The Portrayal of Women in Primetime Advertisements

Abstract

A television viewership peaks at primetime hours. This block of schedule is the most influential to the audiences. With a large number of women in advertising, the researchers aimed to find out how women are portrayed in primetime television advertisements. A code guide was used to determine how women are portrayed through the image, setting, role and the use of alter casting presented in the advertisements. Two coders observed and analysed the primetime advertisements in ABS-CBN from 6:30 pm for five (5) consecutive days. (September 7 to 11, 2015). Intercoder reliability was checked through Cohen's kappa and percent agreement. The research findings suggested that the portrayal of women in primetime advertisements were generally positive, as women are not sexually objectified. While the depiction of women was not fully balanced, working women were not portrayed in most advertisements and women were generally presented as being in the household.