The animal text: Message and meaning in television advertisements

We studied the dominant messages about animals in television commercials an d the ways these messages might be subject to alternative readings. Six pri mary themes captured the portrayal of animals in the advertisements: animal s as loved ones (e.g., a member of a family), as symbols (representation of logos or ideas), as tools (using animals for human use or consumption), as allegories, as nuisances, and animals in nature. Many of the commercials h ad multiple themes, indicating the varied, multilayered messages about anim als in advertising and the different value and use categories that humans a ssign to different nonhuman animal species, upholding the ideology of the U .S. political economy. Finally, most of the animal portrayals were not anth ropomorphized; those that were given human characteristics were typically p art of a multithemed message that portrayed animals as allegories. Many of the animal images reinforced human gender and racial boundaries. This resea rch establishes the importance of incorporating the study of nonhuman anima ls in sociological theory and research, particularly the animal image in po pular culture and its connection to the portrayal of other outgroups, such as women and racial minorities.