Fluent Essays

How, according to John Fiske, is television programming gendered?Why is male camaraderie such a common motif in “men’s men” advertising, according to Craig?What roles do women tend to play in the two types of commercials aimed at men? What roles do men tend to play in the two types of commercials aimed at women?Why does Craig believe that “a threat to patriarchy is an economic threat” (para. 30)? men_s_men_and_women_s_women.docx Unformatted Attachment Preview CREATING CONSUMERS STEVE CRAIG Men’s Men and Women’s Women Men and women both drink beer, but you wouldn’t guess that from the television ads that pitch beer as a guy beverage and associate beer drinking with such guy things as fishing trips, bars, and babes. Conversely, both men and women can find themselves a few pounds overweight, but you wouldn’t know that from the ads, which almost always feature women, as they are intended to appeal to women dieters. In this selection, Steve Craig provides a step-by-step analysis of four TV commercials, showing how advertisers carefully craft their ads to appeal, respectively, to male and female consumers. A professor in the department of radio, television, and film at the University of North Texas, Craig has written widely on television, radio history, and gender and media. Gender and the Economics of Television Advertising The economic structure of the television industry has a direct effect on the placement and content of all television programs and commercials. Large advertisers and their agencies have evolved the pseudo-scientific method of time purchasing based on demographics, with the age and sex of the consumer generally considered to be the most important predictors of purchasing behavior. Computers make it easy to match market research on product buying patterns with audience research on television viewing habits. Experience, research, and intuition thus yield a demographic (and even psychographic) profile of the “target audience.” Advertisers can then concentrate their budgets on those programs which the target audience is most likely to view. The most economical advertising buys are those in which the target audience is most concentrated (thus, the less “waste” audience the advertiser must purchase) (Barnouw, 1978; Gitlin, 1983; Jhally, 1987). Good examples of this demographic targeting can be seen by contrasting the ads seen on daytime television, aimed at women at home, with those on weekend sports telecasts. Ads for disposable diapers are virtually never seen during a football game any more than commercials for beer are seen during soap operas. True, advertisers of some products simply wish to have their commercials seen by the largest number of consumers at the lowest cost without regard to age, sex, or other demographic descriptors, but most consider this approach far too inefficient for the majority of products. A general rule of thumb in television advertising, then, is that daytime is the best time to reach the woman who works at home. Especially important to advertisers among this group is the young mother with children. Older women, who also make up a significant proportion of the daytime audience, are generally considered less important by many advertisers in the belief that they spend far less money on consumer goods than young mothers. Prime time (the evening hours) is considered a good time to reach women who work away from home, but since large numbers of men are also in the audience, it can also be a good time to advertise products with wider target audiences. Weekend sports periods (and, in season, “Monday Night Football”) are the only time of the week when men outnumber women in the television audience, and therefore, become the optimum time for advertising products and services aimed at men. Gendered Television, Gendered Commercials In his book Television Culture (1987, Chs. 10, 11), John Fiske discusses “gendered television,” explaining that the television industry successfully designs some programs for men and others for women. Clearly, program producers and schedulers must consider the target audience needs of their clients (the advertisers) in creating a television program lineup. The gendering of programming allows the industry to provide the proper audience for advertisers by constructing shows pleasurable for the target audience to watch, and one aspect of this construction is in the gender portrayals of characters. Fiske provides the following example: Women’s view of masculinity, as evidenced in soap operas, differs markedly from that produced for the masculine audience. The “good” male in the daytime soaps is caring, nurturing, and verbal. He is prone to making comments like “I don’t care about material wealth or professional success, all I care about is us and our relationship.” He will talk about feelings and people and rarely express his masculinity in direct action. Of course, he is still decisive, he still has masculine power, but that power is given a “feminine” inflection. . . . The “macho” characteristics of goal