Blog task: Score advert and wider reading
Media Factsheet - Score hair cream
Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #188: Close Study Product - Advertising - Score. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can download it here if you use your Greenford login details to access Google Drive.
Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:
1) How did advertising techniques change in the 1960s and how does the Score advert reflect this change?
1960s adverts used big images and less writing. They tried to be more creative and eye catching. The Score advert does this because the main focus is the big jungle image with the man and women.
2) What representations of women were found in post-war British advertising campaigns? Women were shown as housewives who cook clean and look after the family. They were also shown as objects to attract men.
3) Conduct your own semiotic analysis of the Score hair cream advert: What are the connotations of the mise-en-scene in the image? You may wish to link this to relevant contexts too.
4) What does the factsheet suggest in terms of a narrative analysis of the Score hair cream advert? Women were shown as housewives who cook clean and look after the family. They were also shown as objects to attract men.
5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in the 2020s?
In 1967 most people would see it as normal. In the 2020s people would think it is sexist and outdated.
6) How does the Score hair cream advert use persuasive techniques (e.g. anchorage text, slogan, product information) to sell the product to an audience? The name Score suggests success with women. The image shows women attracted to the man. The text explains the product.
7) How might you apply feminist theory to the Score hair cream advert - such as van Zoonen, bell hooks or Judith Butler? Feminist theory would say the advert shows men as dominant and women as objects. It shows a male dominated society.
8) How could David Gauntlett's theory regarding gender identity be applied to the Score hair cream advert? The advert shows men as strong and women as sexual objects. This could shape how people think men and women should act.
9) What representation of sexuality can be found in the advert and why might this link to the 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality (historical and cultural context)? The advert shows strong heterosexual attraction. It shows a man surrounded by women which reinforces traditional masculinity.
10) How does the advert reflect Britain's colonial past - another important historical and cultural context? The jungle setting and gun suggest exploration and control. It shows a white male in power which links to colonial ideas.
Wider reading
The Drum: This Boy Can article
Read this article from The Drum magazine on gender and the new masculinity. If the Drum website is blocked, you can find the text of the article here. Think about how the issues raised in this article link to our Score hair cream advert CSP and then answer the following questions:
1) Why does the writer suggest that we may face a "growing 'boy crisis'"? The writer says there is a “boy crisis” because boys have more problems like suicide and doing worse in school. Some boys also feel pressure to act tough.
2) How has the Axe/Lynx brand changed its marketing to present a different representation of masculinity? Lynx changed its adverts. Before it showed men getting lots of women. Now it shows men being themselves and not following old stereotypes.
3) How does campaigner David Brockway, quoted in the article, suggest advertisers "totally reinvent gender constructs"? David Brockway says adverts should show boys doing things that break stereotypes. For example boys liking pink or not acting tough.
4) How have changes in family and society altered how brands are targeting their products? Families and society have changed. Men now help more at home and buy more products. So brands are changing how they advertise to men.
5) Why does Fernando Desouches, Axe/Lynx global brand development director, say you've got to "set the platform" before you explode the myth of masculinity? He means brands need to slowly introduce new ideas about masculinity first. Then they can challenge old stereotypes later.
2) What representations of women were found in post-war British advertising campaigns? Women were shown as housewives who cook clean and look after the family. They were also shown as objects to attract men.
3) Conduct your own semiotic analysis of the Score hair cream advert: What are the connotations of the mise-en-scene in the image? You may wish to link this to relevant contexts too.
The jungle setting suggests adventure. The gun shows power. The throne makes the man look important. The women’s clothes are revealing which shows they are sexualised and there for the man.
4) What does the factsheet suggest in terms of a narrative analysis of the Score hair cream advert? Women were shown as housewives who cook clean and look after the family. They were also shown as objects to attract men.
5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in the 2020s?
In 1967 most people would see it as normal. In the 2020s people would think it is sexist and outdated.
6) How does the Score hair cream advert use persuasive techniques (e.g. anchorage text, slogan, product information) to sell the product to an audience? The name Score suggests success with women. The image shows women attracted to the man. The text explains the product.
7) How might you apply feminist theory to the Score hair cream advert - such as van Zoonen, bell hooks or Judith Butler? Feminist theory would say the advert shows men as dominant and women as objects. It shows a male dominated society.
8) How could David Gauntlett's theory regarding gender identity be applied to the Score hair cream advert? The advert shows men as strong and women as sexual objects. This could shape how people think men and women should act.
9) What representation of sexuality can be found in the advert and why might this link to the 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality (historical and cultural context)? The advert shows strong heterosexual attraction. It shows a man surrounded by women which reinforces traditional masculinity.
10) How does the advert reflect Britain's colonial past - another important historical and cultural context? The jungle setting and gun suggest exploration and control. It shows a white male in power which links to colonial ideas.
Wider reading
The Drum: This Boy Can article
Read this article from The Drum magazine on gender and the new masculinity. If the Drum website is blocked, you can find the text of the article here. Think about how the issues raised in this article link to our Score hair cream advert CSP and then answer the following questions:
1) Why does the writer suggest that we may face a "growing 'boy crisis'"? The writer says there is a “boy crisis” because boys have more problems like suicide and doing worse in school. Some boys also feel pressure to act tough.
2) How has the Axe/Lynx brand changed its marketing to present a different representation of masculinity? Lynx changed its adverts. Before it showed men getting lots of women. Now it shows men being themselves and not following old stereotypes.
3) How does campaigner David Brockway, quoted in the article, suggest advertisers "totally reinvent gender constructs"? David Brockway says adverts should show boys doing things that break stereotypes. For example boys liking pink or not acting tough.
4) How have changes in family and society altered how brands are targeting their products? Families and society have changed. Men now help more at home and buy more products. So brands are changing how they advertise to men.
5) Why does Fernando Desouches, Axe/Lynx global brand development director, say you've got to "set the platform" before you explode the myth of masculinity? He means brands need to slowly introduce new ideas about masculinity first. Then they can challenge old stereotypes later.
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