Love is in the air: Love relationships in television commercials

The creative expressions in advertisements that relate to intimate relationships and attraction between human couples, such as romance and marriage, are seldom investigated. The current research quantifies the manifestations of intimate relationships in all Israeli television commercials from 2014 (n = 2084). Only 2.5% of advertisements in the sample presented a plot about a couple’s relationship. Passion (56.6%) intimacy (49%) and commitment (30.1%), which constitute the three poles of Sternberg and Weis’ “triangle of love” model, were the most frequent love components depicted in advertisements that introduce a love relationship and expressions of desire were the most prominent actions depicted in these advertisements. The findings are discussed in the context of the relationships between reality and commercial media.