Television Consumer Advertising and the Sports Figure

Abstract

The principal investigators analyzed 35 hours of television sport broadcasts and 35 hours of television non-sport broadcasts. A score sheet was used to record types of commercial, types of products, and the names of individuals who endorsed the products. The data indicated that sports figures were used as endorsers of products in only 11% of the total of 872 commercials. Ninety-seven percent of the athletic figures employed in the commercials were males. Professional basketball broadcasts used sports figures in commercial advertisements during 36% of their ads. Professional football was a distant second with a 21% use of sports figures in commercial advertisements. Surprisingly, advertisements of nonsport shows were third employing sports figures in 19% of their advertisements. The major conclusion of this investigation was that in commercial advertisements, female sports figures are relagated to a position secondary to that of male sports figures.

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