PORTRAYAL OF MEN AND WOMEN

IN US.
SPANISH-LANGUAGE
TELEVISION COMMERCIALS
By jami A. FuUerton and Alice Kendrick
While mmierous studies have analyzed xvomen's portrai^als in U.S.
}^erierai market television as well as depiction of both sexes in several
foreign countries, no data liavi' been published regariHn^ gender depictions targeted to the groioing U.S. Hispanic market via Spanish-Iangiiage television. A content analysis of 162 prime-time commercials
from a Spanish-language television affiliate in a major U.S. market
revealed depiction of women is most likely to he in traditional sexstereotypical roles. In only a feiv cases was a male character cast as a
parent or performer of household chores, and nei'er as a homemaker.
Some of the commercials appeared to he "re-treads" of general market
creative edited for the Hispanic market.

Introduction

Hispanic Market and Media. According to the U.S. census bureau,

mure than 30 million Hispanic Americans live in the United States, comprising more than 11 percent of tbt' niition's total. It is estimated that there will be
40.4 million Hispanic Americans in the year 2010.' Tbe Hispanic-American
population is projected to exceed the African-American population in the
early twenty-first century to become the largest ethnic group in the United
States. In response to this growth, Spanish-language television has emerged
as the most important medium by which advertisers attempt to reach the
Hispanic segment of the population, with an estimated 80 percent of U.S.
Hispanic advertising budgets earmarked for television."^
Hispanics are gaining in economic affluence and buying power,^ and
the growing subculture has become a lucrative target for marketers as
companies attempt to capture the Hispanic dollar. Ad spending to Hispanic
consumers has increased steadily and was projected to gain another 17
percent in 1997 to $1.4 billion.'' A few hours spent watching Univision or
Telemundo, the two major Spanish-language television networks,^ will
reveal a variety of major advertisers including Procter & Gamble, AT&T, and
Sears, many with specially produced Spanish-language spots targeted specifically to the Hispanic audience.
Though interest in the Hispanic consumer market is growing and
revenues for Spanish-language television are climbing, little research has
been done regarding Hispanic advertising and specifically Spanish-language television commercials. A review of the literature revealed no formal

uarterlit
Vol-77,No-l
Spring 2000
128-142

jumi A. Fiillcrtoii is a^sistaiil fiwfessor of advertising^ in the School of jouriuilism and

BrMuicasfingat Oktnhoma State University,ami Alice Knidriik is professor ofadvertising
at Southern Methodist University. The authors would like to acknowledge the valuable
assistance and expertise of Augustine jalonio of Dieste t Purtuers. Dallas. Texas, and
Daislia Cipher of Soiithent Methodist Uniivrsity Academic Computing Serrices.

128

A jumMSM & MASS QJMMIJNOTJW

content analyses of images contained in Spanish-language television commercials.

Theoretical Framework. The theoretical foundation for this study
resides in (1) cultivation theory, (2) acculturation theory, and (3) the dual-role
theory of ethnic media.
Cultivation Theory. Cultivation theory suggests that over time, people
who are exposed to a particular view of the world on television, begin to
accept this world as reality.'' As an example, even brief exposure to sexstereotyped advertising has been found to play a role in reinforcing gender
stereotypes in society.^ Gender stereotypes in advertising are believed to
influence society's "perception of appropriate sex roles" and in some cases
reinforce negative notions about the role of women in society.** Therefore, it
is appropriate to investigate the level of sex role stereotyping and the nature
of gender portrayal in the rapidly growing and influential medium of
Spanish-language television advertising.
Acculturation. Spanish-language television plays a critical role in the
assimilation and integration of Hispanics into U.S. society.'* When immigrants come to the United States they bring with them the language, customs,
values, and traditions of their home country. Little by little they begin to
blend native traditional values with dominant U.S. cultural values. This
process is known as acculturation. As Hispanics mix into U.S. society, they
are exposed to many agents of acculturation which help them learn about
U.S. culture. Spanish-language television assists in the acculturation process
by bringing American culture to the Hispanic population "who might
otherwise be linguistically and culturally isolated from American society."'"
Dual-Rale Theory. Research on the dual-role theory of ethnic media
indicates that ethnic media, such as Spanish-language television, serve two
purposes for the immigrant populationone of assimilation into the mainstream culture and one of pluralism or maintenance of their ethnic heritage."
Spanish-language media provide a means for assimilation for Hispanics, and
also reinforce and help maintain their ethnic cultural identity. Spanishlanguage television is a vital information link for U.S. Hispaiucs.'-^ It not only
offers entertainment, cultural events, politics, and news about mainstream
America, but also provides information about other Spanish-speaking countries around the world. Many third- and fourth-generation Hispanics are
highly assimilated into the U.S. culture but are seeking information and wish
to embrace the heritage of their parents and grandparents. U.S. Spanishlanguage television, with its extended news coverage of Latin America and
abundance of Mexican and Venezuelan-produced entertainment programs,
may serve not only to acculturate newly arrived Hispanics but also provide
ethnic pluralism for third- and fourth-generation Hispanics.'"*
The purpose of this study is to describe in detail the manner in which
Hispanic women and men are portrayed in U.S. network Spanish-language
television, and to the extent possible, compare the findings herein with
existing studies of the portrayal of men and women in major U.S. media and
media in other countries.

