Die Arbeit erläutert Grundlagen der Werbung generell und speziell in Amerika. Der Schwerpunk liegt auf der Darstellung von Frauen in der Werbung.
Today advertising is more than ever important for the success of a new product. Companies spend fortunes on analyzing the style the campaign should underlie, the media which should be used to distribute the advertisement, or the frequency by which it should be published. Advertising experts do not leave things to chance and therefore every aspect is evaluated.
The most important issue those experts and the companies think about is the target group. “Advertisements are aimed at specific audiences, and the message is designed to fit the audience; these messages play on or even create the fears, needs, or desires of specific groups of people.” Two major audiences are simply men and women. For different reasons women constitute special target groups and therefore whole commercial campaigns are addressed to them in a way experts find adequate. To find out why women are addressed in particular and what kind of advertising the experts think might appeal to women will be an important topic in this work.
But women function not only as addressee of advertising, they are quite often also seen as actors or models in campaigns. To analyze what different pictures of women are made up, if they are realistic and what they aim at will be discussed in the second part.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Advertising
2.1 General information on advertising
2.2 Brief history of advertising
3. Women as target group
3.1 Techniques to address women
4. Women`s portrayal in advertising
4.1 Women in advertisement for men
5. Outlook
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This work examines the role of women in advertising, specifically analyzing how they are addressed as a target group and how they are portrayed in various media campaigns. The research explores whether these depictions are realistic or driven by deep-seated stereotypes and investigates the influence of advertising on gender roles and societal norms.
- The historical evolution of advertising and its role in modern consumer society.
- Methods and techniques used by the industry to specifically target women.
- Analysis of stereotypical portrayals such as housewives, mothers, and sex objects.
- The impact of media representations on the body image and self-perception of women.
- The influence of advertising in maintaining traditional gender roles in an evolving society.
Excerpt from the Book
4. Women`s portrayal in advertising
Gender is a most important source of identification. The display of a character`s gender refers to conventionalized portrayals of culturally established correlates of sex. Analysis of ads suggest that gender is routinely portrayed according to traditional cultural stereotypes: Women are shown as very feminine, as sex objects, as housewives, mothers, homemakers.
Because women function as an important target group, they also often act in advertisements to portray directly how women can benefit from the new product. From the 1930s on women were in majority shown in the house to promote labor-saving devices which would reduce the time women would spend on housework. Between the 1950s and 1980s women also were portrayed as working, but this did not exceed more than 25 percent of all advertisements.
All in all there are many different situations and settings in which women are depicted. A summary of a study on women`s presentation in advertising made up eight major points of special issues relating to gender, which will be discussed in detail in the following passages:
• Women as mother and housewife:
“On television, women have often been confined to traditional and stereotypical roles. Most did not work outside the home” This statement could very well also be applied to the whole portrayal of women in the media and therefore also for advertising.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Introduces advertising as a cultural commodity and outlines the significance of target group analysis in shaping consumer behavior.
2. Advertising: Provides fundamental definitions and a historical context, explaining how advertising functions through psychological triggers and media distribution.
3. Women as target group: Examines how women are categorized by the industry and the specific techniques used to influence their purchasing decisions based on stereotypical roles.
4. Women`s portrayal in advertising: Analyzes the diverse ways women are depicted, focusing on their roles in the home, workplace, and their objectification in advertisements aimed at men.
5. Outlook: Reflects on whether changes in the advertising industry are likely, considering the dominance of men in leadership positions.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes critiques of advertising practices and calls for a reevaluation of the industry’s role as a mirror of society versus a creator of stereotypes.
Key Words
Advertising, Target Group, Gender Roles, Stereotypes, Consumerism, Mass Media, Women, Portrayal, Body Image, Socialization, Marketing, Female Identity, Media Analysis, Consumption, Gender Relations
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic work?
The work explores the portrayal of women in advertising and how these portrayals reflect or construct societal values and gender roles.
Which audiences are identified as the main target groups?
The study identifies men and women as the two major audiences, with specific commercial campaigns developed to appeal to the psychological and societal needs of each group.
What is the core research goal?
The primary goal is to determine why women are specifically targeted, what techniques are used to reach them, and whether the images of women presented in media are realistic.
Which scientific method is applied?
The work employs a qualitative analysis of existing studies, content evaluations of advertisements, and a review of theoretical frameworks regarding media and gender studies.
What topics are discussed in the main section of the book?
The main section covers the historical development of advertising, techniques to address women, the impact of body image ideals, and the specific depiction of women in advertisements directed at men.
What are the characterizing keywords of the study?
Key terms include advertising, gender roles, stereotypes, target groups, consumerism, and female identity in media.
How is the portrayal of women as sex objects in men's advertising explained?
The text explains that producers use sexual imagery to grab the attention of young men, assuming that sex and violence are effective motivators for this demographic.
What critique does the author provide regarding the "mirror" thesis?
The author argues against the idea that advertising merely holds a mirror up to society, suggesting instead that it actively promotes stereotypes rather than reflecting actual social progress.
How is the role of Paris Hilton in the referenced TV commercial interpreted?
The commercial is analyzed as an example of using a "sex object" to capture widespread attention to sell a fast-food product, rather than communicating any meaningful underlying message.
- Citation du texte
- Vanessa Lengert (Auteur), 2006, Women in Advertising - Women in American Society, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/78231
