Student Athletes’ Perception of Female Models in Sports Advertisements

Abstract

Women in advertisements are no longer portrayed as having traditional roles. Instead, they are portrayed as dominant and powerful. This new marketing strategy is hoped to be more persuasive in reaching the target audience, especially the female buyers, thus increasing the sales in the market. This qualitative research aims to explore student-athletes’ views on the portrayal of female models in sports advertisements. A focus group interview involving three female student-athletes was conducted. A total of 20 advertisements, which portray female models, from five leading sports brands were used as stimuli for the focus group. The findings reveal that the participants have different perceptions towards the body image and athletic values of the advertisements, despite having the same background as a student athlete. Sexual appeal, the portrayal of healthy and positive body image, and strong athletic ability are among the functions of the female models in the advertisements, as perceived by the participants.