Tide

Question 1

what was tide designed for?

Answer 1

originally designed for heavy-duty machine cleaning

Question 2

who launched tide?

Answer 2

protector and gamble

Question 3

when was tide launched?

Answer 3

in 1946

Question 4

what advertising agency created the tide adverts?

Answer 4

D’arcy masius Benton and Bowles

Question 5

the post-war consumer boom led to the rapid development of what?

Answer 5

new technologies for the home, which aimed to make housework easier to women and adverts for new technologies for the home were aimed at women. products linked to these new technologies also developed during this time, such as tide for washing machines.

Question 6

why was there so much copy (words) in adverts?

Answer 6

Print adverts from the 1950s conventionally used more copy than advertisements today- this was because consumer culture was in its early stages of development, and with so many ‘new’ brands and products entering the market, potential customers typically needed more information about the product, just as shown in the Tide advertisement.

Question 7

what does a ‘z-line’ structure mean?

Answer 7

The advert is structured in a Z, meaning it is read in a Z-shape

Question 8

what persuasive literary technique does the advert use?

Answer 8

the rule of three, which makes it more persuasive and easier to see the key points of the products purpose

Question 9

what could the bright, primary colours connote?

Answer 9

positive associations the producers want the audience to make with the product.

Question 10

what text are the headings, subheadings and slogans written in?

Answer 10

sans-serif font

Question 11

what does the sans-serif font connote?

Answer 11

an informal mode of address

Question 12

how else is informality conveyed in the advert?

Answer 12

with the comic strip style image in the bottom right hand of the corner featuring two women talking about the product using informal lexis such as ‘sudsing whizz’

Question 13

what are the more ‘technical’ details of the product written in style font?

Answer 13

serif font- connoting more ‘serious’ or ‘factual’ information

Question 14

how is engima created in the advert?

Answer 14

by suggesting its ‘what women want’ and emphasised by the repeated use of exclamation marks

Question 15

where is barthe’s semantic code shown in the advert?

Answer 15

the use of the hearts and the women’s gesture codes which have connotations of love and relationships

Question 16

what is the dress code in the advert?

Answer 16

The dress code of the woman in the advertisement includes a stereotypically 1950s hairstyle incorporating waves, curls and rolls which were made fashionable by Hollywood stars such as Veronica Lake, Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.

Question 17

what does the main woman’s headband symbolise?

Answer 17

links to practicalities of work- having her hair back connotes shes focused on her work- - the fact her hair is up connotes practicality and that she is focused on her work-This represents women as resourceful and practical
- this is in binary opposition to the full face of makeup she is wearing

Question 18

how are women presented in this advert?

Answer 18

women in this advert are represented as ‘role models’ of domestic perfection

Question 19

who is the likely audience demographic?

Answer 19

The target audience for the Tide advert were white American and British women, aged 18-40, married with children, who stayed at home and aspired to have the perfect lifestyle

Question 20

what does the tide advert ‘cultivate’?

Answer 20

-that tide is the brand leader
-nothing else washes the same as tide
-it’s a desirable product for it’s female audience

gerbner’s audience would argue that the repetition of these key messages causes audiences to align their own ideologies with the product.

Question 21

what happened after world war 2?

Answer 21

The post World war boom of the 1950s including the rapid development of new technologies for the home, designed to make domestic chores easier (such as Vacuum cleaners, fridge freezers, microwaves, and washing machines, which all became desirable products in the 1950s)

Question 22

what were the expectations of women in the 1950s and how does this affect how women are represented in the advertisement?

Answer 22

In the 1950s, women were expected to stay at home, and be wives as well as a domestic goddess on a full time basis, and very few women went to work and earned their own money. Due to this, the advertisement is likely to represent women as enjoying housework, as in general that is what women’s lives looked like in the 1950s.

Question 23

what happened during world war 2 for women and how did this affect women after?

Answer 23

In the 1940s and 1930s, many women were encouraged to leave their domestic roles in order to engage with the efforts of the war. In the previous decade, women had been given a life outside of their homes and housework, and freedom for the first time in their lives. However, after the war, many women became dissatisfied with their lives and started to resent their day-to-day chores that they were being forced to do. As a cause of this, many advertising companies such as Procter and Gamble became eager to encourage women to return to their domestic roles and enjoy doing housework again, therefore many advertisements portrayed women as ‘domestic goddesses’ to resettle these established gender roles that had been in place before the second world war.

Question 24

what is the effect of the advertisement being illustrated?

Answer 24

The fact that the advertisement is entirely illustrated is very common for adverts in the 1950s- however, this also takes away from the realism in the advert, in this way it has been very easy to manipulate the women in appearing so Idyllic and doing exactly what the producers of the advertisement wanted her to do. One reason for these fantasy representations of women is because adverts were attempting to entice women back into the home and accept their domestic roles once again

Question 25

why have Procter and Gamble chosen to make the advertisement illustrated?