Purpose
of the Study

While numerous content analyses of general market media in the

United States and various analyses of the content of advertising in other
countries have been reported, no studies examining the portrayal of men
and women in U.S. Spanish-language television commercials could be
found.

Review
of the
Literature

PORTRAYAL OF MEN AND WOMEN IN U.S. SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVJSKW COMMESOAIS

129

Sex Role Stereotypes in U.S. Television Advertising. Early content

analyses as well as more recent studies have found that sex-role stereotypes
existed in U.S. television commercials.'"' The typical woman, as seen in U.S.
television commercials, has been a housewife and a mother, dependent on
her male counterpart for making decisions and giving advice. One study
described U.S. advertising as portraying women in one of two roles:
"attracting and attaining a man, and then serving him in the role of housewife
and mother."*^
Men and women were portrayed differently in ads, according to these
studies, with women in an inferior, dominated role. Women were less likely
to be central characters in television advertisements, seldom portrayed as
authorities on the products being advertised and often pictured in their
homes, while men were featured more often as authorities and pictured in
settings away from home such as work or outdoors."'
Research since 1990 has indicated that while some progress had been
made in the area of gender portrayal, sex role stereotyping still exists.''' One
study revealed that program daypart was related to differences in gender
portrayal. Commercials shown during prime time to a more^(^nera/audience
tend to be less stereotypical and more balanced in portrayal of men and
women, wbile daytime commercials show women in a more traditional
domestic role.'**Commercials shown during weekend sports programming
are dominated with men as the centra I characters, and women are more likely
to appear and to be provocatively dressed in prime-time commercials.'^
Craig concluded that advertisers "construct the ad in ways that reinforce the
image of gender most familiar to and com fortable for their target audience."^"
Analysis of Sex-Roles in Foreign Television Commercials. Craig's^^
suggestion that gender portrayal is constructed to reinforce the images that
are held by the viewing audience is echoed in the findings of advertising
content analyses from other countries. Portrayals bave been found to vary
with each country's culture and attitudes toward women in society.^^ Overall, however, gender portrayal fits the stereotypical model of the woman as
the inferior, less-Important housewife and the male as the authoritative,
dominant business man. In Mexico, where the women's movement was
slower to develop and traditional views of women as wives and mothers are
deeply held, the commercials show women in dependent roles.--^ In Australia, Gilly found that the television commercials portrayed men and women
more equally in the type of product they advertised, their settings, marital
status, occupation, whether they acted as a spokesperson, whether they were
the recipients or providers of help or advice, and their activity or frustration
Conversely, the status of working women in Japan was below that of
their counterparts in the United States. A comparison of the television
commercials in both countries revealed that while women were shown as
inferior to men, American women were seen more often in high-level
business occupations while Japanese women were more often depicted as
entertainers."
In British television, females appeared more frequently as product
users and males as product authorities. Portrayed as younger and more
likely to stay at home than males, females were depicted more often in a
dependent role, wbile males more often assumed the role of narrator.-*" A
follow-up study found that sex role differences had been reduced in
some categories and that stereotypical portrayals had changed for both

130

JOWINAUSM&MASS

CoMMUNKAnoN QuA

U.S. Hispanic Culture. The Hispanic market makes up 11.4 percent of

the total U.S. population-'^ and is concentrated heavily in metropolitan areas,
particularly in tbe southwest and western regions.^'' The word Hispanic
derives from Hispania Iberian peninsula (Spain). The term Hispanic is
commonly used to refer to residents of the United States who trace their
family background to Spain or one of the Spanish-speaking Latin American
nations.^" There are several other terms used to describe tbis population,
including Latino, Chicano and Mexican-American, but Hispanic has become
the one most used by social scientists because it is neither offensive nor
politically linked."" Hispanic is not a racial label, but an ethnic group. Most
Hispanics are a racial mix of wbite Europeans, Indigenous Indians, and
Africans. As a group they share similar cultural values, customs, and
language.''-^ The Hispanic culture, in general, emphasizes such values as
family, fatalism, dignity, respect, spirituality, and personalism. Unlike the
Anglo culture the Hispanic culture favors "collaboration and interdependence over confrontation and competition."''^
On average, Hispanic families are larger tban African-American and
Anglo families and fertility rates are higher.-" It is not unusual for three
generations of Hispanics to live in one household.-''' Sex roles in the Hispanic
culture are seen as traditional and conservative, with women tending to the
home and children and men working away from home to support the family.
However, many Hispanic families do not fit this traditional role; more than
half of Hispanic women in the United States work outside of the home, almost
as many as in tbe Anglo population.^''
Most Hispanics see themselves as spirited and lively, and according to
the findings of focus groups sponsored by the American Marketing Association, tbey enjoy commercials that portray them as sucb.'''' Tbey also express
preference for the use of music in commercials which conveys an upbeat
nature. Some Hispanics have said that they do not like commercials that are
dubbed versions of the general market spots or ones that use formal Spanish
since the use of Spanish has dwindled among second- and third-generation
Hispanics. The variety of ethnic backgrounds that make up the Hispanic
community results in some language barriers in terms of expressions, dialects, and idioms. However, most Spanish-dominant and Spanish-preferred
Hispanicstbe largest Hispanic market segments-^**prefer ads using spoken Spanisb and those featuring Hispanic models.^^
As a group, Hispanics watch as much English-language as Spanishlanguage media*', but those bom outside of the United States, particularly
women, spend more time watching Spanish-language television. A 1997
survey among Hispanic women in northern California reported that 46
percent of respondents had been influenced by Spanisb-language television
versus only 23 percent by English language TV commercials'" and they were
more likely to believe what they viewed on Spanish-language television.

