Canadian Matchmaker Advertisements: The More Things Change, The More They Remain the Same

Four hundred heterosexual personal advertisements published in the Globe and Mail, a major daily newspaper in Canada, were content-analysed between 1979 and 1994 to shed new light on attributes considered important to advertisers initiating introductions through personal advertisement columns. Irrespective of the advertiser's gender, emotional attractiveness was the most frequently mentioned desirable attribute in both self-descriptions and descriptions of potential partners. The findings support the well-known ‘mating gradient’ hypothesis which states that older and more occupationally established men and younger and less financially secure women are attracted to each other according to traditional gender-appropriate roles. Longitudinally, attributes used in the advertisements were relatively stable and consistent. © 1995, Advertising Association. All rights reserved.