Image of a Woman in Social Advertising in Italy

The problems of the formation of a woman image and the development of a gender approach in social advertising in Italy are studied. The relevance of the study is due to the high importance of social advertising in modern society and the increased interest in gender studies. The author considered examples of visual-graphic and visual-cinematic advertising. Examples of political manifestos and campaign posters are analyzed that precede the phenomenon of social advertising and are very close to it in their purpose. The results of the study make it possible to judge the late gender orientation of socially important messages. The following stages of representation of the female image in social advertising have been identified. From the middle of the 19th century to the second half of the 20th century, the image of Tower Italy was used on posters. During the First and Second World Wars, the role of women in society was rethought, the image of a woman-inspirer, a woman-mother, a homemaker appeared on campaign posters. The selection of a woman as a direct addressee of socially significant messages occurs after the end of the Second World War, which reflects the progress in the development of women’s rights and freedoms and is simultaneously associated with the emergence of a gender approach in advertising. Since the second half of the 20th century, the traditional image of a woman-mother and a housewife has been used in social advertising, the thematic range of advertising addressed to a female audience has expanded significantly. Since the beginning of the 21st century, social advertising has paid great attention to the problem of domestic violence and discrimination against women, which is reflected in the videos and posters of public, charitable and commercial organizations.