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Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Representation, Score

csp 3 – Score

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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.

Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Score

Score

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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.

Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Representation, Score

score

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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).

However, 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.

The advertising techniques of fifty years could be compared to those of today. For example, references could be made with the Lynx Effect advert and the Specsavers adverts (both from 2010) which received criticism from the ASA, and again reference to body image and changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable representations. So have ideas and acceptance around representation of gender really changed since the 1960’s?

  • made in 1697
  • sexist – sexualises women by representing them in revealing, tight clothing.
  • racist – all white characters in an African jungle setting however no black characters
Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Representation, Score

SCORE (CSP 3)

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  1. Mise-en-scene analysis – Through the denotation you can see 1 male and 5 females, 3 of the females whom are looking at the male, one of the other ones is looking off in the distance with a smug smile on her face and the other is directly looking into the camera. It seems like they are in a jungle due to the types of plants and clothes they are wearing (safari clothes) Below all of this is the product advertisement explaining what its about and a picture of it.
  2. Semiotics – The dominant signifier would be the male as he is being upheld by all the woman. There is an strapline with the picture at the top of the advertisement which reads out “Get what you’ve always wanted” and there is also a copy which is the white box at the bottom of the advertisement. The advertisement is seen as reactionary. They could be creating a myth where to make men think that’s what will happen to them if they were to use that product.
  3. Representational Analysis – All of the woman are upholding the man as if he is the most important, they are also grabbing onto him and reaching out to him which suggests that they want him. The girl looking into the camera could give the ideal heterosexual man voyeurism.
Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Score

Score CSP 3

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  • First shown in 1967
  • The women are shown not wearing much clothing
  • The advert is of very poor quality, even for something that is over 50 years old.
  • The text is very repetitive and the iconic signs (images) portray the product as looking like bleach or something similar, not something you would want to put in your hair.
  • The clothing the people are wearing suggests they are on a safari in Africa or something similar.
  • The background plants look plastic and you can even see the carpeted floor.

Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Score

score csp 3

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score

  • made in 1697
  • sexist – objectifies and sexualises women by representing them in revealing, tight clothing.
  • racist – all white characters in an African jungle setting (white privilege)
  • around 1967 abortions and birth control became more acceptable, therefore it was more normal for an advert to allude to sexual outcomes.
  • The Score advert was produced in the year of descriminalisation of homosexuality and as such, the representation of heterosexuality could be read as signalling more anxiety than might first appear. 

Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Score

score csp

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The advert is a representation of white patriarchy in the 1960s as it is a white male with a gun (likely to be loaded) situated above 5 white females who seem to be ‘swooning’ over him.

The females are also dressed in little clothing which would be done to attract The Male Gaze.

The advert is a snapshot of a Narrative story. Before this photo the man was most likely putting the hair cream on and then looking around to hunt with his gun. This photo can be interpreted as a poacher sat with his prey.

There is also a strapline ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’. This strapline is quite vague but then on the advert there is copy which is a relatively large chunk of writing for an advert. I believe this isn’t the best thing to do because adverts aren’t for much in depth attention.

Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Score

Score Csp Notes

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Textual Analysis – In the CSP, I see a white guy who is on top of a sedan chair with lots of women who are surrounding him, wearing very revealing clothes. The women are all white and look conventionally attractive, and they are trying to touch him and are admiring him, almost as if trying to worship the man. The background is one which suggests that is is a Jungle, and it gives off a sense of an African king because of the fact that the man is above everyone else.

Semiotic Analysis – The dominant signifier is the male character who is above the women in the picture. There is also a paradigm in that there is a collection of women surrounding the man, and the CSP is also reactionary because it would satisfy the stereotypical heterosexual male’s viewpoint. The indexical sign of a gun which the man is holding gives connotations of violence and gives the audience impressions of masculinity, and how he is the dominant person who is in control. It also shows what he could do to the women if they did not abide by his expectations.

Representational Analysis – The fact that the man is above the woman relates to the idea of patriarchy, which was particularly poignant in the time of this advert’s release (the 1970s) when women were still fighting seriously for their rights. In addition, there is selective representation in that even though the entire CSP has an African atmosphere, everyone in the CSP is white, and not black, so consequently the advert is holding back the entire truth. Finally the body types on the females show that back then, there was a common way that women were supposed to look and had to be like in order to somewhat succeed in society.

Narrative – I think that there is a story being told in the CSP, which, in short, involves the man previously being ignored and sad, but then after he applied the product advertised, he started to become the man in the advert, and started being loved by women and living a happier life.

