Practical - Packaging Brainstorm

• Not using photographs of children.
• Therefore the packaging doesn't insinuate or stereotype who should be playing.
• Illustration approach.
• Red, yellow, blue, green and orange. 
• Looking at a more imaginative design.
• Using kitchen appliances.
• Food.
• Food from around the world.
• Jobs, it could be a chain of the brand.
• Showing skills of jobs that kids can learn.
• Not restricting what they can do or be.

Practical: Explicit Links to Consider

Practical: Initial Brainstorm

Practical: Research Summary

Colours

• Red
• Blue
• Yellow
• Green
• Orange
• (Purple)

Relationships

• Shows boys playing with girls.
• Boys playing with boys.
• Girls playing with girls.
• When it's an advert of boy playing with girls, there is usually multiple girls and only one boy.
• Similar in boy heavy adverts, there's usually only one girl and multiple boys.
• In most 'boy's' toys adverts, it doesn't show boys faces, maybe this makes it less gendered, as anyone could be playing with it.
• In these adverts there are also harsher colours, louder noises, quicker scene changes and movements.
• Advert works best when there is just one boy and girl playing with each other, therefore the ratio is even. 
• The best advert in terms of gender neutrality are the play doh and McDonalds. 

Practical: Advert/Market Research

Pop - Art

• Boys and girls playing together.
• A range of colours used throughout the advert.
• Bright and vivid. 
• Girls and girls together. 
• Still quite pink heavy. 
• Boy not doing stereotypically boy image
• Quite gender neutral

Peppy Pups

•  Boys and girls playing with the same toy.
• Gender neutral colours used in branding. 
• The actual toys aren't gendered which is good.
• Although the end scene, boy has a blue top and bag, and girl has pink bag and shoes.  

 Lego

• Only ever show hans playing with the toys.
• Can't see if it's boys or girls.
• Assume it's boys playing with the toys. 
• Blues and reds heavy colours. 
• Noisy
• Lots of bangs, action, movement.

Shop kins - Happy Places

• Shows the dolls doing typically girl stereotypical activities. 
• Very pink and pastel colours.
• Shows hands playing with the dolls, but assume it's girls.

Puppy in My Pocket

• Pink, blue and green
• Just girls shown playing with the toys.
• Girls playing together.

 Lego

• Red, oranges, yellow
• Lots of comic book actions/movement
• Again just shows hands but it's insinuated that it's boys playing it.
• Loud music. 
• Strong typography

Play-doh

• Good mix of colours
• Boys and girls playing together
• Some pink, looks like a girls advert at the beginning. 
• Boy using the pink play doh. 
• Green, blue, orange, pink, purple ,blue
• Bright vivid colours
• No red, black, or harsh colours

Blo - Pens

•  Strong use of purple
• Boys and girls playing together
• Boys producing stereotypical boys image of car and pirate ship
• Girls doing pictures of butterflies.
• Lots of animal drawings which re gender neutral.
• Packaging for specialised products, are gendered however, the star wars uses reds and oranges with a picture of a boy, whereas the Disney one is mainly pink with a picture of a girl on the front. 

Disney Magazine 

 

• Gender neutral colours
• Green, red, yellow
• Boys and girls
• Mum reading the book, maybe viewed as a stereotypical role. 
• Animals, seen as a gender neutral theme. 

McDonalds

•  Similar gender neutral colours.
• Red, green and yellow.
• Strong brand colours and identity.
• Engages both boys and girls.
• Shows all relationships between children.
• Girl wearing tiara is the only gendered scene. 

Lego Friends

• Uses blue, purple and pink
• Not overly girly to begin with
• Shows boy doll doing housework

Paw Patrol

• Blues, greens, reds
• Only shows boy character
• Girl dog dressed in pink, seen as gendered
• Seen as mainly aimed towards boys.