Answer 25

One reason for these fantasy representations of women is because adverts were attempting to entice women back into the home and accept their domestic roles once again

Question 26

what might have feminists thought of the advertisement?

Answer 26

Some women in the 1950s (Budding feminists perhaps) might have thought that the advertisement was quite sexist as well as misogynistic

Question 27

what hyperbole and superlatives are used and what is the effect of these?

Answer 27

Hyperbole and superlatives (‘miracle’ , ‘World’s cleanest wash’, ‘world’s whitest wash’) are used to connote the superiority of tide to it’s competitors

Question 28

what is Van Zoonen’s feminist theory?

Answer 28

Van Zoonen- Feminist theory: This feminist theory suggests that the media portrays images of stereotypical women and this behaviour reinforces societal views. The theory also suggests that women are often sexualised in the media, particularly through the use of camera angles

Question 29

where is Van Zoonen’s feminist theory shown in the Tide advertisement?

Answer 29

The advertisement reflects Van Zoonen’s theory by representing women in a domestic fashion because of traditional gender roles and how women were perceived in the 1950s. However, it also challenges Zoonen’s theory as the women in the advertisement doesn’t sexualise women at all- representing women as being modest with more family values was much more common in the media in the 1950s, and women weren’t necessarily sexualised in the media until the 1960s.

Question 30

What is Paul Gilroy’s post colonialism theory?

Answer 30

Paul gilroy- post colonialism theory: Paul Gilroy suggests that the period of colonisation has affected the media presently- Gilroy believes that you can still see people from ethnic minorities as being ‘dehumanised’, ‘marginalised’ and labelled as ‘other’

Question 31

How does the advertisement follow Paul Gilroy’s post colonialism theory?

Answer 31

The advert reflects Gilroy’s ideas that white people are often presented as powerful, and that ethnic minority backgrounds are often marginalised- The advert fails to represent non-white women, possibly suggesting that white women are more desirable than women of colour/women from other ethnic groups

Question 32

What is George Gerbner’s cultivation theory?

Answer 32

George Gerbner- cultivation theory: Gerbner’s suggests that media producers encode an ideology within a media text, and over exposure to this ideology will cultivate it and make an audience start to believe in it

Question 33

How does Tide follow Gerbner’s cultivation theory?

Answer 33

Tide follows Gerbner’s theory of cultivation as many women would have seen advertisements such as this one representing them as purely just housewives- the effects of the representations in this advert may have ‘cultivated’ over time. The advert may also follow Gerner’s cultivation theory in a different way- throughout the advertisement there is repeated use of media language (superlatives and hyperbole) which may be designed to cultivate ideas about tide and how the company is giving women what they desire - ‘TIDE gets clothes cleaner’, ‘as CLEAN as TIDE’ and ‘World’s CLEANEST wash’

Question 34

what is Barthes semantic and semiotic theory?

Answer 34

Roland Barthes- Semiotics and semantics theory: According to Barthes, anything in culture can be a sign and send a specific message to the audience.

Question 35

how does the Tide advertisement follow Barthes semantic and semiotic theory?

Answer 35

The Tide print advertisement follows this theory as suspense is created through the enigma of “what women want”. The advertisement also follows Barthes semantic code through the use of hearts above the main image as well as the gesture codes, which have connotations of love and relationships.

Question 36

what is David Gauntletts theory of identity?

Answer 36

David Gauntlett- Theory of identity- Gauntlett suggests that audiences may use media content to construct their own identities.

Question 37

How does the tide advertisement follow Gauntlet’s theory of identity?

Answer 37

The Tide advertisement follows Gauntlett’s theory of identity as women represented in the advertisement act as role models of the ‘idyllic wife’ and of ‘domestic perfection’ that the audience may want to construct their own sense of identity against.

Question 38

what is Bell hooks feminist theory?

Answer 38

Bell hooks- feminist theory: Hooks considered that race and class, as well as gender determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed. Hooks argues that lighter skinned women are considered more desirable and fit better into the western beauty ideals.

Question 39

How does the Tide advertisement follow Bell hook’s feminist theory?

Answer 39

Hooks considered that race and class, as well as gender determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed. Hooks argues that lighter skinned women are considered more desirable and fit better into the western beauty ideals. The advert can be seen to reinforce these ideas by only representing modern white women with lack of representation of women of colour.

Question 40

What is Levis Strauss’ structuralism theory?

Answer 40

Levis Strauss- Structuralism theory: Strauss suggests that all media texts have areas of binary opposition.

Question 41

How does the tide advertisement follow Levis’ Strauss structuralism theory?

