SEEING YOURSELF IN A NEW LIGHT

REIMAGINING GENDER STEREOTYPES

Do you feel like these ads are a bit unusual? Do they make you laugh? Do they make you uncomfortable?

All of these ads have one thing in common: they rely on gender stereotypes to communicate their messages. We have constructed these ads from real print or web advertisements put out by these brands. A list of original ads can be found here.

While some of you may only interact with ads as consumers, others of you may be considering or starting a career in the advertising industry. No matter your role, thinking critically about the messaging is important to our society and our individual lives. According to a CBS News report, we see up to 5,000 ads a day. Because we are asked to process so many messages, advertisers use various strategies to cut through clutter.

One of these strategies that can be harmful is the use of stereotypes. According to Kim Bartel Sheehan, benefits of using stereotypes include that the stage of an advertisement is quickly set. If an advertisement plays on an idea that is already prevalent in society, there is less effort required from the consumer to understand the context surrounding the message.

Additionally, advertisers benefit from role product congruity. Role product congruity increases advertising effectiveness by using models or actors that “fit” the role associated with product use or need. However, this is sometimes used to confine men and women to certain roles. For instance, according to  Social Psych Online, women in advertisements are 3.5 more likely to be seen in a domestic role than men. Accordingly, men are less often seen in parenting roles than women. This ignores the fact that women make up 50% of the workforce, so accurate advertising should depict them in professional positions 50% of the time rather than being disproportionately depicted at home instead of office.

These benefits for advertisers come with societal consequences. On a large scale, stereotypes often oversimplify or omit traits held by diverse populations. Advertising is part of our culture and therefore exerts influence over our collective conscious. Perpetuating of gender roles can create hostile attitudes towards individuals who inhabit non traditional roles. On a personal scale, people that don’t identify with stereotypical traits of their identities can feel alienated and ignored.

Because of these consequences, advertisers have an ethical responsibility to amplify positive representations of gender rather than negative ones. As society changes, it is important for Ad and PR people to understand new societal trends so that they can communicate with their audience effectively. Effective communication occurs when brands create meaning that consumers can tap into. If a brand perpetuates outdated gender roles it will fail to connect with an evolving audience.  

Things are beginning to change; we’ve compiled a list of ads and campaigns that work toward gender equality and presenting a realistic depiction of gender below. But, it remains up to consumers and future ad practitioners to communicate with brands to demonstrate the culture that they would like to see.