A longitudinal view of women's role portrayal in television advertising

A Longitudinal View of Women's Role Portrayal In Television Advertising

Marjorie Caballero, Ph.D. Baylor Universi~

and

Paul J. Solomon, Ph.D. Universi~ of Texas, Arlington

Changes during the decade of the seventies included a growing awareness of women's expanding roles in society. More women are participating in the labor force than ever before, and society has begun to reexamine the value of women's contributions. This growing sensitivity to the roles of women in society is also producing a number of criticisms regarding various commonly accepted practices. Some of these criticisms revolve around the stereotypical sex-role portrayal of women in the mass media (Butler and Paisley, 1980).

Several studies have attempted to provide evidence supporting or refuting charges of stereotypical female portrayal in television commercials (Court- ney and Whipple, 1974; Culley and Bennett, 1974; Dominick and Rauch, 1972; Fox, 1978; McArthur and Resko, 1975; Scheibe, 1979; Schneider and Schneider, 1979; Silverstein and Silverstein, 1974). Although the exact goals of these research efforts vary, the findings generally supported sex- stereotyping charges leveled against the medium. Specifically, men out- numbered women -- especially as authority figures. Women were portrayed more often than men in decorative roles and in the home. While the number of women shown working increased over time, the jobs they were shown holding were generally traditional "female" occupations; rarely, if ever,

�9 1984, Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Fall, 1984, Vol. 12, No. 4,093-108

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94 A LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF WOMEN'S ROLE PORTAYAL IN TELEVISION ADVERTISING

were women seen as professionals and few females were portrayed as authorities.

A profile of the female stereotype garnered from a host of sources may be summarized by the following: She is young and beautiful, usually found in the home -- especially the bathroom or kitchen. She is relatively helpless and requires a male authority to solve her problems and give her advice. She often appears in an essentially decorative role or solely as a sex object, and her primary function in life is to nurture and care for the male.

To examine the possibility of increased conformity over time to changing social mores by television advertisers, Schneider and Schneider (1976) reported trends in male and female role portrayals in television commercials between 1971 and 1976. Based on their findings, the authors concluded that marketers and society have begun to accept the changing roles of women.

The present study relates through content analysis the status of women in 1977 television commercials (Solomon, Bush and Resnik, 1979) with their portrayed status in 1980. This comparative study will help determine whether the trend toward a more realistic portrayal of women in society continues to be in evidence. Some limitations of the previous longitudinal study were overcome in that identical procedures were used in both 1977 and 1980, and the same content analysis instrument was used for both observation periods. Additionally, the present study examines role portrayals of women on some key dimensions not dealt with in previous studies.

RESEARCH METHOD

During one-week periods in both 1977 and 1980, trained observers analyzed all television commercials containing models on the three major networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS) during the daytime (1:00 to 4:00 p.m.) and prime time (7:00 to 10:00 p.m.). Totals of 2,095 and 1,872 commercials were analyzed in 1977 and 1980, respectively.

All variables were operationally defined before the observation periods began, and the observers were trained prior to data collection. Each ob- server was tested for reliability before the study began. The coder reliability for the two observation periods ranged from 85 to 95 percent.

The television commercials were analyzed according to the following variables: channel, time of day, product category, ad distribution, characters women appear with, role played by women, age, characterization, setting, ultimate consumer, and voice-over. Since role assignments might vary according to the sex of the targeted audience, additional chi-square tests were

CABALLERO AND SOLOMON 95

conducted for products directed only to females and, separately, for products directed only to males.

Results of the chi-squares conducted for this study are reported as tabled data containing percentages rather than frequencies. The actual analysis was conducted on the frequencies; the results are reported in percentages only to facilitate interpretation by the reader.

Before discussing the results, it is important to note that interpretation and application of the study findings should be counterbalanced by an awareness of certain inherent limitations. The observations represent a sin- gle week of commercial messages in each respective year rather than a cross-section of each entire year. Thus, it is possible to have selected exceptional rather than average weeks for observation. Secondly, while every effort was made to insure objectivity, human error and bias must inevitably come into play.

RESULTS

As shown in Table 1, roughly one-third of the commercials came from each of the major networks. The percentage of daytime versus prime time commercials was 56% to 44% in 1977 and 61% to 39% in 1980. With respect to advertisements targeted only to women, the percentage of daytime ads is even higher. For example, in 1977, daytime advertisements represented 58% of all advertisements with the remainder being prime time. By 1980, 67% of all ads targeted to women occurred during the daytime. These results are realistic given the nature of the audience during the daytime.