Answer 41

Strauss suggests that all media texts have areas of binary opposition. This is evident in the Tide advertisement through the written code “Tide gets clothes cleaner than any other wash day product” and “No wonder you women buy Tide more than any other wash cay product” which creates a conceptual binary opposition between Tide and it’s commercial rivals and suggests that other, inferior products do not offer what Tide does.

Question 42

what makes the advertisement so timeless and what is the effect of this?

Answer 42

The women portrayed in the Advert are illustrated, which creates a ‘timeless’ look, meaning that the advert could be aimed towards a wide variety of audiences rather than a specific age group

Question 43

why is the advertisement likely aimed at white women?

Answer 43

The product is likely to be aimed at white women- during the 1950s immigration and diversity was only just becoming popularised, especially in Britain. This might also suggest why there is a lack of representation of a variety of ethnicities in the advert.

Question 44

what written codes does the advertisement use which shows the target audience?

Answer 44

The print advertisement uses written codes/ female specific words such as ‘ Women’ multiple times, acting as a continual reminder of the target audience of this product-’ Tide’s got what women want!’

Question 45

what does the use of direct address do?

Answer 45

Multiple uses of direct address such as ‘you’ engages the audience and speaks directly to them- ‘no wonder you women buy more tide than any other washday product!’

Question 46

what effect does the cartoon strip have?

Answer 46

The clothes hanging on the washing line in the cartoon strip at right hand corner help us identify the marital status and family situation of these women as well as that of the audience- There are men’s clothes on the washing line which suggests that the target audience are going to be women who are married/newly married in heterosexual relationships

Question 47

what type of audience does the illustration of the washing machine attract?

Answer 47

The washing machine illustration featured in the advertisement also engages a post-war 1950s audience due to the consumerism boom that had followed after the end of rationing. Due to the fact that many had more disposable income, and there was a boom in consumerism, people were able to buy new technologies such as washing machines. Featuring popular new technologies would have engaged audiences who wanted to be fashionable.

Question 48

what is the effect of the endorsement?

Answer 48

Below the image of the woman, there is an endorsement- ‘Guaranteed by good housekeeping’- this refers to a magazine named ‘good housekeeping’ which primarily targets women based in the home- 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

Question 49

what audiences may have an oppositional reading to the advertisement?

Answer 49

Other audiences may have had an oppositional reading to the advertisement- some women with feminist ideas may have a negotiated or oppositional reading due to the representations of women. Some women may have thought that the advertisement simplified their lives, reducing them to purely the roles of housewives.

Question 50

what is the effect of the z-shaped composition?

Answer 50

Due to the z-shaped composition of the advert, the first thing audiences will read is the subheading, where Direct address is used to attract audiences ‘No wonder you women buy more Tide than any other wash day product”

Question 51

‘no wonder you women buy more tide than any other wash day product’

Answer 51

‘ No wonder you women buy more Tide than any other washday product’- this hegemonic code reinforces collective identity of those who buy Tide and assumes acceptance that all women buy the brand. This then further causes women to feel as if they have to follow what every other woman does and buy Tide; the company has clearly made it appear like every woman purchases this product

Question 52

the central image…

Answer 52

The central image represents the gestures of hugging and adoring the product- just like those who are going to go on and buy the product

Question 53

what is the effect of the woman wearing makeup?

Answer 53

The woman in the advertisement also has a full face of makeup on- she is represented in an idyllic fashion- this signifies that perhaps appearances are important for women and something that should be strived for. Women in the media are typically represented as being quite idealised and perfect looking and that is because it creates an aspirational image for the audiences to respond to. Audiences would like to imagine that if they used the product, they could look as idyllic and perfect as the woman represented in the advertisement.

Question 54

her smiling facial expression…

Answer 54

paired with her hugging the box and the use of the symbolic codes such as the symbolic hearts, signifies that she loves the product, as well as housework. Her body language, expressions and the use of symbolic codes are used to signify that perhaps women enjoy doing housework- this also reflects the historical context of the advertisement

Question 55

where is there an inter-textual reference?

Answer 55

The headscarf and the positioning of the woman might also be an intertextual reference to a war-time propaganda poster featuring ‘Rosie the riveter’- this reference would have been quite familiar to an audience that had lived through world war two. This reference may have insinuated that women are strong, empowered and capable.

Question 56

why is there a stereotypical representation of women in the advertisement?

Answer 56

This misrepresentation of women in the advertisement may be due to the fact that media companies had a predominantly male ownership- women were not in production roles in order to challenge these representations of women as ‘domestic goddesses’. This meant that many advertisements, such as this one and others, fail to show the dissatisfaction that many women had with housework in a post-war world.

Question 57

The advertisement shows…

Answer 57

stereotypical representations of domestic perfection, caring for the family and servitude to the ‘man of the house’