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Module 21 - Proposals and Progress Reports
Part 3:
Appendix 21-A: A Student Proposal Example
February 26, 2005
To: Kitty O. Locker
From: Brittany Anderson, Laniece Coleman, Jennifer Kozora
Subject: Proposal to Write a Recommendation Report to Change Sexist Beer Advertising
Created by Hal Riney & Partners
It seems that every day there is a new beer ad out that portrays women as sex objects to sell a product.
With women holding equal positions in society, this type of advertising belongs in the stone age. We
plan to recommend whether Hal Riney & Partners Inc. should voluntarily change to less sexist
advertising.
Problem
The portrayal of women in beer advertising no longer meets the needs of society in the 1990s. In an
Old Milwaukee beer ad, "Things couldn't get any better than this" until five voluptuous blondes clad
in matching bikinis come bounding out of nowhere to serve beer to lonely sports-men. Old
Milwaukee is not the only brand using sex to sell beer. "Wouldn't it be great if" Rachel Hunter, an
international model dressed in tight shorts and a low-cut blouse, built every man a beach house and
drank Keystone beer with him? Finally, "Why ask why?" men prefer blondes? According to Bud
Dry, all blondes are large-chested, long-legged bombshells. What man could resist? We are not
talking about subtle sexism here such as women being portrayed in subordinate working roles, but
overt, explicit sexism in which women are blatantly portrayed as sex objects with no personality or
individuality.
Sexist advertising hurts women who work in the companies sponsoring the ads. A sexual harassment
suit has been filed against Stroh Brewing Company by the women workers in its brewery charging
that they have allegedly been harassed by male co-workers in the factory, and the incidents have been
linked to the company's "Swedish Bikini Team" ads.
It would be in the best interest of Hal Riney & Partners Inc., Stroh Brewery's advertising agency, to
make a change to less sexist advertising voluntarily to improve its public image, as well as that of its
product Old Milwaukee beer, especially in the eyes of women. Besides being more socially
responsible, nonsexist advertising is becoming increasingly important in the brewing industry because
women make up 25-30% of the beer market. Many beer companies have already attempted to
eliminate sexist ads. No company can afford to turn away 30% of its potential market.
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
21-1
Module 21 - Proposals and Progress Reports
Appendix 21-B:
A Student Proposal Example
Kitty O. Locker 2 February 26, 2005
Feasibility
We can readily imagine a recommendation that would solve the problem: Hal Riney & Partners Inc.
could voluntarily phase out sexism in its ads. Since Hal Riney & Partners Inc. creates the ads for The
Stroh Brewing Company, it could make a positive change to less-sexist or non-sexist advertising.
Topics to Investigate
We will look in detail at the sexism in the ads Hal Riney & Partners has created for Stroh's and at the
problems The Stroh Brewing Company is facing as a result of the "Swedish Bikini Team" ads. We
will also look at the changes that Anheuser Busch & Company has made in its advertising campaign.
We'll examine the following questions more briefly:
• In what ways do sexist ads hurt women?
• Are sales for the beer companies that use sexist advertising declining?
• Are sales increasing for the beer companies that are phasing out sexist advertising?
• What percentage of the beer market do women comprise?
• How do other advertisers feel about companies that use sexist ads?
• How does sexist advertising hurt the beer industry's public image?
• How do sexist ads hurt the ad agency's public image?
• What are the advantages to the agency and the beer company of making a change to
non-sexist advertising voluntarily?
Audience
Our primary audience will be Hal Riney & Partners Inc. of San Francisco. We will direct our report
to Hal Riney, a partner of Hal Riney & Partners Inc. He will have the power to decide whether or not
to implement our recommendation. He will also serve as a gatekeeper because he will decide if the
recommendation deserves his partners' consideration.
Our secondary audience will be The Stroh Brewing Company, which has paid for the ads.
Presumably Stroh's thought the ads were good or executives would not have approved the campaign.
However, no company wants to be sued, especially for sexual harassment which is widely regarded as
unacceptable. Company executives may resist our recommendation to change the ads, but they will
like the benefits that voluntary change could bring.
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
21-2
Module 21 - Proposals and Progress Reports
Appendix 21-C:
A Student Proposal Example
Kitty O. Locker 3 February 26, 2005
You will serve as our initial audience. You're interested in our research methods, our logic, and our
writing style. We feel that with your feminist values, you will support our recommendation.
Methods
We are using library research to answer our questions. The following materials in The Ohio State
University Libraries and the City of Columbus Main Library have been useful:
Anonymous. "Brewers Can Help Fight Sexism." Advertising Age 28 October 1991, p. 28.
Child, Charles. "Back to Basics: Stroh Boosts Old Milwaukee." Crains Detroit Business 29 April
1991, sec. 1:3.
-----. "Overseas Market Has Thirst for Stroh's." Crains Detroit Business 13 May 1991, sec. 1:29.
-----. "Stroh Plans Ad Campaign for Minnesota." Crains Detroit Business 4 February 1991, sec. 1:4.
Cortex, John P. and Ira Teinowitz. "Stroh's Back: New Products Set for 1991." Crains Detroit
Business 25 March 1991, sec. 1:3.
Fitzgerald, Linda. "Beer Commercial Saloons vs. Reality." Advertising Age 24 September 1990, pp.
30-32.
Freytag, Arny. "The Swedish Bikini Team." Playboy January 1992, pp. 78-85.
Galen, Michele, Keith H. Hammonds, and Joan Hamilton. "Ending Sexual Harassment: Business is
Getting the Message." Business Week March 1991, pp. 98-100.
Gest, Ted, Alicia Mundy, Joseph Galloway, Don Boroughs, Kenneth Sheets, et al. "The Sexism
Watch." U.S. News & World Report 27 March 1989, p. 12.
