The Self
What is the Self Concept?
72% of men and
85% of women are
unhappy with at
least one aspect of
their appearance
Many products are
bought because
people are trying to
highlight or hide
some aspect of the
self
Which of the following has caused
you to have a bad day?
•Skin Problems
(12%)
•Clothes you had on
(11%)
•How your hair looked (77%)
If you could make only one change
with your hair, what would it be?
•More attractive color (3%)
•Be thicker/fuller
(93%)
•Less or more curly
(5%)
At which occasions have you wished you had a better hair day?
•Wedding (4%)
•College/High School Reunion (1%)
•Night out on the town (12%)
•Business meeting (3%)
•Everyday (79%)
Self-Esteem
Self Esteem refers
to the positivity of
one's attitudes
towards self
Consumer's feeling
about themselves
shape their
consumption practices
Self-Esteem Marketing
Self Esteem Slogans
Diet Coke "Live your life" — or, in other
words, drink it because you just feel good
about it - not to lose weight
Apple computer: "The Power to Be Your
Best.“
Charles Atlas "You Too Can Have A
Body Like Mine.“
Camay soap "You are in a Beauty
Contest Every Day of your Life.”
Gillette: “The best a man can get." \
Dasani: "Treat yourself well.
Everyday."
The real and the Ideal
The Gap
creates a
tension
The Real - the reality of
who we are
The Ideal - who we
would like to be.
Products are purchased because they are consistent with either self.
The Real and the Ideal
Many products appeal to consumers
tendencies to fantasize about the way
we would like to be
The Breck girls were idealized
images of an American woman during
from the 1930s to the 1980s who
Advertising executives thought
everyone could love: a woman both
desirable and chaste
poses were executed in pastels,
with soft focus and haloes of light
and color to create highly
romantic images of feminine
beauty and purity
Multiple Selves
consumers are different
people at different times
We play different roles - in
class or at work
Different selves have
different consumption
patterns
Clairol permits you to explore
and express the full range of
your multiple selves
1998 Bacardi launches
a $15 million advertising
campaign under the
theme "Bacardi by
night."
"We know our
consumers do something
each day -- they work,
they have
responsibilities. But at
night they let off steam.
Who do the ads target?
CONSUMPTION AND SELF CONCEPT
 Consumption of products and services contributes to the
definition of self.
 Consumers exhibit attachment to products to the extent
that it is used by the person to maintain his or her self
concept.
Gender Identity
What does it Mean to be a Man in Our Society
• Men never cry
• Should not show emotion
• Not quitters
• Physically brave
• Independent
• Heroic and patriotic ideals
• Adventurous
• Shaving
• First day at work - earning a wage
• Initiations
• tough
• Courageous
• Drinking
• Physical strength
• Sex
This Pirelli image of Carl Lewis wearing red high heel
shoes challenges the conventional view of black male
athletes as being ‘super-masculine’
Gays are 12 times more likely to be in professional jobs,
 94% more likely to use a product of service advertised in a gay
publication
Women as Consumers
 80 per cent of the household dollar is spent by women
The products do not need
to be geared towards
women since they control
spending for their family's
household, as well as for
their own personal needs
70 per cent of men's
underwear is bought by
women.
Studies continue to show
that women control
purchases of everything
from household goods to
investments and expensive
consumer durables such as
automobiles.
According to a study by Business Week and Gallup,
women will control $1 trillion by 2010, representing nearly
two-thirds of the USA’s wealth.
Canadian research has
indicated women are not
particularly impressed by
firms seeking their dollars..
Do companies generally
meet the needs of
women as consumers?
Do women feel less
valued than male
consumers?
If so what can businesses
do about it?
Depiction of Women in Ads
ROSIE THE RIVETER
Redd Evans and John
Jacob Loeb,
"Rosie the Riveter,"
(New York: Paramount
Music Corp., 1942
All the day long,
Whether rain or shine,
She's a part of the assembly line.
She's making history,
Working for victory,
Rosie the Riveter.
Keeps a sharp lookout for sabatoge,
Sitting up there on the fuselage.
That little girl will do more than a male will do.
Rosie's got a boyfriend, Charlie.
Charlie, he's a Marine.
Rosie is protecting Charlie,
Working overtime on the riveting machine.
When they gave her a production "E,"
She was as proud as she could be.
There's something true about,
Red, white, and blue about,
Rosie the Riveter.
In the 1940s, women were
encouraged to help the war
effort by getting a job outside
the home. But it was family and
country rather than money,
status, or power that they were
encouraged to toil for .
Coke 1942
November 1942
“For whether she rears a family or
mans a rangefinder, a woman needs
the physical support of a good
foundation." and "Amongst other
munitions of war, Berlei are still
making foundations.".
1950s mass
consump
tion in
high
gear, TV
ads
idealized
the
woman
as the
wife and
home
maker,
and the
man as
the bread
winner.
But also the sex kitten
Fun Small Print:
"and her husband, LEX
BAXTER, says: 'Cigarillos
have just what it takes to
please me... Full delicious
tobacco taste, yet mild...
Stylish, manly shape and
cigarette convenience... And
they cut down chain
smoking.' "
1960s - educated women
started exhibiting their
discontent with the depiction
of women in ads.
Armed with diplomas and
new sophisticated birth
control methods, they
demanded for the right to
have both career and family.
The great social change in the
sixties allowed a variety of
depictions of women: sex
kitten, nurturing mother and
independent working girl.
Men become consumers.
1970s Advertisers in the nineteen seventies realized the changing
roles of women, and so they used such issues like woman's lib,
ethnic heritage, and critiques of capitalism to sell their products.
