penetration theories as well as interpersonal communication. This wide range of applications for this theory make it particularly pertinent to the discipline of communication. Large companies...
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...Alcohol Advertising Television is the number one spot where advertisements are released because of the variety of age groups that it reaches throughout the United States. “Average number of hours per week that American youth ages 12-17 watch television: 20 hours, 20 minutes,” (CERC, 1998). Although Television is the most effective way to advertise products because of how much it is consumed and how large of an audience it captures, does it attract individuals who were not intended to be targeted when it comes to alcohol advertising? Advertisements centered on alcohol have proven to attract all races, both the male and female gender, and all age groups, especially those who are underage. The marketers of alcoholic products have succeeded with these advertisements, but have also created a negative impact to many individuals that have experienced this product. Although it is clear that alcohol industries aim to only increase market share and not necessarily increase the number of underage drinkers that their commercials attract, research has stated that this is, in fact, the direct outcome. Alcohol advertising has also shown to attract low income and minority groups. The television networks are fully aware that because of this specific advertising, it could be causing greater harm then what is intended. “Alcohol marketers say they have voluntary standards that prevent them from targeting consumers younger than the legal purchase age. They claim to avoid pitches that primarily appeal...
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...CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction This chapter discuss about background of the study, problem statement, purpose and objective of the study, significant and also limitation of the study. The definition concept of product placement is also discussed. 2 1.2 Background of the study According to PQ Media (2007) the practice of placing branded products within films for commercial purposes has developed into a distinct marketing tactic and has truly gone global. This situation happens due to product placement is cost-effective compared to other types advertising and it allows marketers to avoid clutter. Placing product in film is not new, it has becoming established in North America in the 1980s, on television program but began to receive serious attention in the UK in the late 1990s.(Chris Fill,2004).One of the example is the increase in sales of Reese’s Pieces chocolate after an on-screen in E.T on 1980s (Karh,1998). Generally product placement is about placing brands in films or TV show. Chris Fill (2004), defined product placement as the inclusion of products and services in films for deliberate promotional exposure, in return for an agreed financial sum. It is a cheap way to obtain some brand exposure in a mainstream without paying for airtime like any other promotion. Placing a product in film can overcome the irritation factor associated with advertisements screened in cinemas. There are varieties of product can be place including...
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...Hill MCJ 462 Chris Campbell 2 May 2016 Beer makers have been criticized for “beer and babes” ads that depict women as sexual objects for years. Miller brewing held a TV spot in the 2003 Super Bowl that is quite notorious for its sexual content. The commercial, called “Catfight,” goes from a poolside argument into an angry, clothes-shredding, wrestling match between two women who end up in bras and underwear. The ad was broadcasted to millions of homes during the National Football League’s Super Bowl. Sex and the marketing of beer are virtually inseparable. Nonsexual products, such as beer, are sexualized and convey women as means of advertisement and objects. The purpose of this paper is to inform and show readers how women in advertising are being symbolized as objects of desire and as commodities, rather than human beings. The commercial begins with two women having casual conversation about beer, leading to a fight over why Miller Lite is the better beer. One claims that it is the taste of the beer and the other claims that it is less filling. The verbal struggle erupts into a physical battle between the two women, starting with the brunette flipping the table over. The blonde then punches the brunette, which is followed by the brunette throwing the blonde into a fountain and they fight as they rip each other’s clothes off. Soon down to their bras and underwear, the two continue to wrestle all while moaning. As bystanders stare, the fight moves into a cement pit where...
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