Advertising: Score case study

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

According to AdAge, advertising agencies in the 1960s relied less on market research and leaned more toward creative instinct in planning their campaigns. The "new advertising" of the 1960s took it's cue from the visual medium of TV and the popular posters of the day, which featured large visuals and minimal copy for a dazzling, dramatic effect. Print ads took on a realistic look, relying more on photography than illustration. The Score advert reflects this change because as we can see, the subjects (the centre of attention) are real people and there is barely any illustrations within the advert apart from the product itself and the text to go alongside it. Furthermore, this reflects the 'realistic' nature that began to take a significant role in 1960s advertisement.

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

In the 1950s it was often a male expert who lectured to women about the virtues of a product. This changed in the 1960s: the male expert replaced by a female in a kitchen regularly extoling the virtues of a new soap powder to another female. 'The Good Wife'- often portrayed as something of a 'bimbo'- was the most common representation of women in 1960s advertising, who serviced the needs of her family and took pride and joy in housework. 

3) Conduct your own semiotic analysis of the Score hair cream advert: What are the connotations of the mise-en-scene in the image?

• The background of the advert connatates a British colonisation past
• The gun represents a phalic symbol and represents male dominance
• The females shown in the advert are reaching out the male character. This represents how women desperately need male power in the 1960's
• Women are dressed up to show more skin. This shows how women were sexualliesed and objectified in the 1960s

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

The Liquid hair tonic is a product of the American Bristol-Meyers Company. Like many large companies of this era, they paid much more attention to building a distinctive character for the brand. The brand message is clear: to present the product as grooming product for a ‘real’ (masculine) man. The choice of the ‘Score’ brand name is deliberate and carries very obvious connotations.

5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in 2019?

In 1967, this was more accepted and common among other adverts. If this was shown in present times, it would've cause a lot of controversy and challenged. Especially with cancel culture so high among our society. It would've received a bad representation and destroy the Score company. 

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?

This text targets heterosexual and hetero-normative men. Slogan and the anchorage text helps to give the connatation to the male audience, reminding them of their sexuality.

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

van Zoonen argues that ‘gender’ is constructed through discourse and that its meaning varies according to the cultural and historical context. The Score advert constructs a representation of women that is typical of the late 1960s

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

David Gauntlett argues that both media producers and audiences play a role in constructing identities. The role of the producer in shaping ideas about masculinity is clear in the Score advert, which is undoubtedly similar to countless other media texts of that era. Surrounded by such representations, 1960s men would inevitably use these to shape their own identities and their sense of what it means to be a man in the mid-twentieth century.

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)?

David Gauntlett argues that both media producers and audiences play a role in constructing identities. The role of the producer in shaping ideas about masculinity is clear in the Score advert, which is undoubtedly similar to countless other media texts of that era. Surrounded by such representations, 1960s men would inevitably use these to shape their own identities and their sense of what it means to be a man in the mid-twentieth century.

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

The reference to colonialist values can also be linked to social and cultural contexts of the ending of the British Empire. Paul Gilroy argues that despite the passing of empire, the white western world still exerts its dominance through cultural products. In Hollywood film, for example, the white male (usually American) plays the role of the hero, who inevitably saves the (dependent) world from disaster.