An exploration into the role of women in Japanese advertising

This study was an attempt to gain focus on how women are portrayed in Japanese advertising. As the primary movers of culture in society, it is important to understand what images society is being fed about women. This study focused on television commercials. Japanese advertising shows women in dual roles. Most of the commercials depicted women as independent from their homes and families while still maintaining domestic ties. However, work as a location was hardly ever associated with women; rather, women shown away from home were largely in an outdoor setting. This study also discovered that a large number of commercials using women had male announcers. Furthermore, women were the spokesperson for the products in many commercials (even if the announcer was male).