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. This builds on our work on social and cultural contexts - the way the media influences people, society and British culture.

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.

Social, Cultural and Historical contexts

Another aspect we have to consider whenever we study a media product is how it reflects British society and what message it may be sending to audiences. Our exam board AQA calls this 'social and cultural contexts' and those words will appear in several exam questions in our final exams. Similarly, when we study media products from history, we will also need to consider historical contexts - how the media product reflects the time period in which it was created. These are the key questions to ask:

Social contexts: How do media products influence or affect people in society?

Cultural contexts: How the media reflects the typical ideas, opinions and beliefs in society and the media industries.

Historical contexts: How has society (and the type of media product) changed over time?

The representation of women in advertising is a great example of all three of these contexts. The way women are presented in adverts says a lot about the culture the advert is created in, it may well affect the way both women and men feel and behave in society and it also has changed over time.

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: Change of Plan 

In 2017 Oxo launched a 'new family' to advertise some of their recent products and released a TV advert called 'Change of Plan'. There are definitely some significant changes between the 1980s Oxo family and the updated version - although perhaps the gender representations on display haven't progressed quite as much as it first appears.

Unfortunately, this advert is no longer on YouTube but can be watched on the Ads of the World website here or alternatively on Google Drive here (using your Greenford Google login).



Gender representation in advertising: blog tasks

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

1) Find three adverts featuring women that are from the 1950s or 1960s. Save the images to your Media folder as jpegs and then import them into your blog post. Hint: You may wish to look at car, perfume or cleaning products but can use any product you wish.

2) Find three adverts featuring women that are from post-2000. Save the images to your Media folder as jpegs and then import them into your blog post.

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

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

5) How do your chosen adverts suggest representations of gender have changed over the last 60 years? 


Extension tasks

Find three adverts that subvert gender stereotypes, post the images/links to your blog and write a paragraph about how they subvert the way women or men are usually represented in the media.

Read this Guardian article on seven female stereotypes that were identified in Australian adverts. Do you recognise the stereotypes that the article discusses? 

This Guardian article reports the first adverts banned for using negative gender stereotypes. Do you think the ASA was right to ban them? 

Due date: on Google Classroom.

Advertising and Marketing: Key conventions

Our new topic is Advertising and Marketing - an important 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 deeper meaning or what is suggested (reading between the lines)

Codes and conventions of print adverts

When studying print adverts we need to look for the following conventions or typical features:

• 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.

Persuasive techniques in advertising

Advertisements are generally trying to persuade their target audience to:

• Buy a product or service
• Believe something or act in a certain way
• Agree with a point of view

There are many persuasive techniques used in advertising. A selection include:

• Image and colour scheme- to catch and keep attention
• Slogan – a catchy phrase or statement
• Established brand identity – associated with success or taste or good quality. 
• Repetition – constant reference to product name
• Association / Star Power – e.g. celebrity endorsement
• Emotional appeal or shock tactics – designed to create strong feelings
• Expert opinion – ‘4 out of 5 dentists…’
• Imperative- Giving no choice e.g ‘Taste the rainbow’

Media analysis example - Maltesers advert

Conventions and analysis

• Pictures of the product (Maltesers) to remind us of the type of product it is. The image also reinforces the word ‘lighter’ as the chocolates 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 or 'lighter' chocolate. 
• The Colour Scheme is red and white - recognisable from the packets of Maltesers, creating a brand identity. 

Introduction to advertising: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Advertising: Key conventions'. Look at this Skittles advert:

Part 1: Skittles advert analysis

1) What key conventions of print adverts can you find and what are the connotations or deeper meanings of each convention? For each convention, write about how it communicates meaning to the audience. See the Maltesers advert above for an example of how to do this.

2) What is the USP (unique selling point) for Skittles and how do you know? Does the advert use any of persuasive techniques listed above?

Look at the Maltesers example above if you are unsure how to complete these tasks.

Part 2: Advert research

Use Google images to research classic adverts. Find examples for the following and add them to your blog:

1) An advert with a clear brand identity

2) An advert that uses shock tactics or a controversial idea

3) An advert that creates a a strong emotional connection to the audience

Bonus: Can you find an advert that shows women or men in a way they don't normally appear (this is an example of representation in media - subverting the typical representation of gender. We will be studying this next week!)

Extension tasks

If you have completed an in-depth analysis the Skittles advert and some research into classic adverts, do some additional research into creative or powerful print advertising. 

Task: Find an example of a print advert for EACH of the following:

1) An innovative or ‘different’, subversive concept (e.g the porcupine advertising VW car)

2) A foreign advert that you can understand despite the language barrier

3) An advert that subverts gender representations 

Finally, read this excellent Forbes article on seven of the most effective adverts of all time. Which do you think is the best and why?

Due date: on Google Classroom