Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra ov • Vol. 5 (54) No.1. - 2012 Series IV: Philology and Cultural Studies

THE COMPARISON OF GENDER STEREOTYPING IN BOYS' COMMERCIALS IN SLOVAKIA AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

M. VASI ĽOVÁ 1

Abstract: The paper examines and compares the principles of gender stereotyping in British and Slovak commercials of boys’ toys. The study understands the process of television as a form of mass communication, where advertisements play the role of messages, television behaves as a channel, advertisers figure as senders of the messages and children represent the audience. The analysis of the commercials shows that the Slovak commercials do not present any scientific toys, instead, they promote a from Hasbro, while the sample of British commercials offer at least one scientific toy and no gun. The Slovak advertisements do not play with the language, and they rather prefer a plain presentation, where the voice-overs sometimes use voice changers that turn their presentation into a robot-like speech.

Key words: television advertising, gender stereotypes, toy commercials, strongly masculine toys, moderately masculine toys.

Media figures as an inseparable present the product in a condensed but constituent of the contemporary society, attractive form that takes hold of often described as consumer society. viewers’ attention. The target audience People meet and use the media almost determines the way of the product’s continuously every day, e.g. when they presentation, and because of that, watch television, read newspapers and commercials for toys choose different magazines, browse the Internet or pass a tactics from those of promoting, e.g. . Media becomes the primary luxuries. Although the tactics of source of information and as a result, it presentation differ in commercials, the plays an important role in shaping frequent occurrence of gender people’s ideas about the real world, and stereotypes remains. The analysis of it also influences the way of people’s television toy commercials enables to life, interaction or communication. examine to what extent they use the Television advertising, as part of the stereotypes and what kind of messages world of media, concentrates primarily they present and suggest for children. on selling products or services. Because The paper examines and compares the they have only a limited time to do so principles of gender stereotyping in (20 maybe 30 seconds), they need to British and Slovak commercials of

1 Pavol Jozef Šafárik University , Kosice , Slovakia.

20 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra ov • Vol. 5 (54) No.1. - 2012 • Series IV boys’ toys. The sample of British According to his findings in the commercials was drawn from databases description of men, media concentrates and archives, while the sample of on their achievements in their Slovak commercials was drawn from professional life, while references to two television networks (TV Joj and their family life slightly occur. Women Markíza) broadcast during Saturday and tend to be described from the Sunday morning cartoons. The work perspective of their relationship with approaches the process of television men, or in connection with their family advertising as a form of mass background. When discussing the effect communication, where advertisements of these stereotypes on adults and play the role of messages, television children, Shannon N. Davis claims, that behaves as a channel, advertisers figure (Davis 407-408): as senders of the messages and children represent the audience. While commercials may not Guy Cook (Cook 1-3) emphasises the influence their [adults‘] definition of importance of understanding advertising what is “masculine” or “feminine”, as a discourse, because it also reflects they may simply reinforce what communicating patterns in the society, adults believe. Children, on the other and because advertisements do not exist hand, are still forming their values on their own, without any external and beliefs. They are more influences. He sees advertisements as a vulnerable to many types of images conglomeration of elements that interact or stereotypes presented to them, with each other, while these elements particularly those with audio and include other discourses, other visual reinforcement. (Davis 407- advertisements, language, paralanguage, 408) a society, participants, function, substance, picture, music and The presented stereotypes may serve a situation. The analysis also as examples for them, giving guidelines understands the process of television how to behave and what to do in certain advertising as a form of mass situations. communication, where advertisements play the role of messages, television The advertisers as the senders of the behaves as a channel, advertisers figure message as senders of the messages and children represent the audience. The ten toys represent the products of According to Petr Pavlík (Pavlík 53- six manufacturers, namely Mattel, 54) media plays an important role in Hasbro, Lego, Fisher-Price, Cepia and popularising and in spreading concrete Giochi Preziosi. The only non-American definitions of gender roles and gender manufacturer is the Italian Giochi relations, very often in a form of a Preziosi but the partly-Danish Lego also stereotype. The products of media shows connection to the Europen present a very clear idea about men’s market. In case of the Lego toys the and women’s expected appearance, company’s logo occurs from the behaviour, and also about the beginning of the advertisements, while relationships between them. He Hasbro, Mattel and Fisher-Price choose exemplifies his claim by analysing the the technique of presenting the depiction of men and women in media. company’s logo only in the final part of

