Gender Roles in Television Advertising

In the world of television advertising, age-old gender roles still apply. Some may argue that gender stereotypes are used because they're true; even if that's the case, the stereotyping still becomes, at the least, irritating and, at the most, offensive. Two hours of prime time TV-viewing will yield many examples of gender stereotypes, including:

• Cars = Men. During an episode of "Private Practice," 5 car commercials played: Kia, Volkswagon, Volvo, GMC, and Lexus. The salespeople in each commercial were men, as were the narrators.
• Technology = Men. An advertisement for Blu-ray showcased movies available on Blu-ray. The titles were mostly male-targeted: Casino Royale, Spider-man 3, Wedding Crashers, Live Free or Die Hard, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Superman Returns, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. A scene from Ratatouille briefly appeared once; it was the only non-male-targeted movie in the ad.
• Food = Women. An ad for NutriPals snack bars featured a mom and her two kids, no dad, with a female narrator. Tyson's ad for chicken shows a mom cooking while her kids and husband eat; it's narrated by a woman.
• Nasal/Oral Problems = Men. The commercials for Delsym, Mucinex, BreathRx, and Claritin all featured male sufferers or, in the case of BreathRx, a male spokes-doctor. The only exception was the ad for Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom, which showed a mom, suffering from a cold, trying to take care of several kids; it was narrated by a woman.
• Beauty = Women. For the new Dell XPS One computer, the commercial featured a female vocalist and female narrator and included the phrase "Dell. Now available in beautiful."
• Weight Loss = Women. The weight-loss related commercials during both "Private Practice" and "Monk" include only women. While the Kellogg's Smart Start and Activia commercials showed only a few people, the Curves advertisement showed many people in many different situations, not just the gym, which made the lack of men from all the scenes that much more noticeable.
• Housework = Women. Ads for household products including Swiffer and air fresheners all showed women using the products; they were also narrated by women. Meanwhile...
• Construction Work = Men. A Sprint ad that features construction workers shoveling and using jackhammers included only men.
• Safety = Men. The narrators of commercials for Brinks and other security companies were men, usually with significantly deep voices.
  

Most of the stereotypes employed by these ads were, while disappointing, not very unexpected. The Dell XPS One commercial surprised me, though, with its heavy female focus because technology products (like Blu-ray players and Internet service providers) are usually marketed towards men, either because men are considered to be more interested in the products or because men are thought to make the decisions for those types of products. It was refreshing to see a computer marketed at women but, at the same time, it was insulting: not all women are interested in only aesthetics. Yet Dell seems to think so, since the only feature touted in the commercial is the appearance; specifications and features were not mentioned.


While almost all the commercials during "Private Practice" and "Monk" had mainly men or mainly women in them, the ads for the depression medication Cymbalta featured a very diverse group of men and women of all ages and races. The point they were trying to make is that depression affects everyone, which their ads definitely achieved, especially when viewed alongside all the other gender-specific ads.

As I watched commercials, I focused on gender stereotypes since they were apparent from the very first commercial. After watching "Private Practice," I was startled when I realized that virtually every single person in every commercial I had watched was white. I had seen no blacks, no Asians, no Hispanics, or any other non-whites, except for maybe one or two extras in the Kia commercial. (The depression ad was during "Monk.") I'm not sure if this was a result of the show, the products, or the region the show and commercials were aired in. The race issue struck me, though, because I usually see several ads featuring people of different races.

Stereotypes in advertisements always irk me, especially when the stereotypes are gender-based. Yet I don't think the stereotyping will end any time soon, at least not as long as polls and purchase statistics continue to reinforce the age-old beliefs. And, in the end, if the advertisements are working on most of the people they're targeting, and not offending many or any other people, then the stereotypes don't really matter all that much... at least not from an advertising point-of-view.

Safety Ads

Advertisements for public safety organizations have, in general, become just as striking, polished, and professional as ads for billion-dollar businesses. Both the campaign created for the NSW Police Department by DDB and the one created for AM+Ri Hospitals by Ogilvy & Mather (Kolkata, India) use impressive imagery for safety topics.

NSW Police Department

Ads for the NSW Police Department by DDB (Sydney, Australia)


DDB's campaign alludes to the ubiquitous iPod commercials that feature silhouetted dancers and the famous white iPod headphone cords. As a result, the ads especially attract the attention of teens and young adults, at whom the campaign is directed. The simple scenes--a body, iPod and cord, and asphalt--drive home the important message without being graphic or disturbing.

AM+Ri Hospitals

Ads for AM+Ri Hospitals by Ogilvy & Mather (Kolkata, India)


Ogilvy & Mather uses typography, colors, and shapes in the campaign to highlight the importance of hospitals and emergency ambulance services. Each ad tells a different story of possible death--fire, car crash, and suicide--but ends with life, not death, thanks to the ambulance service. Like the NSW Police Department ads, these ads are also likely directed at teens and young adults, though they would probably have a significant impact on anyone who saw them.

I'm glad that safety organizations are investing in well-designed advertisements. Any striking, well-designed ad is usually appreciated by me, but I am especially glad to see such talent and energy put to use for good causes--charities, public safety, health, etc. I hope more organizations learn from these wonderful examples.

(Click on the images for the creative details, as listed on www.adsoftheworld.com)