-falsification of reality: of how if you use their product you will become irresistible to women as they lock around you-sexism
-Misrepresentation: It is when you give fake or misleading information that could have a negative impact on a certain state or action: This CSP is a misrepresentation of woman as just because you use their product woman arent primal creatures that will just flock to you due to some hair gel
1967:
The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of rock’s most acclaimed albums. The Beatles release the double A-sided single with Penny Lane on one side and “Strawberry Fields Forever” on the other side. The Musical “Hair” opens off-Broadway.
January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops launch Operation Deckhouse Five in the Mekong Delta. January 8 – Vietnam War: Operation Cedar Falls starts. January 10 – Segregationist Lester Maddox is sworn in as Governor of Georgia
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-stereotypes are ways people are looked at as a collective can be negative or positive ie in the CSP negative stereotype of a woman as they are all slim, groomed
-When considering feminist critical thinking in relation to an institutional analysis we could look at Michelene Wander who said: “sexism refers to the systematic ways in which men and women are brought up to view each other antagonistically, on the assumption that the male is always superior to the female” and this means there was always be opposition and discord between the two genders as woman fight for their right to equals rights.
-Dominant ideology: Is the communal and more dominant beliefs, value, morals and ideas of a group: When consider the time sexism was common at the main ideology was men are dominant and woman are sub servant.
Advertising and Marketing – Score pre-1970 product.
This is a targeted CSP and needs to be studied with reference to two elements of the Theoretical Framework (MEDIA LANGUAGE and MEDIA REPRESENTATION) and all relevant contexts.
TASK 1: look at the CSP below and use some of the starting points provided to make your first post. Make this post broad and contextual (ie get as much information as you can) but divide up your responses in terms of: 1) MEDIA LANGUAGE & 2) MEDIA REPRESENTATION
Media Language
Detailed study of Score should enable students to develop an understanding of the dynamic and changing relationships between media forms, products and audiences. Analysis should include:
Mise-en-scene analysis
Production values and Aesthetics
Semiotics: how images signify cultural meanings
How advertising conventions are socially and historically relative
The way in which media language incorporates viewpoints and ideologies
How does Score construct a narrative which appeals to its target audience
How and why audience responses to the narrative of this advert may have changed over time
How does this advert create desire for the product
Techniques of Persuasion
Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the persuasive techniques used in the advert and issues surrounding brand values, brand message, brand personality and brand positioning should inform the analysis
Media Representations
Discussion of the Score advertisement will focus mainly on representation of gender including
The processes which lead media producers to make choices about how to represent social groups
How audience responses to interpretations of media representations reflect social, cultural and historical attitudes
The effect of historical contexts on representations
Theories of representation including Hall
Theories of gender performativity including Butler
Feminist theories including bel hooks and van Zoonen
Theories of identity including Gauntlett
Historical, social and cultural contexts
The Score hair cream advert is an historical artefact from 1967, as such it can be examined productively by considering its historical, social and cultural contexts, particularly as it relates to gender roles, sexuality and the historical context of advertising techniques. 1967 can be seen as a period of slow transformation in western cultures with legislation about and changing attitudes to the role of women – and men – in society, something that the advert can be seen to negotiate.
Produced in the year of decriminilasiation of homosexuality the representation of heterosexuality could be read as signaling more anxiety than might first appear. The reference to colonialist values can also be linked to social and cultural contexts of the ending of Empire (see this link).
In comparison, Men’s Health magazine represents a notable social and cultural shift in expectations of contemporary masculinity (a shift which could be usefully compared with the advert for Score Hair cream). The study of Men’s Health can be linked to social and cultural contexts through reference to body image and changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable representations.
Similarly, comparisons with Maybelline campaign and Oh! magazine would be useful in exploring a range of different theoretical ideas and approaches: feminist critical thinking, postcolonialism, postmodernism.
The advertising techniques of fifty years could be compared to those of today. For example, references could be made with the Lynx Effect advert and the Specsavers adverts (both from 2010) which received criticism from the ASA, read this link or this link. And again reference to body image and changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable representations. So have ideas and acceptance around representation of gender really changed since the 1960’s?
Task 2: Create 1-2 slides that look at this CSP from 1 of the following critical perspective: (save as jpeg and upload to blog). Be prepared to show this in class and talk about it.
Task 4: create a parody or pastiche (ie postmodernism) of the Score advert from you particular theoretical perspective – I will explain . . . But you MUST use photoshop. Create 1 or 2 products.
The advert was produced and released in 1967. This was seen as a period of change in the UK in regards to the changing attitudes towards the role of women and men in society.
The equal pay act was introduced in 1970,
Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967,
This period is known as the ‘swinging 60s’- where drugs and sex were at their peak
Hypermasculinity in advertisinG
Hypermasculinity is defined as: psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behaviour, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality.
With Advertising in the 1950s-1980s often featuring a hypermasculine representation of men – and some representations in the media today still continue this.
Historical, social and cultural contexts
an historical artefact from 1967,
1967 can be seen as a period of slow transformation in western cultures with changing attitudes to the role of women – and men (something that the advert can be seen to negotiate.)
This was Produced in the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality.
The advertising techniques of fifty years ago are fundamentally similar to today – if more explicit.
COMPARISON TO MENS HEALTH:
Men’s Health magazine represents a notable social and cultural shift in expectations of contemporary masculinity.
The study of Men’s Health can be linked to social and cultural contexts through reference to body image and changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable representations.
Similarly, comparisons with Maybelline campaign and Oh! magazine would be useful in exploring a range of different theoretical ideas and approaches: feminist critical thinking, postcolonialism, postmodernism.
how is costume, make-up and placement of models constructed to show male dominance?
Costume & makeup:
Both the male and female models are wearing clothing suited for camping or an adventure.
The women are wearing short sleeved shirts that are tied up and extremely short skirts.
The fact that their clothes are really revealing depicts how women were sexualised in these times and perceived as objects. The women’s makeup is also quite heavy and very smoky, creating a seductive nature to the advert and reinforcing the male gaze.
Setting:
The setting has been created to be harmonious with the costume choices of the advert.
The advert seems to be set in a jungle.
This represents Britain’s colonial values and the British Empire that was slowly starting to fall apart at the time of the release of this advert.
Perhaps the producers chose to set it here to reassure the public that Britain is still in power of many other countries when it really wasn’t.
Furthermore, the jungle is a dangerous place that requires a tough male character. This reinforces the extreme heterosexuality of the advert.
Props:
The main prop in the advert is probably the gun that the male model is proudly holding.
This creates a traditional view of men where they are expected to be strong, brave and protective.
The gun makes him appear powerful which depicts men as the dominant ones in society.
However, it can also be depicted as a phallic symbol that informs the male target audience that the score hair cream will give them women and pleasure.
There is also a pedestal that the women are carrying the male on. This alludes to the fact that men are above women n society and should therefore be served by women.
Actors
The most obvious point is that there are 5 women in the advert while there is only one male. This would attract a male audience to the Score hair cream as they are made to believe that having good hair will make them attractive to women- and that is what they want. Three of the females are completely focused on the male character- either staring at him, desperately trying to touch him or admiring him. The model on the left is the only one not looking at him, instead she is staring directly at the camera. This creates eye contact with the audience and suggests to them that using the Score hair cream meas ‘this could be you’ in this current situation.
It is also important to note that all of the models seem to be British and are all white. This is probably due to the fact that racism was still around around the time of this advert. Furthermore, the male model has muscular, hairy arms which further creates an extremely heterosexual advert.
Lighting:
Bright lighting is used, probably to convey the hot weather and scorching sun of the jungle.