The data analyzed are predominantly of national scope as only 11% in 1977 and 7% in 1980 were local commercials. An ad was considered local if it specifically mentioned a local store, service, or product; all other advertisements were considered national.

Product Categories. Some distinctive patterns emerged with respect to the product categories represented by the samples of advertisements. Table 2 exhibits data on the types of products advertised during the study periods. It can be observed that in both 1977 and 1980 food products were the most heavily advertised product category and represented 23% (1977) and 27% (1980) of all advertisements. Household items and personal care products followed food as the next most advertised products. Other heavily advertised categories were entertainment and a composite category labeled miscellaneous in the study.

96 A LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF WOMEN'S ROLE PORTRAYAL 1N TELEVISION ADVERTISING

TABLE 1

Advertisements By Network *

CBS NBC ABC

1977(%) a 1980(%) b

37 33 32 36 31 30

Total lO0

* p<.Ol ** error due to rounding a

b

99 **

Based on a sample size of 2095 Based on a sample size of 1872


TABLE 2

Advertisements for Various Product Categories

1977

Ads Targeted b All Ads(%) a to Women(%)

Ads Targeted c to Men(%)

Food 23 15 1 Household Items 13 39 4 Personal Care 17 29 28 Health Care 5 2 0 Soft Drinks 6 0.4 8 Car Care 8 0.2 13 Recreation/Entertainment 9 0.4 I0 Miscellaneous 19 15 35

Total I00 101" 99 *

* error due to rounding a Based on a sample size of 2,092 b Based on a sample size of 446 c Based on a sample size of 82

1980

Ads Targeted b All Ads(%) a to Women(%)

Ads Targeted c to Men(%)

Total I00 I01 * 100

* error due to rounding a Based on a sample size of 1,872 b Based on a sample size of 290 c Based on a sample size of 70

Food 27 6 15 Household Items 12 30 9 Personal Care 18 47 20 Health Care 6 5 5 Soft Drinks 6 i 3 Car Care 3 0 5 Recreation/Entertainment 14 4 13 Miscellaneous 14 8 30


The advertising patterns change dramatically when one considers advertisements targeted only to women. For both years in the study, personal care and household products were the most advertised items rather than food. Between 1977 and 1980 there are some significant differences (p*.0001) in product ads targeted to women. That is, household product ads and food ads declined in usage from 1977 to 1980 while personal care, entertainment/recreation, and health care ads increased. Perhaps this re- flects a change in marketers' perceptions of the roles women play in the buying process for various product categories.

For advertisements targeted only to men, again a shift can be seen. Men were heavily targeted for recreation/entertainment and car care. Between 1977 and 1980 there were some significant (p*.002) changes that occurred in men's advertising. Food advertisements grew from 1% in 1977 to 15% in 1980, and household items increased form 4% to 9% during the same period. This may reflect the feeling by advertisers that there is more male participation in traditionally domestic roles and that society is increasingly accepting role integration between the sexes.

Age Portrayal. Some have charged that women portrayed in ads are always young and beautiful. Beauty as a variable was not operationalized for this study. Age, however, was observed and recorded for the most predominant model in the commercial (Table 3). A chi-square test shows no differences in age portrayal between 1977 and 1980. However Schneider and Schneider (1979) found a decrease from 1971 to 1976 (71% to 61% respectively) of young (18-35) females in television commercials. They noted that this trend signified a movement toward utilization of female characters more in line with the actual ages of women in the population. The data in Table 3 indicate a reversal of these patterns. This reversal is particularly noteworthy in view of the changing population age distribution of young females from 40% in 1976 to 36% in 1980. Ages of characters in television commercials need not parallel the total population in order to implement a successful advertising strategy. Nevertheless, it is informative to observe trends in the emphasis of particular features of the female stereotype.

