Media language Analysis

Semiotic Analysis:

• The Dominant signifier is the male who has been placed above all the women. He is surrounded by a paradigm of women who clearly are holding the man in a higher status, they are beneath him both literally and metaphorically. There is a code where the man is holding a weapon and seems to be in a dangerous jungle like area, this holds meaning to the fact that the man is strong and supposed to be shown as attractive to women, saying if you use their product it will make you manly and irresistible to women. This is a reactionary view of the time as during the era of this advert it was normal for women to be discriminated and seen to be beneath men, hence the use of women holding the man above them. The anchorage of the phrase “Get what you’ve always wanted” followed by the image of the man being held above the women all under the theoretical spell of his masculine appeal.

Textual Analysis:

• They’re in a jungle type setting, which allows the females in the ad to wear their supposedly safari clothing, which is just clearly a over sexualised type outfit, to clearly be attractive to the presumed straight male that the ad is targeted at.
• A main male character, with a well cut clean shave, (to promote the product of course).
• The main heading “Get what you’ve always wanted” – Text that attracts the customers and the target market.
• 5 Female characters being used as a marketing strategy to appeal to the target market.

Representational Analysis:

• This ad is a clear representation of the Patriarchy, the women are clearly being used in this constructive reality where they are here only to serve to men, the ad is trying to create a collective identity that if men use their product they will “Get what they’ve always wanted”. Based on contextual ideas, this is all a tool used to generate more sales and produce more loyal costumers, which of course, is a main purpose of an advert.
• The text clearly follows some voyeuristic ideas, as well as the use of the male gaze, to once again, like mentioned before, appeal to the target market of the presumed straight male.
• This ad is an bold representation of body positivity values and the fair and equal representation of women during the time period. From my own knowledge, during this era women were discriminated against and were not treated anywhere near as equal to men. Men were considered protectors of women and that women were to do as they were told by their husbands. As men went out for work and earned the majority, if not all of the money for the family, the wife would stay home and take care of the kids and the home. I believe that therefore, the use of the women in this advert, represents this old ideology and tradition.

The narrative:

The narrative of this advert is that if the man in the advert was not using the score hair grooming product, he would not be worshiped and wouldn’t be attractive to women, that he would not be as manly. The main title and strap line of “Get what you’ve always wanted” directly points out to the audience of the advert and uses a subtle manipulation of the reader, that in fact YOU do want what is being shown in the ad, that YOU want Score grooming product. It implies that that all men want it, this is a toxic masculine idea which clearly creates some issues but yet, it’s what “you’ve always wanted”. It also follows ideas that men want to be better than everyone and want to be attractive to women, but it can only happen, the thing that they’ve “always wanted”, if they buy their product and shave using their grooming products.