Hammers, Sara. "Dealing With Sexual Harassment." Fortune 4 November 1991, pp. 145, 148.
Hayward, Susan. "Men (Finally) Beginning to Redefine Roles." Advertising Age 18 November 1991,
p. 20.
Jaffe, Lynn. "Impact of Positioning and Sex-Role Identity on Women's Responses to Advertising."
Journal of Advertising Research June 1989, p. 115.
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
21-3
Module 21 - Proposals and Progress Reports
Appendix 21-D:
A Student Proposal Example
Kitty O. Locker 4 February 26, 2005
Morgensen, Gretchen. "May I Have The Pleasure. . . ." National Review 18 November 1991, pp.
36-41.
Neuborne, Burt. "Misplaced Concerns." Hispanic August 1990, p. 66.
Shapiro, Laura. "Why Women Are Angry." Newsweek 21 October 1991, p. 41.
Teinowitz, Ira. "Brewers Fight Back." Advertising Age 25 November 1991, p. 67.
--------. "This Bud's For Her." Advertising Age 21 October 1991, pp. 1, 49.
Teinowitz, Ira and Bob Geiger. "Suits Try to Link Sex Harassment, Ads." Advertising Age 18
November 1991, p. 48.
Tiffl, Susan. "A Setback for Pinups at Work." Time 4 February 1991, p. 61.
Zinn, Laura. "This Bud's For You. No, Not You--Her." Business Week 4 November 1991, pp. 86, 90.
Qualifications and Resources
As women, we each have our own opinions about sexist beer ads. As unbiased as we try to be, we
realize that our feelings will guide our research. We have all done previous library research and are
familiar with business reference materials.
Work Schedule
The following work schedule will enable us to complete our report by the due date:
Activity Total Time Completion Date
Gathering Information 20 hours February 28
Analyzing Information 10 hours March 1
Organizing Information 8 hours March 3
Writing Performance Appraisals 5 hours March 10
Writing the Draft 10 hours March 5
Revising the Draft 10 hours March 7
Editing the Draft 6 hours March 8
Proofreading the Report 2 hours March 9
We will write and revise on a computer, so we will not need separate typing times.
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
21-4
Module 21 - Proposals and Progress Reports
Appendix 21-E:
A Student Proposal Example
Kitty O. Locker 5 February 26, 2005
Call to Action
We would like to discuss our proposal with you and would appreciate any comments or suggestions to
help us improve our report. Please approve our proposal so we can continue our work.
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
21-5
Module 21 - Proposals and Progress Reports
Appendix 21-F: A Group Progress Report
Example
February 23, 2005
To: Kitty O. Locker
From: Denise Hargatt DH
Subject: Progress Report for Group Project (Fronista, Miller, Hergatt)
We are on schedule and should be finished with all segments of the report by the due date March 2.
All data has been collected and the project is near completion. The results of the interviews appear to
support our proposed hypothesis. We have all invested comparable amounts of time, although it has
been necessary to work around our three already-cluttered schedules. Overall, I am pleased with the
project.
Work Completed
We’ve met five times.
Wednesday, February 5—The three of us held a very informal brainstorming session for about 45
minutes. All ideas were considered—and we found that we all have similar beliefs, likes, and
dislikes (which made the choice of topics to pursue a little more exciting). We agreed upon two or
three similar hypotheses we might pursue, and decided to finalize our direction on February 7. Also
mentioned at this point were places to interview our subjects. I offered to print up a draft of a
possible questionnaire on my computer so we could see what information we would have to prove
our hypothesis.
Friday, February 7—Due to a prior engagement, I was unable to attend the group meeting held after
class at 3 p.m. I dropped off the tentative questionnaire before class and left to catch a 4 p.m. flight.
Eleny and Jonelle discussed possible revisions for the questionnaire and narrowed the hypothesis to
a more specific statement. Eleny agreed to draft the final questionnaire.
Wednesday, February 12—Eleny brought the revised (and very much improved) questionnaire, and
we fine-tuned and finalized the hypothesis after discussing all the questions on it. We made minor
revisions, and I suggested a potentially important question that we had overlooked. We agreed on a
meeting time (10 p.m., Thursday, February 13) and place (Bernie’s Bagels) to begin interviews. I
offered to print up and make 45 copies of the final questionnaire to use Thursday night. We decided
to interview 15 people at nine different drinking establishments on North High Street (OSU campus
area) for a total of 135 interviewees. Each of us suggested several bars where we would get a
reasonably varied sampling of people and we whittled this number down to 9 bars. I offered to
cover the 3 north area bars, Eleny took the 3 middle-to-south area bars, and Jonelle said she would
cover the 3 south area bars.
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
21-6
Module 21 - Proposals and Progress Reports
Appendix 21-G: A Group Progress Report
Example continued
Kitty O. Locker
February 23, 2005
Page 2
Thursday, February 13—At 10 p.m., we met at Bernie’s Bagels for about 10 minutes. We made
tentative plans to meet again during the weekend to total the results. I passed out the
questionnaire forms and we went our separate ways to gather data.
Sunday, February 23—I created a near tabular way to present the data so the trends would be
easily spotted. Eleny and I met for an hour, entering our data into summary charts for each bar
and computing averages and totals for each establishment as well. We divided up the three
written sections for the final draft, and set a date for proofreading and revising each other’s
material
Work to Be Completed
The final draft will be written in three sections. Jonelle will polish the purpose and procedure, I will
present the results (with visuals), and Eleny will prepare the discussion section. On Thursday,
February 27, the three of us will meet to proofread and make final revisions to copy. Our report will
be ready for you by 2 p.m. on Monday, March 2.
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
21-7
