Advertising: Score hair cream CSP

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

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?

Advertising in the 1960's relied heavily on creative instincts rather than market research. It also attempted to win over consumers with humour, candour and irony. Print ads also took on a realistic look, relying more on photography than illustration. Much like the score ad as it was clearly taken in a studio 

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

 and now surplus to requirement in the workplace, the advertising industry stepped in to provide a new ‘propaganda’ campaign – one designed to make women feel useful in the domestic arena.

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.

First, the man is positioned at the top of the mise-en-scene, connoting his higher status, and the fact he is being carried could even suggest a god-like superiority. 

The women are scantily clad which highlights the early sexualisation of women during the 1960's in the media in order to appease the male gaze (MULVEY) which motivates men to buy score hair cream so they can 'get what you've always wanted'. The man is also being carried by said women with a gun in his lap, creating a phallic symbol that reinforces the slogan innuendo. The fact that the advert is so hyper masculine and outright heterosexual is perhaps due to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967,the same year this ad was released. Therefore, men felt that their masculinity was being threatened. Thus, score hair cream reassures male anxiety. The backdrop of the advert also hints towards Britain's Colonial past as it is set in a safari.

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

The man is seen as a hero (propp) as all the women are staring at him in awe. This puts out a narrative to young men that this is their reward for using score hair cream.

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

In 1967, men might've felt more comfortable using the hair cream is it does not question their sexuality- because its so hyper masculine due to the decriminalisation of homosexuality the same year. Whereas, in 2020, people are much more liberal therefore some men don't feel the need to constantly defend their 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?

It entices the audience by saying that they need it in order to attract females so they can "get what they have always wanted".

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

Van Zoonen's theory of gender as a "social construction" could show how the ad constructs gender roles and expectations such as women inferior to men. bell hook's theory of intersectionality of race, gender and class could be used to examine how the ad represents different identities and how those identities intersect with power dynamics.

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

 

The fact that "masculinity isn't in crisis and is just changing" can apply to score hair cream due to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. Men felt that their masculinity was under attack.

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 forces a strictly heterosexual lifestyle which was seen as ideal.

10) How does the advert reflect Britain's colonial past - another important historical and cultural context?

The white men and women are dressed in safari attire with a tree in the background. This is a hint to Britain's colonial past as they were just coming to terms with it as by 1967, more than 20 British territories became independent.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023