Three research questions were addressed in this study:

(1) Using established coding schemes, what is the manifest content of U.S. Spanish-language television commercials?

Research
Questions

(2) Does the commercial content reflect traditional sex

roles of the U.S. Hispanic subculture as described in the literature?
POKTRAYAI. OF Mf.N AND WOMEN W U . S . SrANISH-LANCUAGE TELEVISION CoMMESOAIS

131

(3) How does content regarding portrayal of men and

women compare with tbe content of U.S. general market television advertising?

Method

132

Quantitative analysis of commercial content was the method chosen.

Much precedent exists for benchmarking the portrayal of various demographic segments, especially women, in the literature.''^ While content
analysis does not provide the texture of the individual commerciai-as-awhole, its strength is the ability to demonstrate trends across media messages.''^
Sample. Eigbteen hours of prime-time programming (7 p.m.-lO p.m.
central standard time) from the Univision Network affiliate in Dallas, Texas,
were collected between 29 December 1997 and 7 January 1998. Univision
prime-time programming was selected, rather than Telemundo or other
Spanisb programming, because in most major U.S. markets Univision primetime programs command the highest market share among Hispanics.'*^
Recorded tapes were edited to include only product/service advertisements
and public service announcements, but not station promotions, which were
considered to be morea reflection of network programming than advertising.
Tbe editing of programming material resulted ina pool of 162 commercials to be analyzed. Among tbe 162 commercials, 70 aired two or more times
during the taping period, and all duplicates were eliminated. The process of
eliminating duplicate commercials was in keeping with other similar studies.''^ This left a total of 92 commercials to be coded.
CorfiM^. An instrument of analysis employing a compilation of categories and coding schemes from several different studies was used; coding
schemes from Craig**" for "characters present"; from Bretl and Cantor"'^ for
"setting" and "primary narrator"; from Goffman'*'* for "male/female relationship roles"; from Soley and Kurzbard'''* for "sexual content," "sexual
contact," and "degree of dress"; from McArthur and Resko for "primary
role"; and from Gagnard'^' for "attractiveness, successfulness and happiness
index." Sixteen items involved the commercial-as-a-whole (sucb as whether
the primary narrator was male or female), followed by 21 pieces of data for
up to two primary male adult characters and two primary female adult
cbaracters in eacb commercial. Using the guideline set by Schneider and
Schneider,''-^ a primary character was defined as one who was on-camera for
a minimum of three seconds or had at least one line of dialogue. Since the
purpose of the study was to capture the overall commercial images, it was
decided that in instances where there was more tban one "leading character,"
up to two should be included for each sex. It sbou!d be noted tbat this coding
procedure did little to omit any characters who would be considered "primary" beyond the four allowed for.
Two coders, one male Hispanic advertising executive bilingual in
Spanisb and English wbo was not affiliated with the Univision network, and
an English-speaking female advertising professor,'^-' evaluated the commercials. Tbe commercials were first translated into Englisb by the Hispanic
advertising executive. Then each commercial was played a minimum of
three times, after which the coders made independent evaluations using
paper-and-pencil questionnaires. After independent evaluation of each
commercial, data of the two coders were compared, disagreements were
recorded and subsequently resolved by discussion, and a single set of data
emerged for analysis.
JOURNAUSM Sf M/ISS CoMMUNlCAnOfJ

TABLE 3
Character Mix in Prime-Time Spanish-Language Television Commercials
Characters appearing

% of commercials

Frequency

All Adult/Mixed Sex

29.3

27

Mix of Ages and Sexes

15.2

14

Female Adult with Children/Teens

9.8

All Female Adult

9.8

Family Unit

7.6

AU Male Adult

7.6

All Children or Teens

3.3

Male Adult with Children/Teens

2.2

Intercoder reliability. The 92 commercials yielded a total of 119 codable primary characters, which resulted in a total of 3,972 judgments. From
that total, 87 disagreements were recorded and resolved. Using the Holsti
method-^ for intercoder reliability, an overall reliahility coefficient of .978
was computed.

