The principal objective of this paper was to examine female roles portrayed in advertising. More specifically, the question that stimulated this research project was: What message has been signaled to society through advertisements about women? Have these portrayals altered throughout the past decades? The study consisted of a systematic content analysis of Brazilian commercials between 1973 and 2008. A probabilistic sample procedure was adopted. 95 pieces of material were selected. Our results have revealed that certain specific images have changed over the years; however, they continue to be stereotyped and idealized. DOI: 10.5585/remark.v9i3.2201