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March 15, 2010 Dr. MD. ANWARUL ISLAM, Professor, Department of Marketing. University of Dhaka, Subject: Term Paper submission on Role of Women in Advertisement. Dear Sir: I’m very happy to submit this report about the rope of women in advertisement. Firstly, I have gone through the paper that you have provided us for helping to prepare the term paper. Thank you very much as it helped us to get a clear view overall the task. Secondly, to gather the information I have used local magazine and internet as a source of information.
I’ve tried to fulfill your requirements but I don’t know how far I accomplished. However, I tried to give my best effort in this report and I wish this report will satisfy you. I’m really grateful to you because you gave us the guidelines. If you need any certification then I will be available to serve you the information. Sincerely Yours, ___________________ Muhammad Razib Hasan CONTENT Sl. NoTopicsPage Remark 1Contents2 2Origin of the Report3 3Objectives of the Report3 4Source of Information3 5Limitation4 6Executive Summary5-6 Description Started 7Preface7 The Global Perspective8-11 9Real Image12-18 10Is the image improving? 19-27 11Application of KPI in BanglaCAT28-33 12Reference 34 Origin of The Report ________________________________________ Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a core course of Evening MBA program. There are some subjects which are essential for job life especially for managers. IMC is such a subject which has application and practiced in all the marketing of a product or service. This report is prepared by , Muhammad Razib Hasan, student ID # 4050-7022 in response to the assignment Dr. MD.
ANWARUL ISLAM, the honorable course instructor and professor, Marketing Department, University of Dhaka. 2. Objectives of Report ________________________________________ There are basically two objectives to prepare a report, one is Primary & another is Secondary. ?The primary objective is to observe role of women in advertisement ? Secondary objective is to prepare this report to fulfill course requirements of integrated Marketing Communication 3. Source of Information ________________________________________ To prepare this report we prefer to use secondary sources of information.
The primary source of information is the data sheet provided by honorable course instructor Dr. MD. ANWARUL ISLAM, professor, Marketing Department, University of Dhaka. The secondary information source is different internet sites from Bangladesh and global sites. 4. Limitation ________________________________________ There may some limitations behind this report. These are – ? Those information, which have been taken from internet are based on data provided by different author and researcher. The data that have been received are from different angle according to their perspective.
So, there may be different view from different reader in practical. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The connections between advertising and the woman have a long tradition in any cultural historiography. Writers and cultural observers as far back as John Dos Passos in his novel Manhattan Transfer have linked the modern female identity and the burgeoning advertising industry as mirrors of each other. For men who find the modern woman to be distastefully shallow they can, dismiss her as a freakish creation of the advertising industry.
For many feminists, frequently in response to allegations of feminine narrow-minded consumerism, the advertising industry is merely the main vehicle for the perpetuation of male sexism in the modern world. Either way advertising comes across as a negative influence. Advertising is a cultural force began to get a much deserved reappraisal. As the key element to consumer culture, advertising was reassessed along with consumerism in general as a powerful democratizing influence: instead of leading down the road to ruin, advertising was re-envisioned as a trail blazer leading to, what is often overstated as, the democracy of the market place.
Many writers urges that these were particularly empowered by consumerism because they occupy such a crucial role within consumer marketing strategy, thereby placing more focus on them as a group and moving their role in society from the margins to the center In Advertising, Woman suffers from a sort of identity crisis (perhaps, not unlike the one suffered by the role of women in advertising which it purports to study) Is it a broad and fairly unambitious overview of women in advertising or a serious (and more ambitious) work of historical writing?
Or, even more importantly, what is its main focus, advertising history or women’s history? In the concept of integrated marketing communication, there are four steps or elements of promotion. 1. Advertisement, 2. Personal Selling, 3. Sales Promotion 4. Publicity. Once upon a time, advertisement was the main promotional tool. Now days, others tools are used effectively. But still advertisement plays a vital role in marketing communication system. The role of women in advertisement is very strong and effective and case to case it is must.
