Gender Inequality : An Analysis of Selected Pakistani TV Commercials

Abstract

The current study examines the discursive techniques employed in Pakistani TV commercials to perpetuate social injustice and patriarchal authority. It examines ads like Dalda, Shan, and Glow & Lovely using a critical discourse analysis approach based on the writings of Michel Foucault and Norman Fairclough. The results show that these advertisements employ discursive strategies to maintain familial structures, exert control, and promote deceptive rebranding. Additionally, the study demonstrates how ads personalize systemic unfairness, create narratives about gendered issues, and portray consuming as the main remedy. The theory also emphasizes how advertisements create subjectivities that demand ongoing self-control, sustaining internalized oppression, and exacerbating gender disparity. Research has shown that incorporating celebrities into advertisements enhances brand recall and awareness. This study has further highlighted the importance of critical discourse analysis in comprehending how language, power, and ideology shape social connections and advance equality and social justice.