Dolls and kitchens for them, war games and cars for them. Pink for girls, blue for boys. Children's and youthful voices to advertise their toys, and adult voices for theirs… For decades this has been how things have been in Christmas advertising campaigns aimed at the little ones. And some sexist stereotypes continue to be perpetuated, but we have evolved somewhat.
This is reflected in an analysis prepared by the Association of Communication Users for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs on the advertising campaigns of the last three seasons (2020-2021; 2021-2022; and 2022-2023). The report presents a double side: the worst is that there is still a clear segmentation by sex depending on the toy, but at least the shared prominence of boys and girls in advertisements has grown significantly in the last three years.
40% of the ads are for dolls
One in four toys advertised in Christmas campaigns are dolls.
Buildings,
models,
puzzles
Buildings,
models,
puzzles
Buildings,
models,
puzzles
Tabletop, role-playing, simulation
Buildings,
models, puzzles
Following at a considerable distance are board and role-playing games, vehicles (from cars and small trucks to bicycles), and toys that reproduce the domestic or professional environment, for example kitchenettes or the typical nurse costume. At quite a distance are war and action toys.
Girls, dolls; children, war
The Consumer study observes a clear segmentation by sex depending on the toy advertised: girls are mainly associated with dolls and toys related to the domestic environment.
Protagonists of the advertisements according to type of toy
Buildings,
models,
puzzles
Protagonists of the advertisements
by type of toy (%)
Constructions/models/puzzles
Protagonists of the advertisements
by type of toy (%)
Constructions/models/puzzles
Protagonists of the advertisements according to type of toy
Constructions/models/puzzles
In the case of children, its focus is on war and action toys, vehicles and constructions, models and puzzles. The role is shared in board games, role-playing games and also in educational and electronic toys.
Co-protagonism of boys and girls
The shared protagonism of boys and girls has increased significantly and has gone from 33-35% in the first two campaigns to 52% in the last one in 2022-2023, almost twenty points more, which is progress on the part of the brands to reduce sexist stereotypes. But when this co-protagonism occurs in female advertising, children maintain a passive role. «If boys don't interact with those toys, the message remains the same as always: they are toys for girls.
Evolution of shared protagonism
Evolution of shared protagonism
Evolution of prominence
shared (%)
Evolution of prominence
shared (%)
We are facing a false equity,” says Marc Compte, professor of Communication at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), who has analyzed the data from the Consumption study. On the other hand, for her colleague at the UOC, Neus Soler, a collaborating professor of Economics and Business, the fact that the boy appears as an assistant is her introduction into the »girls' sphere, and from here it will go going forward. »The same thing happened with advertising for adults, in which the man initially appeared helping the woman clean or wash the dishes, to, over time, advance and today the man is seen alone«, she comments.
The pastel pink is losing weight
The color range is becoming less and less stereotyped. Pastel pink for girls and dark blues or reds for boys have been progressively losing weight in the different Christmas campaigns, in favor of a more neutral treatment of color and less designative for boys and girls.
In the 2020 campaign, for example, pastel pink was present in three out of four girls' ads, while in the last one it has dropped by half. In the case of children, ads with dark blue or red tones have gone from 90% to 60%.
A different speech depending on the sex
The study has stopped at a very striking detail. What are the voices that 'announce' the toys like? And he reaches a curious conclusion: in the case of children, adult locution is usually used “enhancing the prescription of authority.”
Evolution of the voiceover in the different campaigns
Evolution of speech
in the different campaigns
Evolution of the voiceover in the different campaigns
Evolution of speech
in the different campaigns
But for girls, more use is made of a childish or youthful expression “enhancing prescription among equals.” Mixed speech has been going 'in crescendo' (it has risen four points in the last three years), but it is still low (10.7%).
The enjoyment of the game, more present among advertisements for children
If we focus our attention on the 'benefits' that, according to the commercial narrative, toys offer, there is a clear difference between girls and boys. In the case of boys, the main value is enjoyment (almost 20 points more than girls) while for girls, toys are not only a game but also a “fundamental” element for the construction of the feminine stereotype.
Messages conveyed by ads based on gender
Messages conveyed by ads based on gender
Messages transmitted by
ads based on gender
Messages conveyed by advertisements
depending on sex
And so, although half of the messages are associated with enjoyment, values that are very absent from the male imagination, such as affection, care and beauty, have an important weight.
#sex #toys