Advertising, Exam Prep, Notes, Representation, Score, Semiotics

ADVERTISING: CSP 3 – Score

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Representation

This advert was from 1963 and is a reactionary representation of men and women in media due to the fact it is portraying the white male as the dominant figure, which contrasts the females who are portrayed through the eyes of the male gaze and give off a very submissive persona . This is stereotypical of the advertising industry as these representations were very much reflect the dominating ideology then as well as now. It shines a negative light on women as it creates this belief that they are often very dense and will do anything to please a man whilst shining a positive light on a mans favourable characteristics such as their ability to attract women and easily dominate them just by simply using a hair product – this point is seemingly very sexist. The only aspects of women that the advert show are those that are favourable to men: their bodies and their stereotypical submissive tendencies – illustrating the voyeuristic tendencies of the patriarchy. The advert highly sexualises women by using conventionally attractive women and exposing their bodies by dressing them in little to no clothing – which seems ironic as the product is to be used by men . It then positions them in such a way that they carrying him, as if they are his slaves, and are reaching for the man in hopes for his approval. The combination of the seductive image of the women and their positioning is used as a way to sell the product as it makes a man believe that by using the hair cream he will suddenly attract more women. The fact that the man is positioned higher than the women, sums up that the dominant ideology that men are superior to women is in fact a real thing (but not necessarily true), and that using this hair cream will maintain this sexist hierarchy.

In terms of representations that are less obvious, this can also be seen as a racist portrayal in the sense that not one black person is represented in the advertising of this product. Their lack of representation creates the misrepresentation that this product is not for black people which accurately illustrates societal views of black people at the time which will prevent them from buying the product. This is reiterated by the exotic setting which reflects upon colonialism when white people exploited and stole land from the black natives once again reinforcing the white supremacy ideology and that this product is not directed at them.

vvvAdditionally, this can be seen as a homophobic representation due to the strap line ‘get what you’ve always wanted’. This implies that by using this cream you will attract more women, due to the image of multiple women admiring the man, creates a misrepresentation that someone whose sexual orientation is not women will not get the same effect of the product. Therefore people of that collective identity will not be able to relate to the advert and therefore wont buy it.

In terms of identity, each person in the advert has formed a constructive identity based on the principles of what it is to be a man during the 1960s and what it is to be a woman. The man in the advert, conveys the stereotypical masculine persona, dominant, manly, powerful, because any other identity would have been rarely accepted at the time – he has constructed his identity based on what he was told was ‘right’ at the time. The same goes for the women, they have constructed the stereotypical feminine persona, submissive, beautiful, innocent, as ,at the time, they would have been told that the is all they were good for. You could also link this to the idea collective identity as the male creates his identity to fit in with other male, likewise with the females

Narrative

  1. Initially, he is an average man living an average life.
  2. He then buys Score hair cream
  3. After using the cream he finds himself bombarded with female attention

This narrative is used to sell the product as female validation is what their male target audience will seek.

Advertising, Notes, Score

CSP – SCORE

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CSP 3 – SCORE ADVERTISEMENT

In the scene, the dominant signifier of the male character is being put in a position of power over the female characters.

Textual Analysis :

  • Advert slogan – “Get what you’ve always wanted”
  • Image of products
  • Information on product
  • 1 Male Character and 5 Female Characters
  • The advertisement contains iconic signs of a ‘safari’ scene with use of animal print, plants, leaves,.
  • A shotgun is used, linking to the male character’s pride and masculine identity. The gun connotes to violence, conflict and dominance – the toxic masculinity being portrayed
  • The male character is being held on a platform, carried by the women. He is not only physically above them, but, the advert also suggests that he is superior to them socially.

The male character is seemingly heterosexual, he seems to be enjoying the female attention he is being given. He creates as reactionary representation and stays in line with the social stereotype. Specifically the lack of homosexual representation at the time of production, (1967). All of the characters being portrayed are white, there is no representation of people of colour. This advert is racist in a sense as it could be suggesting that people of colour are at an even more inferior position.

The advertisement is also classist. The male and female characters are seemingly of a high class due to their well groomed appearance (in the A1 social class bracket). Evidently, the product is for ‘The Aspirer’ although it would be found for a relatively inexpensive price at a high street store so would most likely appeal to ‘The Mainstreamer’ and those in a middle class bracket.

The female characters are dressed in revealing clothing and are over sexualised and their body’s, over emphasised. This is yet another example of the way in which the female body is used to satisfy the male gaze (Laura Mulvey), a form of pleasure for male gratification. This representation of femininity is unnecessary and has no link to the product being advertised. This also links to the theory of voyeurism – “One of the most obvious persuaders in advertising is sex”

The narrative being portrayed is that, before the man used Score’s new hair product – ‘Score Liquid Hair Cream’, he was at the same level and status as everybody else. Now, he is put on a platform of dominance, on which he can ‘get what he has always wanted’. The advert leads the audience to believe that, in the future, the man will always have the female attention and toxic masculine identity he was deprived of before using the product. The advertisement also links to gender roles and how, at the time of production, women were obliged to attend to a man’s every need. The male role was to sit back and relax.

The use of the slogan/tag line ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ positions the passive audience to believe that this product has the power to elevate your social status.