Advertising: Score CSP case study

 1) How did advertising techniques change in the 1960s and how does the Score advert reflect this change?

In the 1960s, advertising agencies relied less on market research and leaned more toward creative instincts when it came to creating their campaigns.  The Score hair cream advert reflects this as the image was clearly taken in a studio using actual people as the main subjects, this adds to the realism as they all have different expressions and posses.

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

Advertising in the post-war period was illustrated by campaigns that undoubtedly reinforced the idea that a had to adopt and expressive role. Women had to be a passive nurturer, providing emotional support in the private sphere, being responsible for the well being of family members and the socialisation of their children.

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.
The setting for the advert resembles that of a jungle due to the multiple plants in the background. The male character is covered up and only his forearms are on show, whereas the female characters are scantily clad and dressed inappropriately for the situation. Perhaps this links to the idea that males are hunter-gathers which reinforces their strength and dominance, creating an impression of hyper masculinity. The female characters all fit the Western beauty standards too

4) What does the factsheet suggest in terms of a narrative analysis of the Score hair cream advert?
The Score advert identifies the man as Propp’s ‘hero’ in this narrative, inferring that he is ecstatic to be the hunter-protector of his ‘tribe’.

5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in the 2020s?
In 1967, a male audience would have enjoyed the advert as it reinforces their masculinity especially in a time of changing attitudes to gender and sexuality.

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?
The anchorage text, for example, is a persuasive technique as it uses inadequacy marketing, implying that the product can solve the problem for men.

7) How might you apply feminist theory to the Score hair cream advert - such as van Zoonen, bell hooks or Judith Butler?
Butler notes that gender as an objective natural thing does not exist and "Gender reality is performative which means quite simply, that it is real only to the extent that it is performed". This means that, to Butler, gender has nothing to do with materiel bodily facts and is instead a social construction that is open to change and contestation. 

8) How could David Gauntlett's theory regarding gender identity be applied to the Score hair cream advert?
Gauntlett notes that "views of gender sexuality, masculinity and femininity. identity and selfhood, are all in slow but steady processes of change and transformation" This is evident in the Score hair cream advert as gender is represented very differently in comparison to today.

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)?
The man is physically above the women and is holding a gun, which is a phallic symbol. This is an example of hypermasculinity and reinforces men as dominant. Perhaps, due to the 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality, the advert intended to reinforce heteronormative ideas that were previously valued. 

10) How does the advert reflect Britain's colonial past - another important historical and cultural context?
Furthermore, the man's prop gun and costume is reminiscent to Britain's colonial past which is significant as the advert was published 20 years after the 1947 Partition of India.

The Drum: This Boy Can article

The Drum magazine on gender and the new masculinity.

The text of the article here.

1) Why does the writer suggest that we may face a "growing 'boy crisis'"?
we are much less equipped to talk about the issues affecting boys. There’s an unconscious bias that males should simply ‘man up’ and deal with any crisis of confidence themselves.

2) How has the Axe/Lynx brand changed its marketing to present a different representation of masculinity?
Lynx/Axe found when it undertook a large-scale research project into modern male identity, men are craving a more diverse definition of what it means to be a ‘successful’ man in 2016, and to relieve the unrelenting pressure on them to conform to suffocating, old paradigms.

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

Fernando Desouches, Axe global brand development director, he knows that. And, as he says, you’ve got to “set the platform” before you explode the myth. “This is just the beginning. The slap in the face to say ‘this is masculinity’. All these guys [in the ad] are attractive. Now we have our platform and our point of view, we can break the man-bullshit and show it doesn’t matter who you want to be, just express yourself and we will support that.