The Levenson inquiry was a judge-led inquiry set up by the Prime Minister David Cameron. It reviewed the general culture of the British media and made recommendations for a new, independent body to replace existing press complaints commission.
The press hacked into 13 year old Millie Dower’s phone and messaged people pretending to be her to talk to her parents. The police gave full permission for this to go ahead.
I intend to create an advert for the Rimmel London product ‘Wonder Ink’ Eyeliner. I will produce two adverts- a reactionary, modern piece and then an ‘Old-Style’, Radical piece. To achieve this, I will use a female wearing the eyeliner in an up-to-date way for the modern advert. A way in which it makes this reactionary is the fact I am using the stereotypical gender seen in beauty adverts with an up-to-date eyeliner look which will allow the audience to relate more. I will use a male wearing the eyeliner in a 70’s way to emphasise the era I am setting it in. A way in which it makes this radical is the fact that I am using a male to wear the eyeliner. In modern day beauty cosmetic adverts, males are still not being included, so to really accentuate this, I thought it would be clever to use a male for the old-fashioned advert, as typically, males wearing makeup was usually frowned upon in the 70s.
My target market for the product I am advertising are typically women but anybody who is interested in makeup between ages 17-30. The product can also be worn anywhere, so people who enjoy going to concerts and festivals or just simply want to wear the eyeliner for whatever reason would purchase it.
For my reactionary and contemporary advertisement, I am taking inspiration from a style model while still putting my own twist on it. I liked the idea of having the page split into two to three segments to show off the eyeliner on the model, the model having fun (to show off the fact that if you wear the eyeliner you will have a fun time), and the product itself, which is the dominant signifier. These are the iconic signs that will show off the product. Copying a few style models, I really liked the idea of having a swirl/twist around the eyeliner pen to show it off and have it come across as cool. I also saw from one style model that the eyeliner had ‘written’ the slogan, so I thought it would be nice to add that iconic sign in. For my radical and historical advertisement, I am taking inspiration again, from my style model. I intend on
I will be including representations of gender inclusive products and gender inclusive beauty adverts, allowing more people to buy the product. I will also be including representations of ‘having fun if you wear the eyeliner’ and ‘it will make you much happier’.
The type of company that would make my product would be Rimmel London as that is the brand of the product I am advertising, but any other makeup brands such as Maybelline and L’Oreal Paris. This is because these are all typical beauty brands. When I make my advert, I intend on using style models from these brands (L’Oreal, Maybelline, Rimmel London etc) to make this more realistic.
This advert is very good in the sense that they’re advocating gender, sexuality, race and social class. For starters, they have 3 characters, two men and one female. The female is a person of colour (representation of race), the main male character is an openly gay white male (representation of sexuality) and the second male who is the ‘bell boy’ is also Caucasian, (this has representations of reversed gender stereotypes as usually adverts would cast a female to reinforce the Male Gaze, however, this advert’s main target are females and men who don’t identify as straight, so the male gaze wouldn’t even be an issue.
While it is amazing that there is Pride representation in this advertisement, I do feel as though they have over exaggerated the fact that he is gay. The fluidity of identity is great and many gay males who are interested in makeup are stereotypically seen as the way he has been portrayed, which is no problem, but the advert makes it seem more over the top and exaggerated than it needs to be. Almost like they are trying to show off that they are the first beauty company to include a gay male in their advert, instead of focusing on what they’re representing and what they’re selling.
By having the apartment/room in ‘New York’ it indicates that people with a higher social class are still legible to purchase the Mascara without feeling ashamed. The apartment/room has a window that you can see out of that shows the outside as a bit of a dump/not as cleaned up and gorgeous as it typically should be, which has representations of people with lower social classes are able to purchase the item too.
The is a hashtag in the bottom left corner during part of the video. This is a very good marketing move as people who see it will go on social media and use it, therefor, spreading it around and basically doing the promo for the company for free.
‘Pushing the frontiers further, a gay YouTube star has become the first male model for international cosmetic giant Maybelline.‘ Not only was this a huge step, but it was also international, meaning that people from all cultures, sexuality, gender, race and social class is available to view it.
‘Manny tweeted, “Can’t believe Maybelline posted me on Instagram. I think I’m the first boy they’ve ever posted! We’re breaking boundaries guys!”‘ This suggests that it is a major step in the right direction to some sort of equality.
