Family in advertising
Encyclopedia
The image of the Family in advertising has become a prominent symbol in advertising since the industrial revolution and is often used in marketing campaigns to increase profits. Sociologists have viewed such advertisements as both marketing
messages, as well as ways in which behavior
and attitude
s towards society are influenced. Still, other sociologists merely argue that the image of family in advertising mirrors reality and therefore holds only a representative or symbolic role.
, but it was not until after the revolution that advertising boomed and the use of family images in advertising became prevalent. The industrial revolution changed advertising from informative flyers marking the availability of goods in 17th and 18th century Europe, whose audience were those within physical propinquity, to multi-million dollar campaigns
that attempted to instantly connect and persuade peoples from across the world. After the industrial revolution
, large companies emerged as mass-producers
, products became branded, and customers began establishing brand loyalties
. Thus, persuading customers to purchase one brand rather than another became vital to advertising. An advertisement was responsible for making products and services salient in order to earn consumer attention in competitive industrial markets. During this period, not only did the immensity of the advertising industry drastically change, but so did its marketing strategies as it began to incorporate images and specify an audience. This change from largely informative to largely persuasive strategies and from general to specific audiences explains the increase in presence and usage of symbols, representations, and stereotypes in advertising -- including those of the family.
Different societies and cultures have used family symbols in advertising to varying extents of success. Because family life stresses in-group benefits, preferences, and successes over those of the individual, collectivist societies tend to use more family symbols in advertising than individualist societies. For example, Korea
, which is reputably collectivistic
, has more success with family advertisements than the United States
, which is reputably individualistic
.
The modern post-industrial era in advertising was one of reaffirming widely held social values, such as heterosexuality and the middle-class, while neglecting alternative values or lifestyles. The advertising industry was conservative, and did not deviate from images that were socially acceptable. Some countries, such as Japan
, continue to present the family stereotypically, especially in their television advertisements. In the past decade, however, many advertising agencies have begun to more accurately capture reality and the diversity of lifestyles and family types of consumers.
' is a popular symbol in commercial advertising that is often used to persuade audiences into consuming one's business' goods or services over a competitors. Consequently, the symbol of family as used in advertisements is functional – it both increases profit and and builds a positive reputation among customers.
The family symbol functions on three levels of persuasion
: social, psychological, and personal.
Social persuasion appeals to one’s role in a group and corresponding expectations; it appeals to reference groups
, social class
, culture
, and subculture
. The family symbol is socially persuasive in that it appeals to one’s role within the family and their corresponding expectations. For example, a mother’s role is traditionally one of taking care of their children and mothers are expected to limit their child’s exposure to irritating and harmful products. Products that purport to limit a child’s exposure to irritation and harm will then be advertised with the family symbol to threaten mothers that if they do not purchase their product, they will be insufficient in their role as mother.
One does not only feel a social or external pressure to fulfill roles and expectations of being a good parent, sibling, or child, however. There is a distinctly emotional and internal pressure to be ‘good’ due to psychological attachments in spousal, sibling and/or parent-children relationships. Psychological persuasion in advertisements appeals to one's motives, attitudes and personalities. The family symbol is psychologically persuasive in that it appeals to the emotional attachments between spouses
, siblings
, or parent-child relationships. To continue the above example, the mother not only wants to purchase a product that purportedly limits irritation or harm for her child due to her social role and expectations, but also because she feels an emotional attachment to her child. The attempt to activate the emotions of audiences and to psychologically persuade is popular among advertisements. Family affects us significantly on this psychological level – the level at which advertisements are most effective.
Personal persuasion appeals to one’s demographic
identity or consumer behaviors
. The family symbol is personally persuasive because families make buying decisions together as a unit. Furthermore, one person in a family may make the majority of the buying decisions. To target that person in advertising, referencing their location within the family and their responsibility to make purchasing decisions for the family, will be more profitable than targeting others. For an example of personal persuasion, the McDonald's
corporation in India
has had great marketing success in designating themselves as the "McDonalds Family Restaurant".
