This article discusses existing approaches to the study of the representation of social groups in advertising. The images of women, men, the elderly, which, on the one hand, are inspired by stereotypes about these groups that exist in society, on the other hand, reproduce popular narratives, reinforce and contribute to the spread of negative stereotypes. It is claimed that the representation of certain groups can lead to a deterioration in the mental health of that part of the advertising audience that belongs to these groups. However, this issue has not yet received wide consideration in the scientific literature.
Key words: advertising, stereotypes, gender, mental health, marketing
The purpose of this article is to describe existing approaches to the study of the representation of social groups in advertising, as well as to substantiate the thesis that stereotyped representation can increase the spread of mental illnesses.
Advertising is one way of consuming information that is rapidly developing. Although there are no exact figures to illustrate the amount of ads we see on a daily basis, digital marketing experts state that this number varies from 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day [1]. According to statistics, the world of advertising is shifting towards the Internet, what annual spendings confirm: digital marketplace ad spending is expected to reach $515,287m in 2022 [2].
It is evident that advertising influences the formation of social patterns, since it has a large audience coverage while illustrating only certain images that are commercially beneficial. According to cultivation theory, media space for the majority becomes a guide to understanding the world, as it shows norms, images, and behavior patterns. It is through the media, and in particular television, that a person perceives reality and adopts norms and behaviors [3]. In order to have a greater impact on the audience, companies create ads aimed at depicting the most attractive and successful people on the social scale. Hence, advertising is full of images of beautiful people who use a certain product which helps them to become even better. This rhetoric creates role models and brings to the audience patterns of behavior that broadcast how to look and what to do in order to match the image of a successful person. For example, commercials illustrate beautiful women with perfect bodies and faces, and men who embody all the signs of success and masculinity, while elderly people are practically not represented. The lack of inclusiveness in the public area increases the spread of stereotypes about various social groups what has a negative effect on the social position of these groups, when one group is preferable to another. For example, when applying for a job, gender often determines the choice in favor of men, which creates glass ceilings for women and increases the income gap. Stereotypes limit the possibilities that are critically necessary for the existence and development of the individual. Advertising and marketing are the areas where stereotypes are promoted with the greatest audience coverage, and, accordingly, have the greatest impact.
According to the «mirror» argument, advertising reflects the existing social values of society, thus mirroring and not changing the social system that is already functioning. In this argument, advertising does not affect social norms because marketers base promotion strategies on them [4]. In contrast to the above statement, there is another theoretical approach, stating that advertising has a large impact in shaping the values of the audience. According to this approach, advertising creates new ways to achieve a sense of satisfaction in the buyer's mind, associating a certain product with a desired lifestyle [5]. Thus, advertising forms socially approved behaviors and images of people.
Advertising has a great influence on the maintenance of gender stereotypes, both related to appearance and social roles. For example, men in advertising are assigned the image of a successful person who has all the signs of masculinity, from appearance to behavior, which is almost always accompanied by features of power, dominance and supremacy in society [6]. According to Dieter Bögenhold and Farah Naz, gender-based advertising discourse reflects the social system that is built in society, and marketers support it by forcing people to purchase products in order to conform to desired norms and images. The use of stereotypical patterns exacerbates the problem of gender discrimination, which leads to women being perceived as persons of lower social status, since they are most often depicted as housewives and almost never as successful individuals. Thus, advertising is one of the ways to broadcast and reinforce stereotypes in society.
Stereotypical images negatively affect mental health and the psyche of people, because they create an unattainable image that is presented as desirable. Mental illness is one of the most common illnesses in the world. According to statistics, in 2017, about 792 million people had a mental disorder. Among the most common diseases are depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and eating disorders.
