Descriptions of Commercials
The selection of commercials
provides a fairly broad sample of "typical"
television advertisements of the 1970s. The common theme of gender roles
in suburbia is viewed through various marketing techniques. Products
such as steel siding, snacks, and home loans are advertised through the
suburban image. All of the commercials are set in a suburban environment
or deal with an aspect of the suburban home or lifestyle. Although the
products may be different, the same gender themes are recurrent throughout.
The commercial opens with the view of a middle-class
suburban neighborhood. A male voice over announces, "when this
neighborhood was new, you could feel the pride everywhere, but over
time..." A truck pulls up to a house where the father is mowing the
lawn. The team of workers replaces the worn and shabby wood siding of
the house with stainless-steel siding. After the team finishes, the
neighbors (mostly male) gather to admire the new look of the house. The
commercial ends with the phrase, "at United States Steel we're helping
people preserve their neighborhoods."
Jell-O
A view of a mother and her four daughters in a kitchen
opens the commercial. The group is preparing Jell-O gelatin snacks.
There is no
voice over and only the conversation of the mother and her daughters can
be heard. The mother announces to one of the girls, "you can have a
snack after you play." They all proceed outside and it is evident that
the setting is a suburban neighborhood. As they play in the front yard,
they find a turtle and the girls are joyous of the discovery. After a
short time, they return inside to the kitchen and a voice over enters the
commercial. The male voice pronounces, "when you don't want to spoil
their appetites, but you don't mind spoiling them; cool, fruity tasting,
Jell-O is just right because its light." A scene of the girls
enjoying
themselves with the snack provides the backdrop for the voice over. The
commercial ends with the phrase, "Jell-O, its never too filling."
Chase Manhattan
Bank
A man dressed in a suit, sitting in the dark on a chair
opens the
commercial. He begins with, "if you're thinking of redecorating your
bedroom, making your kitchen bigger, or having your lawn landscaped...
don't take out a loan that will eat you out of house and home." The
scene enlargers, as the announcer describes Chase Manhattan Bank loans,
to include a family of three eating dinner with a group of construction
workers in the background. The construction workers do not allow the
family to eat any food and the family is alarmed. A close-up shot of
the father reveals frustration and confusion. The daughter and mother
are also viewed close-up expecting the father to react to the situation.
The scene concentrates on the confusion of the father. The commercial
ends with the announcer reiterating the initial slogan.
Gas
Heating
A child awakens in the morning to a winter scene
outside. He opens the door of his suburban home and gets the newspaper.
The boy takes the paper to his parents who are still asleep. They wake up
and play with the boy. The scenes change from the father bathing his
son, to him washing the dishes, and finally to a scene of the family
playing together. The commercial concentrates on the father and his
family's activities which are made possible by gas heating.
March of
Dimes
A mother playing with her infant son on the floor of
their suburban home opens the commercial. Soft music plays in the
background as the mother describes her initial thoughts of her son, "when
I was pregnant with him, I used to dream about his future. Would he be a
doctor, teacher, or Supreme Court justice?" The mother continues to
describe her worries that her son might have been born with
disabilities. She describes the efforts of the March of Dimes and pleads
with mothers to join their campaign to aid disabled children.
Back To: Implications of
Gender and Suburbia in Commercials
Back To: Gender
and the Suburban Image
Back To:
Gender in Commercials
Return to the
Beginning of Project #2