Woman In Advertising Proiect

Women in advertising

The image of the woman in advertising through history

An area adjacent to the advertising value is that of gender representations and stereotypes. Of all the groups reflected by advertising, which has attracted more interest in the scientific community, and most often has been the subject of complaints and lawsuits before courts and agencies has been the self-advertising on the image of women . The portrait is made of it in ads, especially on television, has generated a large literature.

Studies on women and advertising have undergone considerable development in the last two decades.Woman framed in the studies (in the Spanish-speaking world have been called "gender studies"), have become one of the research areas with more productivity in the entire field of sociology and anthropology of gender. Specifically, the work aimed at determining the values ​​and stereotypes of the female figure in advertising are on track to become an own research area.

The main studies of the eighties and early nineties laid the methodological basis of all current research.Among other relevant work at the European level, we note the following: The stampa nella donna.Giornaliste, and modeli letrici di feminità (1980) of M. Buonanno, Woman and the mass media (1980) of M.Butler and W. Paisley, The image of women on Spanish television, Beatriz Navarro (1984) Women and the mass media. The case of television advertising (1985), Maria Luisa Balaguer; Immagine e donna (1986), G. Di Cristofaro, The image of women in television advertising (1989) of A. Méndiz; Women in advertising (1990) of C. Fabretti and C. Peña-Marín, and the dossier Woman, advertising and media (1994), published by the Institute for Women.

As noted by Navarro (1984), the image of the female character in the middle of the eighties was characterized by four features very marked:

A limited education.

No participation in social matters.

The full conformity with the views and decisions of men.

An absolute dependence of man. The woman was engaged to play only as a mother, homemaker and wife.

Along the same line are the conclusions of the work Balaguer, who a year later says:

"Advertising makes a clear distinction between the roles that men and women play in our social system. Somehow almost linear, advertising sectioned part of the job, the house, attributing it to the woman, and leave the rest of social life for man "

Despite the evolution of women had experienced throughout the social sphere, this undeniable reality then embodied not in advertising, but, on the contrary, the campaigns were based on stereotypes that provided a limited and partial reality, socially sanctioned, and left satisfied their users, making futile any desire to go deeper. That is, women in advertising scheme allegedly responded to a copy of reality, but in sharp retreat from it.

After these, there were many studies that influenced the "use" was made of women in advertising, denouncing the stereotype of "woman-vase" and "sexual complaint" so abundantly present in the TV spots the years eighties, where the male character ruled the roost and always assumed the active role, while the woman was merely a decorative object without any qualification. In these same studies on advertising and gender, we see that man usually represented science and higher education, and always occupied important positions in companies (which, moreover, reflected the social reality of the time). Instead, she appeared as a seducer in spots for men (in car commercials, alcohol, deodorants, etc.).

These dual contexts had a correlation with the activity carried out in spots: in the first case (ads targeting men), women were always subordinate jobs (secretaries, hostesses, etc..), While in the second (ads for women) their occupations were of the executive, to affirm the positive image of the woman herself. The ideal image of women was thus not the married woman and well matched (typical of the sixties and seventies), but which is autonomous, respected and valued by their work. The woman working exclusively at home, housewife, is generally eluded advertising, except for direct consumer products, such as food.

Another feature of the decade was that relations between women were denied or trivialized by advertising.In very few ads adult women were talking between them, working or resting, but the few female relationships that appeared were of rivalry, envy and competitiveness. Relationships between men, however, were very abundant in advertising and had formed teams, camaraderie relationship.

This scenario does not seem to have changed much two decades later. The 2000 report of the Institute for Women includes a total of 339 complaints about sexist advertising and formal complaint of 157 advertising campaigns for the same reason (29 more than last year). Most of these campaigns were withdrawn after complaints, but they are to highlight the misuse of women is currently advertising. According to the report, "the creatives are able to make use demeaning of women in order to sell a product, and this shows once again that efforts to achieve gender equality continue to face barriers to break down in the language of advertising." Sectors with a greater number of complaints were the vehicles (14.42%) and clothing and accessories (14.04%).

Research carried out recently on the fringe of prime time television on nearly 400 national spots (Méndiz et al., 2001), gave the following results on the treatment of women publiciatrio:

The first important fact is the presence of women in all the spots: in almost 60% of the ads is the undisputed protagonist. This point reveals the importance of the female audience for advertising strategies, since the woman is not only a consumer of the products advertised, but is also, in most cases, in charge of purchasing.

Moreover, despite the changes that our society has undergone in the last twenty years, discovered in advertising an evening domestic assertion as the main stage for women. His most important role remains that of a housewife, at least, it can be deduced from the main products offered to the female character: prominently the cleaning products (19% of ads) and power (9%). However, there are clear signs of change, as is the appearance of female characters in adverts for products previously reserved man: Financial services, insurance and banking, Internet Services and Vehicles. Equally important is the high presence of articles of art, culture and education, which reflects a more modern and educated of women by current advertising.