Characterization. A key complaint cited in the literature refers to advertisers' sex-role stereotyping of women into certain occupations such as housewife or sex object. To examine possible changes over time, observations were made on the predominant female model in the advertisements with respect to role portrayal (Table 4). A chi-square test reveals significant differences (p*.0001) in role portrayals of women in 1977 and those in 1980. With respect to a family oriented portrayal, 51% of all ads in both 1977


TABLE 3

Female Models' Ages

Young (Under 35) Middle (36 to 55) Older (56 and over)

1977(%) a

63 33 4

Total I00

a Based on a sample size of 1,367 b Based on a sample size of 1,374

1980(%) b

65 29 6

100

TABLE 4

Characterization of Female Models *

1977(%) a 1980(%) b

Family 51 51 Career 14 10 Fashion 11 6 Sex 8 11 Neutral 16 22

Total 100

* p<.O001 a Based on a sample size of 1,370 b Based on a sample size of 1,371

100


and in 1980 had the predominant model in this mode. This represents a close reflection of women's roles in real life. Thus, advertisers apparently are comfortable with this traditional characterization.

The absence of change in women's family role portrayal between 1977 and 1980 is best interpreted when placed in the broader context of an entire decade. In 1971 (Dominick and Rauch), 28% of female characters assumed the role of housewife/mother; in 1976 (Schneider and Schneider, 1979) this figure increased to 41%. Finally, in 1977 and again in 1980 family portrayal represented 51% of all advertising roles.

Career portrayal is markedly different from the family findings. The data indicate that career-oriented portrayal is decreasing. This finding assumes greater impact when findings from other studies are also considered. For example, Dominick and Rauch (1972) observed that 22% of the female characters were employed. By 1976 that percentage had dwindled to 18% (Schneider and Schneider, 1979) and continued dropping from 1977 through 1980 to a low of 10%.

One would hypothesize that advertisements directed to women would have become more career-oriented. The data indicated that for products targeted to women (Table 5) changes did occur between 1977 and 1980. The changes, however, are not necessarily in the direction one would ex- pect. For example, although women were characterized less often in a family setting from 1977 to 1980 (49% and 36%, respectively), career portrayal declined from 15% to 11%. It is apparent that career role depiction is not proportionate to its true occurrence in society and, in fact, appears to be losing ground.

Dominick and Rauch (1972) found the most frequent role recorded was that of sex object with 32% of the females appearing in this role. Between 1971 and 1977 this figure dropped to a low of 8%, but subsequently increased to 11% in 1980 (Table 5). As anticipated, in 1971 the frequency with which women were portrayed as sex objects varied according to what sex generally buys the advertised product. That is, in ads for products usually bought by men or by women, 54% and 25% were in this role, respectively. Interestingly, the tendency to portray women in men's product ads as sex objects appears to be declining -- specifically from 31% in 1977 to 17% in 1980 (Table 6). For commercials targeted to women, however, women in decorative roles -- although down from the figure reported in 1971 -- rose from 8% in 1977 to 22% in 1980.

Fewer women were shown in fashion roles in 1977 (11%) than in 1980 (6%). This decrease can be attributed, however, to a corresponding decrease in fashion role portrayal in advertisements targeted to men -- from 7% in

CABALLERO AND SOLOMON

TABLE 5

Character izat ion of Women For Products Targeted to Women *

1977(%) a 1980(%) b


Total 100

* p< .0001 a Based on a sample size of 432 b Based on a sample size of 276

TABLE 6

Character izat ion of Women For Products Targeted to Men

1977(%) a

I00

1980(%) b


Total 100

** e r ror due to rounding a Based on a sample size of 45 b Based on a sample size of 30

101 **


1977 to 0% in 1980. A reverse trend can be observed when considering television commercials to females. In this case, the incidence of females in fashion roles rose slightly from 17% in 1977 to 19% in 1980. The increas- ing tendency for both sex object and fashion role portrayals appears to be concentrated in advertisements geared specifically to female audiences. A trend also exists to show women in neutral roles (Tables 4, 5, and 6). The neutral role portrayal means that the model's role was not identifiable as a position in life or career. This finding holds for ads targeted to combined audiences as well as for ads targeted to one particular sex. These results will be discussed further in the conclusion section.

Setting. Another issue has been that women are not portrayed operating independently and are rarely shown venturing far from home. When women appeared in 1977 commercials, they were most likely to appear alone (34%) (Table 7). However in 1980 only 16.2% were appearing alone. Rather, they were most likely to appear in commercials showing both men and women (49%), a significant increase over the 1977 level of 30%. The number of ads with women only decreased slightly from 14% in 1977 to 11% in 1980.

