Tide Advert

Question 1

Which company launched Tide and when?

Answer 1

Proctor and Gamble launched Tide in 1946.

Question 2

Which character was used to campaign for Tide?

Answer 2

The “housewife” character.

Question 3

Why did Proctor and Gamble allow this advertisment?

Answer 3

High expectations and confidence for the company.

Question 4

What did Tide use for the reference for their advert? (Intertextuality?)

Answer 4

Rosie the Riveter and Woman’s Land Army.

Question 5

What happened to women after the war?

Answer 5

They were encouraged to go back to their usual occupation of being housewives.

Question 6

What was the stereotypical / Domestic representation of women?

Answer 6

They were perfect - They should care for the family and serve the man of the house (Cook, clean etc).

Question 7

What happened in the 1950s post war?

Answer 7

There was a consumer boom with a a competitive edge - People were trying to be better than their neighbours.

Question 8

What layout and design was the Tide advert constructed in?

Answer 8

Lazy-Z and Rule of Thirds.

Question 9

What does the colour scheme in the advertisement encode to?

Answer 9

Bright, primary colours connote positive associations being constructed for the product - Also colours of the United Kingdom flag.

Question 10

What font style type did the advertisement used?

Answer 10

Sans-serif font style.

Question 11

What did the advert use for a hook?

Answer 11

The use of the housewife character was unconventional (as the woman was drawn, she wasn’t a real person) but gave audiences a hook.

Question 12

What visual codes did the advertisement give?

Answer 12

The product is presented as a desirable need rather than necessary need (Also can be seen in the melodrama - Connotes Tide is popular etc).

Question 13

What symbolic codes can be seen in the advert’s main image?

Answer 13

The hearts and the accents which connotes adoration for the product.

Question 14

What did the cartoon comic represent?

Answer 14

This brings narrative suggesting a recognisable scenario for the audience to relate to.

Question 15

What stereotypical visual dress codes did the advert contain?

Answer 15

Hair curls and rolls, dress, head scarf, apron, short hair, wasp waists, and make up.

Question 16

What verbal codes did the advertisement used?

Answer 16

Suggestion of the product being better than its competitors
The use of hyperbole through bold fonts, red accents, tripling, superlatives, imperatives
Direct address towards women make it clear who the product is targeting.

Question 17

How did the Tide’s main image represent their product?

Answer 17

Loving gaze of the housewife suggests a desire for the product and her role in using it - reinforcing patriarchal society.

Question 18

How did the Tide’s cartoon comic represent their product?

Answer 18

The ladies in the cartoon comic represents stereotypes of women gossiping.

Question 19

How did the small head and shoulders of the housewife represent their product?

Answer 19

The saying ‘remember’ signifies almost like a mother remaining her children which further became a stereotype of a woman as adopting purely domestic roles.

Question 20

What is Roland Barthes’ Theory?

Answer 20

The Semiology Theory.

Question 21

What is the Semiology Theory? (Roland Barthes)

Answer 21

Signifier (denotation) - signs consists of a signifier i.e a word, an image, a sound etc.
Signified (connotation) - The meaning or the associated word of the signifier.

e.g Signifier (denotation) - dog
Signified (connotation) - cute, cuddly, friendly etc.

Question 22

What are the two theoretical codes of Roland Barthes’ Theory in Tide?

Answer 22

Enigma Code - Where the text contain a piece of mystery or ‘intrigue’ in order to draw audience in and question “What does this mean?”, which encourage to engage with the text fully.

Semantic Codes - points out to any element in text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggest.
e.g hearts above the product - connotes love.

Question 23

What is Levi Strauss’ theoretical approach?

Answer 23

Binary Opposition - narratives in media forms the contain opposing the main character. This helps to thicken the plot and further the narrative; and introduce contrast
e.g Tide vs competitors - “Tide gets clothes cleaner than any other washday product you can buy!”.