(1) Commercial Content. Of the 92 commercials, 83 were paid product

or service spots and 9 were public service armouncements (PSAs). Most
(84.8%) were 30 seconds in length, with the remainder (15.2%) 15 seconds.
All but 2 of the commercials were in Spanish only, with 1 in English only
and 1 in both Spanish and English. This finding was not surprising since in
October 1997 Univision issued a directive to all providers of commercial
material for the network that ail verbal elements, including superimpositions, except for actual brand names, be in Spanish only.^^
Commercial sponsors. The 92 commercials represented a variety of
sponsors, themostprominentbeingservices (16.3%), packaged goods(15.2%),
retailers (9.8%), over-the-counter medicines (9.8%), and PSA (9.8%).^^ Other
types of advertising included quick service restaurants (8.7%), entertainment
(8.7%), music (7.6%), automotive (4.3%), alcohol (2.2%), personal products
(4.3%), and other (3.3%).
Target/Narrator. Based on the creative message, the apparent target of
the pool of commercials was most often a dual-sex audience (72.8%), with an
estimated 21.8% targeted specifically to women and 5.47u to men. However,
almost 3 out of 4 (70.3%) had male-only narration or speakers, while 27.5%
were narrated by females and 2.270 featured both male and female voices. Of
the 119 primary characters, 63 (53.0%) were female and 56 (47.0%) were male.
Riffe, Place, and Mayo found that general market prime time commercials
featured men (53%) more often than women (47%).^''
Character Mix. Almost one-third of the commercials featured an alladult mixed-sex cast, (see Table 1) followed by commercials featuring a
PoK^RA^YALOFME.NWD WoMFNIN U.S.

SPAMUH-LANCUAGETELLVISIONCOMMEKCIMS

Findings

133

TABLE

Goffman Sex-Rote Portrayals in Spanish-Language Commercials*

Role

% of commercials

Frequency

Traditional

56.5

52

None

29.3**

27

Equality

7.6

Reverse

3.3

* More than one role could be coded for each commercial.

** Some commercials did not feature primary characters and therefore did not contain sex role
portrayals.
mixture of ages and sexes. In only two commercials was a male adult shown
alone with children or teens.
Setting. Business settings or multiple settings (17.4% each) were
featured most often, followed by commercials set away from the home
(14.1%), those taking place in a room other than the kitchen or bathroom
(14.1%), in a restaurant (9.8%), in the kitchen (8.7%), outside of the home
(4.3%), social settings (2.2%), and the bathroom (1.1%).
Coffman Sex Roles. Using Goffman's scale of male/female roles,^ more
than half of the 92 commercials were found to portray either men or women
in stereotypical male-dominant or otherwise stereotypical roles (see Table 2).
More than one-fourth did not involve the Goffman roles as described, fewer
than 1 in 10 featured "equal" roles, and only 3 commercials found men
and women in reverse stereotypical roles.
Sexual Content and Contact. Almost one-fourth (23.9%) of the commercials featured sexual content, defined by Soley and Kurzbard as "advertisements containing verbal sexual references, those depicting male/female
contact and portraying suggestively clad, partially clad and nude models.""*^
Coders were instructed to record the highest level of sexual contact shown.
Within the 22 commercials, the most frequently occurring highest form of
contact included dancing or other touching (81.8%, =18), eye contact (13.6%,
n=3), and holding hands (4.57u, ;i-l).
Roles of Primary Characters. A chi-square analysis revealed several
significant patterns in male and female portrayals (see Table 3). Men were
significantly (p < .05) less likely to be cast as a homemaker, responsible for the
home, performing household chores, or as a parent {p < .06 approaching
significance). Males were also significantly more likely to be featured in
professional roles (p < .03). Conversely, the parental role was the most
common for female characters (37.1%).
Degree of Dress. Degree of dress was coded according to Soley and
Kurzbard's guidelines.*^' Thosedressednormallywerecoded as fully dressed,
those with open blouses exposing cleavage or chest areas or those with
extremely tight clothing or lingerie were considered suggestively clad, and
those in bathing suits or with exposed breasts or midriffs were coded as
partially clad. In the present study, though most models were fully clothed,
I34

JUURNMJSM & .VI/ISS COMMUNICM KIN QlMKTEKIi

TABLE 3
Roles of Adult Primary Characters in Spanish-Language Television Commercials'
Role

speaking Role

Men

Women

Total

58.9 (33)

61.9(39)

61.0 (72)

21.4 (12)

37.1 (23)

29.7 (35)

(11)

27.0 (17)

23.5 (28)

Parent
Autonomous
Individuals
Professional

32.1 (18)

11.1(7)

21.0 (25)

Homemaker

0.0 (0)"

25.4 (16)

13.4(16)

Responsible for Home

3.6 (2)*

23.8 (15)

14.3 (17)

14.3 (9)

14.3(17)

Other Employee

14.3 (8)

Performing Household
Chores

7.1 (4)*

20.6 (13)

14.3 (17)

Advising the Other Sex

5.4 (3)

11.1(7)

84(10)

Adjunct to Other Sex

5.4 (3)

7.9(5)

6.7 (8)

Lover/Spouse

7.1 (4)

7.9 (5)

7.6 (9)

Other

25.0 (14)

11.1(7)

17.8(21)

H=112
^Characters could be coded into more than one role category.
**Chi-square test, significant at .05.
women were more likely to be suggestively dressed (see Table 4; ;< .05). In
all but three cases involving male characters, men were fully dressed.
Age of Characters. More than 1 in 4 male characters were over the
age of 40, compared with less than 15% of female characters (see Table 5).
The differences were not significant (p - .09).
Relation of Characters to Products Advertised.

