Category Archives: Advertising

Filters

Author:
Category:

CSP 4 – MAYBELLINE

Manny MUA x Shayla Maybelline Ad. Iconic. | Maybelline, Boss life, Big shot  mascara

By using a male make-up artist as the face of their product, Maybelline made national news for breaking the gender stereotypes present in beauty and cosmetics. This sort of radical representation is undoubtedly a positive, however, I seriously doubt Maybelline did this purely for the sake of representation. It was likely also a marketing strategy used to make headlines and raise awareness for their product. Plus, by teaming up with influencers, Maybelline is appealing to a younger audience who are active on social media. The hashtag used in the advert reinforces this strategy.

The advert is also sneaky in the way that it uses sound design and special effects to grab the viewers attention. The product is only £4, however, in this advert is treated as a luxury. The colour gold also symbolises luxury and riches, and the city of New York (where the ad is set) is a city associated with wealth and success. The mantra of the product seems to be ‘you can feel like a boss’ no matter what your budget is. Also, the advert is extremely camp and cheesy, which (despite being difficult to watch at first) actually makes the advert more memorable to viewers.

Glamour magazine- ” His inclusion in a nationwide ad especially hits home following the Internet backlash that went down this week over ASOS’ choker necklaces for men. (As writer David Yi over at Allure put it, the backlash “promotes the dangerous sentiment that men are supposed to adhere to hypermasculine culture.”) As we continue to celebrate beauty as a way for women to express themselves, it’s equally important that men have the same right—whether that’s getting the peace of mind of being able to dab a zit with concealer or the freedom to wear a full face and falsies. “

The advert is also reverse in its representation of race. A black woman called Shayla is also used in the advert, and she states that she wants to bring ‘shade inclusivity’ to the cosmetics industry, through the use of radical representation.

Maybeline

Articles about Manny MUA:

THAT BOSS LIFE FEATURING MANNY AND SHAYLA Part 1

“over three million followers on Instagram and over two million subscribers on YouTube” “you’ll recognize him”- he’s popular on social media

“Manny Gutierrez Is the First Man to Star in a Maybelline Campaign, and It’s a Huge Deal” (Title for ‘Glamour’). “makeup isn’t just for girls; it’s for guys too” Manny stands by his mission to provide makeup advice and inspiration to men and women. No matter their gender, he’s encouraging everyone to “lash like a boss.” This shows his confidence and desire to encourage everyone to be themselves and enjoy themselves. Manny reflects a current trend of cosmetics companies to adopt diversity in their advertising” “Our current mood is basically the praise hands emoji.”(Glamour)

CSP 4 – Maybelline Notes

Maybelline have recently created new ad campaigns featuring male models, such as Manny Gutierrez. This is the first time males have been associated with makeup products in this way, and it tells us that makeup is not just for women, but for men as well. This is big because after decades of only making makeup products and depicting them as things that should be worn by women, impressionable men are being given role models to look up to who can reinforce their thinking that they can wear makeup too.

New Notes

The Maybelline advert tells a story of a man and woman checking into a hotel room, and then finding makeup products from Maybelline. After simply applying the mascara, both the wearers (male and female) are instantly transported to a more sophisticated cosmopolitan life surrounded by the finer things: a Manhattan hotel room, glamorous clothes and the promise of admission to the hottest clubs in the world’s greatest city. The ad, like its 1960s counterpart, uses an aspirational image showing two friends who do not conform to masculine and feminine ideals but are nonetheless powerful: happy in their own skin, confident
in their bodies and their sexuality.

The tone and attitude of the advert is one of upbeat positivity, with the people involved clearly having strong, confident personalities. This is effective because the impressionable and potentially young audience is given role models to look up to, and so they may feel more confident in themselves through watching the advert and buying the product.

Csp 4: Maybelline

Colossal Big Shot Mascara.That Boss Life Pt. 2 ft. MannyMua and  Makeupshayla - on Vimeo
That Boss Life advertisement – Lash like a boss
  • The use of a male star in the advert is a progressive field in the beauty area of advertising: In this advert they have used.
  • The ad is trying to adhere to all gender, sexuality, race and social class. This can be seen as a strong social statement, but also as a clever marketing strategy to appeal to everyone, to obviously gain the biggest profit and return.
  • The ad also does use a popular influencer as their male star, another marketing strategy and fits into 2-step flow model.
  • Internet backlash that went down this week over ASOS’ choker necklaces for men;; As writer David Yi over at Allure put it, the backlash “promotes the dangerous sentiment that men are supposed to adhere to hypermasculine culture.
  • A stat gathered from 26 Aug 2021 — In 2020, an estimated 4.48 million people used Maybelline eye make-up — This clearly shows that their very expensive advertising campaigns work very well.
  • Maybelline have a very active social media status, they create a hashtag in the video to generate more sales of their product, a smart marketing strategy. They also have an active twitter account where they try to post relatable jokes to gain more interest into their company and their products.
  • The posture in their video shows a transformation from the regular casual clothing and confidence to — after use of their product, it creates a constructed reality where they are now more glamorous and more confident, a total transformation.
  • The target market are regular people with no specific high income needed, it is a relatively cheap product and like mentioned in the previous point, it transforms you — creating the idea that anyone can be glamourous if you buy Maybelline’s product.
  • The product is also in a shining gold which is trying to symbolise it’s value as a marketing strategy.

