Violence in Television Advertising: Content Analysis and Audience Attitudes

Abstract

This article features a cross-cultural examination of the presentation of violence in advertising and a description of public opinion trends concerning the appearance of this material in mainstream TV commercials. A content analysis of 1,785 American ads and 1,467 Israeli ads maps the representation of violence in TV advertising in the two countries and finds it present in 2.5% of the American advertisements and in 1.5% of the Israeli advertisements. The most frequently depicted conduct in the two countries is bare-handed assault. Sexual violence is not presented at all. A public opinion survey shows that concerns over the appearance of violence in advertising are correlated with an exaggerated estimation of its prevalence, and, specifically, an overestimation of the frequency of vandalism and assaults that use a cold weapon.

Notes

¹Among the public service announcements that were not analyzed, there was not even one instance of violent conduct.

²The stipulated length of commercial breaks does not include time devoted to promotional clips for programs.

³Four cases, where the coders remained divided in their opinion after discussion, were resolved by the author.

^a N = 1,785.

^b N = 1,467.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

⁴Because in Israel the only major stations that are allowed to air commercials are Channel 2 and Channel 10, whose broadcasts were recorded and coded, the figures drawn from our content analysis properly represent the gamut of violence in Israeli advertising.

^a N = 44.

^b N = 21.

*p < .05.