centeredness, assertiveness, and the morality of the strongest that identify the hero in masculine television, tend here to be characteristics of the villain. (p. 186) But if the programming manipulates gender portrayals to please the audience, then surely so must the commercials that are the programs’ reason for being. My previous research (Craig, 1990) supports the argument that advertisers also structure the gender images in their commercials to match the expectations and fantasies of their intended audience. Thus, commercials portraying adult women with children were nearly four times more likely to appear during daytime soap operas than during weekend sports (p. 50). Daytime advertisers exploit the image of women as mothers to sell products to mothers. Likewise, during the weekend sports broadcasts, only 18 percent of the primary male characters were shown at home, while during the daytime ads, 40 percent of them were (p. 42). For the woman at home, men are far more likely to be portrayed as being around the house than they are in commercials aimed at men on weekends. Gendered commercials, like gendered programs, are designed to give pleasure to the target audience, since it is the association of the product with a pleasurable experience that forms the basis for much American television advertising. Yet patriarchy conditions males and females to seek their pleasure differently. Advertisers therefore portray different images to men and women in order to exploit the different deep-seated motivations and anxieties connected to gender identity. I would now like to turn to a close analysis of four television commercials to illustrate some of these differing portrayals. Variations in how men and women are portrayed are especially apparent when comparing weekend and daytime commercials, since ads during these day parts almost completely focus on a target audience of men or women respectively. Analysis of Four Commercials In order to illustrate the variation of gender portrayal, I have chosen four commercials. Each was selected to provide an example of how men and women are portrayed to themselves and to the other sex. The image of men and women in commercials aired during weekend sports telecasts I call “Men’s Men” and “Men’s Women.” The portrayals of men and women in commercials aimed at women at home during the daytime hours I call “Women’s Men” and “Women’s Women.” Although there are certainly commercials aired during these day parts that do not fit neatly into these categories, and even a few that might be considered to be counter-stereotypical in their gender portrayals, the commercials and images I have chosen to analyze are fairly typical and were chosen to permit a closer look at the practices revealed in my earlier content analysis. Further, I acknowledge that the readings of these commercials are my own. Others may well read them differently. Men’s Men I would first like to consider two commercials originally broadcast during weekend sports and clearly aimed at men. (These and the other commercials I will discuss were broadcast on at least one of the three major networks. I recorded them for analysis during January 1990.) COMMERCIAL 1: ACURA INTEGRA (:30) MUSIC: Light rock guitar music runs throughout. Tropical elements (e.g., a steel drum) are added later. A young, white, blond, bespectacled male wearing a plain sweatshirt is shown cleaning out the interior of a car. He finds an old photograph of himself and two male companions (all are young, slender, and white) posing with a trophy-sized sailfish. He smiles. Dissolve to what appears to be a flashback of the fishing trip. The three men are now seen driving down the highway in the car (we now see that it is a new black Acura Integra) in a Florida-like landscape. We see a montage of close-ups of the three men inside the car, then a view out the car window of what looks to be the Miami skyline. ANNOUNCER (male): “When you think about all the satisfaction you get out of going places . . . why would you want to take anything less . . .” Dissolve to a silhouette shot of a young woman in a bathing suit walking along the beach at sunset. ANNOUNCER: “. . . than America’s most satisfying car?” On this last line, the three young men are seen in silhouette knee-deep in the water at the same beach, apparently watching the woman pass. One of the men drops to his knees and throws his arms up in mock supplication. A montage of shots of the three men follows, shots of a deep-sea fishing boat intercut with shots of the first man washing the car. The montage ends with the three posing with the trophy sailfish. The screen flashes and freezes and becomes the still photo seen at the first shot of the commercial. The final shot shows a long shot of the car, freshly washed. The first man, dressed as in the first shot, gives the car a final polish and walks away. The words “Acura” and “Precision Crafted Performance” are superimposed over the final shot. ANNOUNCER: “The Acura Integra.” This ad, which ran during a weekend sports telecast, has a