Masculinity in advertising appeals - A content analysis of print advertisements in India, Finland and Spain

Abstract

This is a study about the representations of modern masculinity, comparing print advertisements from three countries; India, Finland and Spain. The portrayals of male characters were analysed by doing a content analysis, researching how the males are depicted in advertisement, and whether culture´s masculinity level affects the outcome. Besides, the study also focused on masculine values, analysed with Pollay´s advertising appeals, and using local coders from each country to interpret the values in advertisements.

Project GLOBE´s (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) view of the cultural dimensions was occupied when creating the theoretical framework of masculinity. Different from many previous studies, the masculinity in this thesis is not analysed by using the Hofstede´s masculinity dimension, but analysed through the two dimensions of GLOBE: gender egalitarianism and assertiveness.

The sample was collected from three types of magazines from each country that were targeted to different segments. It consisted of 60 advertisements from each country of interest. The findings suggest that the masculinity level of the culture affects the way how men are portrayed; masculine countries tend to depict men more often as professional or macho-like. Product advertised with male character also varied between the countries; more masculine cultures use the male image more to promote alcoholic beverages, banking services and cars. Some cultural differences existed in value analysis; findings suggest that the culture´s masculine values affect the way how the members of culture perceive the advertisements, but the differences cannot be solely explained with GLOBE´s dimensions of gender egalitarianism and assertiveness.