Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

Primarily my academic interest revolves around how to interpret media messages; particularly studying the images, inferences, stereotypes, and prejudices involved in the media with special attention to television advertising. My particular research focus is on the representation of the elderly in Prime Time television advertising on the island of Puerto Rico. This study includes all commercials issued over two weeks, 280 hours, on four TV channels. We found that only sixty-six advertisements consisted of images of people over 55+ as a talent within 524 commercials (and of these sixty-six ads only six were exclusive of elders). We use quantitative and qualitative methodology. The Nielsen Company and some television producers provided data. The analysis of 524 publicity advertisements was made with two templates constructed to collect the data. The first is based on an authorized adaptation of the Global Media Monitoring Project, and the second template consisted of a table containing forty-four variables identified under the theme: stereotypes. Through these data, we were able to scrutinize the references of the context in which the elderly were represented and the stereotypes in those television advertising in Puerto Rico. The subrepresentation of elder women in TV commercials was patent. The elder presence on television promotions is not related to the percentage of the population of people over 55. Positive traits, negative traits, themes privileged by advertisers, the presence of elderly alone or accompanied, images, frequency, advertisers, and contradictions are considered.