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the four categories of representation

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Fluidity of identity–

Fluidity of identity is about how the current representation of people in mainstream media is always changing, and that what is currently the standard representation of people now is not the same as what it possibly used to be or what it will be in the future. For example David Gauntlet states “depiction of the passive housewife throughout the twentieth century was being increasingly replaced by images of assertive women taking control of their lives” which is a great example as it shows real life a scenario of our changing perception of certain people identity’s due to the changing times as this “movement” was ultimately being encouraged by the Spice Girls. Another example of fluidity of identity is how men used to be perceived as strong, tough and were not expected to display deep emotions whereas now men our greatly encouraged to speak about their feelings and are seen as equals to women too.

Essentially we will never have a fixed identity, because we will always be willing to adapt and adhere to the new or current social norms.

Constructed identity–

Even though the standard representation of men and women are forever changing, there are still a number of events, people and things which can also help with shaping identity. For example as David Gauntlet mentions in his identity theory, things like social media influencers, films, etc distribute insight into different ways of living which we sometimes intentionally or subconsciously attempt to integrate into our lives. Similar theory’s have been developed such as Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, in which he theorises children learn behaviour traits from figures that they observe on TV: however Gauntlet himself did actually conduct a Lego experiment in which he observed how people develop multiple personality’s and adhere them to different social situations depending on who you are conversing with.

Overall, constructed identity is about the different things that effect and shape you overall personality, or that “we may carefully select which details to reveal so we can manage how we are viewed by other people.“- David Gauntlet

Negotiated identity,

A brief explanation of negotiated identity is that it is the line where your desired appearance to other people meets the expectation that other people have of you. for example as Erving Goffman states in his theory of social interaction, “We need to reach a “working consensus” or agreement regarding the roles each person will assume in any interaction.” This could also be described as adapting your personality for the social scenario you are in.

Collective identity

The phrase collective identity is a reference to the natural human desire of belonging, specifically to a group. An example of this would be religion as it brings people together to create a community in which people treat each other like family which of course creates a sense of belonging.

Advertising, Exam Prep, NEA, Representation

statement of intent – advert.

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for my ad I am going to use CeraVe as my product, I am going to create two different ads, one will be a modern it will consist of a teenage female model who will be photographed using the product as it is advertised towards teens who are wanting a relatively cheap and effective skin care it will also be and add targeted at both genders as the modern media is getting used to males being in the cosmetic ads which are now being produced by many major an very well known brands as a way to stray away from the idea that men should adhere to hyper masculinity. the brand who will be making my ad are. there will also be a fluidity of identity in the ad. even though it is a female on the ad, there Is nothing to indicate that it is a product is advertised towards just one gender or specific age range as it is more socially acceptable now for people of all genders and ages to use such a product.

the second ad will be one similar to that from the 1970’s however it will be a radical representation as the female will nit be oversexualised and no male will be present in the ad as it would have been very uncommon for men to appear or use such products as it could be seen as not masculine. this kind of product would have been advertised towards woman and so the male would be unnecessary as this is not using the ideology that ‘sex sells’. this ad will also be radicle as the female will not be viewed as below a male but as the main model as a way to showcase the product and not the female. this ad will be very much trying avoid the male gaze as a way to move away from the patriarchal society which was present in the 1970’s as there was a collective identity that only females used skin care and make up and that males don’t. this is why i would need to use a female to make it seem more realistic as males would have got a negative stereotype due to the abnormality of them using such a product.

Advertising, Exam Prep, NEA

Statement of Intent – NEA

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In my production of my advert, I intend to base my product around a jewellers known as Swarovski. I hope to advertise my product for ages between 18 – 40 years of age. I intend to imply/advertise glamorous but affordable jewellery such as the bracelet that I hope to bring in. As well, I plan to capture the sparkle from the bracelet with specific lighting to give it a posh style appearance. These photographs will be captured using flash lighting with soft boxes and cannon camera with a portrait lens, to capture a close, low angle of the bracelet with a stern focus to generate a professional, distinctive photograph. Furthermore, I will be editing all my photos in photoshop to brighten and improve my photography skills, and maybe add a white border to modernise the picture. Another, edit that I will add to my image will be a sans-serif font. On top of that, I could perhaps do a similar photoshoot but with the bracelet’s box, and position the lid in a professional manner. These will be my modernised reactionary print adverts, but I aim to accomplish my first idea. Where as my historical, radical print advert will be of men wearing feminine jewellery.

However with my second 60s – 90s advert, this will be completed by positioning the jewellery box containing the bracelet under a photographer light such as the flash lighting, so the crystals shine and create that rich, luxury appearance and potentially have some masculine and feminine products around the wrist, to make sure it is not too plain and exaggerates the radical idea that men can also wear feminine jewellery/products.