In this report, we shall try to find out the role of women in advertisement in Bangladesh and globally. A bank’s billboard shows “achievement” as perceived by three groups – The child’s achievement is learning the skill of tying a shoelace, the man’s is taking his first step on the moon and finally the woman’s achievement is getting crowned in a beauty pageant. Source: Advertisement by HSBC, Bangladesh The Global perspective From the 1890s to the 1990s, women have played the starring role in America’s drama of consumption. Since before the turn of the century, Mrs. Consumer,, has made 85% of household purchases.
In addition to this powerful economic role, women have functioned as cultural icons, in art and politics as well as advertising, embodying concepts from peace to home to glamour. Meanwhile, during the 20th century, women as a group have shifted their role from isolated domestics to major business, political, and social players. Advertising unintentionally has served as a recorder of the century’s cultural revolution in the external and internal lives of women. The 1890s through the 1910s, in the post-Industrial Revolution era, abundance was not a product of the hands, but of the purse.
Upper-class women were beneficiaries of male-directed mass production and decorators of the domestic haven. As the century turned, they learned to buy rather than make. Advertising tutored them in die rituals of self-transformation and the rites of shopping within the labyrinth of new department stores. A skill for bargaining for bulk goods was replaced with an advertising education in competing claims of brand merchandise. The professionals of the new advertising industry created a stereotype of beauty for their appeals. The voluptuous, sensual woman of early trade cards became a giggling girl or devoted mother.
Early advertising borrowed historical imagery of agrarian goddesses who bring prosperity to the home. New women’s magazines, including the Ladies Home Journal, McCall’s, and House and Garden, reached unprecedented circulation among the middle class as they served as manuals for how to lead a proper feminine fife. Advertising became a trusted intermediary for many new domestic products that reached the households of a far-flung American populace. The 1920s brought to the middle class a kaleidoscope of jazz, Paris fashions, household conveniences, and a titillating social mingling of the sexes.
During the decade, advertisers learned to wrap products in the tissue of dreams. Instead of selling phonographs, they sold enjoyment. Rather than describing the attributes of a shirt, they painted glamour. Advertisers focused more on the consumer and less on the product In the process, they confirmed an elemental truth: the consumer was a she. Advertising’s New Woman embodied the promise of modernity – youth, sexual freedom, style, and conspicuous consumption. She embraced Me Look,, preached by the missionaries of the markets. Her life was an ensemble of new styles. Women seized added power and freedom during the decade.
In 1920, they won the right to vote. That year, every third worker was female. In die ensuing 10 years, die number of women college graduates increased by 300%. With the 1920s, celebration of the female form came America’s first war on fat. The ultra-glamorous flapper deliberately countered the suffragettes, dowdy attire and militant attitude. Many ads showed powerful images of active women in control of their lives. However, copywriters urged even the most independent female to use her newly acquired leisure time to pursue domestic skills. The 1930s. The Great Depression spawned a carnival culture, as the public craved escapism.
Ad pages cluttered with supposed news-photo realism hawked discounted goods. Curvaceous celebrities offered women borrowed glamour. Advertisers tried desperately to energize the depressed market with emotional appeals. Human tragedy, sexual innuendo, and confessional copy (inspired by True Story magazine sold everything from gum to toilet paper. The newly emerging comic-strip format offered the appeal of storytelling and the intimacy of eavesdropping. The 1940s. Wartime propaganda encouraged women to labor for country and family rather than money, status. or security.
Advertising urged female factory workers to keep up the glamour and the home cooking even while they were on the production line. By the wartime peak in and I. more than 19,000,000 women worked outside the home. When Johnny came marching home. They were fired by the thousands. Advertising used images of mothers, daughters, girlfriends. and wives to embody home front vulnerability and remind Americans cans what they were fighting for. Today, scholars debate whether these ads helped women’s status or fed a post-war backlash. Advertisers also suggested that victories could be won on the home front through beauty and patriotic shopping.
