By Agujiobi-odoh, Ngozi
The portrayal of the female in advertising has reached a sophisticated level in an age of mass media and modern technology. The study evaluates the perceptions of the public on the portrayal of female models in contemporary advertisements in Nigeria, the major sources of exposure to these advertisements, the perceptions of consumers regarding the aesthetics of female portrayal and the effects on the marketing of the products. The data for this study was generated from six geopolitical zones in Nigeria using survey method. The study used two instruments; namely, questionnaire and an interview guide with data presented in percentages and numbers. The results showed that the majority (66.3%) of the respondents are adequately exposed to these advertisements where female models are being used as endorsement icons. The study also showed that television has the highest (27.2%) number of respondents that are exposed to advertisements involving female exposure. The study further revealed that 43.7% of the respondents are of the opinion that female portrayals are associated with gender sensitive products and services. Further analysis showed that about one third (36.1%) of the respondents are influenced to a less extent in the sales of products. The result also showed that a good number (42.7%) of the respondents are of the opinion that women are only being portrayed as sex objects in product advertisements. In the case of portrayal of female in advertisements, the result of the hypothesis showed that the perception of Nigerians is dependent on level of education (0.000.05). on the extent of patronage of products and services, the result of the hypothesis showed that the extent to which the portrayal of female in advertising helps to sell the products is dependent on the perception of the consumers (0.00