tide
What does her outfit show ?
The dress codes of the advert’s main female character include a stereotypical 1950s hairstyle incorporating waves, curls and rolls made fashionable by contemporary film stars such as Veronica Lake, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. The fashion for women having shorter hair had a practical catalyst as long hair was hazardous for women working with machinery on farms or in factories during the war.
• The headband or scarf worn by the woman also links to the practicalities that women’s dress codes developed during this time. For this advert, having her hair held back connotes she’s focused on her work, though this is perhaps binary opposed to the full makeup that she’s wearing
Stuart Hall’s theory of representation
the images of domesticity (including the two women hanging out the laundry) form part of the “shared conceptual road map” that give meaning to the “world” of the advert. Despite its ‘comic strip’ visual construction, the scenario represented is familiar to the audience as a representation of their own lives.
David Gauntlett’s theory of identity
women represented in the advert act as role models of domestic perfection that the audience may want to construct their own sense of identity against.
Target audience
Despite women having seen their roles in society change during the War (where they were needed in medical, military support, and other roles outside of the home) domestic products of the 1950s continued to be aimed at female audiences.
• The likely target audience of increasingly affluent lower-middle-class women was, at this point in the 1950s, being appealed to because of their supposed need for innovative domestic technologies and products. The increasing popularity during the 1950s of supermarkets stocking a wider range of products led to an increased focus by corporations on brands and their unique selling points. • The likely audience demographic is constructed through the advert’s use of women with whom they might personally identify (Uses and Gratifications Theory). These young women are likely to be newly married and with young families (the men’s and children’s clothing on the washing line creates these connotations).
• The endorsement from Good Housekeeping Magazine makes them an Opinion Leader for the target audience, reinforcing the repeated assertion that Tide is the market-leading product. • The preferred reading (Stuart Hall) of the advert’s reassuring lexical fields (“trust”, “truly safe”, “miracle”, “nothing like”) is that, despite being a “new” product, Tide provides solutions to the audience’s domestic chores needs.
Reception Theory - Stuart Hall
The indirect mode of address made by the woman in the main image connotes that her relationship with the product is of prime importance (Tide has what she wants). This, according to Hall, is the dominant or hegemonic encoding of the advert’s primary message that should be received by “you women.”
• The direct mode of address of the images in the top right and bottom left-hand corner link to the imperative “Remember!” and the use of personal pronouns (“your wash,” “you can buy”).
Cultivation Theory - George Gerbner
Advertising developed significantly during the 1950s and this theory, developed by Gerbner in the early 1970s, explains some of the ways in which audiences may be influenced by media texts such as adverts.
• The Tide advert aims to cultivate the ideas that: this is the brand leader; nothing else washes to the same standard as Tide; it’s a desirable product for its female audience; and its “miracle suds” are an innovation for the domestic washing market. Gerbner’s theory would argue that the repetition of these key messages causes audiences to increasingly align their own ideologies with them (in this case positively, creating a product that “goes into more American homes than any other washday product”).
What is it ?
washing powder advert
media language in tide
• Z-line and a rough rule of thirds can
be applied to its composition.
• Bright, primary colours connote the
positive associations the producers want
the audience to make with the product.
• Headings, subheadings and slogans are
written in sans-serif font, connoting
an informal mode of address.
• This is reinforced with the ‘comic strip’-
style image in the bottom right-hand corner
with two women ‘talking’ about the product
using informal lexis (“sudsing whizz”).
• The more ‘technical’ details of the product
are written in a serif font, connoting the
more ‘serious’ or ‘factual’ information that
the ‘1,2,3’ bullet point list includes.
- use of superlatives (whitest, cleanest etc).
- costume resembles Rosie the Riveter
- 'Tides got what women want'
- tide is shown as superior to all other options
Semiotics – Roland Barthes
• Suspense is created through the enigma of “what
women want” and emphasised by the tensionbuilding use of multiple exclamation marks.
• Bathes’ Semantic Code could be applied
to the use of hearts above the main image.
The hearts and the woman’s gesture codes
have connotations of love and relationships.
It’s connoted that this is “what women
want” (in addition to clean laundry!)
• Hyperbole and superlatives (“Miracle”,
“World’s cleanest wash!” “World’s whitest
wash!”) as well as tripling (“No other…”)
are used to oppose the connoted superior
cleaning power of Tide to its competitors.
• This Symbolic Code (Barthes) was clearly
successful as Procter and Gamble’s competitor
Good Housekeeping
it suggests that the product has been recognized or endorsed by Good Housekeeping magazine. This can imply that the product has undergone testing or evaluation by the magazine's experts and has met their standards for quality, effectiveness, or value. Additionally, it may indicate that the product has been featured in editorial content or product reviews within the magazine, providing further validation of its merits. Overall, seeing this phrase on a product advert may instill confidence in consumers by associating the product with a trusted and reputable source like Good Housekeeping.
Procter and Gamble
. P&G is known for producing a wide range of household and personal care products, including brands such as Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Crest, and Pantene, among others. The mention of P&G in a product advert may suggest reliability, quality, and trustworthiness, as the company is recognized globally for its commitment to innovation, research, and customer satisfaction. Additionally, consumers may associate P&G with a long history of producing well-known and respected brands, leading to increased confidence in the product being advertised.