The Role of Men in Advertising

The role of men in advertising as it relates to consumer behavior is something that we as a society tend to overlook. The different images and messages that are shown to us in advertisements aren’t always recognized by the general public. For instance some advertisements depict men as very confident, powerful with an alpha dog mentality. On the other side of the spectrum some advertisements present the male as secondary to the female almost as if they were inferior. An example of another way men are sometimes represented in advertisements is as a sex symbol.

The role of men in advertising in most instances is to portray products/services in a very powerful and masculine way. These products/services are generally products/services that would be used by men in their everyday lives. For instance alcohol, trucks, mechanical/technical equipment, clothes, etc… Men generally perceive themselves as strong individuals that are in charge and self contained. That is why in most advertisements this is the message trying to be conveyed. If a man sees an advertisement for a product or service that portrays a man in a position of power then he is going to purchase that product or service to feel that he has all the same attributes as the male depicted in the advertisement. An example of a company using and ad to influence a man to buy a product would be a Scotch company depicting a successful business man sitting in his office drinking their brand of scotch. This would influence the consumer to go out and buy their brand of scotch so he could feel more like a successful business man. These types of advertisements influence buyer behavior through aspiration groups. All males have a group of people that they aspire to be in, such as a blue collar worker buying a certain brand of scotch so he can maybe be like a successful business man he saw in an advertisement. Male consumers are fond of these types of advertising campaigns because they feel that they can relate to the male in...