The 1950s. Advertising was staged primarily in the home, and the housewife often played the starring role. Advertising enacted dramas of romance. personal conflict, and family life. Women were the public performers of private ceremonies around middle-class commodities. The decade built on the Industrial Revolution’s separation of the home from the factory and on the barriers between the daily world of women and that of men. The commercial world, where goods were produced, and the home, where they were consumed, drew gem graphically and culturally further apart.
In this context, advertising idealized the domestic sphere and women as its guardian. America’s nuclear family was a haven of democratic virtue against the Cold War threat. Real image Stereotyping of women has been a major concern with media researchers. Studies have dealt with the portrayal of women in all forms of media. A close examination of the literature on stereotyping of women in media revealed that each of these studies had its focus on at least one or more of the following categories: 1) Women portrayed at home and with family 2) Women and occupation 3) Women and their age 4) Women and their physical appearance or attire ) Women as product representatives or as product users 6) Women and stance Stereotyping has been found to be quite pervasive. For instance, it is even in the tools of design such as clipart. Therefore, stereotyped images may come pre-packaged. Milburn, Carney and Ramirez (2001) conducted a study where they examined the images of human beings in two popular clipart packages, Microsoft Office 97 and Print Shop Ensemble III for gender and racial equality. A content analysis was done in order to examine potential gender stereotyping. Milburn, Carney and Ramirez (2001) found significant representational biases in both packages.
There was an under representation of women, and when depicted, both software packages portrayed them in a significantly different manner than males. Females were more likely to be shown as teenagers rather than as middle aged or elderly and were dressed in more revealing wardrobes. Males on the other hand were depicted as predominantly more active. Men were more likely to be depicted as authoritative and more knowledgeable. Women were more likely to be illustrated as submissive. For example, women were more likely to be shown in activities like sitting and men were depicted in activities like running.
Milburn, Carney and Ramirez (2001) concluded that stereotyping of women exists not only on television but other forms of communication as well. One of the most strident criticisms of the way in which women appear in television and print advertisements is that women are portrayed in an extremely narrow range of roles, with depictions concentrated on the traditional occupations of housewife, a mother and secretary. Research Concerning Stereotyping of Women in Television Commercials Bretl and Cantor (1988) summarized the content analysis of male and female portrayals in U. S. elevision commercials since 1971 and also conducted a content analysis of television commercials in 1985. Bretl and Cantor. s (1988) findings indicate several differences between the portrayal of men and women with many gaps narrowing after time. Men and women appeared equally more often as central figures in prime time commercials. Women appeared in occupational roles and men were presented as parents and spouses, with no other apparent occupation (Bretl & Cantor, 1988). Figure: Advertise of Camay , 72% of men and 85% of women are unhappy with at least one aspect of their appearance
Although the differences seem to have been narrowing, there are still areas in which no change was recorded. Women still predominantly appear in domestic settings advertising products used in the house and men are still preferred as narrators in the advertising world over women (Bretl & Cantor, 1988). A study investigated a sample of prime-time network television advertisements to determine how gender portrayals differed in drug and non-drug commercials (Graig, 1992). Craig (1992) found that women were more likely than men to appear as characters in drug advertisements than in advertisements for other products.
