Adverts C1A

 Friday 1st December 2023

Advertising and marketing

LO: To explore the aims and conventions of print advertising.

Advertising:

The main aim of advertising is to bring attention to a product, service or issue.

- Global industry which provides a major source of income to other media industries.

- We encounter it in many different forms: print, radio, TV and digital.

- We will look at PRINT advertising for this component.

All adverts aim to communicate a clear message about the product service or issue.

Depending on the type of campaign, it might also:

- Raise awareness

- Inform or educate

- Persuade audiences

- Create a unique selling point.

Raise awareness:

This print advert raises awareness about the ocean and about a series of informative talks about the ocean and what needs to be done to stop killing it. It uses a short sentence to do this, and they also use alliteration to catch your attention so you read the print advert.

Inform or educate:

This advert informs people of the importance of wearing a face mask on public transport using humour, and by delivering the message in a light hearted way.

Persuade audiences:

this advert persuades audiences by talking about how easily mess is wiped up with their product. 

Create a unique selling point:

This advert creates a USP by using a tomato stalk on top of their bottle to show they use organic products and to show there are tomatoes in their product. They also say that there is nothing like Heins. 

Commercial:

-To make money by promoting consumer goods or services.

- Generally focuses on persuading audiences to purchase goods.

- Aims to communicate a message about a brand.

- If an established brand, aims to reinforce existing brand image to encourage brand loyalty.

- Creates a sense of need or desire and a sense of aspiration.

Non-Commercial:

- Includes public information drives.

- Some simple aim to inform about an issue, many also aim to persuade the audience to donate money or time to charity.

- Often uses shock tactics or direct appeals.

- Some use different techniques to defy expectations.

- Seek to represent true aspects of reality rather than an aspirational world.

Wednesday 6th December 2023

Advertising and marketing

LO: To explore the codes and conventions of print advertising.

Codes and conventions - The expected elements that will be included in products from particular media forms and genres.

Commercial:

The main aim of this advert is to sell their product by putting the bottle in a beautiful field with the sun coming through.

The advert uses language to communicate these meanings by having the words, "open happiness" next to the coca cola bottle.

The advert uses both technical and lamguage codes. For example, the bottle has been placed in a beautiful green field with the sun coming through. This has been done by using editing. 

Hard sell.

Non-Commercial:

The main aim of this advert is to bring awareness to the poverty that not only adults but children also face on a day to day basis.

The advert uses language to communicate these meaning by having the sentence, "poverty knows no age".

The advert uses both visual and language codes. For example, there is a picture of a young girl who looks quite sad and has dirt on her face. They also use emotive language when they say, "poverty knows no age".

The advert is likely to include:

- Name of brand/product.

- Logo.

- Slogan.

- Specific details of USP/product or service.

- Hard or soft sell.

Advertising language:

Makes use of:

- Facts and information.

- Persuasive language (hyperbole especially).

- Imperatives.

- Emotive language.

- Word play and puns.

1) Imperatives, persuasive language, (repetition, triplets).

2) Persuasive language, (alliteration).

3) Facts and information, word play and puns.

Intertextuality:

- Modern adverts often make references to other media products, perhaps from other media forms or genres, that audiences can quickly identify.

- This helps communicate a message quickly and memorably.

- The intertextual reference sometimes links to the target audience.

Intertextual references (ALDI Kevin the Carrot advert):

- Charlie and the chocolate factory- links to everything that they make, and how they are amazing. The new Wonka film is coming out soon, so everyone recognises it. 

- The chocolate river - links to gravy that they sell.

- Christmas stories - there is a lot of rhyming from the narrator, which links to a lot of Christmas stories, as a lot of those rhyme - shows Aldi sell a lot of Christmas products. 

Friday 8th December 2023

Historical Advertisements

LO: To explore historical adverts and their codes and conventions.

Wednesday 13th December 2023

Historical advert set text

LO: To explore the context and content of the historical set text.

Do Now:

Morris Advert 1959

- They have made women look like they should dote on men, and they have represented men as rich and posh. They have also represented women as only existing to give men a family. They have also represented men as well-off, and like women rely on men to live. Also it says, 'their family' but says its his car. Even though the women make the family and take care of them, it is 'their' family, however because he bought the car, its 'his'. There are different standards set for them.

