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Sex Sells: How Advertising Agencies' Commodification of Image Affects Older Women in Advertising Diane Fittipaldi University of St

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Sex Sells: How Advertising Agencies' Commodification of Image Affects Older Women in Advertising Diane Fittipaldi University of St University of St. Thomas, Minnesota UST Research Online Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership School of Education Spring 2015 Sex Sells: How Advertising Agencies' Commodification of Image Affects Older Women in Advertising Diane Fittipaldi University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss Part of the Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business and Corporate Communications Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Education Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, and the Public Relations and Advertising Commons Recommended Citation Fittipaldi, Diane, "Sex Sells: How Advertising Agencies' Commodification of Image Affects Older Women in Advertising" (2015). Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership. 56. https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss/56 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at UST Research Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership by an authorized administrator of UST Research Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEX SELLS i Sex Sells: How Advertising Agencies’ Commodification of Image Affects Older Women in Advertising A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCTATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA By Diane Fittipaldi IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION 2014 SEX SELLS ii UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS, MINNESOTA Sex Sells: How Advertising Agencies’ Commodification of Image Affects Older Women in Advertising We certify that we have read this dissertation and approved it as meeting departmental criteria for graduating with honors in scope and quality. We have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made. SEX SELLS iii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand how advertising agency culture affects the long-term careers of women account executives as they age. The primary research questions were: 1) How do self-image and cultural stereotypes affect the decision to enter the advertising business; 2) How do women navigate the male-dominated culture of the ad agency; 3) What strategies do women use to get ahead in advertising; 4) How do women survive long term in a culture that favors youth? Qualitative data was collected via unstructured, one-on-one, in-depth interviews with a nationally sourced sample 15 female advertising account executives aged 40 years old to 61 years old. Critical theory and the uncovering of power dynamics served as the interpretive framework for both the inquiry and analysis of this study. Participants reported being attracted to the field’s glamour. They understood the habitus and looked and acted the part in the dramaturgical presentation of self. In their early careers, women enjoyed the high-energy atmosphere and intense camaraderie they encountered in a total institution-like atmosphere. Getting ahead required the accumulation of social capital, which meant demonstrating the ability to diffuse sexual harassments and give up one’s personal life in service of the job. Here, accepting the myth that clients require around the clock attention reinforced hegemonic practices, which ultimately forced women to choose between career and family. Among those that continued in the profession, many reported identifying as tomboys in their youth. They felt comfortable in a man’s world and performed as ideal workers with immunity from family work. The advertising agencies represented in this study were steeped in patriarchy. Standpoint theory explains why most women accepted the industry’s patriarchy as given, unable to envision alternative ways of being. SEX SELLS iv © 2014 Diane Fittipaldi ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SEX SELLS v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………..…...… iii TABLE OF TABLES ...……………………………………………………………………..... viii FIGURES …………………………………………………………………………………..……ix INTRODUCTION Reflexive Statement……………………………………………………………................. 1 Summary……………………………………………………….....……………................. 5 Definition of Terms…………………………………………...………………...................5 CHAPTER ONE: REVIEW OF LITERATURE Historical Review of the Advertising Industry Introduction…………………………………………………………………….... 7 The Early Years……………………………..…………….………………….…. 7 World War II to 1960……………………………..……………………………. 10 The Creative Revolution………………………..……………...………..……... 12 The Digital Revolution: 1990s to Today.…………………………..……..……. 16 Self-Presentation, Image and Identity of Advertising Agency Personnel……………..…19 Homosocial Reproduction and Institutionalized Workplace Discrimination.................... 22 Homosocial Reproduction……………..…………………………...….............. 22 Institutionalized Workplace Discrimination........................................................ 23 Review of Analytical Theory............................................................................................ 27 Feminist Theory …………………………………………...................................27 Tomboy Theory …………………………………………................................... 32 Authority, Myth and Bruce Lincoln..................................................................... 33 Dramaturgy, The Total Institution and Erving Goffman……………………..... 37 Habitus, Social Capital and Pierre Bourdieu……………………….................... 42 Summary…………………...………………………………………………...……..…… 46 CHAPTER TWO: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction…………...………………………...……………………………………….. 49 Interpretive Framework…………..……………..………………………………………. 49 Grounded Theory……………………...…...………………………………………….… 50 Data Collection Methods.……………….…….………………………………................ 52 Modes of Analysis…………………………………………………………………..……54 Ethical Considerations………………………………………………………...………… 58 Data Integrity and Limitations…………………………………………………………... 59 Participant Overview……………………………………………………………………..61 CHAPTER THREE: MY STORY: LOCATING MYSELF IN THE RESEARCH Contextual Background......................................................................................................68 Introduction………………………………………...………………………...………..… 70 SEX SELLS vi Early Career: A Game of Hopscotch ………………………………………….........…... 71 Starting Out…………………………………………………………………...…71 Right Skills, Wrong Look. .…………………………………………….............73 Mid-Career: Specialized Skills Spell Success ………………………...……...………… 75 Late Career: Sex Sells……………….……………………...…………………...………. 79 Summary………………………………………………………..……………………..… 81 CHAPTER FOUR: ENTERING THE FIELD LOOKING AND ACTING THE PART Introduction……………………………………………...……………………………..... 82 Advertising is for Me………………...………………...………………………………... 82 Advertising is for Creative People, Business is for Stiffs…....…………….....…84 Culture and Atmosphere……………………………………………………....... 87 Like-Minded People……………………………………………...…………….. 88 The Entry Process.…………….......……………………………………...……………... 89 Knowing an Insider…………………………………………………………….. 89 Like Attracts Like………………………………………………………………. 91 Having the Right Look…………………………...…………………………...... 93 Acting the Part……………………………………………………………..…… 99 The lunchtime test………………………………………………….……. 99 Curiosity……………………………………………...……………….... 100 Passion………………………………………………………………..... 101 College Part Two……..………………………………………………………………... 105 The Environment................................................................................................ 106 Counterculture……...………………………………………………………..... 108 Working Long Hours………………………………………………………..... 109 Be and Be Seen................................................................................................................ 113 Hanging with the Guys………………………………………..……………………….. 117 Cowboys, Locker Rooms and Frat Houses…….…………………………........117 If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them………………………………………… 122 Summary…………………...………………………………………………………....... 124 CHAPTER FIVE: MID-CAREER MOBILITY IN A CREATIVE HOT SHOP Introduction………………...…………………………………………………………... 126 Winning Friends and Influencing People……………………………………………… 127 Reading the habitus............................................................................................ 127 Winning over others........................................................................................... 129 Playing the game ………………………………………................................... 130 Avoiding the Blah, Blah, Blah and Chirp, Chrip, Chirp………………………...……... 132 Married to the Job……………………………………...……………………….……… 135 Someone to Go to Bat for You………………………...………………………………..142 Summary…………………………………………...……...…………………………… 145 CHAPTER SIX: REFLECTIONS ON LONG TERM SUCCESS Introduction…...………………………………………………………………………... 147 The Trap Door in the Floor…………………...………………………………………... 148 Playing at the Top of Your Game………………...……………………………………. 151 I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar……………………………………………………..... 151 SEX SELLS vii Show Me The Money……………………………………………………………….152 No One Else Can Do What I Do…………………...………………………………. 153 Snapchat, Gossip Girls and Entertainment Weekly…………...………………….... 154 Opting Out………………………………………………………………………………157 Burnout and Downshifting………………………………………………………..... 157 Where Did All the Glamor Go?................................................................................. 159 The Day of Reckoning…………………………………………………...…………
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