Tide Flashcards
What is the target audience of tide?
White American and British 18-40 year old housewives
How do the illustrated main images of the Tide ads appeal to the audience?
• conventionally beautiful, create an aspirational image for women
• hairstyles are similar to those of popular film stars at the time like Betty Greyborne and Veronica Lake
How is it demonstrated to the audience that is a Tide good brand?
endorsed by popular brand Good Housekeeping
How is Tide targeted at the post war female audience?
• gesture code of woman hugging ride could be an inter textual reference to Rosie the Riveter, reflecting strong female ideologies
How does Tide use superlatives to appeal to the target audience?
‘whitest’ ‘cleaner than any other washday product’ ‘as clean as tide’ ‘cleanest’
creates binary opposition with other washday products (Levi Strauss’ binary opposition) and makes the audience think it’s the best on the market
How is direct mode of address used to engage and establish the target audience?
‘No wonder you women buy more Tide than any other washday product’
‘Tide’s got what women want! (enigma code also)
Repetition of ‘women’ establishes target audience
How can Gilroy’s theory of postcolonialism and hook’s feminist theory be applied to Tide?
• Postcolonialism- women on the poster are white, protagonists/ leading characters mostly white
• hooks - white women are idealised
How is it displayed that women love Tide/being housewives?
gesture code of woman hugging Tide, reinforced by the symbolic hearts above her head
How can Gerbner’s cultivation theory be applied to Tide?
• Women are typically represented as housewives at the time, therefore the effect on the audience develops over time
• Tides ads are very similar, so values/ brand identity reinforced to the audience
• Repeated ideas about Tide’s used cultivate and reinforce that Tide is the best product on the market
How would the washing machine on the tide poster appeal to the audience?
• popular new technology, appeals to audience aiming to be trendy
How can uses and gratifications theory be applied to tide
•entertains audience, fun/ colourful advertising was relatively new
• personal identity for those who share a similar lifestyle
• escapism from post war austerity through bright colours and idealised life
• information - details about the product in small print
How can Van Zoonen’s feminist theory be applied to Tide?
• women are presented as domestic, typical for historical context
• women aren’t sexualised, however are presented as modest with family values, which was the ideal woman at the time
What company produces Tide?
Procter and Gamble - top positions would have been occupied by men, patriarchal society, encouraging women back into the home to fit their beliefs and to target product at them
How can Guantlett’s theory of identity be applied to Tide?
• representations of women at the time were usually simple and straightforward at the time, representing them as housewives
• women therefore would have seen themselves/ aspired to this representation
How can Hall’s reception theory be applied to Tide?
preferred reading - women aspire to be a perfect housewife and believe tide to be the best product on the market
negotiated reading - contemporary audience question representation, feminist ideas emerging
oppositional reading - modern audience may consider representation sexist
