ss

zz

Available online at [Link]

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
OF CURRENT RESEARCH

International Journal of Current Research

Vol. 13, Issue, 04, pp.17163-17166, April, 2021

ISSN: 0975-833X DOI: [Link]

REVIEW ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

THE PORTRAYAL OF CHILDREN IN ADVERTISEMENTS

1,*Yashas B.M., 1Gaurav Marothi, 1NimishValecha and 2Prof. Abhishek Venkteshwar
1Student- BBA Entrepreneurship, Jain (Deemed to Be University) – Center for Management Studies
2Assistant Professor and Course Facilitator-BBA, Jain (Deemed to Be University) – Center for Management
Studies
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article History: This article studies the changing image of children in magazines from 1905 to 1990. Drawing on
th
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Received 25 January, 2021 Goffman's Gender Advertisements, the author examines the portrayals of children in advertising to
Received in revised form determine the extent to which, and in what way, the relationship between children and adults has
th
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
09 February, 2021 changed. The data suggest that a real shift in the relationship between adults and children has
th
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Accepted 10 March, 2021 occurred but that it occurred in different linear and cyclical patterns that must be both recognized and
th
Published online 30xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
April, 2021 examined in relationship to each other and be understood in social and cultural contexts. The research
suggests the need for a rigorous methodology for analyzing visual data. The competitive environment
Key Words: of advertising allows various role portrayal of children and women in advertising. Women have been
Rigorous methodology, portrayed as an object of sexual desire, docile housewife, submissive roles, the epitome of beauty, etc.
Portrayal, Children being vulnerable and susceptible to be duped are sold dreams in unrealistic ways. The
Advertisements, objective of this is to investigate the situations that make the portrayal of women and children
Cyclical Patterns. unethical. This paper attempts to identify the differences prevalent in the mindset of three categories
of participants, students, teachers and working professionals.

Copyright © 2021. Yashas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Citation: Yashas B.M., Gaurav Marothi, NimishValecha and Prof. Abhishek Venkteshwar. “The Portrayal of children in Advertisements”, 2021.
International Journal of Current Research, 13, (04), 17163-17166.

The lack of variety in beauty types and occupational roles

INTRODUCTION among female figures were discussed.

Review of Literature
A content analysis was conducted to examine the portrayal of
beauty types and occupational roles of female figures in Bhati, A., & Eikenberry, A. M. (2016) Stated that, This paper
magazine advertisements. A systematic random sample of 215 focuses on the portrayal of children in fundraising campaigns
advertisements from a popular lifestyle magazine in Hong by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in India
Kong was analyzed. Results provide evidence of gender role and answers the following questions: How do children feel
stereotypes. Two thirds of the advertisements adopted about their portrayal in the images of funding campaigns? How
classic/feminine beauty type. The other two common beauty do photographers or managers/directors affiliated with NGOs
types were sex kitten and casual. Over-representation of view their portrayal of destitute children? The study draws on
Caucasian models was found as one-third of the female figures data from analysis of images, focus groups with children, and
were Caucasian and other minorities. Caucasian models were interviews with photographers and campaign managers from
more likely to be portrayed in trendy beauty type. Over half of NGOs working in different parts of India. Findings suggest
the advertisements portrayed females in decorative roles and that children like to be portrayed as happy and in a “good
thirty percent portrayed females as celebrities. Recreational light”, telling the whole story about their lives but that also
roles and professional roles were featured less frequently. generates awareness about hardships they face, such as child
Advertisements for products target females were more gender labor; NGOs face a challenge in representing beneficiaries in a
stereotyped than advertisements for products target males and good light while also showing “need” to donors; and children
females. interviewed were unaware of the purpose of the images as a
fundraising and marketing tool, raising ethical concerns.
*Corresponding author: Yashas B.M., Ref:-Bhati, A., & Eikenberry, A. M. (2016). Faces of the
Student- BBA Entrepreneurship, Jain (Deemed to Be University) – needy: the portrayal of destitute children in the fundraising
Center for Management Studies.
17164 Yashas et al. The portrayal of children in advertisements

campaigns of NGOs in India. International Journal of (2014). PORTRAYAL OF CHILDREN IN MAGAZINE

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 21(1), 31-42. ADVERTS IN NIGERIA: A CONTENT ANALYSIS.

