Blog task: Score advert and wider reading

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?

Adverting techniques have changed in the 60s as there was pioneering for the sector as they leaned away from sticking to market research and "trends" and towards creative instinct, attempting to avoid portrayals of elitism or reverence of institution and tradition as visual mediums gained popularity as editing was refined and mastered.

2) What representations of women were found in post-war British advertising campaigns?

Women were objectified on a wide and more visible scale, highlighting an apparent inability to commit to simple tasks and needing male attention, presented as lacking expertise and intellect.

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.

Costume - The costume of the male 'protagonist' shows him wearing a t-shirt which connotes masculinity and how it reinforces the typical stereotypes of male dominance and on the other hand, female characters were seen as showing skin, using provocativeness to gain an audience.

Make up - The female's make up shows how women always have to wear make up to look pretty even when doing work or being submissive which also reinforces the typical stereotypes of women.

Prop - The prop that the females use is carrying the man connoting women doing unseen labour for men and in society as well as the fact that he's the one being carried connoting the dominance he has in society afforded by the patriarchy. 

Setting - The setting  a jungle which reinforced by the tiger skin blanket that the male is lounging on as if he rightfully earned it through killing it connoting hunting which again illustrates his dominance or the notion that the female characters are his prey as he is at he top of the food chain.

4) What does the factsheet suggest in terms of a narrative analysis of the Score hair cream advert?

The advert constructs narratives through Propp's character theory as the man is identified as the narrative 'hero' that is meant to appeal to a young male audience that identified with this 'tribal leader' as they aspire to a younger audience who wishes to have women surrounding them effortlessly. 

5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in the 2020s?

Responses may have changed over time as in 1967 it may of been read as humorous and ironic, unlikely to challenge misogyny in the advert as it was the explicit and implicit norms whilst and modern audience may be aware of the outdated and sexist narrative, yet younger audiences may not see the problematic nature of it due to a rise in the objectification of women in media and entertainment.

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?

They paid much more attention to building a distinctive character for the brand. The brand message is clear: to present the product as grooming product for a ‘real’ (masculine) man. The choice of the ‘Score’ brand name is deliberate and carries very obvious connotations. They also used the idea that when men used this cream they would be able to get a girl, and also the idea that they put information about the product in the anchorage text.

7) How might you apply feminist theory to the Score hair cream advert - such as van Zoonen, bell hooks or Judith Butler?

Feminist writer von Zoonen argues gender is constructed through discourse that varies with historical and cultural context, the representations of women would've been deemed 'normal' as they were largely depicted as domestic servants or sex slaves or both as well as mainstream media texts visual and narrative codes used to objectify the female form. 

Meanwhile bell hooks argues feminist theory is a middle class concern that has higher levels of oppression who are also black or working class, advocating feminism should be a stuggle to end patriarchal oppression and ideology of domination presented in the advert.

As well as Judith Butler asserts that gender isn't biologically but socially determined as genders in the advert are performing their roles, reinforcing binary roles ascribed by society.

8) How could David Gauntlett's theory regarding gender identity be applied to the Score hair cream advert?

David Gauntlett argues both media producers and consumers construct identities, the producer shapes idea of masculinity and femininity in the ad whilst the audience inevitably use these depictions to shape a personal identity.

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)?

It may link to the 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality as it partially decriminalised it under certain conditions and in the years that following, sexuality was policed more aggressively than before and the number of men arrested for breaching those conditions actually rose considerably, and this rise in traditionalism was reflected in the heavy reinforcement of gender stereotypes in media like the score hair cream advert.

10) How does the advert reflect Britain's colonial past - another important historical and cultural context?
Paul Gilroy argues that despite the passing of empire, the white western world still exerts its dominance through cultural products and the violence of the setting, the gun, the  makeshift throne all infer that the white western male has been successful in fighting off 'primitives' or dangerous animals to save his own tribe, indicating a rise in extreme conservatism in Britain at the time.

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 suggests that we could be, in fact, empowering the wrong sex, women being under-represented with casual sexism and unconscious bias still a raging epidemic but the difference is that we are all now familiar with the narrative around tackling these issues.

2) How has the Axe/Lynx brand changed its marketing to present a different representation of masculinity?

Axe/Lynx brand changed its marketing by creating a campaign in leading to the step-change 'Find Your Magic' campaign, representing a more fluid and individualistic notion of masculinity to the youth.

3) How does campaigner David Brockway, quoted in the article, suggest advertisers "totally reinvent gender constructs"?

Urges the industry to be “more revolutionary”, particularly when it comes to male body image, which he says is at risk of following the negative path trodden by its female counterpart. “We’re seeing a huge rise in eating and body image disorders among young men. We can’t isolate the cause. Advertising plays its part.” In order to prevent a full blown crisis of self-worth, Brockway advocates that advertisers “totally reinvent gender constructs” and dare to paint a world where boys like pink, don’t like going out and getting dirty, or aren’t career ambitious.

4) How have changes in family and society altered how brands are targeting their products?

As Miller says, the definition of “family” in places like Britain is profoundly changing – but advertising is not helping to normalise different scenarios by largely failing to portray this new normal. 

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?

On Fernando Desouches, Axe global brand development director, states you’ve got to “set the platform” before you explore the myth. “This is just the beginning. The slap in the face to say ‘this is masculinity’ and “What being a man means, and what ‘success’ means, is changing and this change is for the good. The message hasn’t exploded yet but we will make it explode. We will democratise it.” and Desouches argues that “men are actually more emotional than women” and that they need more empowerment than women.