In 40% of character

depictions, actors were portrayed as representatives or spokespersons who

apparently used the product advertised (see Table 6). One in 5 characters
had no apparent relation to the product being advertised.
Attractiveness. Successfulness, Happiness. Women appearing in the
Spanish-language television commercials were judged to be more attractive
and happier (see Table 7) than their male counterparts, though these findings
were directional and not significant. Successfulness ratings for men and
women were comparable. Using Gagnard's computation of a Yendex,'''
Hispanic women possessed a slightly higher Yendex, or level of desirability,
than did Hispanic males, but the difference was not significant.
(2) Sex Role Portrayal. In Spanish-language television commercials
women are portrayed frequently, though primarily in traditional roles. They
SPA\K}-I-LAN^,UACETEIVISIONCOMMLRCIALS

135

TABLE 4
Degree of Dress of Primary Characters
Men
(n=56)

Women
()i-63)

94.6 (53)

85.7 (54)

Suggestively Clad

0.0 (0)

11.1(7)*

Parhally Clad

5.4 (3)

3.2 (2)

Degree of dress

Fully/Normally Clothed

*chi-square test, significant at .05

are often shown as traditional homemakers who are happily and successfully
taking care of their families and homes. This finding seems to be consistent
with the Hispanic culture which values the family and views the woman as
the keeper of the household.
This study did not find an overt amount of sexual content in the
television commercials. Though criticism of the suggestive nature of Univision
programming has been levied,*"^ there was almost no evidence of verbal
sexual references in the commercials and only one-fourth of the commercials
had any type of visual sexual images. Activities such as dancing, hugging,
and friendly kissing were featured. In 9O'!'i) of cases, the dress of both men and
women was coded as "normal," and not "suggestive" or "partial" (see Table
4). Since the majority of the roles portrayed were parents and homemakers
for women and professionals for men, it would not be expected that their
dress would be sexually suggestive.
TABLE 5
Age of Prirtian/ Characters
Age

Men

Women

Total

18-20

1.8(1)

3.2(2)

2.5(3)

21-30

26.8(15)

31.7(20)

29.4(35)

31-40

44.6 (25)

50.8 (32)

47.9 (57)

41-50

14.3(8)

7.9 (5)

10.9(13)*

over 50

12.5(7)

6.3(4)

9.2(11)*

*chi-square 2x2 table comparing models under age 40 and over age 40 by sex yielded p - .09

13o

louRHAUUM & MASS CoMMiiNic

TABLE 6
Primary Character in Relation to Product
Role

Men
%{n)

Women
%(n)

Total
%[n)

Product Representative/
Spokesperson/Uses Product

41.1 (23)

39.7 (25)

40.3 (48)

Product Representative/
Spokesperson/Does Not Use Product

17.9 (10)

25.4 (16)

21.9(26)

No Relation to Product

23.2 (13)

17.5(11)

20.2 (24)

Authority/Does Not Use Product

12.5 (7)

9.5 (6)

10.9 (13)

5.4 (3)

7.9 (5)

6.7 (8)

Authority/Uses Product

Though women were portrayed as sex objects or as adjuncts to men

more often than men were adjunct to women, the sex object role appeared
relatively infrequently. Men and vi/omen were portrayed equally often as a
lover or spouse, but again the role was also infrequent.
(3) Comparisons with U.S. General Market. Traditional, male-dominant relationships and roles are prevalent in U.S. Spanish-language advertising just as they are in the U.S. general market. The findings of this study show
that in Spanish-language commercials almost half of the time women are
portrayed in the primary role of parents and homemakers while men are
portrayed in these domestic roles significantly less frequently, and that men
are portrayed in the primary role of professional about one-third of the time
while women are seen as professionals significantly less often. This is similar
to studies of U.S. general market commercials'*^ where women are primarily
portrayed in domestic roles and men are portrayed as businessmen.
TABLE 7
Attractiveness, Successfulness, Happiness, and Yendex*
of Hispanic Characters
Scale

Men

Women

(mean)

(mean)

Attractiveness

3.73

3.94

Successfulness

3.91

3.83

Happiness

3.84

4.08

Yendex

3.83

3.95

*Characters were rated on a scale of 5 to 1. For example, a "5" represented a rating of "very
happy," while a "1" represented "very unhappy," etc. The Yendex was computed by summing the
means of the variables of Attractiveness, Successfulness, and Happiness and dividing by 3.

