Advertising

How does the Lucozade advert use media language to promote energy drinks?

The blue, orange and white used with black contrast reinforces the product packaging colours and helps emphasise the slogan. It is striking and creates a contrast between the font, the image of Bale and the product. The choice of colour aids recognition of the product packaging. The advert has made a choice to attract a male audience with a clearly gendered advert through the choice of celebrity and colour palette.

The choice of the Sans serif font is easy to read, along with the background looks as if it is typed on a computer screen which has the connotation of being factual and scientific. The unfinished claim “In a different league” has the largest font size on the advert, indicating the importance of the text in creating meaning for the product. This connotes that Gareth Bale is in a different league and, by association, so is Lucozade Sport. The use of factual data in the top right corner creates a sense of truth and realism along with the unfinished claim that it’s “Scientifically Proven”, and the word “YES” in the bottom left is a use of positive reinforcement convincing the audience to buy it.

The use of Gareth Bale is a persuasive technique of Celebrity endorsement, he associates the drink with sport and fitness. Him wearing a sports kit, which helps identify him as a sportsman and the brand as being a sports drink. The audience should be familiar with Gareth Bale from watching football matches on TV. There are also intertextual references to Bale’s sponsorship deal with Adidas through his costume.  The positioning of him and the product in the same area creates a sense of attachment between the player and product.

The medium close-up of Bale at eye level personalises him, helps create an emotional link and positions the audience, connoting that is they drink the brand they will be similar to Bale – an aspirational target for much of the audience bearing in mind he was the most expensive footballer at the time. The sole use of Bale in this advert makes him a metaphor for successful sportspersons. The combination of these elements reinforces the stereotype that sport, and social activities, is dominated by successful white men.

The use of special effects enhances the idea of Gareth Bale being in a different league. The blue of his eye colour is heightened to complement the colour of the product and background. The beads of sweat on his forehead created through CGI connote that he is a sportsman and in “a different league”, reflecting the idea that the drink is for people who participate in sporting activities.

Explain how viewpoints and ideologies are communicated by the media language use in adverts

Old Spice’s “Smell like a man” campaign can be seen to reinforce patriarchal ideology. The use of Isaiah Mustafa to promote the product, slogan and the actual product itself all reinforce masculinity and the ideological dominance of men within our society. 

The advert, as a media form whose purpose is to sell a product, constructs representations that communicate to men, and women, the idea that if this product is purchased it will enable self-fulfilment and men can become better men. The product invites its target audience, including women who buy the products for men, to accept this ideological viewpoint. The advert reflects a managerialist ideology that tells us we should care about our appearance and personal hygiene, and the ideology that the consumption of commodities makes us a better version of ourselves.

Therefore, not only does the advert draw on common patriarchal stereotypes, using them as shortcuts to appeal to the target audience, but it also reinforces ideological assumptions about lifestyle in relation to our appearance to others and, importantly consumerism and individualism. The representation of masculinity also arguably reinforces ethnic stereotypes about hyper-sexualised black men in the media. The advert reflects white supremacist culture with Afro-American and Caribbean culture as exotic and a playground for western culture to participate in and enjoy.

The use of image manipulation to create a symbolic paradise, using the character’s body as the island, and activities associated with being on a tropical island makes the imagery link to the dominant ideology of how western culture perceives tropical lifestyles and suggests a viewpoint linking the product with luxury, wealth and success.

Shelter Campaign 2011

What was the purpose of the 2011 Shelter campaign?

The purpose was to encourage people at risk of losing their home to ask for advice earlier, and to provide information.

Who were the target audience?

Those at risk of homelessness to point them to Shelter’s free services and guide them to seek advice on issues around homelessness earlier.

How was the campaign funded?

Their funding came from the Government, local government and the voluntary sector.

How is this campaign different from other charity campaigns? ​

It’s not aimed at the wider public so this campaign wold most likely shock and create sympathy.

How has MEDIA LANGUAGE been used within this campaign? ​

The campaign is a non-commercial product that uses media language elements and constructs representations to encourage donations to the charity rather than a product purchase.

What groups are REPRESENTED in this advert? How are they represented to the audience? What might be the potential impact of this representation​?

The social groups that are under- or misrepresented, in this case, middle class or lower class, grownups of all genders. Here they are represented as troubled and un-well. This representation is used to shock the audience and create sympathy.

How do you think audiences would have responded to this campaign? What would the preferred/negotiated/oppositional reads of this media text be? ​

The preferred reading of the campaign could be that homelessness can happen to anyone for several different reasons. There is an additional preferred reading that suggests we should feel empathy and responsibility for helping others who are less fortunate than ourselves. But the audience response to and interpretation of the advert will depend on the demographic and experience of the audience. It will depend on their views towards charity and how they respond to the representations constructed.

What does this campaign tell us about the social context in which it was created?
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The Shelter advert represents the inequalities of wealth in society so is appealing to those who have and can give to those who have not. The adverts reflect the social position of the middle classes as benevolent due to inequalities of wealth and income.