Ali, A., Kumar, D., Hafeez, M. H., & Ghufran, B. (2012) Murad, K., Saahar, S., & Halim, A. A. (2015) stated that,It is
stated that, this study aims to observe the gender role portrayal known to all that children-based products and services are
in food and non-food television advertisement in Pakistan, in reaching lucrative markets and receive a huge demand from a
order to find out gender discrimination (if any) and association variety of segmentations. Advertisement through its
of gender with different content variables. Content analysis of campaign and promotion strategy is predominantly used by
selected TV commercials was used to fulfill the purpose of this advertisers to portray children as the heart of selling points.
study. Services of two independent coders (business graduates) The advertisers will seize and manipulate children portrayals
were utilized to code content variables for a sample of 103 in their ads in order to gain awareness from the specific target
commercials (54 food and 49 non-food commercials). Based audience as well as to be accepted by the society. Advertisers
on the extant literature, seven content variables were selected should be smart in implementing competent advertising
for this study including: main product user, voiceover, primary medium, such as the television commercial advertisement,
character, end comment, soundtrack level, activity level and magazine or newspaper advertisement, or outdoor
aggression level. The gender role portrayals in both food and advertisement. Hence, the flow of the message as well as the
non-food commercials have been compared and discussed. information is correctly delivered to the intended group. The
There exists gender discrimination in Pakistani television power of children portrayal in advertisements is the main
advertisement, where males dominate more. The reason behind factor that influenced the consumer’s purchasing power in
this phenomenon is expected to lie in social and cultural every product category. For instance, children images, visual
values. This male dominance is higher in food advertisement on nutrition products, are often portrayed as energetic,
as compared to non-food advertisement. Results also favor the brilliant, and cute. On the other hand, most of the
association of male character with the relatively higher activity advertisements picture children as bubbly, exciting, happy,
and aggression levels in television commercials. The findings fun, innocent, and pure. With the usage and the mixture of
of this study are supportive for key players in advertising these characters, it creates attention to the readers. This
industry like advertisers and advertising agencies, for self- chapter analyzes the content of press advertisements against
regulation of their advertising campaigns with respect to children portrayals and stereotypes. Children, kids, and
gender role. However, more important implication for them is babies were made the selling point for products and services
to know about the forces of traditional cultural values and with a maximum of manipulation of the physical form and
preferences of target audience, for effective planning of the cuteness, which, as was seen, could deceive the consumer’s
commercials and forecasting their impact. Such knowledge can buying power. The focus of this research is to analyze the
provide them a better base to assess the need for self-regulation aspects of children role and stereotype, advertising appeal
of their advertising campaigns, guiding them towards making and persuasion as well as the creative strategy in relaying the
more successful commercials. This study reflects the true issues and messages effectively to the consumers of the
picture of gender discrimination in Pakistani television products and services of the press advertisements. To achieve
advertisement. It has been concluded using a well defined the research’s objective, the method employed is a
methodology, provides original data for Pakistan and can be quantitative approach with the emphasis on content analysis.
considered a good reference for further analysis. Hence, the analysis unit in this study is the advertisement
which was gathered from The Star newspaper for 1 week,
Ali, A., Kumar, D., Hafeez, M. H., &Ghufran, B. (2012). well defined as a subset of a sampling and representing
Gender role portrayal in television advertisement: Evidence accurate data measurement for this study. Murad, K., Saahar,
from Pakistan. Information Management and Business Review, S., & Halim, A. A. (2015). Does cuteness sell? A content
4(6), 340-351. Okafor, G. O., Malizu, C. F., &Okon-Bassey, E. analytic study of children portrayal in press advertisement. In
N. (2014) tells that, this study employed the content analysis Proceedings of the Colloquium on Administrative Science and
technique to examine the portrayal of children in print media Technology (pp. 29-40). Springer, Singapore.
advertisements in some Nigerian magazines. Children images
from four monthly published magazines (True Love, New Napoli, J., Murgolo-Poore, M., &Boudville, I. (2003) stated
African, Complete Fashion and Ebony) were collected over a that Since the late 1960s, research into gender stereotypes in
period of one year and content analyzed. A series of variables advertising has been prolific. The emergence of more
common to similar investigations were used to provide a magazines that target children and adolescents raises the
coding scheme. Out of three hundred and forty-five (345) question of whether the female images portrayed in these
advertisements in the twelve selected editions of the publications reinforce prevailing stereotypes of women and
magazines, fifty (50) advertisements portraying children were portray diversity in ethnicity. This study examines the female
purposively chosen and content analyzed for this study. There images shown by advertisers in the Australian editions of
were two levels of analysis, the individual level which Barbie, Girlfriend and Dolly magazines. Findings indicate
concerns the character of the advertisement and the level that there is limited diversity in physical attributes as well as
deals with the advertisement as a whole. The study data ethnicity of the models portrayed in these publications.
revealed an underrepresentation of children and accuracy in the Limitations are noted and future research issues are discussed.
portrayal of children in magazine advertisements in Nigeria. It Napoli, J., Murgolo-Poore, M., &Boudville, I. (2003). Female
was also discovered that a stereotypical view of female gender images in adolescent magazine advertising.
children is present in magazine advert images and this was not Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 11(1), 60-69. North,
only expressed in gender stereotypical traits but also in E., & Millard, S. (2003) stated inthis article reviews how South
letterform characteristics. This study therefore recommends an African marketers portray children in magazine advertisements
improvement in the portrayal of children in magazine adverts in two very distinct periods in the country's history, namely
in Nigeria. Okafor, G. O., Malizu, C. F., &Okon-Bassey, E. N. before and after the ANC government came into power in
17165 International Journal of Current Research, Vol. 13, Issue, 04, pp.17163-17166, April, 2021