‘“I’ve gone through all of it, I’ve literally heard every single name in the book be told to me,” he recalled.‘ Talking about homosexuality and homophobia, he speaks up about being called many inappropriate names. This advert allows him to feel like himself and keep confident, which is why the gender and sexuality representation is a major key as other males or people part of the LGBTQ+ Community can also feel themselves when they use the Maybelline Mascara (the product they are trying to sell)
In this advert, you can see that there are 5 white women underneath a white male who seems to be held up by some sort of platform covered in a Cheeter print, suggesting that they’re in the jungle. The 5 women are almost draped over this man wearing little amounts of clothing, which appeals to men.
This advert is definitely reactionary as its target audience is males in their 30-50s who most likely want to appeal to women. With having these skinny women draped around him, it suggests that by using this product, women will automatically find you attractive. With having the women wearing provocative clothes, it just reinforces the target market as males will find these women attractive and think they have a chance to ‘win’ a similar looking women after using the product.
The man is also holding some sort of hunting gun, which proves my point further about him being above all people because he’s ‘really masculine’. This suggests that only men are allowed to go hunting and women can only throw themselves at ‘manly’ men instead of doing things for themselves.
The word ‘Masculine’ is actually used in the description of this advert in the phrase ‘Score’s famous masculine scent’. This indicates the fact that if you use the product, not only will you look good and appeal to women, you will also appear masculine AND smell masculine.
The description of the product is rather repetitive and poorly written. This may be repetitive to get their point across of how it’s all men want. By repeating the name of the product many times, it gets it into people’s heads and they will most likely buy it because they remember it more.
There is a clear narrative of being above people. Before he used the ‘Score’ product, he was just an average man with ‘greasy hair’ and then he used it and now he’s above all women with the ‘perfect’ hair. You can see that there are no People of Colour in this advert, which indicates that he is also above all people who aren’t white.
The strapline ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ suggests that every man who sees this advert has ‘always wanted’ this product and that it is some sort of life saver. It doesn’t seem like a very good strapline that will encourage people to purchase the item, it seems rather dull and possibly narcissistic, assuming their hair product is what people have always wanted.
When looking at the Iconic sign (image) of the product, it reminds me of a bottle of super glue, which would be a negative effect on them as that is the last thing you would want to put on your hair. If they really wanted to embrace masculinity, they should have the hair product in a more manly, masculine bottle that boosts their confidence when buying it, instead of a small clear/transparent bottle as it looks like they’ve put little to no effort on the design.
Not only is there a lack of representation for People of Colour, but there is also a lack of representation of the lgbtq+ community. For example, they say that only men who want to be masculine and want to attract women can purchase and wear this product, when in reality, people with any gender and any sexuality can wear it too. If for example, a male doesn’t want to present himself as masculine, the advert almost shames him for not being a ‘real’ man.
QUANTATIVE DATA
Research Product 1: Maybelline Eyeliner
Women aged 17-30 or makeup enthusiasts. Social grade usually A-C1. Eyeliner can be more on the expensive side, so people usually with a high to middle social grade would purchase this.
Research Product 2: Nivea Lip Balm
Women aged 11-60 or anyone who wants to have healthy lips of any age and gender. Social grade usually A-D, most people can afford this as it’s cheap, but people of a higher social grade would still purchase.
My Product: NYX Eyeliner
Women aged 17-30 or makeup enthusiasts. Social grade usually A-C1. Eyeliner can be more on the expensive side, so people usually with a high to middle social grade would purchase this.
QUALATATIVE DATA
Research Product 1: Maybelline Eyeliner
The Aspirer- Motivated by esteem/status needs
Research Product 2: Nivea Lip Balm
The Mainstreamer- Motivated by belonging needs
My Product: NYX Eyeliner
The aspirer- Motivated by esteem/status needs
| Research Product 1 [Maybelline Eyeliner] | Research Product 2 [Nivea Lip balm] | My product | |
| Understanding Self | Let’s you appear nice for other people/for yourself. | Understanding fundamental reasons why it’s good to keep your lips moisturised. | Allows you to choose how you want to appear. |
| Enjoyment | You can do different styles with it, let’s your creativity flow. Typically worn when going out. | Keeps your lips healthy. | Allows creativity. |
| Escapism | Model is out and about to indicate you usually wear it out. | Escape reality by having an interest in health and skin care. | Usually worn out- allows you to escape from boredom. |
| Knowledge about the world | ‘Life is better with eyeliner’ | ‘You need lip balm to keep your lips healthy’ | N/A |
| Self confidence, Self esteem | Model is extremely confident and looks like she’s having fun. | Model is happy, showing off ‘luscious lips’ created by the lip balm. | Typically worn to boost confidence and self esteem. |
| Strengthen connections with family and/or friends | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Any other category/theme | Usually on the more expensive side. | Usually on the less expensive side. | Can bee seen as cheap and expensive. |