Gender-Differentiated Production Features in Toy Commercials

Twenty years ago researchers found that quite apart from the manifest content of television commercials aimed at children, certain formal features showed a marked tendency to vary according to the sex of the target consumers: in particular certain post-production features (transitions and voice-overs). The current study involved a content analysis of formal features in 117 toy advertisements broadcast on British television. Statistically significant differences were found for the same features and also for camera work.