Advertisers realized that not just white people were buying
products. Ethnic people were placed in advertisements.
1980s independent woman.
1990s 2000s
She is a "multifaceted
success machine”.
She is a nurturer and a
seducer.
She is the twenty-four hour
a day woman, and she
never sleeps.
Men are domesticated. Sex
objects
Is it a mistake to
portray women this
way?
OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN SHOWN IN ADVERTISING
Business Executive
1958=0%
1970=0%
1983=4%
Professional
1958=0%
1970=0%
1983=15%
Entertainment/sports
1958=11% 1970-58% 1983=33%
Sales/Midlevel business 1958=6%
White Collar
Blue Collar
1970=8%
1983=33%
1958=72% 1970=17% 1983=4%
1958=0%
1970=17% 1983=4%
Sullivan and O'Connor (1988)
Content analysis on the Portrayal of Sex Roles in
Canadian Television Advertising, commissioned by the
CRTC (1985)
WOMEN AS HOUSEWIFE/MOTHER
For 50% of the major female characters, the primary
setting is the home.
Among men, 29% appear primarily in the home.
The paid work setting includes 9% of women and 22% of
men.
The outdoor setting includes 11% of women and 19% of
men.
The number of ads showing men only is significantly
greater at 24% than the 13% of women-only ads.
Of the ads with voice-overs, 94% are male.
How are women generally portrayed?
 Women are usually shown performing domestic
tasks relating to the product.
 Male product representatives are mostly depicted
using the product or giving instructions or advice.
 Men are shown as the beneficiaries in 54% of the
food ads and 81% of the cleaning product ads.
 Ads that show the preparation and consumption of
food tend to be populated with women and girls.
Images of women improving?
From June 1999 issue of Glamour
Part of outstanding ad campaign that
accompanied the Women’s World Cup
“You pass on more to your children
and your grandchildren than your eye
color, . . . You provide the living
example that they can become more
than they ever thought they could.
Because you did.
Just do it.”
Conclusions
Advertising generally portrays women as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
dependent on or subservient to men
primarily in the home or domestic settings
preoccupied with physical attractiveness
sex objects
decorations for men
product users/demonstrators
Are women aware of this portrayal?
How do women feel about this portrayal?
What are the marketing implications?
BODY
IMAGE
Is there an
ideal body
image?
A poll by Kellogg’s found
that 62 percent out of a
sample of 503 women over
18-years-old believe that an
ideal body weight and size
do exist.
These women said the major
factor determining the
feminine ideal comes from
television advertising or
fashion magazines.
 Ads appearing in popular teen
magazines promise to transform a
girl’s appearance. While these ads
are designed to encourage a girl to
use make-up and dieting to look
acceptable, they can undermine
her self-confidence and contribute
to negative body image
 Girls are usually more
concerned with appearance than
boys because they have been
socialized to overemphasize
appearance
 One study of Saturday
morning toy commercials found
that 50% of commercials aimed
at girls spoke about physical
attractiveness, while none of the
commercials aimed at boys
referred to appearance
 Other studies found 50% of
advertisements in teen girl
magazines and 56% of television
commercials aimed at female
viewers used beauty as a
product appeal.
Teen People Magazine
March 2003
One study found
women’s
magazines have
10.5 times more
ads and articles
promoting weight
loss than men’s
magazines did.
Victoria’s Secret is Revealed
What does this ad suggest women
should look like?
The current ideal of female beauty
is difficult to achieve. The ideal being
a young Caucasian female, height
5'8"- 5'10", weighing 110-120 pounds
or less.
 Make-up, lighting and airbrushing are used to slim down the
images even more.
Less than 10% of the female
population are genetically destined to
fit this ideal.
Victoria’s Secret, “Angels’ Collection”
The latest addition to Mattel's best-selling fashion
doll range has caused near-riots in toy stores as
children and collectors alike rush to pick up their
very own Bulimic Barbie.
The new doll, complete with a fridge full of ice
cream, chocolate and cake, is the epitome of doll
technology. "Look at this," squealed mother-of-two
Dawn Galway, 31, activating the toy's realistic gag
reflex by pushing its hand into its mouth. "Isn't that
the cutest thing you've ever seen?" she asked, as the
synthetic vomit gushed into the tiny basin.
A Mattel PR spokeswoman said: "Mattel have an
ongoing commitment to fans of Barbie to keep her
relevant and now. Market research indicates that
many young girls are developing a fascination with
bulimia and other eating disorders, and this new doll
reflects that." Barbie enthusiast Kylie Holridge, 10,
said. "Now, with Bulimic Barbie, I know just how to
get that perfect thin figure.
Bulimic Barbie
Kylie's elder sister Jodie, 13, said that Barbie has
inspired her quest for a slimmer, trimmer figure
since she was nine.
Matel, the makers of Barbie, sued The Body Shop, UK for
this ad. They withdrew it and settled out of court.
Kellogg’s Special K cereal
realized that campaigns
featuring young, thin
models barely squeezing
into tight clothes alienated
their older audience,
“Our consumers told us
they really couldn't relate to
advertising techniques that
used unrealistic body
images. "They said that
they couldn’t live up to the
standards of beauty dictated
by advertisers."
1998 Kellogg's Special K runs a campaign
that says there is no ideal body weight.
“Men are Supposed to be Strong”
 What message does this ad
send to men? Women?
 Do we usually see more
scantily clad men or women?
 Is this what a man looks like?
Should men look like this?
Why or why not?
 Where do our ideals of beauty
come from?
• Recent advertising trends are just as harmful to men
• Unforgiving & unrealistic images
• Men’s magazines encourage obsession with body
image, aging & sexual prowess