- They have done this through the text beneath the image, and through the image itself of the woman smiling happily at the man, and him staring straight ahead, not really caring.

- The brand values being represented are safety in beauty and fashion. Also, they are saying they are family friendly, due to the size and the safety of the vehicle. They are also talking about how cheap their car is, to try and get more sales. Their products are comfortable, stylish and fast. 

- This advert was made in 1959, which may be why women and men are made out to be the way they are in the advert. This would be shown very differently now, as the advert portrays women as reliant on men, and as happy to be so. 

Our set text (quality street):

Quality Street:

- In the 1930s, only the wealthy could afford chocolate boxes but the creator Harold Mackintosh aimed to sell them at a more reasonable cost to appeal to working families.

- By the 1950s, when this campaign started, society was in a post-rationing period where luxuries were once again becoming an acceptable part of grocery shopping.

- The characters in the gold frame, Miss Sweetly and Major Quality, are part of the brand identity of the product since 1936.

Historical context:

- The icons of the quality street brand were two characters from the Regency era of British history, when Britain went through a period of elegance with regard to fine art and architecture.

- The Regency era. could also be compared to the 1950s for its significant social and cultural development.

- Between 1811 and 1837 the country was under the rule of Prince Regent and developments in technology (e.g. the steam-powered printing press), fashion and architecture were mirrored by a population boom. 

- These similarities can be compared to England in the 1950s.

Social and cultural context:

- The 1950s saw a change in "high culture", a time where fine art, decadence and theatre that had previously only been accessed by the upper classes and those with money were now going to be made more affordable to the mass audience.

- The Conservative Party's 1951 election campaign was spearheaded by the slogan "Set The People Free", and this supported drastic change as entertainment and arts became more accessible and affordable.

Structure and design ---->There is a very large image which is in colour, which shows the brand is very popular as they can afford to print in colour.

Structure and design ----> There isn't much text, and the little text there is has images in it, which shows us that not only do they want to grab the person's attention, they also don't need to put any information about their product and brand because they are so well known, and they've put their logo on there.

Structure and design ----> The text is at the bottom, so you see the image first and then you see the text about what the brand is.

Typography ----> The logo is the largest text on the page, which highlights their brand. The logo also uses quite a unique font, which makes it stand out compared to other brands.

Persuasive language techniques ----> They use a lot of alliteration like, 'delightfully different' and 'delicious dilemma'. 

Persuasive language techniques ----> The dilemma is that there are 18 different chocolates/flavours, which makes the audience want to buy it to try all the flavours.

- Everyone in the image are looking at the sweets showing how good they are.

- The 'delicious dilemma' implies that the problem is a lovely problem to have.

- The number 18 is in purple, which has connotations of luxury, royalty, wealth and nobility. It also links to the brand identity. 

- They are all dressed in the same colours of the sweets. The women being dressed the same as the sweets could have connotations of women being objects and being sweet and lovely.

- Both '18' and 'quality street' are sans serif, which at the time was seen as a very modern font. This may have been done to show that they are modern and new.

- The rest of the text is in serif font, which shows they are a trustworthy brand.

- Anchorage of the gold frame - connotations of a halo effect around the man and the product, suggesting the man is good and angelic.

- Typical triangular geometric composition of the poster to help secondary anchorage of the product.

- Product takes central framing.

- Hand-drawn, artistic nature of the design, with a rich colour palette of primary and secondary colours, links to the post-war consumerist culture.

Inference of a dilemma can be investigated at two levels:

- Male 'hero' choosing between two 'damsels in distress' (Propp's theory).

- Females choosing the chocolate. 

- costume and dress of the male character indicates the formal nature of his dilemma. It also has connotations of a rich/high class society.

- Patriarchal narrative, which is part of a range of similar adverts of this time. 

- Alliteration, emotive language, and superlatives are all indicators of a well read audience.

Wednesday 10th January 2024

Historical Advert Set Text

LO: To explore the context and representations in the historical set text.

