Change in Portrayal of Women in Select Indian TV Advertisements – A Multidimensional Approach

Abstract

Advertising is considered as a strong and effective medium of communication in modern time. Being attractive, short, quick and powerful it has all qualities to strongly impact, limit or expand the very purpose of a person’s reality, their choices, and potential towards such choices. Women have always been held back in the historical context, facing discrimination in many spheres of life and fighting for their identity. Along with many other domains like films and television, Indian advertisements have changed the way in which women are portrayed on screen.  Keeping this in mind, the present research mainly focuses on the change in the thinking of people on the portrayal of women in the popular Indian Television advertisements. The present study adopts both qualitative and quantitative methodologies under which content analysis, survey and expert interviews are used as methods. The study mainly focuses on television commercials and respondents from every age group both men and women, homemakers and working are considered. The study will help us to collect and analyze information from three different perspectives. The triangulation method will lay down analysis of advertisements, the one who create them and the one who consume them. The study perfectly syncs to the current scenario because it answers if there is any change in reality, or such advertisements are mere audiovisual content with a different meaning.