Gender stereotypes in advertising

There is a long history of adverts featuring a sexist or negative representation of women.

We need to learn how adverts represent different people and groups and also how these representations have changed over time. Today, the focus is on the representation of women and the gender stereotypes that appear in many adverts.

Key words

Representation: the way a group or individual is portrayed in the media.

Normalised: when something becomes considered ‘normal’ or ‘usual’

Stereotype: viewing a group or individual in a fixed, over-simplified way.

Conventions: typical features of a media product. 

Reinforce a stereotype: the representation supports our usual expectations.

Subvert a stereotype: the representation goes against our usual expectations.

How are women represented in advertising?

The stereotype of women in advertising is often negative. Representations through the history of advertising have suggested that women are inferior to men, bad drivers, powerless, sexualised or focused on domestic work (e.g. cleaning). This potentially influences media audiences and the views in wider society.

 

 















Oxo TV adverts

Explore how the representations of women have changed through these two adverts for Oxo. Are they really as different as they first appear?

1980s Oxo advert




2017 Oxo advert



Gender representation in advertising: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Gender representation in advertising'.

For the following three product types:

• Car
• Perfume / aftershave
• Cleaning product

Find one advert from the 1950s/1960s and one advert from post-2000s for each product type. Save the images to your Media folder as jpegs and then import them into your blog post. Once you have six adverts in your blogpost, answer the following questions:

1) What stereotypes of women can you find in the 1950s and 1960s adverts? Give specific examples. 

2) What stereotypes of women can you find in the post-2000s adverts? Give specific examples.

3) How do your findings suggest representations of gender have changed over the last 50 years? 

Extension: Find three adverts that subvert  gender stereotypes and write a paragraph about how they do this.

You will be given some lesson time to do this but will need to finish for homework - due Thursday 8 March.

Advertising: an introduction

Our new topic is Advertising and Marketing - a vital aspect of Media Studies.

One of the key aspects to deconstructing advertisements is denotation and connotation. Remember the definitions:

Denotation: the literal meaning of something
Connotation: the suggestion behind this literal meaning (reading between the lines)

Codes and conventions of print adverts

• Picture of product
• USP - unique selling point. What is it that makes the product special or different to appeal to consumers?
• Lighting
• Setting / colour scheme
• Logo – this is usually the brand name 
• Slogan – this is a catchy phrase summing up the ethos of the product e.g Nike’s ‘Just Do It’

Adverts will often use unique and interesting ways to attract the attention of the target audience. This might be: innovative branding; clever use of space; unconventional or subversive ideas; emotional connections or shock / controversy.

Introduction to advertising: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Advertising conventions'. Find your own print advert and copy and paste it into your blog post. Answer the questions below:

1) What conventions of an advert can you find and what are the connotations of each one?

2) For each convention, write about how this appeals to a target audience. 

3) What is the USP (unique selling point) of the product and how do you know?

Extension: Look for another, different advert for the same brand. What similarities can you find? What differences are there? Can you find a consistent brand identity across both adverts? Post the second advert to your blog and write a paragraph of analysis answering these questions.

Complete the questions for homework if you don't finish it in the lesson.

Example: 

Conventions

• Pictures of the product (Maltesers) to remind us of the type of product it is. The image also reinforces the word ‘lighter’ as the chocolate dance and jump off the floor. 
• The Logo is bright and large in the centre of the advert. The word ‘malt’ relates to the flavours used and ‘tesers’ is a play on the word ‘tease’ which ties in with the playful, light ethos. 
• The Background features the heavy use of red. It is bright and eye-catching with connotations of love. This makes the consumer recognise the brand colour and makes them think they love the product, or may gift it to someone they love. 
• The Slogan at the bottom is clearly visible and stands out against the background. ‘Lighter’ and ‘enjoy’ reinforce the USP – that Maltesers are slightly healthier chocolate. 
• The Colour Scheme is red and white - recognisable from the packets of Maltesers, creating a brand identity. 

Print Magazines: Reveal CSP case study

Reveal is our second magazine Close Study Product. We need to study the media language and representation of people and groups on the front cover of Reveal April 2017.

