Representation of children and families in TV toy advertisements: a comparative study of Israel, Britain, and Spain

ABSTRACT

This article offers a comparative overview of the representation of children and families in TV toy advertisements in Israel, Britain and Spain. It focuses on identifying the similarities and differences between the ads tasked with representing children in relation to specific products in different cultural environments. To a lesser extent, the article contributes, through its data, to exploring how advertisements adapt to each of the social and cultural realities in countries with different cultures.

KEYWORDS:

• Advertising
• toys
• children
• family
• television
• Israel
• Britain
• Spain

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Carmit-Noa Shpigelman (University of Haifa) for inviting us for a research stay and to the COST INTERFASOL (EU) action for financing the research stay.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Office for National Statistics, 2019.

2. INE, 2019.

3. Central Bureau of Statistics, 2020.

4. Nichols, Nixon and Rowsell, “The ‘Good’ Parent,” 65.

5. Nelson et al., “How Media and Family,” 165.

6. Jayasinghe, “Video Ethnography, Researcher Reflexivity,” 26.

7. Jayasinghe and Ritson, “Everyday Advertising Context,” 104.

8. See note 5 above.

9. Martínez-Pastor, Nicolás and Salas, “Gender Representation in Advertising,” 187.

10. Gee and Jackson, “Leisure Corporations, Beer Brand,” 83.

11. Pashupati and Vasavada-Oza, “Toys, Brown Powders,” 73.

12. Bush and Furnham, “Gender Jenga,” 216.

13. Ulrich and Ezan, “Boys and Dolls,” 1047.

14. Zegaï, “La mise en scène”, 35.

15. See note 12 above.

16. Landreth and Zotos, “Gender Stereotypes in Advertising,” 761.

17. Marshall et al, “From Overt Provider to Invisible Presence,” 1654.

18. Infoadex, “Libro Técnico 2013.”

19. “The Children’s Toy.”

20. Holbrook and Batra, “Assessing the Role of Emotions,” 404; and Izard, Human Emotions; and Kleinginna and Kleinginna, “A Categorized List of,” 345.

21. Kahlenberg and Hein, “Progression on Nickelodeon,” 830; and Blakemore and Centers, “Characteristics of Boys,” 619.

22. Moreno. Narrativa audiovisual Publicitaria, 29.

23. Ibid., 36.

24. Jayasinghe, “Video Ethnography, Researcher Reflexivity,” 26.

25. Jayasinghe and Ritson, “Everyday Advertising Context,” 104.

26. Nichols, Nixon and Rowsell, “The ‘Good’ Parent,” 65.

27. See note 10 above.

28. See note 11 above.

29. Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences.

30. Ferrés, Educar en una cultura.

31. See note 12 above.

32. See note 10 above.

33. See note 11 above.

34. See note 5 above.

35. Gaitán, Sociología de la infancia.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Esther Martínez-Pastor

Esther Martínez-Pastor is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Communication Science, Rey Juan Carlos University.

Miguel Ángel Nicolás-Ojeda

Miguel Ángel Nicolás-Ojeda is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Communication and Documentation Sciences, Murcia University.