number of features that makes it typical of many other commercials aimed at men. First, it is for an automobile. My previous research found that 29 percent of the network commercials telecast in the weekend time period were for cars and other automotive products (compared to only 1 percent during the daytime sample) (Craig, 1990, p. 36). In our culture, automobiles are largely the male’s province, and men are seen by the automotive industry as the primary decision makers when it comes to purchases. Further, cars are frequently offered as a means of freedom (literally so in this ad), and escapism is an important component in many weekend ads (only 16 percent of weekend ads are set at home compared to 41 percent of daytime ads) (p. 43). Second, with the exception of a brief silhouette of the woman on the beach, there are no women in this commercial. Camaraderie in all-male or nearly all-male groupings is a staple of weekend commercials, especially those for automobiles and beer. Again, my earlier research indicates that fully one-third of weekend commercials have an all-adult male cast (but only 20 percent of daytime commercials have an all-adult female cast) (p. 36). The escapism and male camaraderie promised in this commercial are simply an extension of the escapism and camaraderie men enjoy when they watch (and vicariously participate in) weekend sports on television. Messner (1987) suggests that one reason for the popularity of sports with men is that it offers them a chance to escape from the growing ambiguity of masculinity in daily life. Both on a personal/existential level for athletes and on a symbolic/ideological level for spectators and fans, sport has become one of the “last bastions” of male power and superiority over — and separation from — the “feminization” of society. The rise of football as “America’s number-one game” is likely the result of the comforting clarity it provides between the polarities of traditional male power, strength, and violence and the contemporary fears of social feminization. (p. 54) The Acura commercial acts to reinforce male fantasies in an environment of clear masculinity and male domination. Men’s men are frequently portrayed as men without women. The presence of women in the commercials might serve to threaten men’s men with confusing uncertainty about the nature of masculinity in a sexist, but changing, society (Fiske, 1987, pp. 202–209, offers an extended psychoanalytic explanation of the absence of women in masculine television). On the other hand, the absence of women must not suggest homosexuality. Men’s men are clearly heterosexual. To discourage any suspicions, the Acura ad portrays three (rather than two) men vacationing together. It is also at least partly for this reason that the single quick shot in which the woman does appear in this commercial is important. She is nothing more than an anonymous object of desire (indeed, in silhouette, we cannot even see her face), but her presence both affirms the heterosexuality of the group while at the same time hinting that attaining sexual fulfillment will be made easier by the possession of the car. Men’s men have the unchallenged freedom of a fantasized masculinity — to travel, to be free from commitment, to seek adventure. Men’s Women COMMERCIAL 2: MILLER BEER (:30) We see the interior of a cheap roadside cafe. It is lit with an almost blinding sunlight streaming in the windows. A young couple sits in a far booth holding hands. A young, blond waitress is crossing the room. A silent jukebox sits in the foreground. At first we hear only natural sounds. We cut to a close-up from a low angle from outside the cafe of male legs as they enter the cafe. The legs are clad in blue jeans and cowboy boots. As the man enters, we cut to a close-up of the blond waitress looking up to see the man. We see a close-up of the man’s body as he passes the silent jukebox. As if by magic, the jukebox begins to play the rhythm and blues number “I Put a Spell on You.” We see the couple that was holding hands turn in surprise. The man in the booth’s face is unlit and we can see no features, but the woman is young with long blond hair. She looks surprised and pulls her hand away from the man’s. We cut to an extreme close- up of the waitress’s face. It is covered with sweat. As she watches the man pass, a smile appears on her face. She comes over to take the man’s order. The camera takes the man’s point of view. MAN: “Miller Genuine Draft.” WAITRESS: “I was hopin’ you’d say that.” We see a shot of a refrigerator door opening. The refrigerator is filled with sweating, backlit bottles of Miller beer. We then see a close-up of the man holding a bottle and opening it magically with a flick of his thumb (no opener). A montage of shots of the product amid blowing snow follows this. The sounds of a blizzard are heard. ANNOUNCER: “Cold filtered. Never heat pasteurized. Miller Genuine Draft. For those who discover this real draft taste . . . the world is a very cool place.” On this last line we see close-ups of the woman