Maybelline

Representation- Maybelline introduced their first male representative – Manny Gutierrez. Breaking the stereotype of genders and what they can and can’t wear. Masculinities Façade is changing of what it means to be masculine. Inclusive of all sexualities – gay and straight. However it does play on the fantasy of having a “gay best friend” creating a positive and negative stereotype of gay men, positive being its being recognised that makeup isn’t just for women and negative because not all gay men are the “feminine gay”. Inclusive of races- white and black. Adding of diversity to appeal to a bigger audience which not only gives them a good reputation but also more sales for their product-business motive?

Semiotics- Strap line – “That boss life” is easy to remember and also makes the indexical link between using the product and being a boss. The advert is set in New York appealing to the fantasy of a rich glamourous life full of luxury. The colour of the bottle is also gold which has that symbolic sign of being rich and superior, convey the audience to think that they are more powerful and confident and will become successful if they use this mascara.

CSP – MAYBELLINE

Maybelline has featured its first gay male, brand advocate (Manny Gutierrez), as well as selectively representing a female person of colour (Shayla Mitchell). They are both ‘influencers’ who post beauty content online.

“a gay YouTube star has become the first male model for international cosmetic giant Maybelline.”

That Boss Life Analysis | Close Study Product (CSP)

This representation was a spark for change within the beauty industry. Not only was it one of the first representation of a homosexual male in the forefront of a makeup advertisement, it included many features of diversity such a race, social class (lifestyle), gender and sexuality.

The representation of Manny’s sexuality is quite exaggerated and definitely plays to the social stereotype. Linking to Gauntlet’s theory on identity and the way in which social groups are often categorized based on a constructed reality and stereotype. The decriminalisation of homosexuality creates a contrast to representation in ‘Score’, meaning that brands now have more freedom to selectively represent those of diverse identities.

The advert itself is on the borderline of being ‘cringe’ and ‘annoying’, however, this sparks conversation on representation and Maybelline as a brand, therefore subtly promotes sales. Another advertising strategy used in the advert, is the iconic sound effect of a ‘magic wand’ which is a way of saying that using the product can transform your appearance and make you look like ‘a boss’, to quote the campaign.

SCORE CSP 3

Textual analysis- looks like a safari theme in Africa. With the man being help up by a leopard print platform showing he is the most important. There is a background of trees but looks very old fashioned and not edited good because it is just a white background. The strap line is quite small and the copy box is very long and repetitive also a bit confusing as it is advertising 3 products.

Semiotics- indexical sign that all the women (excluding front left) are admiring the man due to their facial reactions and body language and possibly have a sexual desire. The signified is the hair gel and the signifier is the guys hair which is trying to show the product in a real life situation. The male is the dominant signifier. Has connotations that if you buy the product you too will be able to be as popular as the guy on the advert. Positioned at the top, connoting his higher status

Representational analysis- Clear signs of voyeurism (getting joy from having all the attention of the women). It is a selective representation of both male and females: males are only depicted as being heterosexual it being a very patriarchal society . Females are represented as having to do everything for men and that their only objective in life is to provide sexual pleasure for the men following the dominant ideology which was slowly being removed during the 1960’s. Also suggests the man was not worthy before he used the product.

Narrative- The woman in the front left is making direct eye contact with the person viewing the ad giving them a more personal experience and feel like the product is meant for them. The woman is looking very seductive to the male audience so will entice them to buy Score products so they too can seek this sexual pleasure. Trying to use sex to sell their products. appeal to an audience who want to conquer their own world and look good.  brand value is look good but don’t take yourself too seriously.

