Gender representation in advertising

1) Find three adverts featuring women that are from the 1950s or 1960s. Save the images to your Media folder as jpegs and then import them into your blog post. Hint: You may wish to look at car, perfume or cleaning products but can use any product you wish.

2) Find three adverts featuring women that are from post-2000. Save the images to your Media folder as jpegs and then import them into your blog post.

3) What stereotypes of women can you find in the 1950s and 1960s adverts? Give specific examples.

 Women were portrayed as housewives whose primary role was to maintain a clean house, cook meals, and care for the family. Success was measured by how well they could perform domestic duties The tagline You mean a woman can open it? from a Del Monte ketchup ad suggests that products should make household tasks easier for women Tide detergent ads often showed women smiling while doing laundry, with slogans like Keeps your family looking their best.Women were shown as dependent on men for financial support, protection, and decision-making. They were depicted as less knowledgeable or capable than men.A 1950s Kelloggs Cornflakes ad showed a husband teaching his wife how to properly pour cereal, implying that even basic tasks required male guidance.

4) What stereotypes of women can you find in the post-2000s adverts? Give specific examples.

Women are shown as juggling careers, household responsibilities, and child-rearing with effortless perfection, often idealizing an impossible standard. Ads for cleaning products like febreze or lysol often depict mothers keeping the home spotless while caring for children, reinforcing the idea that cleanliness is primarily a woman’s responsibility.A 2010s pampers ad showed a mother lovingly caring for her baby, with little to no emphasis on a father’s role in parenting.Women's value is linked to their physical appearance, and they are encouraged to achieve impossible beauty standards.loreal. Because you're worth it campaign, while empowering in tone, still emphasizes the importance of using beauty products to maintain societal standards of attractiveness

5) How do your chosen adverts suggest representations of gender have changed over the last 60 years?

 Women were often portrayed as submissive, dependent on men, and confined to domestic roles. For example, Van Heusen tie ads depicted women serving men, reinforcing male dominance. Women are increasingly shown as empowered, independent, and successful in both personal and professional spheres. For instance, Nike’s Dream Crazier ad celebrates female athletes breaking barriers. However, some portrayals can still feel tokenistic or exploitative, as empowerment is often linked to consumption. Beauty-focused ads targeted women with narrow ideals of attractiveness, often emphasizing perfection to appeal to men. For example, Listerine ads warned women that bad breath could make them undesirable.There is a growing trend toward inclusivity and celebrating diverse beauty, as seen in Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, which features women of different shapes, sizes, and ethnicities. However, the emphasis on appearance remains central in many ads.