Advertising and Marketing

Media Language: How the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings

Media Representations: How the media portray events issues, individuals and social groups

Genre conventions of camera, editing, sound and mise en scene.
How are these elements used together to construct the media form so that it looks the way it does,
How are these elements organised and combined in a certain way to communicate meaning in the set product.
How does the genre develop through the use of technical elements

Advertising: Is the process of making a product or service known to the market and the target audience

Marketing: is the process of preparing a product for the marketplace. Advertising is one of several components used in the marketing strategy

Studying Media Language-

Three main areas of study include...

•Codes and conventions

•Genre

•Constructing and interpreting meaning

Old Spice (UK Aftershave Advert)

Mode of Address:

looking directly at the camera, hence the audience- direct mode of address
catching the audiences attention straight away
smirking at the camera, showing his confidence and a sense of cockiness

Hierarchy:

using both San-serif and serif fonts to show a mixture
small writing to show more attention on the image of the product and the detailed background
clear, blue skies to create a positive vibe in the holiday destination where the advert is set

Special Effects:

edited to create a volcano coming out of his head, to show that hes 'hot headed'-linking to the term product spice
holiday setting in the 'Bahamas' to create a surreal effect in the atmosphere around the product

Mode of Address:

looking straight at the camera, hence the audience- direct mode of address
catching their attention straight away
very serious look to show the seriousness the products importance

Hierarchy:

yellow and blue- nearly opposite to each other on the colour wheel, creates it to stand out more
big, bold and capital fonts on the centre/left of the frame- in line with the man
the colour theme of the advert match the packaging on the bottle
blue background connotes the idea of hydration, linking to the energy and hydration provided within the product

Mode of Address:

all images looking directly at the camera, hence the audience- direct mode of address
making the audience almost feel guilty if they do not help the homeless people who rely on the shelter
serious facial expression to express how serious the matter of the advert is about homeless people and their dependence on the shelter

Hierarchy:

chosen large red fonts over the faces of the people in the advert
San- serif font to imply how serious the matter of this advert is

C- Class

A- Age

G- Gender

E- Ethnicity

D- Disability

Representation is unavoidably selective. The producer of an advert will decide how to promote the product to his target audience and in so doing will decide how to represent particular social groups or individuals.

Producers may consciously or subconsciously reflect wider social attitudes to a range of issues or events this can result in bias for reasons.

C- lower/middle class
A- early 20's
G- woman
E- American
D- none, but being belittled due to her being a woman

Advertising the bottle as being so easy that a woman could even open it.

Giving women the stereotype of being weak and fragile but using it to advertise the accessibility of the product.

C- lower/middle class
A- early 20's
G- woman
E- Italian
D- none, but being exploited as a woman

Advertising the products with young and beautiful women, using their bodies as objects to attract men to the products being sold.

Objectifying the women and using their bodies in such a sexualising matter, simply using their bodies as a mean to sell.

Selling the product of LYNX asking men if they can stay in control, no sweating and losing control around these beautiful women.

Old Spice Advertisement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ASb6jf-s74

Male Stereotypes-

Strength
Sexuality attraction
Independent
Power

Race Stereotypes-

Exotic
Dangerous
Humorous
Pitied

Black Stereotypes-

Criminals
Gangsters
Sporty/Athletic
Musicians
Comedians
Sexual

Throughout these advertisements the men are being represented as having over masculine features, linking to very extreme and traditional stereotypes. Both men are well built within their physiques, appealing the sexual attraction mainly for women watching. They are also both men of colour linking to the black stereotypes of having very sporty physiques, as well as the numerous jokes made throughout. Therefore, relating to the humorous race stereotype and the idea of comedians being considered to be another one of the black stereotypes.There is an element of power being portrayed throughout some parts of the advert when the video presents a repeated edit of the man. This could link to the over powering scent of the Old Spice may have and causing people to be more interested in purchasing the product.