M. VASI ĽOVÁ : The Comparison of Gender Stereotyping in Boys' Toy Commercials … 21 the commercials. Giochi Preziosi does new companies shows, the tendency to not present itself in the advertisement produce and distribute gender neutral directly, in fact, the company’s name is toys persists. Lego and Cepia approach not presented at all. Instead, the name of this neutrality either by eliminating the distributor appears in the children characters from the commercial, namely EPline. EPline is a advertisements, or by presenting various Czech company specialised in themes for the same toy types. EPline, distributing and strategies for as a distributor, also highlights diversity toys. They handle the presentation of and distributes different toy types for the toy, while the manufacturer stays in boys and for girls as well. None of the the background. Taking into examined toy companies can be consideration the companies’ slogans, associated only with toys of strongly the formerly mentioned three companies masculine features. emphasising the importance of play, happiness and adventure (Mattel, The advertisements as messages Hasbro, Fisher-Price) are accompanied by a fourth one, namely the Lego Children appear only in five company. According to the Lego’s advertisements out of ten, all of them official website, the name of the boys. The age of these children varies company comes from a Danish from five to sixteen, and the number of expression, ‘leg godt’, which means the characters also shows a tendency play well. The company claims to towards alternation. The role of the follow this idea since its establishment. children in these advertisements shares As it was mentioned in the British the features with that in the British commercials’ analysis, the idea of commercials. The boys figure only as careless, playful childhood for everyone silent characters, they neither introduce figures as a dominating one in the the product and its parameters, nor talk commercials of these companies. As a to each other. Their role is to result, the toy manufacturers produce manipulate the toys in order to show boys’ and girls’ toys in an equal how they work in action, and to express number. Lego developed this tendency joy and excitement. Some of them have by using computer and other techniques a short line during the play like ‘Spusti ť in order to eliminate children characters akciu!’, ‘Úžasné!’, or ‘Alebo ni č!’. from the advertisements, so it is harder These lines show similarities with those for the audience to differentiate between presented in the British commercials: toys for boys and toys for girls. The rest ‘Dude, try to beat that!’, ‘Beat that!!!’, of the toy companies (EPline and Cepia) ‘Look out for its spike!’, or ‘Whoa!!!’. concentrate mainly on the product. The advertisements followed the same Cepia introduced its Kung Zhu hamsters tactics as the British ones by presenting within a bigger campaign promoting its only boys highlighting by this step the stuffed pets by the slogan ‘Pets without commercials’ main target audience. The mess’. The Kung Zhu toys figure only presentation of the toys does not deviate as a category among several other that from this tendency either. The introduce the hamsters and other commercials that do not present animals in different situations (ZhuZhu children use other means to address the puppies, ZhuZhu babies, ZhuZhu correct audience. The colors, voice- Princess, etc.). As the description of the overs and the music, for example, help

22 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra ov • Vol. 5 (54) No.1. - 2012 • Series IV them to create masculine advertisements Because of the aggressive, violent and without presenting boys but the number dreadful appearance these toys also of tactics does not end here. belong to the category of strongly The commercials aired in Slovakia use masculine toys. The Hot Wheels the same techniques of gender commercial presents similar cars as in stereotyping as the British ones. the British one, and works with the Hasbro’s Nerf, for example, presents same principles. This characterisation older boys dressed in black like indicates that the toy also belongs to the members of a commando unit and all of category of masculine toys. However, them carry a gun. The characters the effect of the commercial had simulate a night attack, during which weakened because of the environment they perform acrobatic jumps over big the toy is presented in. The producers of boxes, and aim to look professional and the commercials had decided to use a serious. The presentation of guns kitchen as background, and indicates the connection of the toy with consequently, the masculinity of the violence and therefore, it belongs to the toys deteriorated. Two of the Lego toys strongly masculine toys. The also belong to the strongly masculine masculinity of the toy is underlined products. NinjaGo and Lego Hero mainly by its presentation. The Factory also attract their audiences’ aggressive-looking boys, the night, the attention by using elements supporting darkness and the gun itself resemble either competitiveness or the desire to images from action movies and fight against the evil characters. consequently, the aim to address The rest of the Lego toys belong to the children who often identify themselves category of moderately masculine with the heroes of such movies appears. products. These advertisements do not The KungZhu hamsters use samurai kits popularise violence and aggression, they and several types of weapons in order to rather present the toys in a peaceful look serious. They fight in an arena with way. The elements that indicate boys as each other highlighting by this the primary audience include the male violent feature of the toys, and the aim voice-over, the seemingly male Lego to evoke the competitive spirit in figures with a masculine voice and the children. The violent and competitive themes of police station and space features of the toys, in case of these centre. The toys of Fisher-Price’s products, indicate the strongly Imaginext also belong to the second masculine traits. The Gormiti category since the advertisement advertisement introduces the forty-two emphasises only the chance for an new figures of the third series of the adventure when playing with these toys, Gormiti show. The figures resemble and do not depict the products as different creatures, monsters, aliens, elements of an action movie. The age of golems, and many other beast-like the child presented in the commercial beings presented by the dichotomic also may indicate the toy’s moderately principle as members of the good nation masculine feature since he is not older and the evil one. The advertisement than five. highlights the frightful and aggressive The analysed toy advertisements appearance of these figures, and the highlight the fact that the strategies used division between good and evil implies in Slovak television broadcast show a fight between the two nations. similarities to those used in the United