I feel that the kind of company that would make my product would be a jewellers that aim to produce products using the finest of crystals, such as Swarovski and H.Samuel.

Advertising, Exam Prep

statement of intent – advertisement

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The product I am advertising is Lush’s ‘Rosy Cheeks’ face mask. I am using fellow student Kate McKenna as the face of my brand. In both adverts, I will take on a reactionary stance, which fits in with the ideals of the era in which the adverts supposedly take place in.

In my first (modern) advert, my target audience will be women aged 12-25, who are looking to get smoother, glowing skin on their faces. The aim of this advert will primarily be emphasising the positive qualities of my product through a clean, pretty aesthetic and informative description. The adverts colour palette will mostly consist of pink / nude shades because these colours are usually associated with love, kindness, calmness, and femininity. I will apply this by using a pinkish background, and by dressing my dominant signifier/face of the brand (Kate McKenna) in pinky colours. I also photoshopped a pearl earing onto her ear. Pearl earrings are a symbol of class and riches, and so by including one in my advert, it suggests to the audience that the product is a luxury one. It also makes the advert look prettier. Furthermore, I used photoshop extremely liberally in this advert (see my post titled ‘BEFORE / AFTER PHOTOSHOP‘). I smoothed out Kate’s skin, took away any moles, spots, and blemishes, thickened out her eyebrows, lightened her skin, coloured in her eyes to make them bluer, took away her eye bags, made her skin lighter / clearer, and filled in her lips to make them thicker, redder, and a more idealised shape. In my view, adverts shouldn’t use photoshop at all, and to me, Kate looked just as (if not more) beautiful in the unedited picture of her. However, as almost all adverts (especially skincare ads) use photoshop to make their product look more appealing to their target audience, it is essential that I use photoshop in order to fit in with the ‘reactionary’ stance I decided to take with my ad. The main selling point of the product will be the soothing, calming influence it has on the skin. The tagline (indexical sign) will be “give your skin the love it deserves”. This reinforces the calm, kind, and loving feel (the anchorage) of the product which I’ve tried to connote. My style model is unfortunately a landscape ad (I am required to do mine portrait) and so I will be taking most of my influence from the adverts ‘feel’ rather than its layout. The most obvious way that I’ve taken influence from my style model is by using a flower as part of my backdrop. The type of flower I decided to use was a rose because the name of my product is ‘rosy cheeks’, and a pretty pink flower connotes feelings such as love, kindness, calmness, and femininity. Also, the font I used on the company and product name (‘Lush’ and ‘Rosy Cheeks’) is slightly similar to that of my style model, and it connotes a luxury, posh feel. Finally, I directed Kate to use a pose that slightly resembles the pose Kate Winslet uses in my style model (head turned slightly to the right with a natural – but elegant – expression). I differed from my style model by placing Kate smack bang in the middle of my advert. I did this because I want the audience to immediately be drawn to Kate’s face because that is the dominant signifier of my advert. Hopefully, Kate’s beauty and clear skin will attract the attention of the target audience, who will likely yearn to have skin as clear and beautiful as hers.

In my 60s era advert, my marketing strategy will be slightly different. Instead of targeting strictly women aged 12-25, my target audience will be women and men aged 18-35 (however the advert will be directed towards women). In this advert, I followed my style model much more strictly. The theme of the advert will again be reactionary (for the time period). The reactionary stance of my advert is most clear in my slogan – “Give your man a face he wants to touch”. This slogan suggests to the target audience that she needs to use this product, to appeal to the sexual desire of men. Degrading slogans such as this one were extremely common in advertising during the 60s, and so it is important that I made my slogan creepy and politically incorrect (by modern standards). My picture will follow the same theme as my slogan, as I will have a man (me) caressing a woman’s face (Kate). This is extremely similar to my style model, which also pictures a man touching a women’s face in a loving manner. However, one area in which the two pictures are different is that in my advert Kate is looking towards the camera, whereas in the 60s advert the woman is looking at the man. I made this change because I believe that by having Kate look at the camera, the passive viewer of the advert will be more interested in the product. I again matched my style model through the use of colour, with the dominant signifier of the advert (the picture of me and Kate) appearing in black and white, and the banner at the bottom of the screen appearing in a creamy white colour. The dark colour palette of the advert connotes a dark, sexy vibe, which captures the viewer’s attention and creates feelings of passion and energy.

Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Representation, Score

score

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1967 advertisement.

Male directed as mentions the ‘Scores famous masculine scent’. The advert sexualises women as they are wearing tight revealing clothes. Sexist approach of the male being ‘admired’ by females around him.

