A content analysis of male roles in television advertising: Do traditional roles still hold?

Abstract

Analysis of male roles in television advertising is limited. In order to remedy this, our research serves as a catalyst by providing a review of the current literature, conducting a preliminary examination of male roles in television advertising, and discussing ways for this area of research to move forward in the future. Specifically, the study conducted in this paper examines television advertising to provide insight on the depiction of males, the portrayed relations between males and other individuals, and how these depictions may have changed from 2003 to 2008. Male depictions in lead roles are contrasted using 907 primetime commercials from 2003 and 961 commercials from 2008 from the four major US broadcasting networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX). Results suggest that some aspects of male depictions in advertising are counter to, while other aspects are reflective of, the changing gender roles occurring in society.

Keywords::

• male gender roles
• stereotypes
• commercials
• content analysis

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Richard Kolbe for his valuable input and guidance. Furthermore, special thanks to both Richard Kolbe and Darrel Muehling for supplying the 2003 data used in the study.

Notes

^1.[email protected]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kendra Fowler

Kendra Fowler is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Oh, USA. Before obtaining her Ph.D. in Marketing at Kent State University, she was the senior marketing research analyst for a daily newspaper and worked as a freelance research consultant. Her primary teaching and research interests include services marketing and retailing.

Veronica Thomas

Veronica Thomas is an Assistant Professor at Towson University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.B.A. from Kent State University and conducts research focusing on consumer-brand relationships. Specifically, she studies how variables such as social groups, word-of-mouth, and consumers' self-concepts impact the relationships that consumers form with brands. Dr. Thomas currently teaches courses in International Marketing and Consumer Behavior.