Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Summer 1976, Vol. 4, No.

3,577-591

The Portrayal of Women in Advertising: An Overlooked Area of Societal Marketing

Stephen W. Brown, D.B.A.
Arizona State University

Adel I. EI-Ansary, Ph.D.

The George Washington University

and Nancy Darsey, Ph.D.

Lamar University

Recent years have witnessed an accelerated interest in marketing's social responsibility. Current literature advocates the need for the private sector to assume new roles in the socio-economic system. Despite the growing concern for marketing's social responsibility, one area has received little attention. Women, who comprise 51 percent of the population, are typically disregarded or lumped with other "minority groups" in dis"assions of social marketing. The changing life styles of the American woman of the 1970's necessitate attention from marketing practitioners and academicians. Business policies in areas such as advertising, credit, and employment are coming under attack by women as being discriminatory. While each of these areas is worthy of study, he scope of this article will be h,uited to advertising practices. More specifically, both critical comments by women liberationists and diverse research studies will be reviewed on the portrayal of women in advertising. Based upon this review, the authors will offer a framework for further research on the portrayal of the sexes in promotional messages. 577

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578

FEMINISTS' COMPLAINTS
The female image portrayed in advertisements has been highly criticized by writers connected with the women's liberation movement (Dominick and Rauch, 1972, p. 259). Anne T. Foster, an advertising executive, has proposed the creation of "Ad Lib," ap~ organization to combat the "slams and put downs and second-class citizenship handed women by today's television commercials." Ms. Marya Mannes predicts that marketers "Will have to stop selling products by showing women only as teenage playgirls whose sole function is sex or as saw-voiced matrons whose only purpose is housekeeping." Finally, Caroline Bird sums up the criticisms by saying, "Our main quarrel with television is that it does not provide human models for a bright 13 year-old girl who would like to grow up to be something more than an ecstatic floor waxer."

RESEARCH FINDINGS
Several research studies have recently examined the portrayal of women in advertising. These studies were conducted by such diverse groups as marketing scholars, social scientists, broadcasting academicians, organized feminists, and a national woman's magazine. In a 1971 Journal of Marketing Research article, Courtney and Lockeretz (1971, pp. 92-95) reviewed 729 advertisements appearing in the April 18, 1970 issues of Life, Look, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Saturday Review, Time, and U.S. News and World Report, and the April 1970 issue of Reader's Digest. They classified and analyzed the advertisements on the basis of male and female roles related to occupations, non-working activities, product categories, and sex roles. The two social scientists concluded that few of the advertisements surveyed could be considered as depreciating to women and that the ads merely reflected the "world as it is." For example, the average executive is a male and is thus depicted that way in ads. However, it was concluded that the ads surveyed did not represent the full range of female roles in society. Also, the advertisements tended to support the following stereotypes: 1. " A woman's place is in the home." This attitude fails to represent the 29 million working females in the United States. 2. "Women do not make important decisions or do important things." Women, more often than men, were depicted as involved in menial jobs or making inexpensive purchases. 3. "Women are dependent and need men's protection." The ads suggested that women need men around to perform activities more than men need

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THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISING: AN OVERLOOKED AREA OF SOCIETAL MARKETING

