– The Score hair cream advert is an historical artefact from 1967
– 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.
This advertisement sexually exploits the women in this image by making them wear revealing clothing showing off their skin making them seem like an asset or a slave to men
The man in the image is raised on a pedal stool and made to seem like royalty and a king to “beautiful” women just because he wears the product. There is a sense of the orient with the leopard print and the jungle leaves scattered around the image giving a sense of the eastern life.
The hunting rifle gives the sense of dominance and control in the traditionalist views that the men are meant to provide food and money and the females are meant to be nurturing and submissive to the males.
The product at the bottom of the image it shows the product that will be a “life changer” and get you all the woman in the world.
In this image the misogyny and sexualisation of women is clearly displayed through a variety of different ways. One way in which this can evidently be seen is through the use of short clothing worn by the female characters in this image, this is done to attract the focus of the target audience which in this case is males.
“Get what you’ve always wanted” imperative, command, demanding you do what the advert says
Man is higher than the women, suggesting he is more important
Man shown with a gun, portraying his masculinity, women shown wearing minimal clothing, suggesting that they are submissive to the man
Advert mentions the verb “groom” which holds negative connotations that you most likely would not see in an advert today
“Score” suggests the man’s aim is to “score” lots of women, the advert in general is portraying the idea that buying the hair cream allows you to receive a lot of female attention
Score uses advertising to market their product to there consumers, they do this through using media language to encourage consumers to buy their products.
Media Language
Mise-en-scene- the man holding the gun represents masculinity and power, the fact he sitting above everyone shows he has dominance and is in control of the situation. The fact he is surrounded by girls in very little clothing suggests that he gained all the girls through this magical hair cream.
The image is set in the jungle- links to post colonialism- white man has power over minorities, empire.
Slogane- “get what you have always wanted” this suggest through using the hair cream you can get all greatest desires.
1967- during this time this advert would be very appealing to men, as it fits into the style and aesthetics of the 60s, with the hair and makeup the girls were wearing, women were also regularly objectified and seen more and as an object that could be won, which would tie into the idea that men could win women with this hair cream.
Representation
This advert was designed before the 2nd wave of feminism and the sexualisation was widely acceptable which is why and advert like this would have been popular.
This advert feeds into the dominant ideology that women are only useful as an object of a mans desires. This plays on sexist stereotypes that men should be masculine and that women should obey them.
Laura Mulvey- Male Gaze, this advert plays into the idea that media is tailored to the male gaze (having pretty girls in little clothing), score uses this to advertise there hair cream to men by gaining their attention through women.
Released in 1967 – equal pay act was introduced in 1970, and homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967
Reinforcing traditional stereotypes in order to calm individuals who didn’t like the drastic changes occurring at the time
The use of adventurer clothing and jungle décor make shows a dangerous setting forcing the women to go to the man for “protection”
The women carry the man showing the subservient nature expected of women at the time, relating to society’s view on woman in the contextual time, also with the 5 women to 1 man ratio, highlighting its point towards male power, using the woman in heavy makeup and revealing clothing to attract the male gaze – hinting that the product has the ability to attract women.
In 60s,70s, connotations to the disappearance of the British empire – setting of jungle links to Britain trying to keep hold of power once the empire and colonies were deteriorating
Jean Kilbourne
In the late 1960s, Jean began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women, eating disorders, and addiction, and launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. A radical and original idea at the time, this approach is now mainstream and an integral part of most prevention programs.
The advert was produced in 1967. 1967 can be seen as a period of change in the UK with legislation on (and changing attitudes to) the role of women and men in society. Produced in the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality and three years before the 1970 Equal Pay Act, the representation of gender could be read as signalling 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. The contraceptive pill was introduced around this time.
It is important to know the context when studying the advert as the representations depicted in the advert can be read as signalling more anxiety than might first appear. The advert may be trying to reinforce traditional stereotypes and traditions at the time in order to calm those individuals who did not like the drastic changes that were occurring.
http://areejsmediablog1.blogspot.com/2018/03/advertising-score-case-study-and-wider.html
Hyper-masculinity in advertising
Hyper-masculinity is defined as: a psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behaviour, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality.
Advertising in the 1950s-1980s often featured a hyper-masculine representation of men and some representations in the media still do this today.
Gelfer: Changing masculinity in advertising
Joseph Gelfer, a director of masculinity research, suggests that the way masculinity is represented in advertising is changing. Looking at advertising over the last 20 years:
“Previously, masculinity was mostly presented in one of two ways: either a glamorous James Bond-style masculinity that attracted ‘the ladies’, or a buffoon-style masculinity that was firmly under the wifely thumb.
Thankfully, and somewhat belatedly, things are beginning to change.” (Gelfer, 2017)
Gelfer: Five stages of Masculinity
Gelfer suggests there are five stages of masculinity – how people perceive and understand what it means to be a man.
Stage 1: “unconscious masculinity” – traditional view of men
Stage 2: “conscious masculinity” – as above but deliberate
Stage 3: “critical masculinities” – feminist; socially constructed
Stage 4: “multiple masculinities” – anyone can be anything
Stage 5: “beyond masculinities” – it doesn’t exist
Jean Kilboure
Jean Kilboure is an activist in changing the image of women portrayed in the media.
“Indeed the very worst kind of man for a women to be in an intimate relationship with, often a truly dangerous man, is the one considered most sexy and desirable in the popular culture.”
― Jean Kilbourne, Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel
“Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture.”
― Jean Kilbourne, So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood, and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/27499.Jean_Kilbourne