This ad for the Hoover sweeper stereotypes women to be the ones that clean the house. This ad reflects that women should stay at home and take care of the cleaning while their husbands are at work. The ad tries to convince women they will be happy with the new models, and that they should be happy. The ad is trying to tell women they should be happy at home being a housewife. This ad, even though probably accurate for the time, implies only women use sweepers or clean.
Men seem to be a non-existent audience in this ad. There is no appeal or mention of men in any type of way. This implies that men do not sweep or clean the house, and that it is only a woman’s job. This ad could also discourage men from wanting to buy the sweeper, as it shows that only women are supposed to use it.
This next ad is stereotyping that all or most engineers are men. The ad reads “150 Extra Engineers,” which are all depicted as men. This is implying that men are smarter and superior. Being an engineer shows intelligence and creativity, leading to new ideas and inventions. The ad says that only men are capable of this intelligence, and women are inferior. This ad proposes that men should want to, and strive to be an engineer or something of equal intelligence and importance.
This ad should make women feel belittled and unimportant. This is practically saying that women are not near as intelligent and only men could be an engineer and think of new inventions. The ad tries to imply that women can not design or fix a mechanical problem, and only men are capable of such abilities. Like many ads from this time, it tries to show how men are more important and smarter.
This ad illustrates a man using the product, Vick’s VapoRub, on his small child. There is no gender stereotype in this ad. Even though both actors are male, in no way does the ad indicate the product is only for men. Nor does the ad try to say that women or girls should not, or can not use the product. They do not try to show one gender is superior, or inferior, to the other. It is a neutral ad that shows to gender stereotyping.
The target audience is everyone that is sick and having trouble breathing or coughing. They used a well-known football player and his child to target the sentimental and loving side of the audience. Men will enjoy the ad because of the popular quarterback, and women will admire that he takes care of his small child. Neither gender will be offended by this ad and can respect it.
The ad to the right showing a product for the Fashion Girl, counters gender stereotype. With the name and color scheme, you would assume the target audience are young girls. However, the ad shows a small boy playing with two girls as well. All three children are playing and having fun doing so. The ad tries to show that their product can be enjoyed by both girls and boys, contrary to what popular belief may be.
Typically, ads with barbies or dolls are always targeted towards girls, where ads for toy trucks and cars have always been for boys. This ad goes against the norm and shows that it is alright for boys to like dolls and fashion. Boys are always told to be a man and can not like things girls like. Boys and girls can like the same things and play together with different gender-typical toys.
The last image is of an ad for Potatoes. The punch line indicates that these potatoes are so easy to cook with that husbands can do it. The stereotype here is that men can not cook, or are not good cooks. The ad indicate men are incapable of making dinner, and something as simple as a potato. This reads into the belief that men are not smart enough to be able to cook dinner for the family or himself.
The ad also implies another stereotype, that women are typically doing the cooking as oppose to men. When the ad says “SO EASY A HUSBAND COULD DO IT,” it implies that he normally does not, and that the wife does all the cooking. It also is saying that women are better cooks than men. In a sense, this ad implies that women only know more than men in the kitchen, or doing housework. It is another way of saying men can not cook for themselves, and women should do it for them.
Gender Stereotypes 