Through my research I found it was obvious that women have come a long way from the homemaker image that was once so popular in the 1960's. Those homemaker ads are now called "vintage" not only because of their age but also because of the ideas, in my opinion. Like my grandmother stated, the portrayal of women in advertising changes as women grow and make more opportunities for themselves. If they keep pushing that glass ceiling and pushing for equality, the ads will show men and women as being more equal. Of course, there will always be ads that use women as sex symbols, and ones that use men as sex symbols. Sex sells in advertising. Women being held to such a traditional gender role shouldn't sell appliances though, not in the twenty-first century. Women won't buy into it.
None of the research I found contradicted my thoughts that advertising has gone from portraying "Betty Homemaker" in 1960 to soccer moms and working women in current ads. Advertising appliances now is a way to sell a lifestyle that comes with the appliance, not the actual product. Will it do something quicker, make me happier, etc. What will this do for me and what are the implications of that on my life. Time is money. Time is precious. In the 1960s the ads were heading in that direction, but the lifestyle wasn't as prevalent a theme as it is today. The product was always the center of attention, and the women was an accessory to the appliance. Now the women and the lifestyle shines bright, and you buy that product because you want the lifestyle that could accompany it. Women, let's keep on progressing and we'll have to see how ad agencies will keep up with us.
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By saying the products advertised are simply the means to the lifestyle being promoted you build up a case that ads will naturally present a specific social concept of lifestyle popular at the time.
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