By: Carly Zagaroli
Research Questions
 Based on product placement in the show Gossip Girl
(2007), what are the underlying themes and messages
being promoted to young female viewers?
 What kinds of products are Gossip Girl (2007)
characters promoting to viewers?
 How are Gossip Girl (2007) characters promoting
products to audience members?
Thesis
 The product placement in Gossip Girl (2007) promotes
the values of the dominant culture to young females;
the main value promoted is the consumption of high
culture and upper-class goods.
Literature Review
 Advertising and Product Placement
 Smythe (1954)

Audiences act upon program content
 Miller (1988)

TV as an effective corporate tool to push consumption
 Andersen (1995)

Advertisers lead viewers to a specific product
 Stern and Russell (2004)

Studied individuals with high marketing knowledge
Literature Review
 Youth and Consumption
 Maccoby (1951)

Investigated effects of television on children
 Hartley (1970)

Television is passively learned by children
 Braun (2000)

Greater recall of products if placed within a show
 Quart (2004)

Media exposes teen females to a life a luxury
Literature Review
 Attitudes About Consumption
 Alper and Leidy (1970)

Television as a tool to shape viewers’ attitudes
 Weigel and Jessor (1973)
 Children’s behaviors and attitudes in relation to the
conventional norms and values of the time
 Shrum and O’Guinn (1997)
 Viewers’ perceptions of reality in relation to time watching
television
 Heckler, Russel, and Norman (2004)
 Viewer/character relationships on the show Friends (1994)
Consumption Theory
 Veblen (1899) and Bourdieu (1979)
 Veblen’s “Conspicuous Consumption”

Lavish spending on goods and services

Purpose of displaying socio-economic status

Appear in higher classes-filters down to lower classes
Consumption Theory
 Bourdieu’s “Taste as a Sense of Distinction”
 Social class is revealed by one’s preferences and tastes


Economic Capital
Cultural Capital
 Embodied Capital
 Objectified Capital
 Institutionalized Capital
Methodology
 Quantitative Content Analysis
 Random sample of episodes
 20 Episodes coded-2 seasons (10 per season)


Name of episode, season, and episode number
Product count
 Name of product
 Type of product
 Location of product
 Character(s) in scene with product
 Age of character(s), gender, and attitude toward product
 Any phrases from the characters that are relevant to research
Strengths/Weaknesses
 Strengths
 Coding can be easily replicated
 Inexpensive research method
 Large number of episodes coded
 Weaknesses
 Limited to one show
 Not able to generalize to men
 Unable to identify the effect of product placement on
the viewer at home
Findings
 241 total products placed in 20 episodes coded
 97 products in first season, 144 in second season
 Males-55 products
 Females-139 Products
 No character-33 Products



Positive attitude towards 30 products
Neutral attitude towards 200 products
Negative attitude towards 11 products
Season 1 vs. Season 2 Product Types
Adults vs. Teens Product Types
Findings
Teen Males vs. Teen Females in Percentages
Discussion
 Teen females promote majority of products
 Largely female audience
 Technology, clothing
 Most products promoted with neutral attitude
 Veblen’s argument on who constructs “High Culture”
 Young Females viewing the consumption of high
culture goods as a sense of normalcy on the show
Thank you!
Questions?