Do Now:

1) That the women are in love with the man, but the man doesn't care for either of them, as he is looking down at the quality street tin. 

2) They could live a luxurious life, as they have chocolates, which were very expensive. However, quality street aimed to make their products more affordable for people, so they could be middle class. Another indicator that they are upper class is the dress/suits they are wearing in bright colours. They also have a picture behind them with a gold frame, and a purple "mascot", which has connotations of wealth and luxury. The sweets are also piled high, indicating they can afford a lot of luxuries. 

3) That it is the only thing that anyone's attention is on. Both the women are reaching for a sweet while they are kissing the man, and they are looking at the chocolates, not at him. The man is also looking at the chocolates. They also suggest their product is wealthy and luxurious, as they have a woman wearing a purple dress in the background, and purple has connotations of wealth and luxury. It is the colour royals wear. It shows they want their product and brand to be thought of as regal. The women and the man are both wearing what looks like fancy/expensive outfits, and they are all dressed as the sweets below in the picture, showing their love for the chocolates.

The 1950s

- Saw a change in "high culture" where entertainment and the arts became more accessible and affordable for everyone.

- Items that had only been seen from a distance during war time Britain started to become more widely available.

- The country was entering a period of increased affluence, with many of the old social and cultural structures were starting to be challenged, particularly by the young.

- The post war culture of strict rationing and state control was coming to an end and the new government set to increase individual freedom.

Advert 1:

- This advert suggests that women are only there to clean, as she is excited to have been given a hoover, something to clean the house with.

- This advert is aimed at men, so it also tells us that men agreed with the fact that women should only cook and clean. It shows that men were thought of as superior, and wealthy, as the woman is the one who would have to clean whereas the man would go out and earn money to buy the cleaning items, but never touch them himself.

Advert 2:

- This advert suggests that women were thought of as of less worth than an object, as it talks about how wives are only for cooking not for someone to talk to and respect, and the machine (the Chef) does everything else. It calls women worthless.

- Men are shown as superior, and like they think women are useless, because they are buying a machine to "do it for her".

Advert 3:

- this advert suggests that women are only good for cleaning and arranging flowers. This supports the stereotype that says women are only interested in "feminine" things. 

- The little girl in the picture is holding a tray that has Walls ice cream on it, so it looks like she is serving her father and brother, when she herself should be enjoying the ice cream. 

- The father is sat down, suggesting that men should be waited on hand and foot.

Advert 4:

- This advert suggests that women were seen as only good for waiting around for men, as she is staring at a man's shoe, while she is naked, which suggests that women only exist to be sexually objectified by men. It suggests that she is waiting around for when the man wants to have sex with her.

- The advert also suggests that women are obsessed with anything to do with men, as it is a man's shoe, so she is shown as so obsessed with her husband that she will hold on to anything he wears.

Advert 5:

- The woman is serving the man breakfast in bed, while the man sits up in bed wearing a tie, which not only suggests that women should serve men, but the tie suggests that only men can go out and earn their own money, but women can't.

- The woman is also bowing down to the man, showing that they think women should worship men.

Advert 6:

- the woman is crying because she burned the food, which could suggest that women are no good for everything, even what their "role" was considered to be at the time.

- The woman is wearing a skirt and top, whereas the man is wearing a suit and tie, which could show that men were thought of as dominant.

In the 1950s, it was a very patriarchal society. Men were thought of as the dominant gender, the person who brought the money in, whereas women were thought of as only good for cooking ands cleaning and taking care of the children. Women were expected to smile, and to obey their husbands and put their husbands and children above themselves. They were objectified by men, and men weren't expected to do anything but fulfil their role to bring the money in.

How can we see the gender roles of the 50s in the quality street advert:

- The man in the advert is wearing a suit, which suggests he was the one who made the money to buy the chocolates, whereas the women are wearing dresses, which is seen as very feminine.

- The man is also in the middle of the two women, showing that men were thought of as the dominant and more important gender.

- The women are kissing the man's cheek, who couldn't care less, which shows the stereotype that women only exist to please men.

- The women are dressed as the sweets which objectifies them.