women. For example, while a male frequently appeared alone in cigarette ads, women seldom appeared alone. Even if a woman was depicted as liberated, a male was usually in the scene. 4. "Men regard women primarily as sexual objects; men are not interested in women as people." Women appeared primarily in decorative roles, and relatively few women appeared in occupational roles. The authors found that women are primarily depicted as housewives or lowlevel employees. Typically, the female role in the ads studied was a young housewife in the kitchen or bathroom, or a woman in a service role, either as a stewardess or secretary, or as a sex object. Rarely did women appear as doctors, lawyers, executives, professors, athletes, or other high status roles. In a more recent Journal of Marketing Research article, Wagner and Banos attempt to determine if the portrayal of women in magazine advertisements has changed in the 20-month period since the Courtney and Lockeretz study (Wagner and Banos, pp. 213-214). The more recent study examined the same general magazines except the New York Times Magazine Section was substituted for Look. The same work classifications were used, and all advertisements contained one or more adults. The magazines examined in January 1972 indicate a general enhancement in the advertisements portraying women's roles. Women depicted in a work environment were pictured in more responsible capacities and the ratio of working women increased from nine to twenty-one percent. In the case of the nonworking women, however, they were more frequently "shown in a decorative (nonactive) role and less often in a family or recreational situation" (Wagner and Banos, pp. 213-214). Dominick and Rauch conclude that the feminists' complaints have validity in the sense that "the image of the female, as shown in these ads, is in line with conventional stereotypes. Commercials presenting the image of the modern woman are virtually non-existent" (p. 265). The New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) surveyed over 1,200 advertisements and drew the following conclusions (Knauer, p. 29): 9.. 37.5 percent of the woman in ads were depicted as domestic adjuncts; 22.7 percent as demeaned housekeepers; 33.9 percent as dependent upon men; 24.3 percent as submissive; 16.7 percent as sex objects; 17.1 percent as unintelligent; and 42.6 percent as household functionaries. The final research study to be considered was conducted by Good Housekeeping, a national women's magazine (May 1971, p. 68). The magazine asked members of their consumer panel, "Are television commercials insulting to women?" While a slim majority (53%) said " n o , " a sizeable minority (40%)

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580

agreed that television ads insult the modern woman. The results of this study should not be taken as proof or disproof of either position, since no information on how the panel members were selected or questioned is given. However, the results do, in general, agree with the other studies. These four studies seem to reach the same general conclusions. Most advertisements picture women as belonging in the home; if women are portrayed in occupations outside the home, they are most frequently shown in service positions rather than in professional occupations; women are regarded as sex objects in ads; and women do not make important decisions. The criticism directed toward advertising seems to be justified if the results of these four studies are accepted.

BUILDING A RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

Thus far, the feminist's pleas appear to have had relatively little effect on advertising practice. Franchellie Caldwell, president of a New York agency, says that "women in today's ads still spend most of their time in the kitchen, waiting to be rescued by an authoritative male." However, E. B. Weiss predicts that marketers will not be able to conti~me their present treatment of women in advertisements. Midge Kovacs describes some of the adjustments marketers may soon be required to make. According to Kovacs, advertising concepts, which were formerly based on traditional female roles, will have to keep pace with the evolving role and position of the American women. Ad appeals which many marketers now consider tasteful are noxious to a growing number of females. Ms. Kovacs concludes that marketers are caught in a "cultural lag" and will have to make changes to cater to the new, liberated woman (1972, p. 48). Despite the pleas of the feminists and the aforementioned research efforts, it is questionable whether the role of the sexes in promotional messages has adequately been examined. The research to date has been too limited in the sense that it has only focused on portions of the phenomena of male/female roles. Figure 1 provides a framework for research on the portrayal of the sexes in promotional messages. Listed vertically are a series of six questions ordered in a logical sequence. The dichotomous responses to each of the first four inquiries lead the researcher to the next appropriate question in a "flow chart" fashion. The fifth issue asks the marketing scholar to assess the social acceptability of the promotion in terms of proper roles, norms, relationships, etc. ' The final questions require the researcher to specify the criteria of social unacceptability, if any, associated with the promotion. An example of a contemporary advertising campaign may help in illustra-

581

T H E P O R T R A Y A L OF W O M E N IN A D V E R T I S I N G : A N O V E R L O O K E D A R E A OF S O C I E T A L M A R K E T I N G

