The Portrayal of Women in Local and Multinational Brands’ Advertisements in Ghana: A Comparative Content Analysis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the portrayal of women in local and multinational brands’ advertisements in Ghana while drawing a comparison between the two. The study is underpinned by the frame analysis theory and uses qualitative content analysis to determine the portrayal of women in advertisements shown on Ghanaian television between 2011-2016. Literature suggests that advertisers enlist social frames in ads so that their audience can relate to the message of the ad and identify with its content. Using five coding indices from Goffman 1979, this study finds that there is minimum record of feminine touch, infantilisation, licensed withdrawal, ritualization of subordination and codes of masculinity. These five categories according to Goffman (1979) help uncover the disparities in gender portrayals in advertisements. The study also uncovered some themes which revealed that local brands’ advertisements more than multinational ones tend to portray women in domestic roles in the food and healthcare sector. Whereas, with fewer appearances in the financial sector, women in local brands’ ads are presented as consumers rather than players, but multinational ads in that sector draw a better picture of women as players in the sector.