137

Spanish-language advertising contains approximately the same amount

of sexual content, about one-fourth, as U.S. general market advertising and
features about the same amount of suggestively clad models.^ However
partially clad and nude models were more prevalent in the U.S. general
market advertising''"' than in Hispanic ads, with no nude models found in
Spanish-language television.
Hispanic women were portrayed as primary characters slightly more
often th.in men in this study, a finding inconsistent with general market
content analyses,'''' though consistent with studies in other countries'^''
where women are more often featured.

UlSCUSStOn

138

jjijs study, the first of its kind, found that sex role stereotypes exist in
Spanish-language television commercials, but to no greater extent and in
some cases to a lesser extent than they do in U.S. general market television
advertising. Furthermore, these sex-role stereotypes are in keeping with the
traditional norms of the Hispanic culture. One commercial for All-State
Insurance depicted a family at night asleep in their beds. The commercial
showed the mother and father, children, and grandparents. The extended
family in one household is very common in the Hispanic community. Many
commercials, including one for Bounty Paper Towels, portrayed a mother
taking care of children. In the Bounty spot, an attractive, young Hispanic
woman was cleaning up the spills caused by children at a birthday party. The
scene was hectic with children laughing and running around the kitchen, but
mom was under control with Bounty paper towels.
It has been alleged that sexual imagery is prevalent in Spanish-language television programming, but this study revealed that there is limited
sexual imagery in Hispanic television commercials. This finding could be a
function of the types of products being advertised and the companies
sponsoring the ads. For example, many of the ads were for family products
such as diapers, children's aspirin, or fruit-flavored drink mix. These ads
portrayed a traditional family at home using these products to make their
lives more pleasant. In contrast, however, commercials for compact discs for
musical artists were more romantic and slightly more sexually provocative.
One spot showed a couple embracing while the music of the featured CD
artist played loudly. Another spot for a music CD showed a young, female
singer in a sexually revealing costume singing on-stage. However, the
number of commercials of this type was relatively infrequent.
Though most of the commercials in the present study were targeted
specifically to Hispanics and all, except one, were in Spanish-language, the
concepts of the commercials sometimes appeared borrowed from general
marketadvertising and simply translated into Spanish. Three of the commercials in this study were recognized by coders as having run in general market
television. This finding could indicate that Spanish-language advertising is,
at least to a degree, simply a "re-tread" of general market U.S. advertising and
not truly a reflection of the Hispanic commimity. An example of a "re-tread"
included a spot for Crest Total toothpaste which was run on general market
as well as Spanish-language television. The commercial showed scenes of a
man going through his day, from morning at home with his family, to the
office, to a night club in the evening with his wife. A voice-over narrator
explaiJied that Crest Total keeps working throughout your day. The man was
white skinned with dark hair and eyes and had no speaking parts. This spot
was run in general market with an English voice-over and on SpanishJounNAUSM & MASS COMMUNICAHUN

language television with a Spanish voice-over. The features of the man and
the fact that he did not speak allowed the spot to be used in both general
market and Spanish-language television by merely translating the voice-over
audio.
Major U.S. consumer products companies appear to be advertising to
the lucrative Hispanic market in many of the same ways that they advertise
to the general market. In view of the findings reported here, it would be
useful to obtain consumer evaluation of the content of the commercials to
gauge the "comfort level" of Hispanic viewers of Spanish-language television with the commercials therein. It might also be helpful to assess the
language characteristics or advertising appeal of the Spanish-language television commercials. Of particular interest would be consumer evaluation of
the edited version of general market commercials ("re-treads") and whether
they were considered out of place or different than those generated specifically for Spanish-language television.

NOTES
1. U.S. Census Bureau web site, http://www.census.gov
2. Sabrina Goodson and Mary Alice Shaver, "Hispanic Marketing: National Advertiser Spending Patterns and Media Choices," Joiinmiism Quarterly 71 (spring 1994): 191-98.
3. Paul Herbig and Rama Yelkur, "Differences Between Hispanic and
Anglo Consumer Expectations," Management Decision 35 (January-February
1997); 125-28.
4. John Kirkpatrick, "Muy grande market," Dallas Morning News, 30
December 1997, sec. D, p. 1.
5. For more information on Telemundo and Univision, see Federico A.
Subervi-Velez et al., "Mass Communication and Hispanics" in Handbook of
Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Sociology (1994), ed. F. Padilla (Houston,
TX: Arte Publico Press, 1994): 304-357.
6. George Gerbner, "Cultivation Analysis: An Overview/' Mass Communication and Society 1 (summer 1998): 175-94.
7. Sue Lafky, Margaret Duffy, Mary Steinmaus, and Dan Berkowitz,
"Looking Through Gendered Lenses: Female Stereotyping in Advertisements and Gender Role Expectations," loiirnalism & Mass Communication
Qiiartcrhj 73 (summer 1996): 379-88.
8. Mary C. Gilly, "Sex Roles in Advertising: A Comparison of Television
Advertisements in Australia, Mexico and the United States," journal of
Marketing 52 (April 1988): 75-85.
9. Isabel M. Valdes and Marta H. Seone, Hispanic Market Handbook
(Detroit, MI: Gale Research, Inc., 1995).
10. Valdes and Seone, Hispanic Market Handbook, 257.
11. Federico A. Subervi-Vetez, "The Mass Media and Ethnic Assimilation
and Pluralism: A Review and Research Proposal with Special Focus on
Hispanics," Commnn/cflfJc'ttResrardi 13 (January 1986): 71-96; Stephen Riggins,
Ethnic Minority Media (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1992).
12. Valdes and Seone, Hispanic Market Handbook.
13. Valdes and Seone, Hispanic Market Handbook.
14. Daniel Bretl and Joanne Cantor, "The Portrayal of Men and Women
in U.S. Television Commercials: A Recent Content Analysis and Trends over
15 Years," Sfj:Ro/es 18 (1988): 595-609;JosephR.Dominick and Gail E.Rauch,
OFMENANDWOMEi^INU.S.SFAfJISH-LMICUAGETElVISIONCoMMliaALS

