Date of Award
5-1-2018
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Mass Communication and Media Arts
First Advisor
Karan, Kavita
Abstract
This study selects and content analyzes a sample of 40 femvertising videos, aims to explore what messages are delivered by the videos, and whether the campaigns actually break down the cliched ways in which media present women as the companies claim. The messages of the videos sent to viewers are qualitative content analyzed to provide a general description of the campaign videos. Women’s representations in the campaign videos are quantitively coded in terms of how women look like (i.e. physical characteristics), what age groups they are in, what traits they possess, and what roles they play in the advertisements. Also, given the fact that some parent companies promoted inconsistent images of women through its brands, and that some campaign videos produced by certain companies are controversial, this study conducts case studies on the companies that are worthy of in-depth investigations, trying to explore the marketing policies of these companies. The findings reveal that almost all the campaign videos deliver the message that girls/women are no less than boys/men. And the majority of the chosen videos show women in nontraditional roles, traits, and in non-skinny body types. However, most of the ads still present young and facial flawless women, which deserves a further discussion.
Access
This thesis is Open Access and may be downloaded by anyone.