1994. A longitudinal study (over a 17 -year period) was Christakis, & Meltzoff, 2007), children inevitably encounter
conducted to determine the incidence, and how marketers in TV advertising messages much sooner than they develop the
the new South Africa depict children of different races in full ability to effectively recognize such content as commercial
page magazine advertisements. The relevance of the findings persuasion. Consequently, television remains an important
for South African marketers is highlighted and suggestions for focus for researchers examining children's developing
further research are proposed. North, E., & Millard, S. (2003). cognitive abilities and assessing how these skills influence the
Children and race in South African magazine advertising: Pre- comprehension and effects of advertising throughout early
and post-apartheid. Ecquid Novi, 24(1), 37-54. childhood. In this chapter, we survey the full range of evidence
regarding children's exposure to media advertising, the nature
Goldstein, J. (1999) Stated that Psychological research is of the advertising environment targeted at children, the
frequently cited in discussions about children and advertising. developmental differences that occur in children's
This paper reviews some of the issues and some of the research comprehension of advertising, and findings regarding the
that has a bearing on them. The research is not nearly as influence of advertising on children. (PsycInfo Database
substantial, clear, reliable or relevant as is often supposed. Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved). Kunkel, D., &
There is little evidence that children are especially vulnerable Castonguay, J. (2012). Children and advertising: Content,
to advertising, or that advertising has a direct effect on their comprehension, and consequences.
behaviour. Youth fads often precede, rather than follow,
advertising. Debates about the age at which children recognise Conceptual
and understand commercials are fruitless. Most discussions
omit advertising's appeal and use as entertainment, a way to
manage mood, and a source of information on how to satisfy
personal needs. Goldstein, J. (1999). Children and
advertising—the research. International Journal of Advertising
and Marketing to Children.

