Johnson And Young - Gender Voices In Children's Advertising

Question 1

How do cooperations increase their sales through advertising

Answer 1

1) Learning through associate - Eat this and you will look like this attractive young woman
2) Operant conditions - reward of friends if u drink this
3) Role models - David Beckham weakening CK

Question 2

Aim

Answer 2

To determine whether scripts of TV ads differs for each gender of school age children, linking toys to stereotypical roles

Question 3

Research method and design

Answer 3

Context analysis (turning qualitative data into quantitive) and discourse analysis (analysis focused on vocabulary and tone)

Question 4

Which four elements of the gendered voice were focused in on?

Answer 4

• Voice overs
• Verb elements
• Speaking lines given to girls and boys
• Attractiveness of word power in a number of adverts orientated to boys

Question 5

Which type of ads were focused on?

Answer 5

Toys

Question 6

What were the 3 categories the adverts were split in to to allocate gender target audience?

Answer 6

1) Boy targeted - where boys were seen
2) Girl targeted - where girls were seen
3) Gender neutral - both genders featured or no genders featured

Question 7

Quantity of each advert type

Answer 7

Boy-orientated ads were seen the most, followed by girl-orientated ads. Hardly any neutral ads

Question 8

How did the names of toys differ?

Answer 8

Name of boy toys stressed size and action

Name of girls toys stressed caring roles such as a mother

Question 9

Types of toys advertised

Answer 9

For boys - action figures and playful weapons

For girls - ‘posable figures’

Question 10

Voice over results

Answer 10

A male voice was heard in every boy- orientated and neutral adverts.
Vast majority of the voice overs in girl-orientated ads contained female voices, but some contained male voice overs

Question 11

Age of voice overs

Answer 11

Adults but 12 ads

Question 12

How was exaggerated gander stylisation used in ads?

Answer 12

Boys - Deep, loud and aggressive voices
Girls - high pitched and sing-song voices
Not common for neutral ads

Question 13

Verb elements

Answer 13

Boys - competition or destruction

Girls - nurturing and feeling

Question 14

Verb elements in neutral ads

Answer 14

Gender relations - boys dominant and strong, girls are submissive, weak and gossipy

Question 15

Word use of power

Answer 15

21% of boy orientated ads contained the word ‘power’ or ‘powerful’.
Power was used once in a girls orientated ad

Question 16

Stereotypical characters

Answer 16

Gender stereotypes underline ads as they show males and females in traditional gender stereotypical discourse

Question 17

Why do ad companies use stereotypical roles?

Answer 17

Resilience on historically successful marketing strategies or profitability on making gender specific toys

Question 18

Sample

Answer 18

TV adverts from cartoon genres aimed at school kids from US commercial networks and regional networks and Nickelodeon