152 | 28, pp. 151-169 | doxa.comunicación

January-June of 2019

Family and socio-emotional relations in advertising of toys in the Christmas period

ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978

1. Introduction

Among other ways of understanding childhood, this study starts from a position which defines childhood as a social condition defined by a cultural and historical construction which is dependent on power relationships (Gaitán, 2006). In it, boys and girls are social actors who move in the social space which constitutes childhood. From a eurocentric perspective, which can be extended to North America, recognising that each culture, society and time has constructed childhood in a social space tailored to their interests and needs (Pavez, 2012), and without debating the concept of childhood with the historic depth it deserves (Rice, 1991; Moscoso, 2008; Goody, 1986; DeMause, 1982), we consider it to be important to remember that it was not until after industrialisation, the establishment of civil rights and the demise of the old regime that the need to “look after” future citizen began to develop (Foucault, 2005). Biopolitical technologies were incorporated, such as education and schooling, which became an adroit means to shape and forge the ideas and ideologies of a future population; hygiene, health, care and diet, which materialised in medical and pharmaceutical developments; religion as a technology for control, ethics, submission and a guide of non-“standard” behaviour; supervision and safety, represented by police, penitentiary and psychiatric technology and many other technologies which were to be developed over those centuries and would make children a entirely new social construct, far removed from the idea of the “savage child”.

In a very general sense, we understand socialization to be the learning process through which subjects are absorbed by their reference culture/society (the society and culture surrounding that individual), and learn by imitation, interiorisation,

Abstract:

This study analyses toy advertising broadcast in Spain over the 2014/15 Christmas period. The goal is to begin a quantitative review of how family is represented in commercials. Initially, it reviews the concepts of childhood, relates them to the concept of socialisation and offers a short analysis of the advertising phenomenon. The results evaluate the presence of types of emotions, values and actions associated with the gender of the characters featured, and the frequency of parent– and grandparent–character appearances in toy ads targeting children is quantified. The limited presence of these characters establishes a basis for discussion about the role of said characters as necessary figures of reference and authority in child development. A final reflection is also proposed regarding the homogeneity of the representations of gender associated with the characters’ roles, for both adults and children. Lastly, this paper justifies interest in widening the study to international level, to make it possible to check the degree of similarity and of contrast in said representations as a way to contribute to understanding and viewing the family in advertising discourses.

Keywords:

Advertising, family, toys, children, socioemotional relationship.

Resumen:

Este estudio analiza la publicidad de juguetes emitida en España du-rante el periodo de Navidad 2014/15 con la finalidad de iniciar una revisión cuantitativa de la representación de la familia en los anun-cios. En su primera parte revisa los conceptos de infancia y niñez, los relaciona con el concepto de socialización y presenta un breve análi-sis del fenómeno publicitario. Los resultados evalúan la presencia de los tipos de emociones, valores y acciones asociados al género de los personajes y cuantifica la frecuencia de aparición de padres y abuelos en los anuncios de juguetes dirigidos a niños. La baja presencia de estos establece una discusión acerca del rol de dichos personajes como figuras de referencia y autoridad necesarias en el desarrollo infantil. También se plantea una reflexión final sobre la homogeneidad de las representaciones de los géneros asociadas a los roles de los persona-jes, tanto de adultos como niños. Finalmente se justifica el interés por ampliar el estudio hacia un escenario internacional que permita comprobar los grados de similitud y contraste en dichas representa-ciones como forma de contribuir a la comprensión y visualización de la familia en los discursos publicitarios.

Palabras clave:

Publicidad, familia, juguetes, niños, relaciones socioafectivas

Received: 03/10/2018 Accepted: 28/01/2019

Recibido: 03/10/2018 Aceptado: 28/01/2019