Phillips endured much disapproval for her writing, especially from sponsors like Procter & Gamble. Critics and the radio business during the 1930s were mostly made up of men, and as result, many had claimed Phillips serial series audiences were childlike, unrealistic, vulgar, and distasteful. In reality, these female characters were depicted as strong women with options, education, and personality. Phillips' characters were not something of the ordinary for the stereotypical 1930s women. No regular male roles were introduced until later in the series' run. The conflict most basic to the programs' dramatic structure was that between traditional and changing gender roles: Irene Moynihan, the daughter was characterized as the “aspiring modern girl, with ambitions toward a career”, against Mother Moynihan's and Sue Morton's more traditional views. Although "Painted Dreams" began as an unsponsored program, Phillips believed that a radio series must be a "utility to its sponsors" and that it must "actually sell merchandise; otherwise the object of radio advertising has failed". With this in mind, she wrote in an engagement and a wedding which provided the possibility of product tie-ins.