The age of the woman who dominates the TV spots is the interval between 29 and 40 years (what might be called young professionals ), which accounts for 50% of the ads. The reason for this pre-eminence, from the commercial point of view, is that it is women who are of working age and have economic availability. The reason from the point of view of the hearings is that the strip is more watching TV in prime time. The second age group is the youth (15-28 years), with 28% of the ads, in contrast, adult women (41-60 years) andolder (over 60) together do not reach 19%.

With regard to clothing, there is a perceived tendency to show women with a casual dress preferably, both at home and at work, and today the woman likes to be comfortable yet fixed. This happens in 51% of the ads, in which the woman appears with a dress casual / fixed current or informal. was also seen a sharp decline in traditional attire, formerly very common in television advertising, and now falls below 5% of the spots. However, I must say that in some ads the female character is a housewife, perfectly groomed, makeup and heels, you are cleaning the house attire usually does not correspond to the one usually takes in such situations .

Other striking features are the large numbers of sophisticated women (8%) and the naked or half-naked women (9%). On this last point, it is clear that the current advertising tends to blur the boundaries between beauty, seduction and sensuality. This is paradigmatic in hygiene products, where almost all appeals beauty mixed with a hint of sensuality by women. Anyway, slender and attractive woman is always presented as the paradigm of enjoyment and happiness, is exhibited in any situation, and appears in many ads like explicit encouragement to men, if desired.

Regarding the space that appears women appreciate the most noticeable change with respect to the advertising of other decades. Now the field professional or exterior r (46%) far exceeds the scope of thehome (32%), which clearly indicates the attractive professional woman for new marketing strategists. The liberation of women, some only confined to a mere "escapism from home" has become a cliché that advertising used as an argument to promote consumption of certain products. The adult woman represented in outdoor scenarios seems to feel satisfied and released by the mere fact of having "escaped" to the category of housewife. Moreover, in the representations of the type workplaces offices is often perceived an effort to represent women in situations comparable to that of men. For example, the executive appears as the "ideal woman" for women themselves, which sells a great look and a great beauty.

Interest is also noteworthy that the double role female (housewife and professional) in advertising is awakening now 11% of the ads shows women in this dual role. This is a very important fact, since the spots, marked by its temporary condensation, usually present in only 20 to 30 seconds a single action in a single stage. That has many ads featuring-while-this dual aspect of women, is an implicit recognition of its increasing maturity in social life without giving up being a mother and wife, can also play various work activities or public projection.

The more quality that appears in the female character, the one that exalts women in advertising, is "concerned about the health, nutrition and hygiene" (in 23% of the spots). Compared to previous years advertising has been reduced concern for the family (only 6%), which is not among the qualities most often attributed to women in television spots. As well, the sweetness is ceasing to be also one of the qualities most characteristic of the female figure. Now, the ads we discover a new concept of "hardness" that surfaces in a woman because she must deal with the many stresses of today's world. Hence, a new quality in the spots is to be picky: herself, with others and with the products they buy.

The activities performed by women, and compared to earlier times, we see a considerable drop in the work as a housewife (as only 13-17% of the spots). It is clear that the ads do not show the task as rewarding and enriching, but as a reality rather annoying, performed by women unsatisfied and rather mature, as if there were no young housewives, happy and intelligent. The body of knowledge required to manage a home and a family is usually denied by advertising. However, while the presence of decreased housewife, is found also a marked improvement in his appearance: Current advertising suggests that women do not have to give up being attractive to effectively bring home care .

But, if you have lost your presence as a housewife, has declined even more activity as a wife (only 5%). The ads that show at home, take precedence over all their role in housework increasingly lost their loving relationship with her husband. By contrast, remains fully valid in our society as his mother side, which accounts for the not inconsiderable figure of 11% of the ads.

Indications that advertising now offers a professional image of the woman is the strong presence of students and young ads, coupled with marked decline in activities previously considered as typically feminine: those of secretary and administrative (2-5%) or those of nurse , teacher and caregiver (1%), where once poured all his immense capacity for love. However, the high percentage of ads that show women working as a model in the field of entertainment and television suspect that that image is now supposedly in fact false and somewhat artificial creative dreams. Yet there are also signs of true modernity: athletes, creative entrepreneurs and start to have a significant role in all advertising.