Practical: Contextual Research

Controversy in Contemporary Advertising

• Most stereotypes originate because some proportion of a specific population is reflected in the stereotype. (The idea that seeing their parents in the same roles, working within the kitchen environment, showing it's a balanced relationship)
• Social identity theory - individuals adopt the identity of a group with which they identify, everyone strives to belong to a group. (If there all playing with the same toys, together then it takes away from specific groups and they can all play together, using and practicing important skills)
• Expectancy theory, certain individuals will begin to act that way because it is expected of them. (Due to role models or adverts changing these role models, usually mums are in the kitchen, however this isn't always the case)
• Such stereotypes can affect how each of us feels about ourselves, whether we are doing what is right, whether we will be accepted by others and whether we are fulfilling the roles expected of us in society. (Seeing the roles in society, that both men and women are in the kitchen and children can learn to play together)
• Specifically with stereotypes within advertising, people will copy. (Hopefully children will then copy the idea of boys and girls playing together)
• Role-product congruity theory - advertising effectiveness can be increases when appropriate models are used. (Sales will be hire as they are aiming the product to both genders).
• Social learning theory - Albert Bandura - A child’s behaviour is not biologically determined or inevitable but instead is of a result of day to day interactions between the child and their environment. Children observing other children and adults, interacting socially, imitating attitudes. (Using adults within the advertisement, mean children will have something to observe and imitate, showcases real life situations).
• Tv can be a vehicle of socialisation a source from which children learn about all types of social behaviour, including gender roles and expectations. (Important to reflect real life, and see the difference adverts can make to children)
• The continual exposure to advertising will create the concepts children develop about the real world, what behaviour are appropriate and inappropriate. (Showing them the right behaviour, that they can do anything just as well as each other and that they can play together)
• Research does show that ads that show boys as empathetic and caring are just as effective as ads portraying them as independent and boisterous. and vice versa for girls. (An advert showing them playing together int he home environment of a kitchen is just as effective as stereotypical boys adverts and girls adverts separately.)

No More Gender Documentary

• Boys games give them better awareness of spatial awareness, which gives male dominance in maths, science, mechanics and architecture. (Advertising toys to a specific gender can actually affect their skills and their development, therefore gender neutral advertisement allows them to all learn the same skills).
• Overwhelming avalanche of blue of boys and pink for girls. (Limited choice, they have no other options, needs other colours reds, oranges, greens)
• Parents say it’s in their child’s nature just to act a certain way or like a certain toy, it came from them. (It comes from parents buying the toys, therefore if their are gender neutral toys to buy n the market and advertised towards both, this will be more appropriate and parents are more likely to pick this)

Gender, Media and Identity

• Men don't need to become like women, but can have a greater value on love, family and personal relationships. - Anthony Clare (Showing boys playing in a family, nurturing environment)
• Some parts of popular culture seem to be reasserting the traditional forms of masculinity whilst others seem to be challenging them. 
• Biological Determination - the view that people's behaviour patterns are the result of their genes and inheritance. They argue that women and men are fundamentally different , they were born that way. (All children need to learn these important skills, of independence, it's not stereotypically a boy's or girl's skills, everyone needs them, also the importance of social interaction with each other)
• Social Constructionism - people's personality and behaviour are not pre-determine by biology, but are shaped by society and culture. People can adapt and change. (Developed from the women is in the home and cooks and cleans, we live in the 21st century now where everyone does everything, within the house those skills are shared)
• Others say that gender roles are learned during development and everyday life. 
  'Nature vs Nurture debate'. ( Where do children's viewpoints come from, men and women's roles in the house, when they see their parents doing both, still stick from adult's opinions from years ago)
• Freud - The developing child will identify with their same sex parent. 
• The mass media used to be very stereotyped in it's representations of gender.  Women's advertisements tended to reinforce stereotypes of the feminine and housewifely stereotypes. Whereas showing men being more active, decisive, courageous, intelligent and resourceful. Cosmopolitan heralded the changes which we would see to develop in more recent media. 
• We should challenge the traditional views of masculinity and femininity by causing 'gender trouble'. 
• The mass media can serve a valuable role in shattering the unhelpful moulds of 'male' and 'female' roles which continue to apply constraints upon people's ability to be expressive and emotionally literate beings. 

Practical Brief: Analysis of Advertisements

Existing Adverts

• Ads featuring boys were predominantly for vehicles, action figures, construction sets and weapons, and focused on control and power, 
• Ads featuring girls were mainly for dolls and grooming, and had a strong emphasis on appearance, performance, and nurturing.
• The language used differed dramatically, too. 
• While boys were portrayed as active, engaged in conflict, and keen on themes of mastery (control, power, build, explore), 
• girls were steered towards fantasy (magic, dream, make believe), appearance and nurturing relationships (love, friends).
• All too often, something that’s perceived as ‘gender neutral’ is actually mostly male. 
• It reinforces the message that parents often give boys, that girls can do ‘boy’ things but boys can’t do ‘girl things; boys are shown as not wanting to play with girls, thus diminishing the girl’s position.”

Words used in 'Boy's Toys' Adverts

Words used in adverts aimed at Girls

Things to consider

• Gender neutral toys are generally seen as mainly male, therefore advertising the kitchen, it something that is stereotypically seen as female.
• Look at the roles of parents and how to include these in the advert.
• Avoid use of gender specific terms and overuse of the words listed above.