Audience- aimed at middle aged men who desire to receive this attention from females that the guy is receiving in the advert. They want to look as good as the guy being help up by all the ladies and have greaseless hair like the guy. Shows the brand values as being to help men in to succeed with relationships and the brand personality is highly sexually based. In the 1960’s this type of advert would have been seen as appealing and completely acceptable and very normal however, these days advert usually only feature one model which has a more reformed outlook on the product and sexualising women and men in this way wouldn’t be condemned. There is a lack of diversity. Persuasive techniques range from reeling them in with sexual pleasure to own confidence and better self esteem specially to do with their hair.

Historical, social and cultural contexts– 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. Score advert was produced in the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality. It was also the ending of Empire. Reference to body image and changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable representations has significantly changed over time.

revealing as much skin as the regulators in the 1960s might permit. Their tanned bodies, alluring black eyeliner and luscious hair also connote glamour.

score

Textual analysis– in the ad, the African/safari scene is used as the background yet there are no African people present and they all appear top be be white. although there are more woman, 5 tobe exact, the single male is still the main part of the add and is being supported and almost worshiped by the woman in the ad. There is also the strapline of “get what you’ve always wanted.”

semiotics –there are indexical and symbolic singe present such as the red flag that almost looks like a golf flag above where you score, and the fact the that woman are worshiping the male in the ad. there is also a indexical sign which is a sexual desire based in the clothing of the woman and the seductive looks.

Representation– the woman are represented as below the male and are doing what they think will please the male and doing everything they can to get his attention. the male on the other hand is represented as being above the woman in the hierarchy of the add which was very common for ads from the 1960’s.the advert creates a desire to be surrounded by women and to be worshipped by them.

Audience- the audience of this ad is most likely going to be middle age men who wish to look good and get the attention that the male in the add has.

Narrative- the sexual demeaner of the woman such as their outfits and their seductive looks on their faces shows how sex sells and targets the male audience and essentially communicates to the male that they to can be worshiped by the females if they use the product that is advertised in this instant, “score liquid hair groom”.

 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.

csp 3 – Score

Textual Analysis:

  • Strapline is “Get what you’ve always wanted”. This immediately attracts the customers attention
  • Big slogan above a long (repetitive) paragraph.
  • 1 main male.
  • 5 main female models, are shown in awe of the man, supposedly because of the product.
  • The setting that the models are in is supposed to be Africa, this is evident due to the leaves behind, and safari-style clothes.

Representation

The strapline ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ appeals to the aspirer, who wants to achieve greater things. The advert also implies that wearing its product will help you gain the sexual attention of young women, which appeals specifically to heterosexual men. Also, by choosing to use a group of white people in Africa, the product appeals to 1960s imperialists who are still clinging to the ideals of the recently collapsed British Empire.

There is no doubt that the audience response to this product will have changed quite a bit over time. Firstly, the lack of diversity in the advert is now laughable (especially when you consider that the advert is supposed to be set in an African safari). Also, the sexual politics of the advert now seem rather questionable. The man in the advert looks around 40-50 years old, and yet he is being carried around by women who look as if they’ve just turned 20 years old. The addition of a gun as a phallic symbol also hasn’t aged well, as it implies that ‘to be a real man’ men have to be powerful and violent.

Also, by implying that the group had sex, the advert is trying to appeal to the ideals of ‘the second wave of feminism’ which created a larger acceptance of birth control, divorce, abortion and homosexuality.

Clearly, the advert is trying to use sex to sell their product. This is an extremely common strategy even today, but the products explicit way of using it hasn’t exactly aged well compared to today’s modern standards.

Score

Mise-en-scene analysis-  It considers its historical, social and cultural contexts, as it relates to gender roles, sexuality and the historical context of advertising techniques. There are women and one man to suggest that you will get all the females if you buy the product. They also use a lot of words that are repeatedly repeating itself.

Semiotics – I believe they use a mixture of indexical symbols as it relates to a jungle as they are dressed in safari clothing and there is a platform where the material is a leopard which could suggest they are in a forest as they also have the bushes or trees behind them as there background.

Representational analysis – In 1967 the picture could identify that this 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. The Score advert was produced in the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality and as such, the representation of heterosexuality 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.

Narrative – The three women at the back suggest that the man are getting their attention from them and the 2 women at the front suggest that they could be showing off on their looks and how lucky the man is which could also explain that the advert is sexualising them. The woman starring into the camera illustrates how she could be saying to the men buy this product and you will get all this.

Audience- It creates the desire for this product as it challenges the product ideas as it is trying to influence men that if they were to buy the product they will get all they want. The brand message for this product is the great grooming action of a hair cream from liquid. This doesn’t imply anything to us, so therefore this doesn’t tell anything about the product. The audience responses to the narrative because it influences and manipulates the men into something different.