Women were also portrayed as experts on home medical care often as mothers caring for ill children or a sick husband. According to Graig (1992): . This supports the hypothesis that drug advertisers take advantage of stereotypical images of women as home medical caregivers. (p. 309). The results of Graig. s study (1992) indicate that advertisers of overthe-counter (OTC) medications exploit the stereotype of women as nurturers and caregivers in their prime time network television commercials. Women have been found to be primary or central characters in these ads and they have been portrayed as experts
OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN SHOWN IN ADVERTISNG •Business Executive 1958=0% 1970=0% 1983=4% 2000=7% •Professional 1958=0% 1970=0% 1983=15% 2000=5% •Entertainment/sports 1958=11% 1970-58% 1983=33% 2000=40% •Sales/Midlevel business 1958=6% 1970=8% 1983=33% 2000=33% •White Collar 1958=72% 1970=17% 1983=4% 2000=3% •Blue Collar 1958=0% 1970=17% 1983=4% 2000=3% Product Types: women have been associated primarily with household products (Courtney & Whipple, 1974; Dominick & Rauch, 1972). The dominant characters were coded for product types as follows: a)
Foodstuffs: Any type of food or beverages; b) Personal hygiene: all personal hygiene products with unisexual appeal like Deodorants, soaps, shampoos etc; c) Home products: included exterior and interior household goods like furniture, household cleaners, laundry, dish detergents etc d) Car/ related products: including all automotive vehicles advertisements, as well as gasoline, oil, maintenance and repair advertisements; e) Electronic and communications: all advertisements pertaining to electronic or communication were coded for the gender of the dominant character; ) Restaurants; g) insurance/bank; and h) other: includes advertisements for jewellery, clothing etc. Each advertisement was initially coded as to central figure. The central figure was coded as male or a female. Central figure for this study has been defined as a person who has a major role in the advertisement by virtue of speaking or having a visual exposure of three seconds or more on screen. In addition, each central figure in the advertisement was coded for the following categories: 1) age; 2) product use; 3) occupation; 4) voiceover; 5) product representative; ) stance; and 7) product types. However, both the coders disagreed on three cases; therefore the total number incorrect. While males and females were close in regard to representation as central figures in the advertisements, women were slightly more likely to be portrayed as a central figure. Specifically, of the central figures in the advertisements, 46% were men, while 49. 1% were women and remaining were found in the unsure and both category. Strong differences were found among the representations of women and men in the category of age group. In the .young. ategory, females were portrayed as central figures much more often than the males. Specifically, the females were portrayed as central figures 63. 8% of the time, whereas males were only portrayed as central figures 35. 4% of the time. The remaining belonged in the . unsure. category which attributed to about point-eight percent. The situation was reversed for the categories of . middle-age. and . old.. Men were portrayed 56. 2% of the time as . middle-age. versus 37% of the time for women and the remaining 1. 4% and 5. 5% were in the . unsure. and . both. category.
Ninety-four-point-four percent of the time, men were portrayed as . old. , versus 5. 6% of the time for women. Media researchers have closely associated stereotyping with women. Additional studies in male stereotyping would be useful in the future. The prevailing popular assumption seems to be that there are no male stereotypes, and that if there are, they are not . degrading. and . limiting. as those of women. Little research has been done in this area. In conclusion, it is apparent that stereotypes exist today and the . happy housewife. stereotype is predominant in television commercials.
While this may not be harmful, it does not reflect the total picture of women in general. Television cultivates a view of the world. A more inclusive depiction of women would provide women in general particularly young women with options and role model. Is Images of women improving? Source: June 1999 issue of Glamour: Ad by Nike Part of outstanding advertisement campaign that accompanied the Women’s World Cup “You pass on more to your children and your grandchildren than your eye color, . . . You provide the living example that they can become more than they ever thought they could.
Advertising generally portrays women as: •dependent on or subservient to men •primarily in the home or domestic settings •preoccupied with physical attractiveness •sex objects •decorations for men •product users/demonstrators A poll by Kellogg’s found that 62 percent out of a sample of 503 women over 18-years-old believe that an ideal body weight and size do exist. These women said the major factor determining the feminine ideal comes from television advertising or fashion magazines. ?Ads appearing in popular teen magazines promise to transform a girl’s appearance.
While these ads are designed to encourage a girl to use make-up and dieting to look acceptable, they can undermine her self-confidence and contribute to negative body image ? Girls are usually more concerned with appearance than boys because they have been socialized to overemphasize appearance ? One study of Saturday morning toy commercials found that 50% of commercials aimed at girls spoke about physical attractiveness, while none of the commercials aimed at boys referred to appearance ? Other studies found 50% of advertisements in teen girl magazines and 56% of television commercials aimed at female viewers used beauty as a product appeal.
