Should companies stereotype their target audience? (12/09/20).

 

Should companies stereotype their target audience?

A Stereotype is defined as “a widely held, but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular person (or group of people) or thing”. These images or ideas are often exaggerated. Representation is the way aspects of society are presented to audiences. For example gender, ethnicity and age. Media companies often use stereotypes to represent parts of society.

Stereotyping can be useful because they can help companies sell more products or get bigger audiences. This helps them make more money. For example most soap operas are watched by women, so advertising companies sell more female orientated products during the commercial breaks, such as diet products, perfume and cleaning fluids. On the other hand, sports programs appeals to more men and commercial breaks consist typically of adverts for betting shops, aftershave and cars.

This kind of gender stereotyping can be harmful, as it doesn’t reflect the complexity of people’s lives. The way groups are represented in the media can lead to society having a distorted picture of those groups. Women are often portrayed on TV as sexualised or mother figures. Also people from India and other parts of Asia have been stereotyped as shopkeepers and waiters. People with disabilities might be shown advertising products to assist them, but are rarely shown in prominent positions in both advertising and TV programmes. As a result society’s views of groups of people often get stereotyped and this can be harmful and reduce people’s aspersions and potential, and can lower self esteem.

In order to help combat the negative ways some groups are shown in the media, in 2019 the advertising standards authority band harmful stereotypes, because they restrict the choices, aspirations and opportunities of children, young people and adults. The first advert to be banned under the new law was for Philadelphia cheese, because it portrayed men as incompetent fathers who were unable to look after children properly. So from 2019 adverts in the UK must not include stereotypes likely to cause “harm or serious or widespread offence.”

I feel companies should not stereotype their target audience because it can be dangerous to represent groups in narrow ways. Showing how complex people really are is challenging for companies, but UK law and psychographics and demographics are helping refine information about audiences, which will hopefully combat stereotyping in the future.