Comparing this older advertisement of Old Spice there is still a presence of physically fit men being almost the symbol and representation of this product/brand. It is hard to be 100% accurate but it seems that the man in this older advert is a white young male. Even though there is a a young woman in the advert of this older video, she is being presented in a very subordinate role pining over the man who is showing off in his physical surfing skills.

Isaiah Mustafa:

Isaiah Amir Mustafa is an American actor and former American football wide receiver. Mustafa is widely known as the main character in the series of Old Spice television commercials, 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like'.

He is a man who receives a wide amount of respect from american fans as well as other fans also globally supporting him. This would link to the idea of him being a very respected man and other men wanting to be just like him, therefore will want to use the same products as him like the Old Spice scented items that he advertises. Also, this may relate to the sexual attraction that women may feel towards him, relating to them wanting their men (husbands, boyfriends, etc) to smell like him, hence having the same sexual attraction as him.

Humour appeal is used in the context of the exaggerated and surreal setting, the expression the actors face, the random combination of visuals along with the unfinished claim help create an atmosphere of humour.

The Male Gaze theory, is where women in the media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man, and that these women are represented as passive objects of male desire.

In the Old Spice advert pleasure is achieved through the sexualisation within the young, good looking men with good physiques. This causes pleasure for women to look at them within the advert, as well as idealisation for men to look at and hope that physique for themselves.

Theory...

Uses and Gratifications theory as developed by Bulmer and Katz suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media.

Personal Identity- Viewers can recognise a person or product, role models that reflect similar values to themselves and mimic or copy some of their characteristics.

Post Modernism Definition...

a late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterised by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.

Viewpoints and Ideologies:

Old Spice Smell like a man campaign can be seen to reinforce patriarchal ideology.

The use of Isaiah Mustafa to promote the product and slogan will reinforce the ideological dominance of men within society.

The advert constructs representations that communicate to men and women. The idea that the product if purchased will lead to self fulfilment and men become better men.

The advert draws on common patriarchal stereotypes such as...

Men being the sexually attractive gender with their physiques
Men having more power and strength than women
Man posing/mode of address his 'cocky' and over confident facial expressions

Shelter:

Shelter is a registered charity that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing in England and Scotland.
It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people.
The percentage increase of homelessness has doubled/increased by 100%
It is believed that homelessness increases because of housing crisis, like affordable housing (especially in London), domestic abuse, violence occurring at home, etc
Every day 78 families in England become homeless
Every 1 person in 200 people someone will be homeless in the UK
The total for homeless people in the UK is 320,000, whilst the total of people being homeless in London counts to 170,000

Founded in 1966 during the “Swinging Sixties” where at the time three million people were living in slums. Shelter was born out of the belief that this appalling injustice must be put right.
Fifty years on, the country is in the grip of another housing crisis. A huge range of people are affected by our current housing shortage, from a generation of young people who can’t afford a home to those struggling with sub-standard housing.
As we enter our 50th year, 100,000 children are homeless. So, while we will reflect on our achievements, we will only celebrate when everyone has a place to call home.
The advert “A home for everyone” echoes social anxieties linked to economic and family issues that lead to people losing their home.

Viewpoints and Ideologies:

Shelters 'A home for everyone' campaign can be seen to communicate a number of ideological values, some of them contrasting...

The advert reinforces a viewpoint that social inequality is unjust and that those in positions of social power or wealth have a duty to help those who are not.In this context, the advert supports a social, liberal view with the idea that we have a social duty to help one another.
Additionally, the advert reinforces the ideological values of individuals by suggesting that every individual has the right to self-fulfilment and a better life, including those who have less than others.
To some extent, this value is reinforced through the ideology of consumerism by using the advert form, which relies on the consumption of messages and values to create empathy and persuade the audience to donate to the charity.

Audience Response and Interpretation:

The preferred reading of the Shelter 'A home for everyone' advert could be that homelessness can happen to anyone for a number of different reasons. There is also an additional preferred meaning 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 audience. In particular, it will depend on their views towards charity and how they respond to the representations constructed.