, gender
, values, and family
. They not only describe these social categories, they prescribe behaviors or show one how it is that they should act in accordance with social ideals or norms. According to Belk and Pollay, “not only do [advertisements] show us the ideal life, they instruct us [on] how to live.” Through targeting specific groups of people for products and services, advertisements both reflect changes of social norms and are changers of social norms regarding acceptable behavior. Some argue that the image of family only plays a symbolic role by reflecting the current cultural values. Advertisements may not only reflect changes in social norms, but also be asserting that such behavior is acceptable. As a result, sociologists have challenged the public to study ads containing images of the family
not just as marketing
messages but also as vehicles for behavior and attitudes towards society.
Advertisements, specifically ones that show the family, commentate on the transition from modernity
to postmodernity
. This transition is the transition of middle class
nuclear families where heterosexuality
is the norm to the recognition and acceptance of a variety of different family types, an embracing of societal polysexuality and plurality; it is furthermore the transition from mass culture to the prevalence of sub-cultures and multiculturalism. Literary critic Fredric Jameson
says that "our advertising...is fed by postmodernism in all the arts, and is inconceivable without it."
to ensure a families’ economic survival. One of these times was the Great Depression
during the 1930’s.
Since then, as housekeeping
becomes less and less important of a family role, the amount of advertisements portraying women solely as performing household tasks have been on the decline. One researcher noted, however, that there have been years in which that steady decline has been interrupted, including 1945 and 1960.
, images of the husband also reflect the cultural values
surrounding what role was believed a husband should be engaged in. For example, over time, it is common find images of the husband as performing work outside of the home and taking care of the family finances. It has been noted that this role has been especially prevalent during 1920, 1936, and 1970. On the other hand, one is not likely to find an advertisement depicting husbands engaged in household chores, except when they are depicted as particularly bad at performing the housework. In addition, it has been noted that over time, the portrayal of husbands and wives in an intimate, romantic relationship has been on the rise.
have been portrayed as the primary physical caregivers of children. Physical caregiving includes tasks such as breast-feeding and changing diapers. Some theorize that this has to do with the idea of women as having a natural instinct towards motherhood. Fathers, on the other hand, have been more likely to be portrayed in play activities with their children and are often more likely to be shown interacting with sons than daughters.
Similar to the decline over time in wives as being portrayed solely as housekeepers, the portrayal of mothers as the primary physical care takers of children has been on the decline. Instead, there has been an increase in the portrayal of mothers as facilitating recreational activities with their offspring.
grandchildren, are portrayed in play
activities the majority of the time. Interestingly, young female
members of the family are depicted similarly in play activities, but nevertheless tend to be more likely shown in activities related to chores and child-care.In addition, the image of the grandparent
has been largely nonexistent in advertising.
It is important to also note that images of the family
depend upon the specific source in which the image is found and the type of audience that the source aims to reach. For example, in a women’s magazine such as Good Housekeeping
, one can expect to find women in the family portrayed solely as domestic housewives.
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
messages, as well as ways in which behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
and attitude
Attitude (psychology)
An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for something. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event— this is often referred to as the attitude object...
s towards society are influenced. Still, other sociologists merely argue that the image of family in advertising mirrors reality and therefore holds only a representative or symbolic role.
History
The family symbol in advertising may be observable before the industrial revolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, but it was not until after the revolution that advertising boomed and the use of family images in advertising became prevalent. The industrial revolution changed advertising from informative flyers marking the availability of goods in 17th and 18th century Europe, whose audience were those within physical propinquity, to multi-million dollar campaigns
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
that attempted to instantly connect and persuade peoples from across the world. After the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, large companies emerged as mass-producers
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
, products became branded, and customers began establishing brand loyalties
Brand loyalty
The American Marketing Association defines brand loyalty as:# The situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer-originated product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category .# The degree to which a consumer consistently...
. Thus, persuading customers to purchase one brand rather than another became vital to advertising. An advertisement was responsible for making products and services salient in order to earn consumer attention in competitive industrial markets. During this period, not only did the immensity of the advertising industry drastically change, but so did its marketing strategies as it began to incorporate images and specify an audience. This change from largely informative to largely persuasive strategies and from general to specific audiences explains the increase in presence and usage of symbols, representations, and stereotypes in advertising -- including those of the family.
Different societies and cultures have used family symbols in advertising to varying extents of success. Because family life stresses in-group benefits, preferences, and successes over those of the individual, collectivist societies tend to use more family symbols in advertising than individualist societies. For example, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, which is reputably collectivistic
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
, has more success with family advertisements than the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which is reputably individualistic
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
.
