Gender Neutral Advertising, Research Paper Example

The advertisement below is from the 2012 holiday Swedish toy catalog Top-Toy, which is Sweden’s licensee brand of Toys-R-Us (Ramirez). This advertisement shows both a boy and a girl playing with toys that are generally associated with toys for toys, such as hairstyling tools and makeup. This is in direct opposition of how most catalogs, which are direct marketing and advertising tools, depict children at play. This advertisement shows boys and girls at play without forcing them the subscribe to their society-assigned gender identities (Molin). In another spot of the catalog, a boy and a girl are both interacting in a play kitchen. The boy and girl are both cooking and playing together with different cooking tools.

In this catalog, Top-Toy is making an effort to fight society-assigned gender roles by advertising their products with a gender neutral catalog. This advertisement is selling toys for children and targets adults who will be buying these toys as gifts. I found this ad by doing a Google search for examples of gender neutral advertising. I did this search because it is a topic that interests me and I wanted to specifically find an ad that did not adhere to the norms of gender based advertising. By doing so, the images of the boys and girls are bending gender norms in their play roles and the types of toys in which they are playing (Pastor, et al 187-194). This advertisement directly addresses the issue of gender roles, and aims to fight the strict gender norms that society has forced upon children at a very early age (Molin).The advertisements within the catalog do not have any particular taglines or descriptors other than the brief identifications of the products.

Works Cited

Molin, Anna. “In Sweden, Playtime Goes Gender-Neutral For Holidays.” WSJ. 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014241278 87324205404578147373422297406>.

Pastor, Esther Martínez, Miguel Ángel Nicolás, and Álvaro Salas. “Gender representation in advertising of toys in the Christmas period (2009-12).” Comunicar 21 (2013): 187-194.

Ramirez, Ximena. “Feminism For the Holidays! Toy Catalog Swaps Gender Roles.” Feminism For the Holidays! Toy Catalog Swaps Gender Roles. 3 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.care2.com/causes/feminism-for-the-holidays-toy-catalog-swaps-gender-roles.html>.