This study involved a content analysis of television commercials that were aired during time slots established as children's "prime time". The commercials were analyzed with particular attention paid to the portrayal of male characters. A content analysis was the method of study selected, due to the specific interest this study has for the message that television commercials purvey to their audience. As Jackson (1995) observes, content analyses are particularly effective at assessing the content of the message that a particular instrument (i.e. television) is communicating. Another important consideration is that content analyses are not limited to quantitative or qualitative measures (Jackson, 1995). As a result, one is open to using either interpretation, thus accessing the advantages that each style of interpretation offers.
Quantitative research involves the attempt to analyze human behaviour in terms of statistics (Jackson, 1995). This style of research allows one to make broad generalizations about the phenomenon being studied (Jackson, 1995). With this study, this means that general statements could be made about the overall image of masculinity portrayed in television commercials aimed at children. It also allowed for the identification of general stereotypes present in these commercials, and this became the basis for more in-depth exploration using qualitative techniques.
Qualitative research focuses on the thorough description of human behaviour (Jackson, 1995). In this study qualitative analyses was used for in depth analysis of three commercials deemed to be representative of two extremes of portrayals of masculinity (i.e. commercials which appear to be particularly dark, loud and violent, and those which appear to be less aggressive). By focusing particular attention on these commercials, I hope to shed some light on what each of these styles of commercials involve. In so doing, I hope to reach a better understanding of the potential impact these television commercials may have on children.
This stage of the study began with the selection of the stations to be studied. In order to get a cross-section of the diverse range of channels a child in the Niagara Region may be exposed to, I randomly selected two of the major American networks (NBC, and Fox), and one of the major Canadian networks (CBC). Each of these stations was then taped over two one hour blocks of time. The best time for television advertisers to access the children's market is during what has been termed the "children's ghetto" of television on Saturday morning, and after school (4:00 - 6:00) (Kline, 1993). In keeping with this pattern, one taping block for each channel took place on Saturday morning, while the other took place during the after school slot on Thursday. After scanning the T.V. Guide for programs that appeared to be targeted at children, it was determined that each station would be taped between 8:30am and 9:30am on Saturday morning, and between 4:30pm and 5:30pm on Thursday afternoon. An exception was made for the NBC station, which was taped between 4:00pm and 5:00pm, as a news program started at 5:00pm on this station, and this was deemed a program that would be of no particular interest to children. Taping commenced on October 18, and continued every week until each station had been recorded.
After all the recording was completed, a coding scheme was established, and following a test run, was deemed appropriate. Many of the components of the coding scheme were adopted from the 1990 CRTC study on televised portrayals of gender. (For the full coding scheme, please refer to Appendix A.) The coding scheme was established to allow for the quantitative analysis of the portrayal of masculinity in the commercials recorded. Coding involved assigning an I.D. Number, and identifying the Product / Company, Television Station, and Day of Week of the commercial. The product being advertised was categorized as following under toys, groceries, snack foods, restaurants, and personal hygiene. The dominant setting was then identified. This was separated into home / domestic indoors, paid work environment, school, other indoor setting, home / domestic outdoors (referring to activities in a driveway, or yard), other outdoor setting, and indoors / outdoors equally (those commercials where the characters moved from one setting to another). It was expected that male characters in commercials would be most commonly depicted either outdoors, or at their place of employment (if they're adults), while female characters in commercials would be located indoors, in home/domestic settings.
Following this the voice over was assessed for gender. The musical style of any soundtrack on the commercial was assessed on two variables. The intensity of the music was judged on a five point Rykert scale, with one representing soft music, and five representing loud music. For this study, soft music was characterized as soothing, quiet, and slow in tempo. Loud music will obviously be louder, but will also have a faster tempo, and will have a desired impact of creating excitement. The gender of any singers was also assessed. Finally, the colour of the setting was coded. Utilizing a five point Rykert scale again, the colour ranged from one, representing light colours (i.e. white), through five, representing dark colours (i.e. black).
The main character(s) are those deemed to be most prevalent in the commercials, often those with speaking parts, although this may not be necessary. For this study, the voice over was not considered as a character, unless they were visually depicted in the commercial. In instances where commercials had a combination of human characters (i.e. those playing with toys in toy commercials), and non-human characters (i.e. cartoon representations of the toys being played with), the human characters were considered the main characters.
The main character(s) were identified in terms of their gender, species (either human or non-human), total number, and approximate age. Furthermore, the role portrayed by the main character will be identified as either an expert (i.e. doctor), a star / high profile figure (i.e. professional athlete), consumer (i.e. children playing with a toy), or a salesperson / server.
The minor characters were all characters not identified as main characters, and these characters were assessed in terms of gender, and role. For these characters, the roles included mother, father, sister, brother, peer / playmate, and teacher. These categories were selected bearing in mind the specific relationship they had to those main characters who were children. For this reason, minor characters such as consumers, and spectators were coded together as other minor characters. Finally, the play behaviours displayed by characters were assessed on a number of variables. With play activities, and play elements, more than one of the characteristics were sometimes present in a given commercial. For ease of data analysis, the descriptor most representative of the play behaviour displayed in the commercial was selected.
The physical activities participated in during play were coded (i.e. competing, fighting or laughing) as play activities. Play elements refers more to the intellectual relationships involved in the play activities (i.e. care for toy or narrative).
The behaviour displayed is reflective of the overall impression the commercial portrays. This was measured on a five point Rykert scale with one representing passive behaviour (i.e. sitting, talking in normal speaking voice, and little activity), and five representing aggressive behaviour (i.e. loud voices, and increased physical activity, possibly involving physical contact). Finally, the toy played with was evaluated with reference to its traditional gender stereotyped user, or gender neutrality (i.e. male toys include cars, tools, action figures, and sporting goods, female toys include dolls, kitchen sets, and make-up kits, and board games, and card games were deemed gender neutral). To demonstrate inter-rater reliability, one commercial from each station was rated by an independent coder, and compared to the rating of the initial coder.
Descriptive statistics (means, and sums), and correlational analysis (chi-squares), were used in the analyses of the gendered nature of the television commercials. Specifically, these measures were used to test a number of hypotheses. Furthermore, certain descriptive characteristics specifically reserved for male oriented television. It was hypothesized, for example, that males would more likely be portrayed as:
The qualitative portion involves the comparison of one commercial which portrays male characters in terms of a very traditional and rigid masculinity, and two which portray male characters in a more flexible masculine role, based on characteristics identified in the quantitative analysis. Each commercial will be analyzed using the previously identified variables (products advertised, settings, aggressive behaviour, and music), but in addition, more specific character comparisons are made and analyzed in terms of gender. The goal is to identify the extent to which commercials depict traditional gender roles and images versus non-traditional roles and images.
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