Advertisers bombard their viewers with countless advertisements throughout their lives. An advertisement is a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or a possible job opening. One of the largest mediums of oppression to the genders is advertisement. Those effected the most by this form of oppression live in a more modern society where advertising is more prevalent. Those with greater access or those who are constantly around advertising are affected the greatest. Some of the ways in which advertisements reach viewers include the internet, television and magazines. In advertisements, both male and female genders are told what to drink, what to eat, what to wear, how to act, and even what to think. However, the oppression that occurs towards both the male and female genders does not always receive its proper recognition. Oppression affects both the male and female gender through sexism in advertisement, which takes the form of prejudice, discrimination and internalized oppression. .
Advertising companies place males and females into stereotypical gender roles. A stereotype is a preconceived or oversimplified generalization about an entire group of people without regard for their individual differences[ CITATION Schmidt l 1033 ]. When advertisers portray males, they tend to be more muscular and tough, whereas females will be beautiful and helpless. However, both tend to show the extremes of their gender roles when attempting to portray both the male and female genders. In Steve Craig's journal, he states, "The portrayal of men and women in advertising tends to be far more blatant in its sexual stereotypes. This is due in large to the fact that the products advertised are aimed at target male and female audiences, thus resulting in a higher level of specificity in sex-role portrayals"[CITATION Craig92 p 13 l 1033 ]. Advertisers extort the male and female stereotype in order to grab the attention of each gender for which they intend the product they are advertising.