Explore how advertising has changed over the years in our new blog series.
Stricter regulations on advertising campaigns are set to be introduced in the UK in 2018 and are already in place in many other countries. We thought it was a great time to take a look back at how advertising has changed over the years and the direction it鈥檚 heading in for the future.
To kick things off, we鈥檙e exploring adverts that include gender stereotyping and look at the way male and female targeted ads have developed over the years.
Back to the 1800s鈥
Since advertising began we’ve been bombarded with visuals of the 鈥済ood housewife鈥 spending her days cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children. Like this ad from 1893 鈥 if only there were a washing powder that actually reduced cleaning time by 6 hours鈥
Things hadn鈥檛 really improved by the 1950s鈥
So, while the women were busy at home making it sparkle for their husbands, where were the men? They were at work of course, spending their time making money so they could buy their wives nice presents like this…
And it wasn鈥檛 just about cleaning. As we moved into the 1970s, companies like Dacron menswear took it upon themselves to create promotional adverts for their trousers showing women quite literally being used as doormats! The trousers apparently had the power to 鈥榝loor鈥 a woman with just one look鈥
By the turn of the millennium the 鈥榮tupidity鈥 of men was added to the mix鈥
It鈥檚 not just women who鈥檝e been the subject of belittling advertisement. In recent years, there鈥檚 been a 180-degree flip from the 1950鈥檚 representation of women as the 鈥榮tupid鈥 or 鈥榠ncapable鈥 member of the household. Instead, in recent years men have been depicted as having little or no ability to complete simple, everyday tasks. We鈥檙e seeing countless fathers struggling to cook a meal or sitting helplessly as the kids make a mess. Fathers who, with their lack of cleaning skills, remain completely at the mercy of their wives who are their only hope of escaping from the chaos鈥
In 2012, Huggies launched their 鈥楧ad test鈥 campaign which was designed to target 鈥榬eal dads鈥 with their babies and show how good their nappies and wet wipes perform. But their message was pretty misconstrued and the company received who were outraged by the ads. Instead of showing the intended message that their products can 鈥榟andle anything鈥, the ads simply made it seem like these dads had no idea about taking care of their children.
Now, Huggies responded well and revamped their campaign based on the feedback they received, but this just goes to show how much of an impact stereotyping in an ad campaign really has.
鈥nd a little bit of objectification for good measure
And there鈥檚 more. that advertisers of today are displaying men as 鈥渆ither dumb or pretty鈥 and, as we covered the 鈥榙umb鈥 aspect above, let鈥檚 take a look at 鈥榩retty鈥. This is all about the sexualisation of men and depicting them as nothing more than a sexual object. One example of a modern day ad that firstly targets women and secondly sexualises men is the 鈥楪ardener-Diet Coke commercial:
So, where does that leave us?
It鈥檚 fair to say that we as a society and our advertising campaigns have moved on somewhat in the last 60 years. But that doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檙e in any way innocent of stereotyping in our advertisements. Gender stereotyping is still very much present, it鈥檚 just done in more subtle and less obvious ways, as ad agencies have changed their strategies so they can still target products to specific genders without an immediate outcry.
Take this ad from DB Export鈥檚 campaign, led by the very much non-gender-stereotyping strapline 鈥渢he beer that saved men from wine鈥. If ever there were a statement to head up a campaign that labels beer as a drink strictly for men and emasculates wine drinkers, this is it.
Fortunately for us, key bodies in the world of advertising are cracking down on gender stereotyping and pushing for more gender neutral approaches to advertising. We鈥檙e already seeing leading brands like Nike creating empowering adverts for women鈥檚 fitness, and John Lewis leading the way in the retail world with its gender neutral children鈥檚 clothing range.
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