Complete the following tasks and wider reading on the Score hair cream advert and masculinity in advertising.
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 - you'll need to save the factsheet to USB or email it to yourself in order to complete this at home. 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?
Visuals took on a greater importance, with agencies relying less on market research and more toward creative instinct; attempting to win over consumers with humour, candour and, above all, irony.
2) What representations of women were found in post-war British advertising campaigns?
Ironically, campagins reinforced the idea that a woman's place was in the home after the propoganda during the war encouraging them to work in farms and factories.
3) Conduct your own semiotic analysis of the Score hair cream advert: What are the connotations of the mise-en-scene in the image?
A man is held above women, which are scantily clad and grasping towards him, reinforcing the gender patriarchy and to appeal to the male target audience. He wields a gun, which can be seen as a phallic symbol that further reinforces male dominance. The Jungle setting gives empowering connotations of British colonisation.
4) What does the factsheet suggest in terms of a narrative analysis of the Score hair cream advert?
The Score advert identifies the man as Propp’s ‘hero' archetype and that he is 'exulted’as the hunter-protector of his ‘tribe’.
5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in 2019?
Due to 1967 being the year to decriminalise homosexuality, the advert may be in response to the fear that society is changing and created to reinforce the heteronormative narrative. The fact sheet says that a male audience would read the narrative as ironic and humorous but the underlying ideology would remain implicit. Females of the time may take offence however regard it as normal in the patriarchal society.
Today, we are aware that this advert is an artefact of the 1960s and aware of the sexist and outdated narrative. However, teenage boys may find the ad appealing and not see the offence in it due to modern advertisements sometimes using similar iconography.
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 slogan "Get what you've always wanted" implies that men who use this will get scantily clad women, reinforcing a heteronormative and sexist narrative for modern audiences but appealing to a 1967 male audience familiar with this traditional representation of gender and masculinity.
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 slogan "Get what you've always wanted" implies that men who use this will get scantily clad women, reinforcing a heteronormative and sexist narrative for modern audiences but appealing to a 1967 male audience familiar with this traditional representation of gender and masculinity.
The Anchorage text uses the persuasive technique of inadequacy marketing, reinforcing men about their sexuality and masculinity with phrases like "made by the men" and "masculine scent."
7) How might you apply feminist theory to the Score hair cream advert - such as van Zoonen, bell hooks or Judith Butler?
Butler's theory that gender is a performance - socially constructed - can be applied. The advertisement is an example of the media reinforcing stereotypical gender roles and heterosexuality and it helps reinforce male and female roles in society. Van Zoonen's belief that women are objectified in the media is also reinforced here.
8) How could Stuart Hall's theory of representation and David Gauntlett's theory regarding gender identity be applied to the Score hair cream advert?
This links to Gauntlett's theory that representations of masculinity are changing in the modern era, as advertisements today aren't as overtly sexist and heteronormative as they were in the 1960s. However, it could be argued that this goes against Gauntlett's belief that masculinity is not in a crisis, as the advert may be in response to the fear that society is changing and created to reinforce the heteronormative narrative.
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 anchorage text reassures men about their masculinity and sexuality, perhaps in fear of the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the gradual changing of masculine values.
10) How does the advert reflect Britain's colonial past - another important historical and cultural context?
The mise en scene of the jungle setting envokes this, as well as the costumes worn by the women and man.
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'"?
2) How has the Axe/Lynx brand changed its marketing to present a different representation of masculinity?
3) How does campaigner David Brockway, quoted in the article, suggest advertisers "totally reinvent gender constructs"?
4) How have changes in family and society altered how brands are targeting their products?
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?
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