MODERN GENDER ROLES IN LAUNDRY ADVERTISING

When you think of a laundry detergent commercial, what comes to mind?

 

Although there are a wide variety of brands and ad campaigns, they have all always had one thing in common; women. Since the beginning of advertising, women have been portrayed in laundry ads. But in the past 20 years this has shifted. Men are being shown more and more in household roles traditionally only held by women, including doing the laundry. This shift is a reflection of the modernization of gender roles in society and the move away from more traditional values. While seemingly progressive, masculine domesticity in advertising cannot truly be considered progress if something feminine has to be added to make it believable.