Past studies verify the overwhelming tendency to place women in the home environment (Culley and Bennett, 1974; Dominick and Rauch, 1972; Fox, 1978) even when male only and female only product users were considered (McArthur and Resko, 1975). Thus, observations were made with respect to the setting in which the female model was cast (Table 8). The chi-square test reveals differences (p*.0001) in the settings used in commercials from 1977 to 1980. Specifically, although no changes were noted in the settings for male-oriented commercials, significant changes occurred for female-oriented commercials (Table 9). In 1980, fewer settings were in the home, outdoors, or in business; more settings were a combination or indeterminable. This increased flexibility in the assignment of role settings may indicate some relaxation of the stereotype.

Representation and Authority. When women did appear in commercials as a character, they continued overwhelmingly to play a major role in both 1977 (73%) and in 1980 (77%). The operational definition of major role specified that the model was a central character in the ad and either spoke or handled the product. The data consistently indicate that advertisers can- not be criticized for neglecting to assign important roles to women in the delivery of commercial messages.

Conversely, although women are often used as product representatives, men are overwhelmingly present as voice-overs (Table 10). The use of male announcers for television commercials may constitute the biggest violation


TABLE 7

Characters Women Appear With *

1977(%) a I.980.( %).b

Alone 30 16 Both men and women 21 28 Men only 14 I I Women only 30 45

Total 99 **

* p<.0001 ** er ror due to rounding

a Based on a sample size of 1377 b Based on a sample size of 1374

I00

TABLE 8

Sett ings of Advertisements *

1977(%) a 1980(%) b

House 37 34 Outdoors 26 21 Business 18 10 Combination 9 14 Indeterminable I0 21

Total I00

* p<.O001 a Based on a sample size of 1,377 b Based on a sample size of 1,373

I00

104 A LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF WOMEN'S ROLE PORTRAYAL IN TELEVISION ADVERTISING

TABLE 9

Settings of Advertisements Targeted to Women *

1977(%) a 1980(%) b

House 50 36 Outdoors 17 12 Business 14 13 Combination 8 12 Indeterminable 11 27

Total 100 100

* p<.O001 a Based on a sample size of 431 b Based on a sample size of 278

TABLE IO

Announcer Sex

1977(%) a

Female 8 Male 92

Total lO0

a Based on a sample size of 1,476 b Based on a sample size of 1,363

1980(%) b

7 93

100


of women's status in advertising. In 1972 (Dominick and Rauch) a male voice-over was heard on 87% of the observed television advertisements. The proportion dropped to 84% in 1974 (Culley and Bennett) but rose again to 92% in 1977 and finally 93% in 1980. No significant changes occurred between 1977 and 1980 overall or for either female- or male- oriented commercials. However, even a cursory examination of the evidence indicates the trend: continued -- even increased -- acute under-representation of female announcers. This is especially pertinent in light of the information contained in Table 11. Females were the targeted consumers far more often than men in both 1977 and in 1980 with only a slight increase in female voice-overs for these products (Table 12). It would, therefore, seem reasonable to assign female announcers as spokespersons for the product, but apparently this is not a common practice.

Conclusions. This study points up select trends that are encouraging to those who advocate nonstereotypical role portrayal for both sexes. There is evidence of women acting independently of men in choosing recreational activities and entertainment as well as an increase in men participating in food selection. Women in decorative roles are declining for products targeted to men and fewer are portrayed in fashion roles. Additionally, women continue to be used often as product representatives.

Overall, the trends toward showing females in neutral roles and in combination or indeterminable settings would seem to be positive. If the ideal "consciousness level" (Butler and Paisley, 1980) is nonstereotypic role assignments for both men and women as individuals, the neutral role portrayal of women may suggest that they are not being judged by their sex; combination or indeterminable settings may indicate they are no longer confined to the kitchen or bathroom. Hence, these findings may be judged to be a step toward eliminating sex stereotypes in television advertising.

Unfortunately, other evidence uncovered by the study denotes continued perpetuation of the female stereotype by some advertisers. For example, in spite of the changing population age distribution, women are portrayed as young in the majority of television commercials. Another instance is the trend toward fewer career-oriented roles in the advertisements. In each case, these tendencies indicate not only endurance of the stereotype, but also further departure from a representation of true conditions. That is, propor- tionately more women are in the upper age categories and more women than ever before are working. Thus the stereotype is not only perpetuated but increasingly becomes a distortion of reality.