For example, a middle-class woman may respond to this advert as there are a number of women in the image that have represented to be feeling a lot of fear within them. It is expected that the stereotype of someone who is homeless is most likely to be a man, but this advert represented two different women as being homeless.

Advertising and Marketing

Media Language: How the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings

​

Media Representations: How the media portray events issues, individuals and social groups

Old Spice (UK Aftershave Advert)

Mode of Address:

looking directly at the camera, hence the audience- direct mode of address

catching the audiences attention straight away

smirking at the camera, showing his confidence and a sense of cockiness

Hierarchy:

using both San-serif and serif fonts to show a mixture

small writing to show more attention on the image of the product and the detailed background

clear, blue skies to create a positive vibe in the holiday destination where the advert is set

Special Effects:

edited to create a volcano coming out of his head, to show that hes 'hot headed'-linking to the term product spice

holiday setting in the 'Bahamas' to create a surreal effect in the atmosphere around the product

​

Mode of Address:

looking straight at the camera, hence the audience- direct mode of address

catching their attention straight away

very serious look to show the seriousness the products importance

Hierarchy:

yellow and blue- nearly opposite to each other on the colour wheel, creates it to stand out more

big, bold and capital fonts on the centre/left of the frame- in line with the man

the colour theme of the advert match the packaging on the bottle

blue background connotes the idea of hydration, linking to the energy and hydration provided within the product

Mode of Address:

all images looking directly at the camera, hence the audience- direct mode of address

making the audience almost feel guilty if they do not help the homeless people who rely on the shelter

serious facial expression to express how serious the matter of the advert is about homeless people and their dependence on the shelter

Hierarchy:

chosen large red fonts over the faces of the people in the advert

San- serif font to imply how serious the matter of this advert is

C- lower/middle class

A- early 20's

G- woman

E- American

D- none, but being belittled due to her being a woman

Advertising the bottle as being so easy that a woman could even open it.

Giving women the stereotype of being weak and fragile but using it to advertise the accessibility of the product.

C- lower/middle class

A- early 20's

G- woman

E- Italian

D- none, but being exploited as a woman

Advertising the products with young and beautiful women, using their bodies as objects to attract men to the products being sold.

Objectifying the women and using their bodies in such a sexualising matter, simply using their bodies as a mean to sell.

Selling the product of LYNX asking men if they can stay in control, no sweating and losing control around these beautiful women.

Old Spice Advertisement:

Isaiah Mustafa:

Isaiah Amir Mustafa is an American actor and former American football wide receiver. Mustafa is widely known as the main character in the series of Old Spice television commercials, 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like'.

Humour appeal is used in the context of the exaggerated and surreal setting, the expression the actors face, the random combination of visuals along with the unfinished claim help create an atmosphere of humour.

The Male Gaze theory, is where women in the media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man, and that these women are represented as passive objects of male desire.

In the Old Spice advert pleasure is achieved through the sexualisation within the young, good looking men with good physiques. This causes pleasure for women to look at them within the advert, as well as idealisation for men to look at and hope that physique for themselves.

Theory...

Uses and Gratifications theory as developed by Bulmer and Katz suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media.

Personal Identity- Viewers can recognise a person or product, role models that reflect similar values to themselves and mimic or copy some of their characteristics.

Post Modernism Definition...

a late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterised by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.

Shelter:

Viewpoints and Ideologies:

Shelters 'A home for everyone' campaign can be seen to communicate a number of ideological values, some of them contrasting...

The advert reinforces a viewpoint that social inequality is unjust and that those in positions of social power or wealth have a duty to help those who are not.In this context, the advert supports a social, liberal view with the idea that we have a social duty to help one another.

Additionally, the advert reinforces the ideological values of individuals by suggesting that every individual has the right to self-fulfilment and a better life, including those who have less than others.

To some extent, this value is reinforced through the ideology of consumerism by using the advert form, which relies on the consumption of messages and values to create empathy and persuade the audience to donate to the charity.

​

Audience Response and Interpretation:

​