- The man is looking at the sweets, so it shows it is his decision which woman to go for, or which sweets to go for.

- There is a line that talks about his dilemma is "delicious",which could be interpreted as his choice between the sweets or between the women. It shows women were thought of as worth less than sweets. That the man's choice between the women is as simple as the choice between which sweets to have.

The man is framed in the centre of the advert, controlling the situation ------> This suggests the man's superiority and dominance, as he is shown as the most important person in the image.

The women in the advert are both dressed like the sweets and kissing the man as they reach towards the chocolate tin in his lap ------> This could suggest that they are wanting sex, as it could be argued that the quality street tin is a 'phallic' symbol, and they are reaching for the tin. The fact they are dressed like sweets objectifies them, and shows that they are only there for the man's pleasure (the same goes for the way they are both kissing him) as he enjoys sweets, so it suggests that he "enjoys" them. Not their company, just how they look.

The man's costume is a suit which has connotations of the modern business man ------> this suggests only a man can earn money and do business and talk about these things. It diminishes the women, who are dressed in dresses, showing they do not have cause to be dressed in practical clothes. It shows they are expected and are seen as unable to do anything other than stay at home and cook and clean. The man is dominant in the image because of his costume.

The man is looking down at his lap where the product he is holding is purposefully placed. This is a 'phallic' symbol ------> This suggests his superiority, as the sweets are seen as luxurious, which could show he thinks of himself as luxurious. It suggests his dominance and wealth. The fact he is looking down at his lap could suggest he doesn't care about the women at all, he would rather have a sweet over them, and he has that decision to make: should he go with the women, or the sweets? It suggests the women have no choice, they have to wait for the man to make his decision. 

Friday 12th January 2024

Historical Advert Set Text

LO: To explore the possible exam style questions for advertising.

Do Now:

1) The man is dominant in the quality street advert.

2) I have chosen this gender because:

- He is at the centre of the image, in between the two women which suggests he is dominant because he is the main focus of the advert.

- The Quality Street tin is on his lap, he is holding it meaning the women have to reach into his lap to take a sweet, which suggests he is dominant because they have to reach for him. He is superior because he doesn't give them the tin, they have to reach across him.

- The women are kissing him, which suggests he is dominant because they are pleasing him, not the other way around. It also suggests superiority for the same reasons.

In the quality street advert, men are represented as the dominant and superior gender. We can see this in many different ways. For example, he is at the centre of the image, which suggests superiority because he is the main focus of the advert, and the first thing you would see when you look at the advert. He is also wearing very formal attire, which suggests dominance as he is dressed in a suit, which has connotations of business and money. The contrast between the man and the women's outfits emphasise this representation, as they are wearing dresses, which suggests weakness, whereas a suit suggests a strong, independent person. Another way the man's dominance is shown is through the anchorage text beneath the image which says, "what a delicious dilemma". This dilemma could be a problem between he doesn't know which sweet to pick, or which woman to pick: it implies the choice is his and is as simple as choosing between sweets. It could be argued, however, that these two dilemmas are the same, as the women are dressed as sweets, objectifying them, and therefore reinforcing the idea that the man is the dominant person in this image because the advert has painted women to be objects. Another thing that could show the man's superiority is the placing of the Quality Street tin. It is on his lap, meaning the women have to reach across him to get to it; he isn't expected to pass the tin, they are expected to get in from him, suggesting his dominance over them.

Women, however, are represented very differently. The advert is representing them as objects, and therefore diminishing them as it implies that the advert is saying women are useless. We can see that the women have been objectified through their outfits. They are both dressed as the sweets from the Quality Street tin, implying that they are objects. This ties in with the anchorage text, and the fact that they are seen as objects in the male gaze. They man is staring down eagerly at the sweets in the Quality Street tin, which could imply he is looking eagerly at the women, but not as people, as objects that are there to bring him pleasure. The women are also both kissing the man, which reinforces the idea that they are being objectified and that they are only there for his pleasure.

(not finished)

Homework:

Explore how the advertisement for Quality Street uses the following elements of media language to create meanings.