Similarly, feminist critical thought became much more prominent and pronounced during the counter cultural movements of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, which heralded, among other changes a greater acceptance of birth control and divorce, abortion and homosexuality.

There was also the abolition of hanging and theatre censorship, and the Obscene Publications Act (1959) which led to the Chatterly trial. Nevertheless, as Johnathon Dollimore wrote: ‘all this should not be seen as a straightforward displacement of dominant conservative attitudes‘ (1983:59).

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.

Advertising, Exam Prep

Statement of Intent

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I intend to create two print adverts to promote a “Jimmy Choo” perfume, both with different representations; radical and reactionary. I imagine these adverts to be professionally printed in beauty catalogues/magazines such as Vogue.  I will include iconic signifiers displaying the products, a dominant signifier of the model’s back profile in a mirror, anchorage to provide information about the product and indexical signs that sell the product based on feelings.

The reactionary product will be set in the 1960’s historical period. My model will be facing the camera and holding the perfume in her hand and spraying it onto her neck to make her seem even more attractive. She will be wearing a dress to represent her wealth and glamour which will be associated with the perfume. This links to the “Male Gaze” as as she will look expensive and attractive and her clothes will be planting the seed that her purpose is to attract men which is a reactionary representation of women as they are believed to be designed at a males disposal. my slogan is going to be “you’re not the same, be different” this gives the impression that by using this product you are of more worth and special; better then other women who are not using this perfume. This will go for both my adverts but convey different meanings based on the images. I intend for an older audience to buy this product ranging from the ages 25-45. This is designed for heterosexual women who are of an upper class who believe their wealth, desire and ability to pleasure men will come from buying this product.

My radical product will be a modern version. This will include my model’s face and and front profile. She will be wearing a suit which is quite controversial and challenges the dominant ideology of what stereotype women are usually seen wearing, to juxtapose ‘societal gender norms’. Also raising awareness that clothing is expressive meaning people should be able to wear what they feel comfortable in. This perfume is being used to advertise this which gives the connotation that it will give people the confidence to be themselves and be bold. The slogan is going to be “you’re not the same so be different” the “so” changes the meaning to embracing the differences within people in a healthy way rather then putting others down. I intend for an audience ranging from (18-45) to buy this product. Its designed for bold women who are learning to embrace themselves, the kind of women that inspire other women to be the better version of themselves; creating a positive and diverse representation of what it means to be a woman and femininity.

Advertising, Exam Prep, NEA

Advertising NEA – Statement of Intent

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For my print adverts I plan to advertise a can of deodorant. I will create two adverts, with one version being much more modernised and reactionary, and another being one which you would encounter a fairly long time ago, being more traditional and radical. Taken together, these adverts will show the contrasting features of traditional adverts compared to contemporary, more modern ones.

For the contemporary (new) advert, the dominant signifier will exhibit a more confident and dominant pose and wearing more realistic, modern clothes, relating to the idea of the “cool man” and appearing in a conventional way to show the product off. I will also include a sleek, non-obtrusive background, adding to the more modern approach to the product and to promote values of modest beauty. The symbolic sign of the text will be more polished, adding to the cool and trendy connotations that the product gives off. The planned audience positioning here is that younger, more impressionable young men will show a positive reaction to the product, and want to buy it after seeing how calm and collected the dominant signifier is, and thus they would be provided with a role model to aspire to. This would lead to a constructed identity as described by David Gauntlett of self-esteem upon buying and using the product, which I believe is a rather positive idea. A potential downside to this however is the chance that this could be relating to voyeurism and patriarchy, particularly if the theory of errors in encoding/decoding messages as described by Shannon and Weaver comes into effect. I think that this type of advert would be produced by a company selling beauty products at a professional standard, trying to coerce impressionable young people into buying their products.

For my traditional (older) style of advert, the dominant signifier will be wearing more traditional clothing and be wearing a wig, which gives connotations of wildness. In addition, the iconic signs, being the images of the product itself, will use more clashing colours. I will also include an indexical signifier which is random and arbitrary, similar to that which you would find in a comic, labelling the product as new and adding to the theme of wild ambition. This will represent the deodorant in a more radical way, suggesting that the model doesn’t care as much about how he looks or what he smells like, while still encouraging the consumer to purchase the product because of the idea that they will want to obtain the self-confidence, which the advert gives off, for themselves. I think that the target audience who would consume this is an older demographic than the modern advert, because the style is obviously from some time ago. This means that a wider age bracket would be interested in buying the product, although that audience is likely to be less impressionable. I think that the institution likely to be creating an advert like this is one which was formed a fair amount of time ago, selling products that could perhaps be considered a tad outdated nowadays, however they would clearly still know how to find their target audience effectively and consequently sell a fair amount of products.