Carry out an analysis of the campaign exploring how media language has been used to communicate with the audience, remember to include: costumes, props, makeup, lighting, choice of camera shot, angle, typography, layout and address of written content to the audience​.

The advertising of Shelter conveys a negative tone towards the audience, it does this through the facial expressions the actors have used. This makes the reader wonder why the actors are looking so dehumanized, this helps draw the reader in and makes them want to read the advert in more detail. The facial expressions that are used show no emotion this helps create a sense of mystery as the audience wonder why what’s wrong with the people. This is furthered with the angle of the camera shot which is directly in front of their face, this helps draw the reader in as it seems like the people are crying out for help. The lighting also highlights the pained facial expressions with the lighting being directly shined onto the actors’ face.

The facial expressions are not the only tool that has been used to convey their message, the editor has also used big bold red text over the actors faces which helps emphasis the struggle of the homeless. The text helps make the audience guilty as the question 'but where will they live?' makes the reader wonder the answer to the question, this makes them feel privileged as they have somewhere to sleep. This advert also includes small white text which requires the reader to look closely at the advert, this helps draw the reader in as they have to go up to the poster and read it as they wouldn't be able to read it far away. The text uses rhetorical questions to make the reader feel guilty and makes them feel like they must help the homeless. the advert also includes information to where you can seek advice about homelessness, this gives the audience a place where they can help as they feel like they need to give something to the charity as they feel guilty from the way that shelter have presented their message.

David Gauntlett’s theory of identity suggests that we are now living in a world where the meaning of gender is increasingly open.

To what extent do you agree with this hypothesis in relation to print advertisements in the UK?

I agree to a certain extent bearing in mind that after some time the traditional view of a woman as a housewife or low status worker has been kick-boxed out of the picture by the feisty, successful 'girl power' icons. Meanwhile the masculine ideals of absolute toughness, stubborn self-reliance and emotional silence have been shaken by a new emphasis on men's emotions, need for advice, and the problems of masculinity. Although gender categories have not been shattered, these alternative ideas and images have at least created space for a greater diversity of identities.

When analysing the role of women at some point of advertising in the 1950’s and 1960’s, it is simple that the housewife contributed to a terrific extent. Throughout the post war period the idea of work was mostly intertwined with gender. To escape the trauma of the War, gender roles encompassed a nostalgic view of pre-war Britain and consequently relied on the idea of the sturdy male breadwinner and as a counterpart, the housewife. Typically, women were associated with the emblem of the housewifery role: an apron. The apron was always pristine and the presentation of the housewife usually saw her looking neat and well groomed, often wearing court shoes, occasionally heels, and sometimes a string of pearls.

While you can certainly argue that women are still objectified in some of today’s ads, the blatant sexism in many ads from the 1960s is jarring. From a woman depicted as a doormat (literally) to an ad speaking to a woman’s inability to open a bottle of ketchup, it’s shocking any purchases were made in the 1960s. Today, we’ve considered a massive shift in how women are portrayed in advertising. This is perhaps in part due to the fact that women hold round 60 percent of positions at marketing agencies. Women are also more familiar in the workplace and, therefore, have extra discretionary income than female in the sixties. Many cutting-edge corporations are embracing this technology of women empowerment.

The ad above was, unsurprisingly, controversial—not just because of its slogan or its bare-chested model, but also because of its core assumption: that the way to keep a woman “where she belongs,” if that is indeed your goal, is to buy her things. Captivation by way of consumerism.

For decades, advertisers have been finding different ways to feature women in ads in order to entice buyers. And, it would seem, the strategy works.

But the way women have been portrayed in advertising has changed over the decades and changed the way society views women because of it. From household drudge to sexpot to business leader, advertisements are constantly arguing with us about women’s role in society 

1980s: Enter a new kind of woman, who can have it all — be a mother, a professional, and ... wear power suits.

According to Stuart Hall, meaning is constituted by representation; by what is present, what is absent, and what is different. 

Through an analysis of the 2 advertisements for Dove, what messages  are communicated about gender through the representations that are constructed?

Cultural theorist Stuart Hall describes representation as the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture through the use of language, signs and images which stand for or represent things.

Dove's campaign for real beauty suggests that from an early age women are exposed to statements and clichés, masked as advice, that dictate how we should look if we want to be accepted. It implies that women are more insecure about how they look and have certain expectations following that. According to this campaign women consider having grey hair as a negative aspect, whereas through the use of a beautiful aging model with grey hair. The very minimal amount of makeup amplifies the idea of natural beauty that Dove is trying to portray as the best. 

Dove's advertisement for men care uses stereotypes such as the blue colour palette for "men care". The use of celebrity endorsement of Will Greenwood, a past rugby player implies that a "real man" is sporty and fit. However, on the contrary the rugby player is shown playing a friendly game of rugby with his daughters rather then playing a dangerous game on the field in all of his gear. The use of the family could be a connotation of this being men care implying that " a real man" should be able to care for his family.