In short, we can say that the image of women in advertising today is still a false stereotype in some aspects: the role is associated object woman as sexual complaint, or trophy wife , as a decorative element. So are other topical images abound in spots: the portrait of an unhappy housewife in years (never displayed advertising or young happy nor appreciates care delivery in the family), the outline of a woman concerned only for their beauty, their appearance or online, the aspiration to be an executive, all matched to men, etc.. However, we also see spots aimed at working women, sharing household chores with a generally rewarding profession, and there is shown a level playing field in almost all social aspects: women studied, out of place, is related , is independent, and their profession has an important place in your life. Therefore we can say that the improvement in image advertising, though still to be an accurate reflection of their status in the family, at work and in society.

The actual role of women in publicity

The women have taken on new roles and responsibilities in a world increasingly competitive and demanding. What is also proportional to the changes experienced throughout history. For example, if before the woman was 100% dedicated to the care of children, to be a devoted wife and stay all day at home, now that has changed completely. Today's woman is characterized as a freelancer economically, has postgraduate studies, delayed marriage for when you reach financial stability and does not like to cook. 

According to Parmar, these are the five new rules of marketing to women.

1. "Ladies" do not mean it should be pink and smaller: once believed that to sell a product enough to cover women of color marshmallow and reduce in size to that adapted to the "delicate feminine hands." According to the specialist, these ideas do not interest the modern woman, who sees sexist and out of context, women entrepreneurs like to be seduced with quality and stylish designs, not children.

2. No need to highlight both the target: the advertisers try too hard to distinguish a product is for women or female is a special version of their brand. The woman of today is not interested in feeling like a subset of the population with special needs, she loves that feeling part of something more complete.

3. The emotional connection is essential: women tend to have more emotional attachment to the products durable so that campaigns that make an effort to create such links are more successful.

A good example is the commercial brand John Lewis where you travel for 70 years of the life of a woman while speaking to a lasting bond with a trusted brand.

4. Too many options is equal to not having choices: many men enjoy analyzing every aspect of the products they will buy, but most women today are overwhelmed with so many options. Plain and simple, if you buy a product requires a greater investment of time or is too complicated, it will no longer buy.

The author asserts that women do not need a hundred different products, but a firm and correct choice. That is, knowing that a product does well what it is supposed to do. The professionals of today do not have time to find a diamond in the rough in the ocean of products available in stores.

5. It's more about show than say Parmar recommended not to use statistics to tell the woman who needs something. It is better to show how your product can improve your life through entertaining content, fun and engaging.

Analysing an ad : The John-Lewiss commercial Always A Woman

Often we loose knowledge about how short and precious our life on this planet really is. This is the reason for which John Lewis's 2010 ad seems to have touch a sensitive chord.  Not many people will admitt to loose some tears over the usual flood of promoted adverts , yet this ad has got people talking about it  and being thoughtful about how short life truly is. 

The master key of the ad reveals itself in the first three seconds when a woman picks up a baby and after she puts it down – amazement! – it's a toddler. Then the child goes through a tunnel and – surprise! – she's at school. Afterwards , suddenly, we see her at her sixth birthday and she's blowing out the candles … on her 18th birthday cake. But wait…what's this? She is getting married? Yes! And now she's pregnant! Wait a minute! Now she's a grandmother!

This is the way life rolls, clearly, beautifully, with no time to say “hold” : marriage, babies, job, being a grandparent, enjoying peacefully retirement years. This may be the most revolting advert in the history of advertising; yet John Lewis's agency -Adam & Eve- has created a genius way in emotional manipulation all the way through 91 seconds. No matter what gender you are, if this ad doesn’t make you loose one tear, then please check your pulse.

During 91 seconds and costing  £6million, the ad has been viewed over 300,000 times in the first week that it has been available on YouTube.

The inconspicuous vocal belongs to Fyfe Dangerfield of The Guillemots, a recording of Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman. When he sings, "She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me," we are presented to the girl as an adult for the first time. At "She is frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel…" we watch her at her computer telling her family to be silent cause she's trying to work. At "She can't be convicted, she's earned her degree…" she audaciously steals the cherry from her granddaughter's cupcake. She's not perfect, she's just real.

This ad shows infancy, a birthday party, a awkward kiss in a university corridor, marriage, parenthood and the passageway to an old age

The hypothesis is simple  –  we are presented to a cycle of a woman’s life from birth to olding. But like all unforgettably ads, the plainness is where its strength lies. 

Marketing technique: The support department used only products that were available in John Lewis.stores.

Nine characters were used for the central female in the shoot, which was produced at the end of March in London. Between 20 and 30 persons were giving auditions for each stage of her life and a team of 65 participated in the filming of the ad. That includes also the department who selected the John Lewis items to be worn in each one of the shots.

Although some of the audience may find it too sappy, it's actually a modern image of Britain. We find matriarchal figures, multi-ethnic affairs and children among the exclusive patio sets. 

The message is pretty simple – 'treasure the gift of life and family'.

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