General conventions
Demonstrative action - using the product that is advertised in the secondary image
Hard sell advert with direct mode of address “you women”
Tide product is the centre of the advert - recognisable what is being sold
Colour red is used to identify the Tide product
What are the visual codes in the Tide set product?
Women are dressed in typical 1950s clothing. Woman hugging the Tide product has an expression of love, conforming to the stereotypical idea of women loving to clean
What does the slogan indicate?
“Tides got what women want” - ideal woman stays at home and also indicates the demographic of the product
What type of persuasive language is used?
Whitest and cleanest
What is the USP?
Tide is better than any other products and it is unique and different to others on the market
What is the font used?
Headings, subheadings and slogan - written in San Serif font connoting an informal mode of address. Reinforced with the comic strip style images with informal lexis
Barthes - Semiotics
Semantic code - hearts and the woman’s gesture codes have connotations of love and relationships. It connoted that this is “what women want”
Symbolic code - repition of red colour and the product was clearly successful
Levi Strauss - Structuralism
Texts are constructed through the binary oppositions
“Tide gets clothes cleaner than any other washday product you can buy!” Reinforced the conceptual binary opposition between Tide and its commercial rivals
Stuart Hall - Reception
Indirect mode of of address made by the woman in the main image connotes her relationship with the product is of prime importanance
Hall suggest that this is the dominant or hegemonic encoding of the advert’s primary message that should be received by “you women”
Representation of Gender
Women being housewives. When women see this poster, it enforces women to perceive them as role models and inspire to be represented like that to agree with the producers conformist ideologies
Representation of Race
Use of white woman indicates to a modern day audience , women of a different racial status were not allowed to be seen on adverts - especially for the upper and middle class
Representation of Dress code
Stereotypical 1950s hairstyle, it was the fashion for women to have shorter hair as it was more practical
Theory of identity - Gauntlett
Women represented in the advert act as role models of domestic perfection, the audience may want to construct their own sense of identity against
Feminist - Van Zoonen
A female role in the 1950s socially and politically may have changed in the proceeding war years
This advert perhaps contradicts Van zonnens theory that the media contribute to social change by representing women in non- traditional roles and using non-sexist language .
Feminist - Bell Hooks
Argues that light skinned women are considered more desirable
Fit better in to the wester ideology of beauty
Oppression of patriarchal ideologies in the media
Context
‘Tide’ to not only wash away the bad germs , but also the horrible things that happened in the war.
Girls were educated to look after a husband, children and the house = triple shift
This advert meets the needs of a man expectations of coming home
Women were dependent on their husbands
Post WW2 - rapid development of new technologies for the home. Products linked to these technologies also developed during this time e.g. washing powder
Target Audience in the 1950s
Many of the adverts have women featured in them advertising the newest cleaning products et
If men featured in an advert, they tend to be represented as string and dominant over women, e.g. Coca Cola advert represents how having a coke will draw in all the women. This is not conventional of the time however it still conforms to patriarchal society of the time.
Women were the primary market for the products and technologies being developed for the home.
Aimed at older women which would then influence young girls to be like them.
It targets increasingly affluent lower MC women , housewife
Gerbner - Cultivation Theory
The Tide advert aims to cultivate the ideas that this is the brand leader.
Nothing else washes to the same standards as Tide.
It’s a desirable product for its female audience.
Gerbner theory would argue that the repetition of these key messages causes audiences to increasingly align their own ideologies with them - “goes into more American homes than any other washday product”. Uses the advert to emphasise its top brand and unmatched
True or False
The use of serif font for the headings, subheadings and slogans connotes an informal mode of address
False - it’s san serif
True or False
The oppositional reading of the advert is that the lexical choices - such as ‘trust’ ‘truly safe’ and ‘miracle’ - suggest that despite being a new product it is reliable and desireable
False - preferred reading
True or False
The use of the hearts above the main image is evidence of Levi Strauss binary oppositions being employed
False - Barthes semiotics
What is Psychographics?
Explores the behaviour of consumers according to their personalistied and lifestyle. The profiles focus on their values and inspiration
What is cross platform advertising
Using different media types to advertise the same product or brand