239

"The Image of Women in Network TV Commercials/' journa] of Broadcasting

16 (summer 1972): 59-265; Gilly, "Sex Roles in Advertising," 75-85; Leslie Z.
McArthur and Beth G. Resko, "The Portrayal of Men and Women in
American Television Commercials," journal of Social Psychology 97 (1975):
209-220; Kenneth C. Schneider and Sharon Barich Schneider, "Trends in Sex
Roles in Television Commercials," journal of Marketing 43 (summer 1979): 7984; and Arthur Jay Silverstein and Rebecca Silverstein, "The Portrayal of
Women in Television Advertising," Federal Communications Bar journal 27
(1974): 71-93.
15. Alice E. Courtney and Thomas W. Whipple, Sex Stereotyping in
Advertising (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1983).
16. McArthur and Resko, "Portrayal of Men and Women."
17. Stephen R. Craig, "The Effect of Television Day Part on Gender
Portrayals in Television Commercials: A Content Analysis," Sex Roles 26
(1992):'197-211.
18. Craig, "The Effect of Television Day Part."
19. Daniel Riffe, Patricia C. Place, and Charles M. Mayo, "Game Time,
Soap Time and Prime Time TV Ads: Treatment of Women in Sunday Football
and Rest-of-Week Advertising," journalism Quarterly 70 (summer 1993): 43746.
20. Craig, "The Effect of Television Day Part."
21. Craig, "The Effect of Television Day Part."
22. Adrian Furnham and Nadine Bitar, "The Stereotyped Portrayal of
Men and Women in British Television Advertisements," Sex Role^ 29 (1993):
297-311; Adrian Furnham and Virginia Voli, "Gender Stereotypes in Italian
Television Advertisements," journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 33
(spring 1989): 175-85; Gilly, "Sex Roles in Advertising," 75-85; Mary W.
Mwangi, "Gender Roles Portrayed in Kenyan Television Commercials," Sex
Roles 34 (1996): 205-214; Subir Sengupta, "The Influence of Culture on
Portrayals of Women in Television Commercials: A Comparison Between
the United States and Japan," International journal of Advertising 14 (fall 1995):
314-20; Chow-Hou Wee, Mei-Lan Choong, and Siok-Kuan Tambyah, "Sex
Role Portrayal in Television Advertising," Ititernational Marketing Revieiu 13
(1995): 49-64; Charles R. Wiles, Judith A. Wiles, and Anders Tjenilund, "The
Ideology of Advertising: The United States and Sweden," journal of Advertising Research (May/June 1996): 57-65; and Nan Zhou Nan and Mervin Y.T.
Chen, "A Content Analysis of Men and Women in Canadian Magazine
Advertising: Today's Portrayal, Yesterday's Image?" journal of Business
Ethics 16 (1997): 485-95.
23. Gilly, "Sex Roles in Advertising."
24. Gilly, "Sex Roles in Advertising,"
25. Sengupta, "Influence of Culture."
26. Furnham and Bitar, "Stereotyped Portrayal."
27. Adrian Furnham and Fmma Skae, "Stereotypical Portrayal of Men
and Women in British Television Advertisements," European Psychologist 2
(1997): 44-51.
28. U.S. Census Bureau's web site, http://www.census.gov
29. Herbig and Yelkur, "Differences Between."
30. Gerardo Marin and Barbara VanOss Marin, Research with Hispanic
Populations (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991). Also George M.
Foster, "Contemporary Hispanic American Culture: The Product of
Acculturation," in Ljtinos in the United States, Historical Themes and Identity,
ed. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995), 17J40

