Portrayals of Minorities and Women in Super Bowl Advertising

• Published date: 01 December 2019
• Author: Charles R. Taylor,Alexander Mafael,Sascha Raithel,Carissa M. Anthony,David W. Stewart
• Date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12276

WINTER 2019 VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 1535

CHARLES R. TAYLOR, ALEXANDER MAFAEL,

SASCHA RAITHEL, CARISSA M. ANTHONY, AND

DAVID W. STEWART

Portrayals of Minorities and Women in Super

Bowl Advertising

Portrayals of women and minorities advertising havelong been of inter-

est to advertising scholars. While research has found that the overall

representation of these groups has increased, some stereotypes persist,

and so do questions about the quality and prominence of portrayals.

This study examines portrayals of minorities and women in Super Bowl

advertising, the main “pop culture” showcasefor US advertising. A con-

tent analysis of 10 yearsof Super Bowl ads is conducted and a multino-

mial logit regression model is employed to delve deeper into the content

analysis results. Findings show that while the overall representation of

women and various minority groups is strong, a deeper analysis shows

that these groups are seldom depicted as primary characters by them-

selves and that some subtle stereotypes persist. We also nd that ads

featuring female principal characters are more likely to feature home

settings, sexual appeals, emotional messages, and music as a major ele-

ment and that it is less likely for female (vs. male) celebrities to be used.

Minority principal characters are more likely to be celebrities and be

included in ads with music or for technical products but are less likely

to be included in ads featuring corporate social responsibility messages.

Scholars have been studying race and gender stereotypes in advertising

portrayals for many decades. Historically, this research has observed

that minorities and females are underrepresented and, in many instances,

portrayed unfavorably or in a stereotypical manner (Belkaoui and Belkaoui

1976; Eisend 2010; Taylor and Stern 1997). Generalizations made from

stereotypical portrayals may contribute to unrealistic expectations and

reduce perceived opportunities for these groups (Grau and Zotos 2016;

Taylor, Grau and Bang 2005). Although recent studies suggest that extreme

forms of minority and female stereotyping in ads have decreased and that

Charles R. Taylor (raymond.taylor@villanova.edu)is the John A. Murphy Professor of Marketing

at VillanovaUniversity. Alexander Mafael Germany (alexander.mafael@fu-berlin.de)is a postdoctoral

researcher in Marketing at Freie Universität Berlin. Sascha Raithel (sascha.raithel@fu-berlin.de) is

Professor of Marketing at Freie Universität Berlin. Carissa M. Anthony (canthon1@villanova.edu)is

a Graduate Research Fellow at VillanovaUniversity. David W. Stewartis the President’s Professor of

Marketing and Business Law at Loyola Marymount University (david.stewart@lmu.edu).

The Journal of Consumer Affairs, Winter 2019: 1535–1572

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12276

Copyright 2019 by The American Council on Consumer Interests

1536 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

inclusion has been on the rise, some stereotypes persist (Furnham and Lay

2017; Smith, Choueiti, and Stern 2011).

In the face of demographic changes, it is timely to examine the degree

to which stereotypes persist in advertising for multiple reasons. First,

individuals currently categorized as minorities will comprise more than

50% of the US population by the year 2044 (Colby and Ortman 2017).

Second, the perceived role of women in the workplace and home has

shifted considerably in recent years (Grau and Zotos 2016). Presently,

women constitute 47% of the workforce and control 60% of personal

wealth (U.S. Department of Labor 2010). A primary goal of advertising

is to resonate with the consumers being targeted. Thus, it is important to

examine whether portrayals are also evolving and reect these changes.

Moreover, if stereotyped advertising reects an outdated worldviewit may

no longer resonate with modern consumers.

Given the historically low frequency of stereotypes present in the

portrayal of minorities and women and in advertising, the purpose of this

study is to examine and assess the depiction of these groups during the

Super Bowl. The Super Bowl represents a rare “big event” in a fragmented

media environment that is watched with heightened attention. Thus, these

portrayals are a component of US popular culture, reective of current

trends and attitudes. To meet our research objectives, a content analysis

was performed on Super Bowl ads for the 10-year period of 2008–2017.

The longitudinal nature of the study allows us to look not only at averages

over this 10-year period, but also to investigatethe occurrence of any trends

in portrayals over that time. Specic variables investigated include the

frequency of portrayals of women and minorities as principal characters in

combination with advertising content features such as product type, setting,

message appeal, use of celebrities, CSR messages, and music. Thus, we

analyze a comprehensive set of content elements that shape the appearance

of the advertisement.

The study contributes to the literature in the following ways. First, at

a societal level, concerns have been raised as to whether stereotypes of

women and minorities persist in advertising. Our data allows for an evalu-

ation of the degree to which stereotypes exist that may create expectancies

that pressure a group or cultivate a distorted view of a group. Second, the

study examines whether managerial practices reect societal trends and

attitudes toward ethnicity and gender. Our analysis allows for an assess-

ment of whether advertisers have adapted to changing demographics and

other societal changes over time in an effort to better appeal to female and

minority consumers. Finally, this research contributes by expanding and

updating the longstanding literature on portrayals of women and minorities

WINTER 2019 VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 1537

in advertising while including additional content variables in the analysis.

Given the continuous societal change, it is important to explore additional

variables in order to more fully comprehend stereotyping in advertising.

This, coupled with updated ndings on previously studied variables, allows

us to examine changes over time and maintain a contemporary body of

knowledge about these issues.

The remaining paper is structured as follows. We begin with a brief

summary of prior studies of the portrayals of minority groups and women

in advertising. Next, we describe two theoretical perspectives that provide

the background for our investigation. Further, we describe our empirical

setting, provide details of the data collection and analysis and discuss our

results. Finally, we outline our contribution and identify opportunities for

further research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Portrayals of Minority Groups in Advertising

In a historical review of the literature on marketing and minorities,

Davis (2018, 157) observes that, “Viewed over time, studies suggest that

aspects of racism can be overt, covert, or unintended but are systematically

embedded in the fabric of marketing organizational cultures such that

they often go unrecognized.” Advertising portrayals are a practice that

deserves scrutiny, especially since it has been observed that stereotyped

portrayals have been present in advertising throughout modern history

(Davis 2018). As used here, a stereotype refers to an “oversimplied idea

about a group based on some preconceived assumptions” (Morrison 2014,

150). A stereotyped portrayal refers to an advertisement that depicts a

stereotype, whether overtly or in a more subtle fashion.

In the past, minorities have been found to be underrepresented in tele-

vision advertisements in comparison to their population proportion, with

minorities being more likely to be portrayed in minor or background roles

in comparison to majority models (Greenberg, Mastro, and Brand 2002;

Mastro and Tukachinsky 2011; Wilkes and Valencia 1989). In addition,

minorities have sometimes been portrayed in a stereotypical manner, such

as in limited product categories or specic settings. For example, Asian

Americans have appeared disproportionately in ads for technology-based

products and in business settings, but only infrequently in family or

social settings (Mastro and Stern 2003; Taylor, Landreth, and Bang 2005;

Taylor and Stern 1997). Meanwhile, African Americans and Latinos are

more likely to appear in ads with social settings as opposed to business

setting.