Impact Of Women In Advertisements

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It is rare these days to see adverts broadcast on television without women playing prominent and visible roles, which range from complementary, subjective, subordinate to major actors in most television adverts. These roles may be ascribed by men who may not only enhance the product being advertised, but add colour, glamour and pleasant feelings to viewers whose interest, attention and patronage are very much sought after.
Thus, women could be seen oftentimes in the background performing seductive roles in Delta soap. The sole attraction and the major actors were the women shown at the pitch where the glamour was most manifest. Although, there were men there, but women was usually the first attraction.
Women are, therefore, beginning to get involved in adverts not only as subordinates but also as major characters and most time found themselves in decision making positions. The term advertising and advertisement can be defined in many different ways. One widely used definition appropriate for many years by no longer so was simple “salesmanship print”.
Perhaps a more precise definition of the subject would be: advertising, the paid use of adoption of a product, service or idea. An identified sponsor could also define it as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services.
Although, modern advertising is only about 100 year old and the use of advertising actually dates back at least to the 10th century BC. The use of picture in advertisements is necessary. Advertisements with names and symbols on them are always easy from both illiterates and literates to identify with the developments of printing, advertising made its first appearance in a form more nearly related to its present one.
A small poster by William Claxton 1450 promoted the sale of a service book published. The first known newspaper advertisement also was a book notice which appeared in a German News book in 1591.
It is of note that the common forms of advertising at that time were newspaper, street signs, posters, hand bills. The use was made of by United States Government of advertisement during the civil war to sell bonds.
The radio made its incursion into the advertisement world and began to challenge, seriously, newspapers and other. Television became very controversial because it changed the role of radio, as it became the major source of in-home entainment since 195015. The scientific nature of advertising perhaps has created a broad and wide room which impropriated the women folk and exploitation of their intricate characters and quality women traditionally are seen in terms of their appearance, sexually and domestic relations.
Accordingly, feminist researcher like inch man and busty, conclusively submit that women are portrayed largely in term of their sexuality or domestic city, while men tend to be shown as dominant, active and authoritative.
This perhaps explains to great extent why the role-played by women earlier on were mere subordinate to men. As it has been the practice until perhaps to recent times, the makes take major decisions, handle senior executive parts, think and map out strategies for execution plan on a complementary basis.
Nowadays, the impact of women in advertisements has generated a lot of controversy in many parts of the world. Some argue that women are used as followers in the advertisements. They see women as ornaments that are used to beautify the advertisement. They further went to say that women garnish the advertisements and make the adverts appealing to the eyes. To them the seductive nature of women helps a lot in creating interest in the product.
Perhaps, this accounts for why must advert agencies see or feel the impact of women in advertisements as a powerful polarized force of feminine attraction over masculine, a phenomenon well cherished for quick awareness of advert and sale of product.
The argument here reveals a situation attraction and sustenance as a major factor in any advertisement. These agencies use renowned women, since men and even women alike admire television advertised. There are advanced examples as that of manarch beer and cannon beer, which use women widely despite the fact that men actually consume the product more than the females. Also product adverts like Delta soap, Joy soap etc call to mind what effects womanish roles on advertisements can play on the audience.
The impact of women in advertisements and indeed other endeavors are perceived differently, from community to community and according to position of women in the traditional society to which they belong.
In a country like Greece, women basically occupy themselves with domestic chores and keeping the family religiously alive, while their male counterparts have the duly of providing things from the outside world that deep the family alive and going.
In Germany, women play together role they go to hunt with their male flock, go to war most times with them, farm and prepare the food for the husband and the family. Women here are often times treated same ad men, though both do no enjoy equal rights and privilege especially in inheritance.
The American situation may perhaps be a little different; women were initially subjected to ascribed roles. This gradually began to wane as women liberation movements became rampart and the roles of women in such places became more recognized and appreciated.
To African and Nigerian society, women should remain in their traditional and remain in their background, unseen and unheard. The African society perceives exposure of women as a most unwelcome thing.
In certain parts of African tradition society exposing of a female’s body termed a taboo, just like the Muslim community forbid women from exposing themselves to certain practices which they term evil and ungodly.
Thus, it is not only in advertising by in other fields of endeavor where pronounced roles are unseen at not for women. But in modern times, women are beginning to be exposed and can now engage in activities without much criticism.
Perhaps, advertisements are now so negligently perused that it has glamour or for some other reasons, sometimes sublime, and sometimes pathetic, that women play these controcersal roles in virtually every advertisement broadcast.
This research venture is aimed at not only X-raying impact of women but in everyday endeavor both in modern and ancient times, outlining reasons and explanation and aligning such roles and activities of women in various parts of the globe.
The fields survey research method, which was adopted for this research was deemed appropriate considering the nature of the topics. There was the need to interview men, women and other members of the society on matters relevant to study.

1.2 IMPORTANCE OF STUDY
The impact of women in television advertisements have for long agitated the minds of people. Sequel to this, this research went all out, therefore, to investigate reasons for such impact, the perception of the society towards these roles for such impact, the perception of the society towards these roles, and equally tested the pulse of the viewers, X-raying the reaction. Feelings and reasons for such reactions. This was done instead of merely depending on assumptions. David Edeani 1999 in one of his lecturers state “There is not only the need to develop opinions and facts in them, they should be cultivated rather5 than depending on assumptions.
Advertisers may also be wondering occasionally about the effect of the impact and roles they have on consumers of these products advertised. Do their presence really attract attention of prospective buyers? If they do, how has it been reflected in their sales?
On the other hand, owners of products being advertised may at times wonder actually the reasons why the advertisers use women in advertising products, which at times are not even consumed by women.
According to Barbara Lyne, an American theorist on the role of women in one of her lecture session at the University of California pointed out that the fact being used to their diriment. She observed that rate at which fashion and model houses engage the services of women and their performance as most alarming with little or no benefit to the women. Yet much women were expected by their employers to perform to extreme ability, irrespective of how the public feel about such roles.