The modern post-industrial era in advertising was one of reaffirming widely held social values, such as heterosexuality and the middle-class, while neglecting alternative values or lifestyles. The advertising industry was conservative, and did not deviate from images that were socially acceptable. Some countries, such as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, continue to present the family stereotypically, especially in their television advertisements. In the past decade, however, many advertising agencies have begun to more accurately capture reality and the diversity of lifestyles and family types of consumers.
Function
'FamilyFamily
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
' is a popular symbol in commercial advertising that is often used to persuade audiences into consuming one's business' goods or services over a competitors. Consequently, the symbol of family as used in advertisements is functional – it both increases profit and and builds a positive reputation among customers.
The family symbol functions on three levels of persuasion
Persuasion
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding or bringing oneself or another toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means.- Methods :...
: social, psychological, and personal.
Social persuasion appeals to one’s role in a group and corresponding expectations; it appeals to reference groups
Reference group
A reference group is a concept referring to a group to which an individual or another group is compared.Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group....
, social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
. The family symbol is socially persuasive in that it appeals to one’s role within the family and their corresponding expectations. For example, a mother’s role is traditionally one of taking care of their children and mothers are expected to limit their child’s exposure to irritating and harmful products. Products that purport to limit a child’s exposure to irritation and harm will then be advertised with the family symbol to threaten mothers that if they do not purchase their product, they will be insufficient in their role as mother.
One does not only feel a social or external pressure to fulfill roles and expectations of being a good parent, sibling, or child, however. There is a distinctly emotional and internal pressure to be ‘good’ due to psychological attachments in spousal, sibling and/or parent-children relationships. Psychological persuasion in advertisements appeals to one's motives, attitudes and personalities. The family symbol is psychologically persuasive in that it appeals to the emotional attachments between spouses
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, siblings
Sibling relationship
Approximately 80 percent of American children have one or more siblings, including both sisters and brothers, and at a young age relationships between siblings tend to be very hostile. Between the ages of two and four, siblings on average have a conflict once every ten minutes, and from there tend...
, or parent-child relationships. To continue the above example, the mother not only wants to purchase a product that purportedly limits irritation or harm for her child due to her social role and expectations, but also because she feels an emotional attachment to her child. The attempt to activate the emotions of audiences and to psychologically persuade is popular among advertisements. Family affects us significantly on this psychological level – the level at which advertisements are most effective.
Personal persuasion appeals to one’s demographic
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
identity or consumer behaviors
Consumer behaviour
Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups...
. The family symbol is personally persuasive because families make buying decisions together as a unit. Furthermore, one person in a family may make the majority of the buying decisions. To target that person in advertising, referencing their location within the family and their responsibility to make purchasing decisions for the family, will be more profitable than targeting others. For an example of personal persuasion, the McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
corporation in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
has had great marketing success in designating themselves as the "McDonalds Family Restaurant".
Sociological interpretations
Advertisements are used to attract customers to a business’ products or services. In doing so, they are also making statements regarding race, social classSocial class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, values, and family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
. They not only describe these social categories, they prescribe behaviors or show one how it is that they should act in accordance with social ideals or norms. According to Belk and Pollay, “not only do [advertisements] show us the ideal life, they instruct us [on] how to live.” Through targeting specific groups of people for products and services, advertisements both reflect changes of social norms and are changers of social norms regarding acceptable behavior. Some argue that the image of family only plays a symbolic role by reflecting the current cultural values. Advertisements may not only reflect changes in social norms, but also be asserting that such behavior is acceptable. As a result, sociologists have challenged the public to study ads containing images of the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
not just as marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
messages but also as vehicles for behavior and attitudes towards society.
Advertisements, specifically ones that show the family, commentate on the transition from modernity
Modernity
Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance...
to postmodernity
Postmodernity
Postmodernity is generally used to describe the economic or cultural state or condition of society which is said to exist after modernity...
. This transition is the transition of middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
nuclear families where heterosexuality
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
is the norm to the recognition and acceptance of a variety of different family types, an embracing of societal polysexuality and plurality; it is furthermore the transition from mass culture to the prevalence of sub-cultures and multiculturalism. Literary critic Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
says that "our advertising...is fed by postmodernism in all the arts, and is inconceivable without it."
