An investigation of the portrayal of the family on Maltese TV advertisements

Abstract

This dissertation qualitatively analyses the portrayal of families in advertisements on Malta’s leading television station and Public Service Broadcaster, TVM. A sample of 10 advertisements featuring family models was gathered (during prime-time hours and prime-time months) and analysed by conducting a semiotic analysis. The semiotic analysis provides the necessary information needed regarding the representation of families in advertisements. It focuses on the journey of the message, the signifiers and the signifieds, as well as binary opposition. The aim is to fully understand the family models that are portrayed and represented in the advertisements by looking at both the apparent and latent messages. The results of the semiotic analysis are then analysed in light of the Literature Review to fully understand which family models are present in the advertisements. A cross comparison also takes place in order to reveal whether the family models represented on TVM are the reality in Malta. It is found that the family models represented in advertisements rely heavily upon culture. This is because the most predominant family in Malta, that comprising of a mother and father with two children, is the most common type of family represented in advertisements.