'An iron, pyjamas, an apron, a Pandora bracelet': The social shadow of sexism in Italian adverts.

This article critically examines the social and ideological dimensions of sexism in Italian advertising, focusing on a controversial December 2017 Pandora billboard in Milan that sparked public debate over gender stereotypes. Using a Bakhtinian stylistics approach grounded in critical sociolinguistics, the study argues that the mere presence or frequency of sexist stereotypes in adverts does not necessarily indicate a brand's endorsement of sexism; rather, meaning emerges through contextualized stylistic choices and audience interpretations. Comparing Italian and British advertising contexts, the article highlights how sexism can manifest in both overt and subtle forms, emphasizing the importance of analyzing the interaction between producers, texts, and consumers. The Pandora case illustrates how irony and humor may be employed to engage male consumers while provoking diverse reactions, underscoring the complexity of meaning-making in advertising discourse and the need to consider multiple perspectives when assessing sexism in media.