Advertising, Graphic Design, Sheffield Hallam.
I’m examining gender stereotypes in advertising.
Advertising agencies and their clients spend millions creating ads that feature gender stereotypes.
Do I think that advertisements would be successful if they didn’t contain stereotypes?
What does it say about us when we react favorably to these stereotypes?
Is it the adverts that create society’s conception of gender?
I aim to explore this thought further throughout this project.
I mean…
Why do we always relate retirees with gardening or reading?
Why do we expect women to come home from a shopping spree to have bought at least one pair of new shoes?
When they arrive home…
Why do we expect their partner to be legged out watching the football with a beer?
Why would we expect her partner to be a he?
Do not get me wrong, I do not aim to answer these questions, the world is full of history, and amongst this stereotyping, it has been going on for years, but I am going to attempt to research it, play around with it, apply it and go against it. It is a reaction I am aiming for.
have noticed a particular personal interest whilst looking at stereotypes. I am clearly drawn to how men and women are conveyed in advertisements.
I think it would be interesting at some point in this project to create an advertising campaign not using stereotypes and one using stereotypes, to see what results I get.
I am particularly interested in how gender stereotypes are used to sell products on television or in print.
Stereotyping can be great for an advertiser…
Stereotypes can also be problematic for advertisers, first and foremost…
…In the media, ‘Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation’
In this brief, I mostly aim elaborate on the skills that I have learnt so far in Advertisement.
Referring back to the Preparation for Level 6 document, it was clear I had a keen interest in Stereotypes and how this effects advertisers at the current time.
Stereotype: Is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals.
HISTORY
Stereotypes are not new or old. They are here and have been for a very long time.
The first English reference made to stereotype was apparently made in 1850.
‘Some psychologist believe that childhood influences are some of the most complex and influential factors in developing stereotypes. Though they can be absorbed at any age, stereotypes are usually acquired in early childhood under the influence of parents, teachers, peers, and the media. Once a stereotype is learned, it often becomes self-perpetuating’. -Taught from birth.
‘In art stereotypes are cliched or predictable characters or situations’.
Throughout history, storytellers have drawn from stereotypical characters and situations, in order to connect the audience with new tales immediately.
IN ADVERTISING
A few initial questions raised when I considered studying stereotypes for this project were;
Gender
- Boys = Blue
- Girls = Pink
Age
-Children = Picture based?
- Adults = type heavy?
(What would a newspaper look like if it was created for children? How would this compare to an adult read?)
Social
-Working/Upper/lower class.
‘The primary goal of research is to investigate the impact of advertising on perceptions of attribute importance’.
‘The results of a series of studies, show that parents distort their perceptions of their own children in gender role stereotypic activities such as math and sport’
‘The current economis situation may look ugly, but that does not mean that women want to’.