M. VASI ĽOVÁ : The Comparison of Gender Stereotyping in Boys' Toy Commercials … 23

Kingdom. While the British strongly masculine commercials speaks commercials included scientific toys in a rapid way multiplying by this the and figures from movies or television impression of dynamism, and the fast series, Slovak advertisement do not picture and image changes serve the show such diversity. Strongly masculine same aim. Moderately masculine toys, Slovak commercials encourage the same on the other hand, prefer slower behaviour as the British ones. Both presentation, since they need to take promote toys that suggest aggression, into consideration the age of their target violence, competitiveness, and audience. adventure. Moderately masculine toys, The music serves the aim to take hold on the other hand, do not emphasise of the attention of audience, and violence or aggression, they concentrate therefore its role is crucial in the on the presented story in order to place presentation. The tendency to use the product into a context. The expressive music in strongly masculine characteristics of the environment the toys preserves only in Hot Wheels and toys are presented in also show the same Nerf, the other toy commercials place tendencies. Strongly masculine the voice-over into foreground and rely advertisements prefer dark colours to on his ability to present the product in the light ones. The rooms or the an interesting way. Notwithstanding the environment where the toys appear help fact that Imaginext promotes a to activate children’s imagination, and moderately masculine toy package, it the scarcely lit places also may imply uses rock music during the presentation the presence of a mystery making by and works with the voice-over as this strategy the product even more partners. This is the only advertisement interesting. Because most of the that uses a song to attract the audience’s strongly masculine toys connect to attention. Gormiti and Lego’s Hero warrior and fighter figures, the Factory apply only silent background advertisements place them into an music that resembles the tones of action environment that corresponds with this movies, emphasising by this the heroic image. As a result, most of the fighters features of the toys. As the analysis appear on a battlefield, or in an arena. shows, the means of presentation do not Moderately masculine toy differ in Slovak and in British advertisements do not use such advertisements to a great extent. Both techniques. Instead, they create a story types differentiate between strongly and around the product, where dark colours moderately masculine toys, and choose and other strongly masculine elements a promoting technique according the may be omitted, and let the story make types of toys. the product interesting. The graphic presentation of the brand As it was mentioned before, the names also shows similarities. Hot tendency to use male voice-overs in Wheels, for example, use the same advertisements for boys’ toys preserves technique in the brand name’s depiction without an exception in Slovak as in the British commercial. The commercials. The dynamic presentation Slovak presentation works with the of strongly masculine toys and the usage English expression and does not replace of a slower technique in moderately them with a Slovak equivalent. masculine advertisements also Imaginext, Gormiti and Nerf do not use remained. The voice-over of the specific brand name depiction, and Lego