Advertising directly impacts mental health of individuals despite their race, gender and age. This is due to the fact that the ads show people with perfect bodies, appearances and dominant social roles. Even though this is not true, since every person is different, this phenomena creates a narrative about how people, especially women, should look like, since the beauty industry focuses on them. A plethora of retouched images in ads leads to frustration with unfulfilled expectations, which further results in having problems ranging from sadness or anxiety to eating disorders such as dysmorphic disorder. Many women experience a lack of self-love and self-confidence, which is why they resort to strict diets or surgery. Studies report that 86 % of Russian women limit themselves to food and endanger their health in order to achieve an ideal image that would meet beauty standards [7]. The desire to conform applies not only to women, but also to men. Many men are dissatisfied with their bodies and are prone to bulimia and low self-esteem, so they resort to surgery or use large amounts of anabolic steroids, which causes health problems [8]. It is worth noting that advertising affects not only appearance — many feel dissatisfaction with their well-being and lifestyle. If the stereotypical image of external characteristics leads to dissatisfaction with one's body, then the stereotyping of role models leads to a personal isolation and limited life opportunities. According to many authors, women in advertisements are presented as mothers and housewives, and almost never as successful businessmen or top managers. Such a limited representation of professional roles results in women being more likely to experience a lack of self-confidence [9]. In addition, advertising tells women how to behave: most often this vector is aimed at demonstrating sexuality, which makes ordinary women imitate this trend in order not to feel like an outcast in society.
The problem of lack of inclusiveness is revealed not only from the gender side. Often racial and ethnic minorities are not represented in advertising or are in the minority. Most Muslim women are not shown in the advertisements of large corporations, which isolates them from society. Over the past decade, this issue has been increasingly exposed by activists. Large corporations have become more likely to broadcast people of different races and nationalities. Nike was one of the first big companies to start pushing the social agenda. The company began to actively use the images of Muslim athletes who wear a hijab and cover their bodies. Moreover, well-known Muslim athletes such as Zahra Lari and Ines Boubakri began to appear in advertisements. Thus, many big companies are expanding the media space and filling it with new images, representing people of different ethnic and social backgrounds, which encourages inclusiveness and allows people to feel as a part of the community [10].
The lack of inclusion also concerns senior citizens. According to many researches, people over 50 are almost not represented in advertising, or are depicted as sick and weak. Lack of representation influences how attitudes towards older people are built: their problems are less talked about, they are less noticed, and less effort is directed to helping them [11]. Even though the discourse has changed in the last 5 years and age models have become more attractive for marketing campaigns, they are still not inclusive and do not reflect reality. So, for example, fashion industry legends such as Daphne Selfe are invited as older models. Photos of the older models are not shown as real ones, since they are depicted without natural features, such as age spots and wrinkles. Moreover, the images of older people are almost never used in advertising of cosmetics and luxury clothing.
The trends described above affect the fact that ordinary people do not fall under the picture illustrated in advertising, what makes them feel insecure and causes mental problems. Mental illnesses are derived from social factors, and advertising is the one influencing it the most. A review of the work shows that advertising uses a large number of stereotypes that harm people.
References:
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- Ad Spending. — Text: electronic // Statista: [website]. — URL: https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/digital-advertising/worldwide#ad-spending (date of access: 5.03.2022).
- Shrum, L. J. Cultivation Theory: Effects and Underlying Processes / L. J. Shrum. // The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects. 2017.
- Morris, B. H. Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, What's Unfair in the Reflections on Advertising? / B. H. Morris. // Journal of Marketing. — 1987. — № Vol. 51, No. 3. — PP. 95–103.
- Pollay, R. The Distorted Mirror: Reflections on the Unintended Consequences of Advertising / R. Pollay. // Journal of Marketing. — 1986. — № 50. PP. 18–36.
- Bögenhold, D. Gender Advertisement / D. Bögenhold, F. Naz. // Encyclopedia of Economics and Society. 2016. PP. 793–797.
- Trukhina, A. I. The «plus size» marketing system and the rejection of retouching // Communication technologies: socio-economic and informational aspects: Proceedings of the All-Russian (23rd annual) youth scientific and practical conference. — 2020. PP. 162–165.
- Dakanalis, A. Social Standards of Beauty, Body Image and Eating Disorders / The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. 2017. PP. 3246–3248.
- Rajagopal, I., Gales, J. It's the Image That Is Imperfect: Advertising and Its Impact on Women / Economic and Political Weekly. 2002. PP. 3333–3337.
- Arathy, J. CHANGING PHASES OF ADVERTISEMENT: THE PAST AND THE PRESENT / J. Arathy, Nair,Y Anjana, Gayathri, M Dr // Elementary Education Online., 2021. PP. 4243–4246.
- Virpi, Ylänne Representations of ageing in the media / Ylänne Virpi. // Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology. 2015. PP. 369–376.