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582

BROWN, EL-ANSARY AND DARSEY

ting the utilization of the Figure 1 framework. In recent years, Continental Airlines has utilized an advertising campaign with the attention-getting line, "We really move our tail for you." The effort is designed to enhance consumer awareness of the airline and its destinations, while building upon the familiar "proud bird with the golden tail" slogan (Berstein, p. 2). Referring to Figure 1, it is obvious that the type of product in question is marketable to both sexes. The campaign, however, is built upon "female portrayal," and therefore, in examining questions two through four, only number three can be answered affirmatively. This procedure leads the researcher to the last two questions in which the social acceptablity of the campaign is appraised. While the thrust of this article is not directed toward an assessment of this example, it is noteworthy that a number of Continental stewardesses have overtly criticized the ads as being degrading to flight attendants. Furthermore, Charles Bucks, senior vice president of marketing for Continental, admits that National Airlines successful "Fly me" campaign provided the inspiration for the "move-our-tails" ads. National's campaign was strongly opposed by some feminists and stewardesses.

CONCLUSION
The scope of this article has examined the portrayal of women in advertising. Despite the societal concern with this subject, this topic has been relatively under-researched by marketing scholars. Following a review of feminist complaints and four related research studies, the article deduced that the phenomena of male/female roles in advertising has been inadequately investigated. This determination stimulated the construction of a framework for research on the portrayal of the sexes in promotion. The framework leads the researcher through a series of steps, and then requires an assessment of the promotion's social acceptability on sexual, aesthetics, and relationship dimensions. In addition to providing a structure for future research, the proposed framework expands the investigative scope beyond advertising to all areas of promotion. Furthermore, the framework is not restricted to the socially acceptable portrayal of only women. Recent advertisements in Playgirl magazine, for example, raise the issue of male portrayals as well. 'The authors are fully cognizant of the inherent problems associated with operationally defining a number of the key terms involved in this issue.

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THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISING: AN OVERLOOKED AREA OF SOCIETAL MARKETING REFERENCES

"Are T.V. Commercials Insulting to Women?" Good Housekeeping, Vol. 172, No. 5 (May 1971), p. 68. Bernstein, Henry R. "Continental Moving its Tail for More Riders' Awareness," Advertising Age, Vol. 45, No. 4 (January 28, 1973), p. 2. Courtney, Alice E. and Sarah W. Lockeretz "A Woman's Place: An Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 8, No. 1 (February 1971), pp. 92-95. Dominick, Joseph R. and Gail E. Rauch. "The Image of Women in Network TV Commercials," Journal of Broadcasting, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Summer 1972), pp. 259-265. Knauer, Virginia. "And Now a Word From the Consumer," Public Relations Journal, Vol. 28, No. 12 (December 1972), pp. 6-9. Kovacs, Midge. "Where is a Woman's Place: Home Says Ads," Advertising Age, Vol. 43, No. 29 (July 17, 1972), p. 48. Lazer, William, John E. Smallwood, and others. "Consumer Environments and Life Styles of the Seventies," MSU Business Topics, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Spring 1972), pp. 517. Wagner, Louis C. and Janis B. Banos. "A Woman's Place: A Follow-Up Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 10, No. 2 (May 1973), pp. 213-214.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

DR. S T E P H E N W. B R O W N is Associate Professor of Marketing, Arizona State University. He received his D.B.A. from Arizona State and formerly served on the faculty at Louisiana State University. Dr. Brown is an A . M . A . Doctoral Consortium Fellow and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Business Research. He is the co-author of three books, one monograph, and numerous articles. DR. A D E L I. E L - A N S A R Y is Professor of Marketing and Business Administration at the George Washington University and formerly served on the Faculty of Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. He received his M.B.A. and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University. Dr. E1-Ansary is a Fulbright Scholar, and he has contributed articles to the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Marketing. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Marketing and is the co-author of a forthcoming book on distribution channels. DR. N A N C Y D A R S E Y is Associate Professor of Business, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas. She received her Ph.D. in business communications from Louisiana State University. Dr. Darsey is the Head of the Department of Office Administration at Lamar.