Wives
In general, advertisements tend to reflect the popular attitudes surrounding the appropriate gender roles of the time. For example, in the 1920’s, when such a tiny proportion of wives were working for economic gain outside of their homes, it was rare to see wives portrayed within advertising in a role in which they were working for monetary gain. Instead, women were primarily portrayed doing household tasks. The exceptions to this rule came about in times of economic hardship when wives were thrown into the labor forceLabor force
In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce, including both the employed and unemployed.Normally, the labor force of a country consists of everyone of working age In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce,...
to ensure a families’ economic survival. One of these times was the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
during the 1930’s.
Since then, as housekeeping
Housekeeping
Housekeeping is the act of cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a home. It is one of the many chores included in the term housework. Housecleaning includes activities such as disposing of rubbish, cleaning dirty surfaces, dusting and vacuuming. It may also involve some outdoor chores, such as...
becomes less and less important of a family role, the amount of advertisements portraying women solely as performing household tasks have been on the decline. One researcher noted, however, that there have been years in which that steady decline has been interrupted, including 1945 and 1960.
Husbands
Just as the image of the wife in advertising has reflected the general views of the appropriate roles of a wifeWife
A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
, images of the husband also reflect the cultural values
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
surrounding what role was believed a husband should be engaged in. For example, over time, it is common find images of the husband as performing work outside of the home and taking care of the family finances. It has been noted that this role has been especially prevalent during 1920, 1936, and 1970. On the other hand, one is not likely to find an advertisement depicting husbands engaged in household chores, except when they are depicted as particularly bad at performing the housework. In addition, it has been noted that over time, the portrayal of husbands and wives in an intimate, romantic relationship has been on the rise.
Mothers and fathers
Throughout history, mothersMothers
Mothers was a club in Erdington, near Birmingham, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mothers opened above an old furniture store in Erdington High Street on August 9, 1968. The club, run by John 'Spud' Taylor and promoter Phil Myatt, closed its doors on 3 January 1971...
have been portrayed as the primary physical caregivers of children. Physical caregiving includes tasks such as breast-feeding and changing diapers. Some theorize that this has to do with the idea of women as having a natural instinct towards motherhood. Fathers, on the other hand, have been more likely to be portrayed in play activities with their children and are often more likely to be shown interacting with sons than daughters.
Similar to the decline over time in wives as being portrayed solely as housekeepers, the portrayal of mothers as the primary physical care takers of children has been on the decline. Instead, there has been an increase in the portrayal of mothers as facilitating recreational activities with their offspring.
Other family members
Much like fathers are depicted primarily in recreational activities with their children, other male members of the family, including sons and maleMale
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
grandchildren, are portrayed in play
Play (activity)
Play is a term employed in ethology and psychology to describe to a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment...
activities the majority of the time. Interestingly, young female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
members of the family are depicted similarly in play activities, but nevertheless tend to be more likely shown in activities related to chores and child-care.In addition, the image of the grandparent
Grandparent
Grandparents are the parents of a person's own parent, whether that be a father or a mother. Every sexually-reproducing creature who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents, etc...
has been largely nonexistent in advertising.
It is important to also note that images of the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
depend upon the specific source in which the image is found and the type of audience that the source aims to reach. For example, in a women’s magazine such as Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
, one can expect to find women in the family portrayed solely as domestic housewives.
See also
- Advertising campaignAdvertising campaignAn advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
- CapitalismCapitalismCapitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
- ConsumerismConsumerismConsumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
- CommercialismCommercialismCommercialism, in its original meaning, is the practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. Today, however, it primarily refers to the tendency within open-market capitalism to turn everything into objects, images, and services sold for the purpose of generating profit...
- List of marketing topics
- MarketingMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
- Representation (arts)Representation (arts)Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else. It is through representation that people organize the world and reality through the act of naming its elements...
- Sex in advertisingSex in advertisingSex in advertising or sex sells is the use of sexual or erotic imagery in advertising to draw interest to a particular product, for purpose of sale. A feature of sex in advertising is that the imagery used, such as that of a pretty woman, typically has no connection to the product being advertised...