The key notes from the lesson are here:

General

• According to publisher Hearst: "Reveal is the reader’s best friend: fun, gossipy and full of advice on everything from fashion and beauty to diets and cocktails. We know who's dating whom, who has fallen out with their best friend, whose relationship is in tatters and who's finding motherhood hard. Our high-street fashion is affordable…"
• Reveal’s tag-line is ‘Talking with you, not at you!” which implies that the magazine wants to be seen as a friend to its readers,  sharing secrets about the lives of famous celebrities.  It is released weekly and costs 99p.
• The Editor claims: ‘It delivers glamour, gossip and giggles’ which reinforces the magazine’s identity as a ‘girl’s best friend’. 
• Star Appeal: The magazine consistently uses images of celebrities - paparazzi shots as well as posed shots for authenticity. 
• It focuses on celebrity relationships and fashion and beauty tips for ‘every day’ women (for example testing high street brands which are more affordable for readers.)
• The magazine itself is affordable at only 99p so it wants to maintain an audience who can afford to buy it regularly and whenever they see something eye-catching on the cover. 
• The demographic buying Reveal are mostly adult women, aged 18-34. Unlike Tatler, which is London and South of England-centric, Reveal is bought by women all over the country.  Its readership also spans a much wider set of social classes, from ABC1-C2DE. Psychographic groups for Reveal would largely be strugglers or mainstreamers.

Media language

• Typography / Fonts:  Sans serif fonts are used to make the magazine feel modern, informal and offering the latest gossip. Handwritten fonts are also used to make the magazine more personal – the reader’s ‘friend’.
• Cover lines: Indirect address favoured by celebrity gossip magazines so it seems like you have just seen them yourself – emphasises the gossip feel. Informal language ‘stuff the diet’ and ‘yay’ make this magazine youthful and accessible.
• Colour scheme: Red, yellow and pink. Bright colours to attract attention – important with no main central image. Gossip magazines tend to be busier and more packed with images to suggest issues that are bursting with different stories.

Representations

• The people represented on the cover are mostly celebrities and well known actors, reality television stars and music artists. Why?
• Celebrities are presented as important and desirable – but the photography is designed to make them look like ‘normal’ people.

Social and cultural contexts

• The cover lines in Reveal focus on a few key areas:
• Domesticity and families: ‘baby bump’, ‘mum’ 
• Relationships: normative and subversive as words are used such as‘stalker’, ‘secret meetings’ and ‘sex’. Focus is on relationship breakdowns. 
• Beauty: Diets and skin care are mentioned but these take into account ‘normal’ people since the focus is on previously thin celebrities giving up diets and enjoying treating themselves and, instead of promoting expensive products, the skin care is ‘one simple trick’.
• Socially, this magazine wants to be like a ‘friend’ in terms of gossip and advice. It also is keen to relate to its working class, mainstream audience and not alienate them by featuring unaffordable, luxury items.

Reveal: case study blog task

Work through the following tasks and questions to build a detailed case study for Reveal - 18 March 2017 (below). This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on print magazines.

General

Look through the slides from the lesson on Reveal and use this information and your own research and analytical skills to answer the questions below. 




1) Based on your research, what type of people read Reveal? Consider demographics and psychographics.

2) Look at the lesson slides: how does the editor introduce Reveal magazine?

3) What is the difference between the Reveal and Tatler target audiences?

4) What issues are Reveal readers interested in?



Media language

1) How many of the 12 magazine cover key conventions feature on this edition of Reveal?

2) What is the font choice used on the cover and what does this choice connote? 

3) How do the cover lines appeal to the Reveal target audience?

4) What are the connotations of the Reveal colour scheme on this particular front cover?

5) How are images used to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. mise-en-scene such as props, costume and make-up, body position, facial expression).

6) What differences can you find between the use of design and typography between Tatler and Reveal? List at least three and explain the effect on audiences.

Representations

1) What different groups of people are represented on the cover? (Look at the image and text/cover lines)

2) What type of celebrities are represented on the front cover?

3) Are there any stereotypes being reinforced or subverted? How? Why?


4) What view of celebrities does Reveal want the reader to have?

5) What would be the preferred and oppositional readings to this cover of Reveal?

Social and cultural context

1) What aspects of British life are reflected in Reveal? How does this compare to Tatler?

2) What do the cover lines in Reveal suggest about the issues and lifestyle of Reveal readers?

3) Find three other front covers for Reveal. What issues or features regularly appear in Reveal? 

4) Do any celebrities appear on more than one front cover of Reveal? Why do you think they are particularly popular with Reveal readers?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

1) How does the front cover engage audiences with possible narratives? Look for stories, cliffhangers, dramatic cover lines etc.

2) What are paparazzi images and why are they crucial to the front cover of Reveal? 

3) How does the front cover juxtapose text and images to create contrast and narrative on the front cover of Reveal 18 March 2017?

4) What do these two magazines suggest about representations of social class in the British media?

Complete for homework - due Thursday after half-term.