in the booth and the waitress. Wind is blowing snow in their faces and they are luxuriating in the coolness. The waitress suddenly looks at the camera with shocked disappointment. We cut to an empty seat with the man’s empty beer bottle rocking on the table. The music, snow, and wind end abruptly. We see the man’s back as he exits the cafe. The final shot is of the waitress, elbow propped on the counter, looking after the man. The words “Tap into the Cold” are superimposed. When women do appear in men’s commercials, they seldom challenge the primary masculine fantasy. Men’s women are portrayed as physically attractive, slim, and usually young and white, frequently blond, and almost always dressed in revealing clothing. Since most men’s commercials are set in locations away from home, most men’s women appear outside the home, and only infrequently are they portrayed as wives. There are almost always hints of sexual availability in men’s women, but this is seldom played out explicitly. Although the sexual objectification of women characters in these ads is often quite subtle, my previous content analysis suggests that it is far more common in weekend than in daytime ads (Craig, 1990, p. 34). Men’s women are also frequently portrayed as admirers (and at times, almost voyeurs), generally approving of some aspect of product use (the car he drives, the beer he drinks, the credit card he uses). In these respects, the Miller ad is quite typical. What might have been a simple commercial about a man ordering and drinking a beer becomes an elaborate sexual fantasy, in many respects constructed like a porn film. The attractive, eager waitress is mystically drawn to the man who relieves her bored frustrations with an orgasmic chug-a-lug. She is “hot” while he (and the beer) is “very cool.” But once he’s satisfied, he’s gone. He’s too cool for conversation or commitment. We never see the man’s face, but rather are invited, through the use of the point-of-view shot, to become a participant in the mystic fantasy. There is, of course, considerable tongue-in-cheek intent in this ad. Males know that the idea of anonymous women lusting after them, eager for sex without commitment, is fantasy. But for many men, it is pleasurable fantasy, and common enough in weekend commercials. The main point is that the product has been connected, however briefly, with the pleasure of this fantasy. The physical pleasure of consuming alcohol (and specifically cold Miller beer) is tied to the pleasurable imaginings of a narrative extended beyond that which is explicitly seen. One industry executive has explained this advertising technique. Noting the need for “an imaginary and motivating value” in ads, Nicolas (1988) argues that: Beyond the principle of utility, it becomes more and more important to associate a principle of pleasure to the value. The useful must be linked to the beautiful, the rational to the imaginary, the indispensable to the superfluous. . . . It is imperative that the image be seductive. (p. 7) Although some research has documented changes in gender portrayals in television advertising over the past few years (e.g., Bretl & Cantor, 1988; Ferrante et al., 1988), such conclusions are based on across-the-schedule studies or of prime time rather than of specifically gendered day parts. While avoiding portraying women as blatant sex objects is doubtless good business in daytime or prime time, it would almost certainly inhibit male fantasies such as this one, commonly seen during weekend sports. The man’s woman continues to be portrayed according to the rules of the patriarchy. The next two commercials were originally aired during daytime soap operas. They represent Madison Avenue’s portrayal of women and men designed for women. Women’s Women COMMERCIAL 3: WEIGHT WATCHERS (:30) The opening shot is a quick pan from toe to head of a young, thin, white woman with dark hair. She is dressed in a revealing red bathing suit and appears to be reclining on the edge of a pool. Her head is propped up with a pillow. She is wearing sunglasses and smiling. ANNOUNCER (woman, voice-over): “I hate diets . . . but I lost weight fast with Weight Watchers’ new program.” We see the same woman sitting at a dining table in a home kitchen eating a meal. She is wearing a red dress. The camera weaves, and we briefly glimpse a man and two small children also at the table. Another close-up of the woman’s body at the pool. This time the camera frames her waist. ANNOUNCER: “And I hate starving myself.” We see the same family group eating pizza at a restaurant. More close-ups of the woman’s body at poolside. ANNOUNCER: “But with their new ‘fast and flexible’ program I don’t have to.” Shot of the woman dancing with the man, followed by a montage of more shots of the family at dinner and close-ups of the woman at poolside. ANNOUNCER: “A new food plan lets me live the way I want . . . eat with my family and friends, still have fun.” Close-up shot of balance scales. A woman’s ... 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