The Use of Blacks in Magazine and Television Advertising: 1946 to 1986

Abstract

Secondary analysis of several major content analysis studies, combined with original data from five magazines in 1986 (including Time, Ladies' Home Journal, and Life), reveal an increase in the black presence in advertising. Data from 1967–1986 television commercials indicate that the black presence, in as many as 16% of commercials in one 1986 study, sometimes approaches the percentage of blacks in the population. This trend, while increasing over the 1946–1986 period, is less dramatic for magazines.