Gender - Bias - Television - Advertisements
The main purpose of advertisements is to make people change their behavior. In many cases, people are influenced by the model because they aspire to have the same trends. Therefore, the presentation of commercials tells an interesting story about gender roles in popular culture. Due to the changing nature of commercial, to reflect the changes in the society, commercials can be used to assess existing gender biases.
Tap King - Is it me you are searching? is a television commercial that advertises a machine that serves draught beer from home refrigeration (Tap King - Is it me you are searching?). The commercial features a man looking for beer in his refrigerator, but find the popular singer singing a love song "Is it me you are looking for?" the singer serves cold beer that appears to be refreshing to the grateful man.
Traditionally, the societies frown upon women who drink any form of alcohol. Due to this social restriction, beer is traditionally associated with the male gender. In the commercial, the use of a man looking for beer appears to back the belief (Tap King - Is it me you are searching? ). Advertisements are meant to have a persuasive power over the viewers. The audience needs to associate with the models for a commercial to be successful. The implication of this need is that the commercial is looking to inspire a male audience to follow in the example of the model used. Therefore, the target audience for this particular commercial is the male working class, due to the mannerism and dressing of the model.
[...] This commercial complies with the existing gender stereotypes in the society. For example, men are perceived to be muscular and athletic while women, though they may be athletic, are more graceful compared to men. In the commercial, the featured men have all the athletic features. Though they have disabilities, they are muscular and athletic. On the other hand, stereotypes expect women to be beautiful and athletic (Channel 4 Paralympics - Meet the Superhumans). This view is supported by the commercial, and the women who make an appearance are depicted in a graceful manner. [...]
[...] For example, the commercial captures the stereotype in the world with time. Initially, men protect the villages while women protect their children. However, as a function of the changing expectations, the final scenes show equal gender. Therefore, this advertisement captures the changing gender roles in the society. Channel 4 Paralympics - Meet the Superhumans This commercial sought to popularize the London Paralympics. The Paralympics feature disabled people competing against each other in the same manner that the rest of the population participates in the regular Olympics. [...]
[...] This paper has used three different, but recent advertisements, to show the presence of gender bias and stereotypes in television adverts. References A dragon is approaching your phone (Qualcomm Snapdragon commercial). (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved July from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j0OJ_jepbI0 Channel 4 Paralympics - Meet the Superhumans. (2012, July 17). YouTube. Retrieved July from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tuAPPeRg3Nw Tap King - Is it me you are searching?. (n.d.). YouTube. [...]
[...] Therefore, the commercial is an accurate portrayal of gender roles in the contemporary society. Snapdragon commercial The Snapdragon commercial is a captivating animated advertisement about a Smartphone processor. Initially, the commercial takes place in a medieval village where tough-looking men attempt to defend their village against a ferocious dragon. After the initial portrayals of a ferocious dragon, the focus of the commercial changes to emphasize the importance of speed as opposed to size in the processor. The scene shifts to the modern time and the producers make a connection between strength and speed with the new Snapdragon processor dragon is approaching your phone (Qualcomm Snapdragon commercial). [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
