Analyzing Ads: Gender Based on: “Analyzing Ads: Gender” By Angela Eward-Mangione, Emma Brown, and Susan Gail Taylor

Savvy Consumers We need to be aware of how advertisers appeal to us, and we should think critically about the persuasive messages we encounter to ensure we are savvy, not passive, consumers. Because consumers purchase products with which they identify, it is important to examine the subtexts (hidden messages) of advertisements as well as the role those subtexts play in determining what products men and women choose to associate with their personal identities.

Targeting the Consumer The power of subtexts should not be underestimated: they reflect and influence the ways that men and women think about themselves and the ways that subliminal messages function in advertising. Dr. Pepper Ten – Not For Women This ad has generated much controversy because of its clearly limited audience. Why might advertisers restrict their audience to one gender? How is masculinity defined in this commercial? Who is the specific audience?

Gender Subtext Example – “The Homemaker Myth” Myth - Susie Sunshine belongs in the home instead of the workplace and that Johnny Sunshine isn’t and could never be a homemaker. Consider laundry detergent advertisements: men are rarely shown doing the laundry. In most laundry detergent commercials, a mother is depicted as the official domestic caretaker, who lovingly rids her family’s clothes of grass and food stains. For some families, this may be typical. However, there are issues of gender role expectations at play in such advertisements. Traditional laundry detergent commercial Attempt at nontraditional laundry detergent commercial How does this validate gender roles even further?

Considering the Audience and Context of Ads When analyzing an ad in terms of gender, it is certainly important to identify the ad's intended audience (who) and the context (when) in which the ad is published As definitions of femininity have evolved, commercials trying to sell products to women have changed—and the same goes for commercials advertising products for men.

Considering the Audience and Context of Ads Consider the following sets of commercials: given what you know about the era in which each ad appeared, analyze the ad's depiction of and appeals to male and female consumers. What has changed in the way the companies have: Portrayed their consumers Appealed to their audience Changed their audience Old Spice 1971 2010 Female Deodorant 1950s 2012

Let’s Analyze

Product At first, all you see is the colored smoke/powder. Looking closer you can see the cake boxes, plus the model is holding a mixer and a cracked egg. The product is not the main focus of the ad.

Context This image is a still of a recent TV commercial for Target. That implies that there is probably some movement or showiness that we cannot see because it is a still image of a moving ad.

Audience This ad seems to imply that the audience is women High class Fashionable Wealthy

People There is only one woman in the ad She appears to be a fashion model

Roles Her roles seem conflicting Homemaker – egg, mixer, making a cake, baking, kitchen duties Fashion model – thin, appearance obsessed

Appearance She is wearing a slim white dress with bright red lipstick. Her hair is straight, yet appears to be styled by a hair dresser. The appearance of the model seems irrelevant to the product being advertised. The intended audience would most likely not look like the model.

Body Position The model is not in a natural body position. She is the center of attention for the ad, drawing attention away from the actual product.

Movement Movement is implied as seen with the powder/smoke in the back, however the model may or may not be moving.

Gaze The model’s face can be seen, and her eyes are fixed forward toward the audience. They are not in any way focused on the product being sold.

Subtexts This ad seems to imply that females should be interested in baking cakes, and can be lured by pretty colors and fashion. This ad somewhat rejects the stereotypical image of women as “homely” as the model is depicted as high-fashion homemaker.

Written Language There is no written language in this ad leaving the interpretation of the ad’s purpose for the consumer. This is probably an ad for cake mix, but could also be an ad for clothes or make up.

Analyzing Gender in Print Advertisements Find two print ads in the magazines and tear them out. One must show stereotypical male gender roles One must show stereotypical female gender roles For each ad, fill out the Analyzing Gender in Print Advertisements Checklist. Use the accompanying explanation sheet to help fill in each box. Staple the ad to the checklist Choose one ad to present to the class. Briefly explain how you analyzed the ad.

Final Thoughts How do these gender stereotypes influence typical male/female decision-making, behaviours, beliefs, thoughts and/or actions? How do advertisers play upon our need to be accepted – to fit in to get us to buy their products? How are gender role stereotypes being used to exploit us? Should ad companies stop? What can we do to protect ourselves against gender role stereotypes?