THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN BILLBOARD ADVERTISEMENTS INSTALLEDIN BAHAWALPUR, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The importance of advertising in the modern society has been constantly on the rise whose brought about fast development of the society‟s civilization. It has made its presence, effects and Influence is being felt in every phase of the life of the people. Keeping the significance and scope of the field in mind, the researchers conducted research on the women portrayal in billboard advertisements installed in Bahawalpur, a city of Punjab, Pakistan. The study aimed at exploring the meaning of text and pictures and the purpose of portraying women in the advertisements. Only women-centered advertisements were singled out. The collected data were analyzed through Fairclough’s 3 d Model (1995) and Van Leeuwen’s (2006) Framework. The results revealed that Pakistani billboard advertisements portray women as performing three different roles; a domestic figure who is fulfilling her responsibilities as mother, wife or household lady, an icon of beauty and a confident, active or interactive agent in societal phenomenon. The findings also indicated towards a positive change occurring in the portrayal of women from a passive being to an active agent in Pakistani society.