The advance in cases of women portrayed as sex objects and in fashion roles appears to be occurring in categories of products targeted specifically

106 A LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF WOMEN'S ROLE PORTRAYAL 1N TELEVISION ADVERTISING

TABLE II

Ultimate Consumer For Products Advertised *

Femal e Male

Total

* p<.05

1977(%) a

85 16

101 **

** error due to rounding a Based on a sample size of 528 b Based on a sample size of 369

1980(%) b

79 21

lO0

TABLE 12

Voice-0vers for Products Targeted to Females

1977(%) a 1980(%) b

Total 100 100

a Based on a sample size of 269 b Based on a sample size of 206

Female 21 27 Male 79 73


to women. This is an interesting development and worthy of consideration. One possibility is that advertisers believe that women, although outwardly conforming to social pressure to discard outdated and debilitating role be- havior, subconsciously cling to these roles. Another explanation might be that advertisers perceive women as reacting primarily to the product-spe- cific situation with which they are confronted. Accordingly, these role portrayals are deemed acceptable for advertising products which are particularly designed to enhance appearance, physical attractiveness, and/or sex appeal (such as cosmetics or fragrances).

Finally, the unmitigated dominance of male voice-overs suggests that males are still perceived as differentially imbued with authority and exper- tise, even for products targeted specifically to females. This may imply a continued assumption by advertisers that feminine choices are based on a desire to please and nurture the male rather than on personal preference.

In this study, no attempt was made to determine whether advertisements were done tastefully. Advertisements in which women appeared may or may not have portrayed women's roles complimentarily or even accurately. Fu- ture research may delve into these issues to provide additional insights.

REFERENCES

Belkaoui, A. and J. M. Belkaoui. 1976. "Comparative Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Print Advertisements: 1958, 1970, 1972," Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 13 (May), pp. 168-72.

Butler, Matilda and William Paisley. 1980. Women and the Mass Media. Madison, Wisconsin: Human Sciences Press.

Courtney, A. E. and S. W. Lockeretz. 1971. "'A Women's Place: An Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine Ads." Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 8 (February), pp. 92-5.

Culley, J. and R. Bennett. 1974. "'The Status of Women in Mass Media Advertising: An Empirical Study," Paper, Southern Marketing Association Annual Conference.

d'Amico, Michael E and John W. Hummel. 1980. "'Sex Role Portrayals in Television Com- mercials: 1971, 1976, 1980,'" in John H. Summey and Ronald D. Taylor, eds., Evolving Marketing Thought For 1980, Carbondale, Illinois: The Southern Marketing Association, pp. 396-399.

Dominick, J. R. and G. E. Rauch. 1971. "The Image of Women's Network TV Commer- cials," Journal of Broadcasting, Vol. 16 (Summer), pp. 259-65.

Fox, Harold W. 1978. "Images of Men and Women in Advertisements," Pittsburgh Business Review, (June), pp. 1-4.

McArthur, Leslie Z. and Beth G. Resko. 1975. "The Portrayal of Men and Women in American Television Commercials," Journal of Social P~chology, Vol. 97 (December), pp. 209-220.

Scheibe, Cyndy. 1979. "Sex Roles in TV Commercials," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 19 (February), pp. 23-27.


Schneider. Kenneth C. and Sharon Barich Schneider. 1979. "Trends in Sex Roles in Television Commercials," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 43 (Summer), pp. 79-84.

Sexton, Donald E. and Phyllis Haberman. 1974. "Women in Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 14 (August), pp. 41-46.

Solomon, Paul J., Ronald E Bush, and Alan J. Resnik. 1979. "Women's Role Portrayal in Television Advertising," in Robert S. Franz, Robert M. Hopkins, and Alfred G. Toma, eds., Proceedings: Southern Marketing Association, The University of Southwestern Loui- siana, pp. 130-133.

Venkatesan, M. and Jean Losco. 1975. "Women in Magazine Ads: 1959-71," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 15 (October), pp. 45-48.

Wagner, Louis C. and Janis B. Banos. 1973. "A Woman's Place: A Follow-up Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Marketing Re- search, Vol. 10 (May), pp. 213-4.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Marjorie J. Caballero is an assistant Professor at Baylor University. She earned an undergraduate degree in liberal arts from Wheaton College, Illinois, an MBA from Oklahoma City University, and a Ph.D. from Texas A & M University. Dr. Caballero is a member of several professional marketing and advertising organizations. She has published in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Business Horizons, and others.

Paul J. Solomon is a Professor of Marketing at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has published in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Mar- keting Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, and Business Horizons. He is active in the advertising industry and is Director of Research for Arnold, Harwell, and McClain advertising agency in Dallas, Texas.

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A longitudinal view of women's role portrayal in television advertising