Kinsey, J. (1987) stated that the use of children in advertising

and advertising's impact on children is examined in this paper.
Children have long been perceived as an effective ‘vehicle’ to
create rational and emotional appeals for different target
audiences, but research undertaken to evaluate advertising's
impact on children has shown that its effect on them is largely
negative. Although question-marks hang over the validity of
such research, there are moral issues involved in using children
in advertising and in advertising's influencing children's
behaviour. Research at Strathclyde University would tend to
indicate that the impact on children of cigarette advertising is
greater than one would imagine it to be. It is suggested here
that because present advertising of cigarettes, already limited
to non-TV media, has such a great impact on children, all
advertising likely to influence children, even if not aimed at
them directly, should be more carefully scrutinized. Kinsey, J.
(1987). The use of children in advertising and the impact of
advertising aimed at children. International Journal of
Advertising, 6(2), 169-175.

Moore, E. S. (2004) Stated that Concerns about children's

ability to fully comprehend and evaluate advertising messages
has stimulated substantial research and heated debate among
scholars, business leaders, consumer advocates, and public
policy makers for more than three decades. During that time,
some very fundamental questions about the fairness of
marketing to children have been raised, yet many remain
unresolved today. With the emergence of increasingly
sophisticated advertising media, promotional offers and
creative appeals in recent years, new issues have also
developed. This paper provides a basis for further examination
of some the key questions in this area, and suggests how
children's advertising research can be employed to illuminate
them.

Moore, E. S. (2004). Children and the changing world of

advertising. Journal of business Ethics, 52(2), 161-167.
Kunkel, D., & Castonguay, J. (2012) Stated that Because
television viewing is typically a child's first media experience,
and regular viewing begins before 1 year of age (Zimmerman,
17164 Yashas et al. The portrayal of children in advertisements

REFERENCES McAlister AR, Cornwell TB. 2010. Children’s brand

symbolism understanding: links to theory of mind and
Buijzen M, Valkenburg PM. 2003. The effects of television executive functioning. Psychol Mark.27(3):203–228Google
advertising on materialism, parent–child conflict, and Scholar
unhappiness: a review of research. J Appl Dev Psychol., McAlister AR, Cornwell TB. 2009. Preschool children’s
24(4):437–456CrossRefGoogle Scholar persuasion knowledge: the contribution of theory of mind.
Grabe S, Ward LM, Hyde JS. 2008. The role of the media in J Public Policy Mark., 28(2):175–185Google Scholar
body image concerns among women: a meta-analysis of Moses LJ, Baldwin DA. 2005. What can the study of cognitive
experimental and correlational studies. Psychol Bull., development reveal about children’s ability to appreciate
134(3):460–476pmid:18444705CrossRefPubMedGoogle and cope with advertising? J Public Policy Mark.,
Scholar 24(2):186–201CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hingson RW, Heeren T, Winter MR. 2006. Age at drinking Rozendaal E, Lapierre MA, van Reijmersdal EA, Buijzen M.
onset and alcohol dependence: age at onset, duration, and 2011. Reconsidering advertising literacy as a defense
severity. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med., 160(7):739– against advertising effects. Media Psychol.., 14(4):333–354
746pmid:16818840 Cross Ref Pub Med Google Scholar Cross Ref Google Scholar
Dutra LM, Glantz SA. 2014. Electronic cigarettes and Owen L, Lewis C, Auty S, Buijzen M. Is children’s
conventional cigarette use among U.S. adolescents: a cross- understanding of non–traditional advertising comparable to
sectional study. JAMA Pediatr. 168(7):610–617pmid: their understanding of television advertising? J Public
24604023 Cross Ref Pub Med Google Scholar Policy Mark. 2012;32(2):195–206Google Scholar
Lapierre MA. 2015. Development and persuasion Wansink B, Just DR, Payne CR, Klinger MZ. 2012. Attractive
understanding: predicting knowledge of persuasion/selling names sustain increased vegetable intake in schools. Prev
intent from children’s theory of mind. J Commun., Med., 55(4):330–332 pmid: 22846502 Cross Ref Pub Med
65(3):423–442 Google Scholar Google Scholar.

*******