Female power portrayals in advertising

Figures & data

Figure 1. Proposed typology.

Table 1. Name and publications date of magazines.

Magazine	Publication date	Number of issues considered
Better homes and gardens	October 2016	6
	November 2016
	March 2016
	September 2016
	August 2016
	February 2016
Vogue	August 2016	5
	November 2016
	December 2016
	June 2016
	July 2016
Glamour	October 2016	7
	August 2016
	March 2016
	April 2016
	November 2016
	December 2016
	July 2016
Woman’s day	September 2016	4
	November 2016
	March 2016
	October 2016
People	November 14th 2016	5
	November 28th 2016
	October 10th 2016
	October 17th 2016
	December 2016
	Woman’s health		October 2016	3
November 2016
May 2016
Cosmopolitan	October 2016	4
	August 2016
	September 2016
	July 2016
Men’s health	September 2016	6
	November 2016
	May 2016
	June 2016
	December 2016
	October 2016
Esquire	September 2016	2
	October 2016
Men’s fitness	November 2016	5
	April 2016
	July/August 2016
	Winter 2016
	Jan/Feb 2017
Time	April 21st 2016	12
	May 23rd 2016
	September 26th 2016
	October 3rd 2016
	October 17th 2016
	October 24th 2016
	October 31st 2016
	November 14th 2016
	November 21st 2016
	Nov 28-Dec 5 2016
	December 12th 2016
	December 19th 2016
GQ	February 2016	5
	June 2016
	August 2016
	January 2016
	October 2016
Good Housekeeping	July 2016	2
	September 2016
Maxim	April 2016	4
	June/July 2016
	August 2016
	October 2016
Style Watch	August 2016	1
In Style	September 2016	1

Table 2. Final stimuli, pile of 50 print ads.