One study found women’s magazines have 10. 5 times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines did. ?What does this ad suggest women should look like? ?The current ideal of female beauty is difficult to achieve. The ideal being a young Caucasian female, height 5’8″- 5’10”, weighing 110-120 pounds or less. O Make-up, lighting and air-brushing are used to slim down the images even more. Less than 10% of the female population are genetically destined to fit this ideal. Source: 1998 Kellogg’s Special K runs a campaign that says there is no ideal body weight.
Kellogg’s Special K cereal realized that campaigns featuring young, thin models barely squeezing into tight clothes alienated their older audience, “Our consumers told us they really couldn’t relate to advertising techniques that used unrealistic body images. “They said that they couldn’t live up to the standards of beauty dictated by advertisers. ” Advertiser promote “A beauty standard that does not come naturally (Or cheap) to most women” The beauty industries promises that LONG & SHINY HAIR, SMOOTH AND GLOWING SKIN The beauty industries promises that PEARLY WHITE TEETH The beauty industries promises that PLUMP FULL LIPS
The beauty industries promises that BEAUTIFY YOUR LEG The beauty industries promises that CHANGE YOUR EYE COLOUR YOU ARE ALL WITHIN YOUR REACH Bangladesh perspective Dhaka – Dighi is the darling of the Bangladeshi media. She has long, beautiful hair and has just the right moves that will keep the viewers glued to the TV screen. There are life-size photos of her on big billboards in the city and big roles in films and drama serials already. It was a commercial for a brand of henna that gave her the big break. In the ad, with a face full of pinkish makeup, she flaunts her translucent pearl-coloured hands exquisitely decorated with dark henna.
Her on-screen friends gaze at her hands longingly, wishing they too could look like her. Of course, this feeling is shared by thousand of girls who are on the other side of the television screen. Although Dighi’s hands look beautiful, one doubts whether that is what the viewers are focusing on. The attention is clearly on what she represents. As Anwara Begum points out in her book, ‘Magical Shadows: Women in the Bangladesh Media’ (AH Development Publishing House, 2008), “TV ads don’t only sell products, they sell attitudes. ” At an innocent age of 10 years, Dighi is the nation’s favorite child model.
The ‘attitude’ sold in the henna commercial is the standard of beauty and mannerism, as defined by men – the fair-skinned, long-haired, bubbly girl. The consequence of the ad is the indoctrination of this attitude in girls who have not even reached puberty! Figure 2: A women model showing her delighted face as having instant offer from AKTEL. The ‘modernization’ of the media culture over the years, with the arrival of private television channels and advertisement firms has had commensurate effects on the culture of patriarchy. Take for example, this set of ads.
An earlier commercial shows a woman, who had come to be ‘viewed’ by a prospective groom, pleasing the family with her fine culinary skills, indicating that she remains within the four walls of the house. The next version shows a woman who is not domesticated, she does not know how to cook and her husband rebukes her for this. Hurt and distraught at her ‘failure’, she wins him back by whipping up a delicious meal with her discovery of readymade cooking spices. The next phase shows a man cooking. The readymade spices are so easy to use that EVEN a man can cook.
Of course, he makes a mess in the kitchen, emphasizing further that the kitchen is not really his place to be. This shows that the camera almost always serves patriarchal interests. So the heavily made-up woman’s delight at getting the keys to a beautiful new apartment from her husband seems to be perfectly logical. It’s the wife, the mother or the children, who receive privileges, like living in a luxury apartment, from the ‘shonar chele’ (golden son). A man’s success in life is rated by what he brings for those who depend on him – the various women in his life.
Like the phone which brings the man and woman together. The man leaves his wife to go to London for a work visit, the mother breaks down because her son has found a job in the city, the little girl asks her father to scold the mother for not believing her… Again, the father is in an office and the mother at home. Of course, companies are aware that portraying the woman strictly in the home environment is no more acceptable. So out comes a phone package for women, the “Ladies First” for working women who have to talk a lot.
