As one of the most visible marketing tools, advertising is no new to social controversy and ethical concerns. Despite advertising ethics has been defined as the ultimate oxymoron (Beltramini 2003), the study of ethics of/in advertising is quite ancient and extensive. However, advertising ethics has been studied mainly in a moral-philosophical perspective and from a “macro” viewpoint. Few scholars have examined the ethical practice of advertising professionals (Drumwright & Murphy, 2004) or the specific topic of the advertising practice relating to gender representations. In spite of persistent criticisms of advertising’s treatment of gender (Kilbourne, 1999) and despite some studies about professionals’ ethical dilemmas (Drumwright & Murphy, 2004, 2009; Fraedrich, Ferrell, & Pride, 1989; Moon & Franke, 2000; Pratt & James, 1994), few authors have focused their attention on the production process behind the gendered messages (Tuncay Zayer & Coleman, 2014). In Italy, in particular, there is a rich literature on gender stereotypes in advertisements, a recent surge of attention among professionals about the bias in the media representations of women, but there is no study about the production processes or the perceptions of gendered images among professionals. Thus, the paper focused on the advertising practice as it relates to gender. In order to appreciate the commercial “culture of production” (du Gay, 1997), we studied the production processes that lead to particular gender representations and the manner in which advertising professionals make sense of ethical issues related to gender portrayals within their societal contexts. In particular, we tried to discover where the ideas for certain gender representations come from, who determine how and what gender-based advertising should be, which are the prevailing cultural norms and practices in the advertising gender representations, what are practitioners’ perceptions of how advertising gender portrayals impact male and female audiences, in what ways do ethics inform their creative and strategic choices regarding gender portrayals in advertising. We hypothesized that the professionals are actors in a broader institutional system and their beliefs and actions are shaped within the organizations to which they belong and the society where certain gender discourses prevail (Tuncay Zayer & Coleman 2014). Because the study’s aim is to understand practitioners’ thinking about the work of advertising in their own terms and to evaluate those thoughts relative to existing theories, a qualitative design was selected. Semistructured in-depth interviews with senior-level agency practitioners (at least 20 creative, planning, and account directors working in Italy) were used as the key field method. Respondents were selected using snowball sampling. First results provide evidence for the existence of such autonomous practitioner knowledge schemas. Advertising agency professionals know well the bias of the most common representations of gender in Italian advertising. They recognize the most frequent sex-stereotypes and are particularly critical towards them. In particular, the respondents believe that the gendered images are mainly caused by inexperienced operators or customers. They appreciate the cases of innovative representation of gender identity and strongly believe in the need for professional ethics that protects a more equitable and respectful gender representation. Finally, they are aware of the impact on the public of stereotyped gender portrayals, but they do not believe in the need for more or stricter codes of conduct.

A matter of ethics? Italian advertising practitioners’ conceptualisation of gender representation / Panarese, Paola. - STAMPA. - (2016), pp. 29-55.

A matter of ethics? Italian advertising practitioners’ conceptualisation of gender representation

PANARESE, Paola
2016

Abstract

As one of the most visible marketing tools, advertising is no new to social controversy and ethical concerns. Despite advertising ethics has been defined as the ultimate oxymoron (Beltramini 2003), the study of ethics of/in advertising is quite ancient and extensive. However, advertising ethics has been studied mainly in a moral-philosophical perspective and from a “macro” viewpoint. Few scholars have examined the ethical practice of advertising professionals (Drumwright & Murphy, 2004) or the specific topic of the advertising practice relating to gender representations. In spite of persistent criticisms of advertising’s treatment of gender (Kilbourne, 1999) and despite some studies about professionals’ ethical dilemmas (Drumwright & Murphy, 2004, 2009; Fraedrich, Ferrell, & Pride, 1989; Moon & Franke, 2000; Pratt & James, 1994), few authors have focused their attention on the production process behind the gendered messages (Tuncay Zayer & Coleman, 2014). In Italy, in particular, there is a rich literature on gender stereotypes in advertisements, a recent surge of attention among professionals about the bias in the media representations of women, but there is no study about the production processes or the perceptions of gendered images among professionals. Thus, the paper focused on the advertising practice as it relates to gender. In order to appreciate the commercial “culture of production” (du Gay, 1997), we studied the production processes that lead to particular gender representations and the manner in which advertising professionals make sense of ethical issues related to gender portrayals within their societal contexts. In particular, we tried to discover where the ideas for certain gender representations come from, who determine how and what gender-based advertising should be, which are the prevailing cultural norms and practices in the advertising gender representations, what are practitioners’ perceptions of how advertising gender portrayals impact male and female audiences, in what ways do ethics inform their creative and strategic choices regarding gender portrayals in advertising. We hypothesized that the professionals are actors in a broader institutional system and their beliefs and actions are shaped within the organizations to which they belong and the society where certain gender discourses prevail (Tuncay Zayer & Coleman 2014). Because the study’s aim is to understand practitioners’ thinking about the work of advertising in their own terms and to evaluate those thoughts relative to existing theories, a qualitative design was selected. Semistructured in-depth interviews with senior-level agency practitioners (at least 20 creative, planning, and account directors working in Italy) were used as the key field method. Respondents were selected using snowball sampling. First results provide evidence for the existence of such autonomous practitioner knowledge schemas. Advertising agency professionals know well the bias of the most common representations of gender in Italian advertising. They recognize the most frequent sex-stereotypes and are particularly critical towards them. In particular, the respondents believe that the gendered images are mainly caused by inexperienced operators or customers. They appreciate the cases of innovative representation of gender identity and strongly believe in the need for professional ethics that protects a more equitable and respectful gender representation. Finally, they are aware of the impact on the public of stereotyped gender portrayals, but they do not believe in the need for more or stricter codes of conduct.
2016
Controversial Matters on Media Ethics
978-84-9085-989-6
advertising; ethics, gender; women; men; production practices
02 Pubblicazione su volume::02a Capitolo o Articolo
A matter of ethics? Italian advertising practitioners’ conceptualisation of gender representation / Panarese, Paola. - STAMPA. - (2016), pp. 29-55.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/922568
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