Panorama of Female Representation in Spanish Advertising After 20 Years of Lovg (2004) and Facebook

Abstract

Introduction: In 2004, two key events shaped social and legislative developments: Facebook's launch on February 4, marking a paradigm shift in online and advertising communication. The enactment of Spain's Organic Law 1/2004 on December 28, Europe's first comprehensive legislation addressing gender violence and sexist advertising, and explicitly defining it as an offence for the first time. It set a critical precedent in combating sexist advertising. In the meantime, Facebook, with its bidirectional communication, revolutionized sociological dynamics, giving everyone a voice and transforming advertising practices. In this study, we attempted to intersect the roles played by the LOVG of 2004 with its appearance and social impact, and to see if its principles also extended to Facebook due to their temporal coincidence. Methodology: To achieve this, following a retrospective review of female representation in advertisements, a critical discourse analysis with a feminist perspective was employed on selected examples of sexist advertising in the Spanish landscape between 2004-2024. Findings and analysis: This study examines how the 2004 Organic Law on Gender Violence (LOVG) and the rise of Facebook, and other social media platforms have influenced the representation of women in advertising. LOVG explicitly prohibited illicit advertising and marked progress toward challenging three stereotypical portrayals of women: as youthful and perfect according to societal beauty standards, as homemakers confined to domestic roles, and as sexual objects. While the law fostered a positive shift toward more inclusive gender representation, social media introduced mixed effects. Platforms like Facebook amplified public voices and enabled swift backlash against controversial campaigns, leading to their rapid removal. However, these platforms also accelerated the spread of sexist content, as discriminatory taunts often gained attention and triggered reactions. Contribution/ originality of the contribution. The study highlights the dual impact of legal frameworks and social media, providing a critical perspective on designing ads that balance legal boundaries and the new possibilities offered by online platforms.