Currently, there is a cement ad that proudly states: “Today’s mechanic, tomorrow’s engineer”, and shows two boys with hard hats pretend playing to be construction engineers, while their female counterpart pretends to be a school teacher. Not that it is any less respectable to be school teacher, but on screen some professions like teaching, nursing and fashion designing seem to be reserved for women, while engineering, politics and multinational business management are for men. Advertising agencies are doing good business: A whopping US$215 million has been spent on advertisements by corporations this year so far.
New money has been poured in to get fresh ideas from these advertising power houses. However, the general theme of the ads – be it romance, where the shy young woman is waiting to be swept off her feet by a handsome man; or marriage, where the wife, even if she is employed, is still in charge the family, are still very popular. The single, independent, successful woman is hardly represented. Take the ad for an antiseptic soap that shows a child impressing his mother by showing her an excellent result sheet and no absence record at school.
On cue the father comes home from work to tell the wife that he has received a bonus for not missing a day of work. He hands over the envelope to her because, of course, it was her conscientious care-giving that keeps the family healthy. The audience does not know what she does but the underlying assumption is that she is a housewife. The stereotype continues. It is with hair care products that women’s images are most objectified. Commercials do show clear signs of cultural change – the woman is no longer house bound, she is wearing trendy clothes and she is seen within the work space.
The constant feature, however, is that she is embarrassed if every physical attribute of hers is not in perfect order and she is also forever seeking the attention of the man. The confident woman is the woman with the perfect hair. She has the best job, is the perfect wife and mother. Thinking may be done about the effect that this desire for unattainable perfection has on women. This story of lovely heterosexual romance functions to cover up the harsh realities in relationships between men and women is a restrictive patriarchy where most suicides are committed by women.
The electronic media does its own bit of social responsibility when covering events – from press conferences to art show openings. In a nod to affirmative action, they give equal screen space to men and women. But the TV camera operator seeks out the most attractive-looking woman in the press conference and focuses the camera on her for much more time than is necessary. This woman might not have any relevance to the story being told but perhaps the underlying notion is that it brings more viewers for the TV channel.
Given that most camera operators are men, this kind of treatment is hardly surprising. Someone once observed that the sure-fire sign of a more liberal and progressive Bangladeshi society was its ever increasing number of beauty pageants and catwalks. It was his firm conviction that a coy-looking model with perfect physical features walking down a ramp was a statement of the woman’s newfound independence. Lastly, we shall finish our discussion by highlighting a round table discussion through different speakers of our society covered by daily Star, (April 22,2007).
The discussion was organized for presenting a research paper titled ‘Depiction of women in television advertisement’ at the Academy for Planning and Development in the city The title of the topic was BANGLEDESH: Highlight women’s positive role, speakers urge mass media. Speakers at discussion want media outlets to portray women in a better light and they have stressed the need for highlighting women’s positive role in mass media as they are now playing significant role in the society.
They added “Women are portrayed very negatively in our mass media, such as housewife and cook who are busy with their household works, although in real life many women are engaged in various dignified jobs,”. Countering the point of those involved in advertising agencies said they don’t plan the advertisements considering the demand of the consumers, rather they prepare those for creating additional demands among them to sell their commodities. The summary of the discussion is: The research revealed that only 3. 05% percent advertisement broadcast in media is gender sensitive.
The speakers said women are depicted in advertisements in such a way where their economic role is neglected and domestic role highlighted. The media just reinforces prevailing thought pattern of the society and those who are involved in this industry are not conscious about the issue at all. The paper suggested that people involved in planning and producing advertisements must be aware of and sensitive to gender equity. For this, code of conduct for advertising agencies and workshops and training for media people are needed, it added.
Along with social change, role of women has been changing positively and media should focus on it. References: 1. ‘Magical Shadows: Women in the Bangladesh Media’ (AH Development Publishing House, 2008), Mrs. Anwara Begum 2. Dream girls: women in advertising – advertising history USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Jan, 1997 by Jan Kurtz 3. Bangladesh – Media Marketing of Beauty & Female Stereotypes By Hana Shams Ahmed 4. Highlight women’s positive role, speakers urge mass media by Mr. Tarun Udwala