The mass media have the ability to influence the way in which their audiences view people and objects. Any person or object is seen at a slanted view, the view of the broadcaster. Often the audience is not aware of this unbalanced representation and will see it as 'the real thing', the actuality

"The media give us ways of imagining particular identities and groups which can have material effects on how people have material effects on how people experience the world, and how they get understood, or legislated for or perhaps beaten up in the street by others. To come full circle, this is partly because the mass media have the power to re-present, over and over, some identities, some imaginings, and to exclude others, and thereby make them unfamiliar or even threatening."

I have decided to look at how men are represented in two particular television advertisements. Women are also featured in the advertisements and I have looked at their roles as well.

The first advertisement I am going to look at is the Barclays advertisement. The advertisement is a monologue of a businessman aged between late fifties and early sixties. He is balding, but has a fashionable short hai

The businessman's character is one that the majority of a male audience can relate to, as he is how many people would like to be when they are older. He is successful, rich and has all the material things that come along with money. He also has his young girlfriend, who from which he likes to hear appreciation,

"A stereotype is a label which involves a process of categorisation and evaluation. Although it may refer to situations or places, it is most often used in conjunction with representations of social groups. In its simplest terms, an easily grasped characteristic (usually negative) is presumed to belong to a whole group."

The second advertisement is the sixteen sixty four beer advert. The main character is a man aged between late twenties and early thirties. He is shown in the shower with water running down his slightly hairy chest. He steps out and places a white towel around his lower body. The scene looks like it has been taken out of a very saucy sex movie.

The adverts showed a man in two completely different ways, but both characters were desirable to the audience. The women were shown in less favourable ways. They took up roles of convenience and annoyance in the men's lives. The Barclays advertisement was broadcast on a week day evening on ITV and the 1664 advertisement was broadcast on a Weekend evening on ITV. Both are peak audience hours and so would be shown to men and women of all ages.

In the sixteen sixty four beer advertisement the woman playing the wife/girlfriend only comes in at the very last minute. She is playing the role of the leading man's girlfriend or wife. She is approximately the same age as him and is slim and pretty. She walks into the room holding shopping bags filled with food. This is a very typical representation of a woman. She is nearly always associated with the household tasks such as food shopping, cleaning and washing. The other woman is seen on several occasions snooping around the man's door. She is perceived as the general local busybody. She is between sixty and seventy years old and could easily be seen as a woman who's only excitement in life is other peoples gossip.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Beecham's Brylcreem, , Morning Boy, word 'big', theme advertisement, male audience, material effects people, sixteen sixty beer, effects people, sixteen sixty, advertisements women, advertisement broadcast, aged late, barclays advertisement, material effects,
Approximate Word count = 1696
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)