Appeals in television advertising: A content analysis of commercials aimed at children and teenagers

Moniek Buijzen; Patti M Valkenburg

doi:10.1515/comm.27.3.349

Article

Appeals in television advertising: A content analysis of commercials aimed at children and teenagers

Moniek Buijzen and Patti M Valkenburg

Published/Copyright: March 11, 2008

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From the journal Volume 27 Issue 3

Abstract

A content analysis of 601 commercials was conducted in order to identify the appeals that characterize commercials aimed at children and teenagers. Our findings demonstrated that the use of appeals (a) showed strong age differences and (b) was highly gender-role stereotyped, particularly in commercials aimed at children. The most typical appeals in commercials aimed at male children were action-adventure, sports, and play, whereas commercials aimed at female children emphasized nurturing, physical attractiveness, friendship, and romance. Having the best, competition, and achievement were the dominant appeals in commercials aimed at male teenagers, whereas romance, sexuality, and belonging to a group were emphasized in commercials aimed at female teenagers.

Keywords: advertising; children; teenagers; content analysis; gender differences; gender-role stereotypes

Published Online: 2008-03-11

Published in Print: 2002-10-09

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/comm.27.3.349

Keywords for this article

advertising; children; teenagers; content analysis; gender differences; gender-role stereotypes