jf-yiiitNMjM &

25.
31. Marin and Marin, Research with Hispanic Populations.
32. Marin and Marin, Research with Hispanic Populations.
33. Maria Gomez and Ruth E. Fassinger, "An Initial Model of Latina
Achievement: Acculturation, Biculturalism and Achieving Styles," journal of
Counseling Psychology 41 (1994): 205-215.
34. Frank Bean, Elizabeth H, Stephen, and Wolfgang Opitz, "The Mexican Origin Population in the United States: A Demographic Overview," in
Ignored Voices: Public Opinion Polls and the Latino Community, ed, Rodolfo de
la Garza (Austin, TX; CMAS University of Texas, 1985), 32-41.
35. Jacqueline Sanchez, "Some Approaches Are Better Than Others When
Approaching Hispanics," Marketing News, 25 May 1992,8.
36. Susan Welch and Lee Sigelman, "A Gender Gap Among Hispanics?
A Comparison with Blacks and Anglos," The Western Political Quarterly 45
(March 1992): 181-99.
37. Sanchez, "Some Approaches."
38. Valdes and Seone, Hispanic Market Handbook.
39. Sanchez, "Some Approaches."
40. Valdes and Seone, Hispanic Market Handbook; Tomas Rivera Policy
Institute, Talking Back to Television: Latinos discuss how tetei'isioii portrays them
and the quality of programming options (Claremorent, CA: The Tomas Rivera
Policy Institute, 1998).
41. "Communicating on the Customer's Terms: Hispanics Want More
Conversation, Values," Minority Market Alert 5,1 May 1997, 5.
42. See for example Bretl and Cantor, "Portrayal of Men and Women in
U.S. Television Commercials"; Alice E. Courtney and Sarah W. Lockeretz, "A
Woman's Place: An Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine
Advertisements," journal of Marketing Research 8 (February 1971): 92-95;
Craig, "The Effect of Television Day Part"; Dominick and Rauch, "The Image
of Women in Network TV Commercials"; Schneider and Schneider, "Trends
in Sex Roles"; and Silverstein and Silverstein, "The Portrayal of Women in
Television Advertising."
43. SeeOle R. Holsti, Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities
("Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1969),
44. Kelli Reagan, "Habia DRTV?" Response TV, 1 August 1997, 27.
45. Schneider and Schneider, "Trends in Sex Roles."
46. Craig, "The Effect of Television Day Part."
47. Bretl and Cantor, "Portrayal of Men and Women in U,S. Television
Commercials."
48. Erving Goffman, Cender Advertisements (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1976).
49. Lawrence Soley and Gary Kurzbard, "Sex in Advertising: A Comparison of 1964 and 1984 Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Advertisirig 15
(fall 1986): 46-54.
50. McArthur and Resko, "Portrayal of Men and Women."
51. Alice Gagnard, "From Feast to Famine: Depiction of Ideal Body Type
in Magazine Advertising: 1950-1984," cited in Women in Mass Communication,
2d ed., ed. Pamela J. Creedon (Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1993).
52. Schneider and Schneider, "Trends in Sex Roles."
53. The authors acknowledge that there are limitations to this study
because both coders were not fluent in Spanish and because the commercials
were translated and then evaluated in English.
54. Holsti, Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities

141

55. From Univision internal memo dated 20 October 97.

56. Public Service Announcements were sponsored by the American
Cancer Society to promote nonsmoking, the U.S. Department of
Transportation's Operation Lifesaver to promote seatbelt usage, Drug Free
America {2 spots), McGruff's "Take a Bite Out of Crime" campaign, American Heart Association, and Goodwill Industries.
57. Riffe, Place, and Mayo, "Game Time, Soap Time and Prime Time TV
Ads."
58. See Goffman, Gender Advertisement!^.
59. Soley and Kurzbard,, "Sex in Advertising: A Comparison of 1964
and 1984 Magazine Advertisements."
60. See Soley and Kurzbard, "Sex in Advertising: A Comparison of 1964
and 1984 Magazine Advertisements."
61. For Gagnard's computation of a Yendex see "From Feast to Famine:
Depiction of Ideal Body Type in Magazine Advertising: 1950-1984."
62. Kathleen Murray, "Banging the Drums as Spanish TV Comes of
Age," The New York Times, 10 April 1994, late edition, p. 10.
63. See Dominick and Rauch, "The Image of Women in Network TV
Commercials"; McArthur and Resko, "Portrayal of Men and Women;" Bretl
and Cantor, "Portrayal of Men and Women in U.S. Television Commercials";
and Craig, "The Effect of Television Day Part."
64. Soley and Kurzbard, "Sex in Advertising: A Comparison of 1964 and
1984 Magazine Advertisements."
65. Soley and Kurzbard, "Sex in Advertising: A Comparison of 1964 and
1984 Magazine Advertisements
66. See Craig, "The Fffect of Television Day Part;" Riffe, Place, and Mayo,
"Game Time, Soap Time and Prime Time TV Ads;" and Schneider and
Schneider, "Trends in Sex Roles."
67. See Mwangi, "Gender Roles Portrayed in Kenyan Television Commercials;" Wiles, Wiles, and Tjerniund, "The Ideology of Advertising: The
United States and Sweden;" and Zhou and Chen, "A Content Analysis of
Men and Women in Canadian Magazine Advertising."

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