Ad #	Magazine and issue	Brief description		Product and brand	Target
1	Woman’s Day March	A middle aged woman of colour in sweatpants and jacket sitting on a truck of fruit. She is laughing. The caption reads ‘Food for All’. ‘Hunger Hero’.		The kindness project	F
2	Woman’s Day March	A woman and her young daughter at her back, smiling at camera. Caption reads: ‘Unique as we are’.		Pandora Jewelry	F
3	Good Housekeeping July	A mom playing with her daughter. Caption reads ‘We give you your day back. What you do with it is up to you’.		Tylenol	F
4	Vogue June	A young family, with the woman smiling and staring at the camera and her partner and daughter looking at her.		Tiffany & Co. Ring	F
5	Vogue July	A woman is standing and looking into the sky, a young girl leaning on her.		Calvin Klein	F
6	Time May 23rd	A woman in casual professional look, wearing glasses and name tag, in a strong pose, looking at camera. Caption reads: ‘I want to be that woman who does what she loves’.		AARP	F/M
7*	People October 10th	A woman without much makeup in loose sweater and jeans sitting on a bench, smiling at the camera. Caption reads: ‘The better I can make it look, feel, and taste, the better I feel about it going out into the world’.		Johnsonville	F/M
8	Vogue July	A woman of color with big curly hair. The caption reads ‘My hair is a metaphor for myself. Each curl goes through so many twists and turns and stays strong- and it does what it wants. My hair is an individual’. #Loveyourhair		Dove	F
9	Glamour October	A woman in denim shirt (left unbuttoned), bared midriff, and jeans laughing at the camera. The caption reads ‘I can reinvent myself’.		American Eagle Outfitters	F
10	Time December 12th	A middle-aged woman in casual clothing smiling and playing ping pong with a younger girl.		Centrum (Multivitamin)	F/M
11	Glamour August			A young woman playing guitar on stage. The caption reads: ‘Why Skyla? Because my music is my baby right now’.	Skyla Birth control device	F
12	Glamour December			Two older women with captions as their stories. Caption reads: ‘These women embody the compassion and courage inherent in all women, and the difference all women can- and do- make every day. We believe their causes are a cause for celebration’.	Womensofworth.com	F
13	Better Homes and Gardens November			A woman in a blouse and jeans posing strongly, standing on railroad tracks while train is coming her way.	MyChronicMigraine.com	F
14	In Style September			Two young women of different races in jeans and t-shirts posing, pointing at their strong arm muscles. The caption reads ‘ARMOR UP with NEXPLANON’, ‘Your life your way’.	NEXPLANON (pregnancy prevention)	F
15*	Glamour December			A curvy woman in a suit standing and laughing.	Lane Bryant	F
16	Time May 23			A woman of color in a casual suit in an office working while below her there is a picture of a young boy sleeping. Caption reads: ‘Ingenuity keeps her city’s power on and conquers his fear of the dark’.	Siemens	F/M
17	Woman’s Day May			A female doctor wearing lab coat and stethoscope, laughing. Caption reads ‘An X-ray doesn’t see you as a person. I DO’.	Doctors That Do	F
18	Men’s Fitness Nov			A fit woman posing in a sport bra showing off arms and ab muscles. Her name and position in the company is written below the image. She is mother of two and team Nutrishop director. The caption reads ‘Create your dream job’.	Nutrishop	M
19	Women’s Day September			A woman in a lab coat holds the product and points to it. Her name and job (pharmacist) is written below the product.	Nature made Vitamin C	F
20	Better Homes and Gardens November			Martha Stewart standing in a party in the middle of a group. She is the center of a group and smiling at the camera.	Martha Stewart dishware and Macy’s	F
21	Woman’s Health November			Woman eating product off plate with the product box close to it. She is sitting on a desk in casual business clothing and a lot of papers and charts and graphs around her. The picture shows an office context. She is reading a magazine, eating, and smiling.	Minute Brown rice and quinoa	F
22	Men’s Health October			A woman holding credit card with a confident pose and smile. She is wearing business casual clothing.	Capital One	M
23	Time September 28th			Two news anchors (male and female) in strong pose. The captions reads ‘The Firebrands’.	MSNBC	F/M
24	Time October 17th			A woman of color as a teacher in a classroom. Caption reads ‘My income will increase 20% with every year I stay in school’.	Peace Corps Let girls learn	F/M
25	Woman’s Health October			A non-Caucasian in a sports bra and sweaty staring at the camera in a strong physical pose. Caption reads ‘I am pure will’. #IAMPURE	ISOPURE	F
26	Woman’s Health October			Two women building a wooden fence in shirts which reads ‘volunteer’. Caption reads ‘Some mountains make us better. Some make the world better’.	Coors Light	F
27	Glamour October			An athletic woman in sport bra and shorts and a firefighter coat standing. Caption reads her name, signature, and ‘firefighter shows courage is serving something greater than yourself’. And ‘SHOW’EM WHAT’S UNDERNEATH’. #ShowEm	Jockey	F
28	Shape Winter			And athletic woman in sports bra and shorts doing pull-ups. Captions reads ‘BE FITTER’.	bpi sports	F
29	Glamour December			A female goal keeper jumping to catch the ball thrown at her. Caption reads ‘Because I’m a woman do you think I’m going to crack under pressure or conquer the field?’	Always	F
30	Woman’s Health October			An athletic woman in sports bra and tennis skirts playing tennis in a powerful posture. Caption reads ‘I am pure Drive’. #IAMPURE	ISOPURE	F
31	Cosmopolitan August			A woman in boxing gloves.	Lonsdale	F
32	Glamour November			A woman with green eyes and green nail polish staring at the camera with her fingers touching her lips.	L’oreal Mascara	F
33	Glamour October			A woman of color in a seductive pose.	Vaseline Unilever	F
34*	Esquire September			A woman in a casual suit gazes off the picture. The caption reads ‘Just the right amount of wrong’.	Autograph Collection Hotels	M
35	Esquire September			A woman half-naked sitting on sheets and smiling at the camera.	Charlotte Chesnais Jewelry	M
36*	Vogue December			A woman of color with curly hair wearing a jacket staring at camera with a slight smile.	Banana Republic	F
37	People October 10th			Supergirl standing and staring at the camera with clenched fist posture.	SuperGirl television series	F/M
38*	Vogue August			A woman in a dress and heels running.	Louis Vuitton	F
39	Cosmopolitan September			A woman is running in a sweater and running pants.	Playtex Sport liners	F
40	People December 19th			A woman fully clothed in yoga pants and long sleeve shirt in a balance yoga posture. Caption reads: ‘Pain? Use Arnicare© gel and feel better faster’.	Arnicare Gel	F/M
41*	In Style September			A woman sitting on a chair in pantsuit, holding a purse staring at camera.	Kate Spade	F
42*	Esquire September			A woman in a black gown standing in the middle of a lake holding a branch of tree.	Moncler	M
43*	Glamour December			Four women in formal gowns posing as models. Caption reads ‘put gorgeous skin on your holiday list’.	European Wax Center	F
44*	Vogue August			A female and male model standing next to each other with their arms folded and staring out of the scene.	Loewe Dress	F
45	Glamour October			A woman in denim jacket, pants, and no top. The caption reads ‘I can fear nothing’.	American Eagle Outfitters	F
46	Glamour October			A woman in briefs, a jacket on her front, and bare back, laughing. The caption reads ‘In for the win. I work out I want a nice butt’.	McQ Jacket Jill Stuart briefs	F
47	People November 28			A woman of color holding a lollipop and standing in confident posture. The caption reads: ‘periods can suck it!’	The Diva Cup	F/M
48*	Glamour December			A woman in fishing attire and a fishing rod in her hand at a lake with mountains.	J. Crew	F
49	Men’s Health October			A woman in business casual clothing smiling and driving a Lincoln car. Caption reads ‘It’s like leaving the office early on Friday. And coming back on a Wednesday’.	The Lincoln Company	M
50	Women’s’ Health October			A woman surfing on waves coming out of a big tire. Smaller picture of the same woman standing in front of a truck. Caption reads ‘Grip the Moment’.	Falken Tires	F

*Ad numbers with asterisk show ads which were neutral in power.

Table 3. Characteristics of subjects in the sample (study 1).

	Male				Female
	20–29	30–39	40–49	50+	20–29	30–39	40–49	50+	Total
Without college degree	2	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	11
With college degree	2	3	1	1	2	3	1	1	14
Total	12				13				25

Table 4. Characteristics of subjects in the sample (study 2).

Participant ID	Gender	Age group	Education
R1	Male	25–34	Bachelor’s degree
R2	Female	18–24	Master’s degree
R3	Female	25–34	Bachelor’s degree
R4	Male	35–44	Doctorate degree
R5	Male	35–44	Master’s degree
R6	Female	25–34	Bachelor’s degree
R7	Female	45–54	Bachelor’s degree
R8	Female	45–54	Master’s degree
R9	Female	25–34	Doctorate degree
R10	Female	25–34	Some college
R11	Female	55–64	Some college
R12	Male	45–54	Some college
R13	Female	18–24	Some college
R14	Male	55–64	Doctorate degree
R15	Female	18–24	Some college
R16	Female	18–24	Some college
R17	Male	25–34	Bachelor’s degree
R18	Male	18–24	Some college

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available.