DOVE (MEDIA LANGUAGE)

Question 1

Anchorage/ Slogan- ‘Real Beauty/ Real Life’?

Answer 1

• Repetition- reinforces the campaign’s anti airbrushed, pro-authenticity, pro body-positivity messaging.
• Binary opposition between the ‘real beauty’ promoted in the ad vs ‘fake beauty’ promoted in traditional beauty ads.

Question 2

Preffered readings vs oppositional reading of the slogan ‘real beauty/ real life’

Answer 2

• Preffered reading- acts as a call to action for audiences to embrace self-love and authenticity.
• Oppositional reading- implies that beauty exists in the unfiltered, yet the ad itself is still a carefully crafted simulation of ‘realness’

making it just as much a media construct as traditional beauty ads.

Question 3

How is the advert framed? what effect does this have?

Answer 3

• Candid/ documentary style framing (mother engaged in routine child-care activities)- highlights the ad’s social realism approach.
• Effect- presents motherhood in an authentic/relatable manner.

Question 4

Type of lighting? Effect?

Answer 4

• Type of lighting- naturalistic, ambient lighting
• Effect- warm, inviting, familar and domestic which contrasts with the polished, clinical, artifical lighting in beauty ads.

Question 5

Colour Palette? Effect?

Answer 5

• Colour palette- use of soft, muted colours.
• The children wear pastel lounge clothes rather than curated high-fashion clothes.
• Effect- reinforces the nurturing aspect of motherhood, relatablity. beauty is found within the real/norm.

Question 6

Proairetic code of the cereal mid-air? Effect?

Answer 6

• The slight blur of the cereal mid air- suggests spontaneity and movement.
• Emphasises the chaotic nature of real motherhood (which is not condemned- not all aspects of parenting can be contolled)
• Binary opposition between her suprise vs the child’s exuberance- is a highly relatable moment for parents.

Question 7

Proxemics and body langauge? Effect

Answer 7

• The mother and children are physically close, reinforcing maternal connection and intimacy.
• The mother holding her baby reinforces her nurturing nature but also the multiple demands of motherhood.
• contrasting with idealized media images where mothers are often distant or overly composed.

Question 8

Mise-en-scene?

Answer 8

• Kitchen- domestic setting depature from highly curated studio setting.
• Cluttered mise-en-scene contributes to an authentic lived in enviroment- making audiences feel as though they are passively observing a candid moment rather than intruding on a carefully staged, idealized portrayal of family life.

aligns with David Chandler’s argument that media framing constructs reality for the audience, positioning them as engaged observers rather than passive consumers.

Question 9

The hastag #RealMoms

Answer 9

• Participatory culture- Invites social media engagement,reinforcing a participatory culture where mothers can share their own experiences.
• Intertextuality-The campaign taps into cultural trends such as the body positivity movement and countercultures.

Question 10

Myths & Barthes

Answer 10

• The myth of ‘perfect motherhood’ is deconstructed, replaced with a more raw, emotionally honest portrayal.

Question 11

Levi-Staruss and binary oppositions

Answer 11

Binary opposition: Expectation vs. reality/ Idealized beauty v’s real beauty