1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEMS
Today, we all have strong concepts of what advertising is and we also tend to have very strong opinions and prejudices about it. Definitions of advertising are many and varied. It may be defined as a “communication process, a marketing process, and economic and social process, a public relation process, or an information and persuasion process” depending on the point of view.
The term advertising is the non-personal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about product services or ideas by identified sponsors through various media.
From the definition advertising is all about creating awareness about a particular product. Let us take this definition apart and analyse it’s components. Advertising is directed to groups, for example, might be teenagers who enjoy rock music or adults who attend cultural events. But in either case, advertising to these group is not personal or face to face communication.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Are the roles of women in television adverts dependent on ascribed roles by men?
2. Does beliefs, attitude and behaviour exertany influence on women’s participation in TV advertisements?
3. Would the role of women in TV advert be best described as seductively alluring in the background of TV adverts?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Based on the research question, the following research hypothesis were generated.
H1 Women’s roles in TV advert are dependent on the ascribed roles by men.
Ho women’s role in TV advert are not dependent on the ascribed roles by men.
H2 The participation of women in TV adverts are influenced by beliefs, attitudes and behaviour of women in the society.
Ho The participation of women in TV adverts are not influenced by beliefs, attitudes and behaviour of women in the society.
H3 The role played by women is seductive in TV advertisements.
Ho The role played by women is not seductive in TV advertisements.

1.6 ASSUMPTIONS
The intent of this study is, among other things to findout, the impact of women in advertisement based on the background that women differ from men in behaviour, attitudes speech and general approach to issues, Robin (1975) points out that women’s speech and language differ substantially from men’s women tend to use weaker excessively polite and question rather than make statements the argued further that these differences are assumed within social structure.
Equally assumed was that women are shown in TV adverts as the seductively alluring back grand. The impact of women in advertisements was also assumed to be for reinforcement rather than reduction of prejudices and stero types.
Assumed further was the debasing of womanhood which their participation in advertisements often causes.
This study equally assumed that men ascribe women’s roles and mainly confined to the domestic sphere or else as secretaries assistants and in similar roles ancillary to those of the men.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The impact of women in advertisements is an area that has been sufficiently explored by researcher. Although a lot of topics arrears close to it have been worked on, very little information could be get which bears directly on the impact of women in advertisement.
This however posed a lot of problem since there were very limited sources of empirical and theoretical literature, which bears directly on the topic. Secondly, the fact that this project had a specific period of time within which it was supposed to be ready, time therefore became one big constraint to the researcher. The researcher have not been able to lay hands on it other materials which one relevant to the study within the short time, they have to undertake the project. This problem was also worsened by the consideration of the workload, which the researcher had it content with.
This study also was faced with the problem of finance. Things/materials were costly and posed serious concern.

1.8 DISTINQUISHING FEATURES
This research is meant to discover how the society feel or perceive the impact of women in advertisements. The research is centered on Delta soap TV adverts as a case study. Though many research works have been carried out on women and there activities, none has been found to center on these.
Another distinguishing feature of this work lies in the population studied at Enugu in Enugu state constituted this research’s population even if there happened to be a research on the impact of women in adverts in Nigeria, the researcher are sure that such documented research has not be done using Enugu residents are the population.
The research also outlined the reason why women participate in adverts and why advert agencies or advertisers use women in TV adverts and societies perception of these roles.
This research work sampled the opinion of consumers of Delta soap TV advert found out their feelings and opinions towards these products and discovered whether the way women who were used in these adverts really appended to their taste.

1.9 CONCEPTUAL DEINITION OF TERMS
Advertising conceptually: means a salesmanship in print.
Product conceptually: means goods and service been advertise in a any media.
Television conceptually: means a media used to create awareness about a particular product.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Advertising: advertising operationally means a non-personal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about a product, services, or ideas by identified sponsors through various media.
Product: product operationally means particular goods or services of a company that been advertise in a television.
Television: television operationally means an electronic media used to create massive awareness about a particular product.

1.10 FRAME WORK
The frame work based on the chief researcher’s knowledge of existing theories is that most advertising is paid for by sponsors, using the impact of women in advertisements as a case study of Delta soap television as typical example in this study. Like Bornvita, Omo, Maggi, Coca-cola, Bergedorf and the ordinary fashion house along the street pay money to the media to carry the advertisements we read, hear and see. But some advertisements are not paid for by their sponsors. The motherless babies homes, Red cross, National women societies are only three of hundred or organizations whose messages are customary presented by the media at no charge as a public service advertisement.
A company usually sponsors advertising in order to convince people that its product will benefit them. Most advertising is intend to be persuasive to win converts to a product, service or idea.
Advert in television that involve demonstration like companies that produce soap using Delta soap as a case study in this study used women to illustrated the advert in other to be effective.
Some advertisements, though such as legal announcements are intended to inform not to persuade.
In addition to promoting tangible products as soap advertising is also used extensively to help sell the services of bankers corporate organizations and hotels.