24 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra ov • Vol. 5 (54) No.1. - 2012 • Series IV also relies only on its well known logo. toys only Gormiti and Imaginext apply The company changed this strategy only this form of presentation. at its NinjaGo, where the brand name The Slovak variants of the imitated the Chinese writing system. In advertisements show the biggest this case, the brand name serves as an differences in the presentation of the index that refers to the Far East, products’ brand name. They do not use connecting by this the product and the alliteration, and none of the product’s brand name. The depiction of commercials describe the toys with Kung Zhu’s brand name uses two types hyperboles, in fact, they preserve the of presentation. The first technique uses tendency towards a neutral language, a straightforward implication by placing making by this the advertisements less the outline of a samurai into the centre enjoyable. The advertisements do not of the brand name. The second play with the language, and they rather technique uses the method of symbols prefer a plain presentation, where the by placing two crossed samurai swords voice-overs sometimes use under the brand name, symbolising by voicechangers that turn their them the samurai theme of the toy. presentation into a robot-like speech. The Slovak advertisements do not The Slovak advertisements’ messages contain poems or borrowed song, correspond with the images presented in similarly to the British ones. Because them, but sometimes they develop a the products of Fisher-Price’s Imaginext context to the product in order to make present themselves among Slovak and it more attractive. The toys stand in the British commercials as well, it gives the centre of the presentation, similarly to possibility to compare their jingle. the British commercials, while the While the English version has two lines, music, voice-overs, the lights and the the Slovak version uses only one right at colours serve as complementary means the beginning of the advertisement: that highlight the masculine features of ’Imaginext – je čas na dobrodružstvo’. the presented toys. The voice-overs list This line corresponds only partly with adequate amount of information about the first halves of the English version the usage and the parameters of the ‘Imaginext adventures’, while the products. The gender stereotypes that second halves do not even appear in the Slovak advertisements use correspond commercial, and the music of these with those of British advertisements. By commercials does not correspond either. the presence of a toy gun advertisement As it was mentioned before, the music Slovak advertising shows a stronger of the British Imaginext commercial affinity towards violent and aggressive dominated over the voice-over, while toys than the British one. Slovak the situation turns into its opposite in commercials also tend to use the the Slovak advertisement. Most of the technique of presenting the toys either advertisements surround their product as strongly masculine, or as moderately with a story that makes the toy more masculine, while they apply the same attractive. The stories remain methods as British advertising, when unfinished, similarly to the British ones, indicating the extent of masculinity. As in order to raise children’s interest. All it was mentioned before, the Slovak the Lego toys use this technique, except presentations of the toys do not use the the NinjaGo, while from the non-Lego same prosodic techniques in the brand name introduction as the British ones.

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While the English presentation plays with The comparison of British and Slovak the language by using alliterations (Mega boys’ toy advertisements show that the Mack Playtown, Hot Wheels Criss Cross Slovak ones use the same techniques in Crash, Match Master, Test Tube Aliens, presenting their product. The only Ultra Blast Batman), hyperboles and difference appears in the toy categories. figurative expressions, the Slovak variants The Slovak commercials did not present prefer neutral voice and simple any scientific toys, instead, they presentation (‘Nový výkonný policajný čln promoted a toy gun from Hasbro, while od Lego City‘, ‘Ste pripravení na the sample of British commercials naozajstné dobrodružstvá?’). offered at least one scientific toy and no gun. The Slovak variants of the The receivers advertisements show the biggest differences in the presentation of the Children figure as the primary target products’ brand name. They do not use audience for the Slovak advertisements, alliteration, and none of the showing by this a similar tendency to commercials describe the toys with the British commercials. However, the hyperboles, in fact, they preserve the presence of a toy gun commercial and tendency towards a neutral language, the lack of scientific toys suggest a making by this the advertisements less slightly different audience from the enjoyable. The advertisements do not British one. The addressing takes into play with the language, and they rather consideration the audience’s age, gender prefer a plain presentation, where the and interest, and use the means of voice-overs sometimes use voice presentation according to these categories. They address children changers that turn their presentation into primarily through their emotions and a robot-like speech. through appeals to become part of the The paper serves as a source for further presented adventures (‘Postav raketu, researches, since it maps only the present nalo ď astronauta a odštartuj do vesmíru situation of television toy advertising. It opravi ť satelit!’). While the characters can be used, for example, for the play with the toys in the advertisements, comparison of contemporary tendencies of they show excitement and joy in order presentation with the strategies of to persuade children that they need a presentation in the past. This comparison similar experience, which can be examines the development of toy achieved only by the presented advertising in the United Kingdom linearly products. Lego toys address mainly with the tendencies appearing in the children with creative imagination when Slovak Republic. they attach a story to their product with the appeal to construct a similar one or References finish the old one. The commercials also address parents when describing the 1. Cook, Guy. The Discourse of toys’ features and the number of figures Advertising . London and New York: in one package. The Slovak Routledge, 1992. commercials emphasise only the number of toys within one package, while do not 2. Davis, N., Shannon. Sex Stereotpyes add whether they include the batteries, in Commercials Targeted Toward or not. The British advertisements act Children: A Content Analysis . In: the opposite way. Sociological Spectrum , 23 (2003): 407-424.

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3. Dill, E., Karen. How Fantasy 5. Pavlík, Petr . Gender a Média. In: Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Smetá čková, Irena, Vlková Klára. Media Influence . New York: Oxford Gender ve škole . Praha: Otev řená University Press, 2009. spole čnost, 2005. 4. Gauntlett, David. Media, Gender 6. Šnircová, So ňa. “Abysmal World of and Identity . London and New York: (Homo)Erotic Desire: Vampires, Routledge, 2002. Demons and Mad Puppeteers” Visnik Luga ňskogo Naciona ľnogo Universitetu Imeni Tarasa Šev čenka . 9. 220. Trave ň (2011): 227-232.