- Images (5 marks)

- Layout and design (5 marks)

- Language (5 marks)

The Quality Street advert uses images to show men as the dominant gender. We can see this in the position of the Quality Street tin. It is on HIS lap, so the women either side of him have to reach across to him. He is seen as the dominant person because he has control on the sweets. Another way we can see this is through the way the women are both kissing the man, which shows superiority because it suggests the women are only there for his pleasure. The women are also being objectified, as we can see that they are dressed like the sweets. This emphasises the idea that the man is the dominant person in the image because it makes him larger and like the only person there. The fact that the women are being objectified also fits into the male gaze theory, as they are dressed like the sweets, which the man would enjoy, which reinforces the idea that the women are only there for the man's pleasure.

The advert uses language to convey meanings. Underneath the image, the anchorage text reads, 'what a delicious dilemma'. This implies that the man has the choice, as the tin is on his lap. It also shows that the choice is between the sweets, but, because the women are dressed as sweets, the choice could also be between the women. The anchorage text implies that the choice between two sweets and between two women are as simple as each other. This belittles the women in the image, and, like the image, makes the man seem like he is the dominant gender. 

The advert uses layout and design to create meanings. This can be seen in the way that the man is positioned in the image. He is at the very center, showing he is the dominant person in the image. The text beneath the image has the Quality Street logo, as the biggest text. It immediately draws your attention because it is the biggest text on the page, but it also is purple. The colour purple has connotations of luxury and indulgence, so the brand have chosen this colour to show that their product is luxurious, even though it can be afforded by the middle class. The logo is the largest because it emphasises how the advert is their's. You cannot get their company mixed up with another.

Wednesday 17th January 2024

Analysing Adverts

LO: To build the skills needed to analyse and evaluate adverts.

Do Now:

Connotations - the meanings behind a certain image, phrase or piece of text. What you associate with it.

Denotation -  The literal meaning.

Advert 1:

- the soldiers in front of the computer have connotations of safety. They are saying that their brand is safe and the fact that hey are guarding a laptop could be the brand saying they protect even the most confidential information.

- This ties in with the anchorage text on the laptop that says, "UK's safest broadband".

- The neon colour has connotations of technology.

Advert 2:

- The Big Mac is sat on a red velvet bed, which has connotations of royalty. The brand are saying that the quality of their products is the best of the best. It also has connotations of luxury. They are saying their brand is luxurious.

- The phrase underneath says, "are you Mac enough?". This sounds like man, which shows the brand are displaying the food as something that is for men.

- The text also talks about, "check out my dimensions" which could be the brand comparing the burger to a woman, and the burger is telling the man who wants the burger to check her out. there is also a phrase that says, "don't touch. Ok you can touch", which reinforces this idea.

- The advert doesn't have the brand name, it just has the logo, which shows they are so well known they don't need their name on the advert. The logo by itself has connotations of McDonalds.

- The text that says, "stop staring at me like i'm some piece of meat" shows they are comparing the burger to a woman, which has connotations of desire and want. 

- The overall connotations is that a Big Mac is something that is massively desired.

Advert 3:

- the text underneath the car says, "a sporty car full of history" which links to the main image, because in the main image, the car is split in half with a formula 1 car replacing the front and back of the car on each half.

- This has connotations of speed and danger, as formula 1 is a dangerous sport. It also has connotations of wealth, as formula 1 cars are very expensive to get hold of, so it shows the brand are wanting to portray themselves as fast, rare and luxurious.

- The text also shows the product has a lot of history as the cars within the new car are older models. This has connotations of age, and progression. 

Advert 4:

- The fact that they have used the hulk's hand to show their product (plasters) shows they want their plasters to be seen as incredibly strong. This is because they have put it on the Hulk, an incredibly strong character, and the plaster is holding.

- This suggests that their plasters are stronger than the Hulk.

- Another reason they may have used the Hulk is because he is a very well-known superhero, among both adults and children, so it might appeal to people more than just a regular person. It would also appeal to children, as if they see their favourite superhero wearing the plasters, they might think it's cool and also want to wear them.

- there is a massive green muscly hand, which has connotations of the Hulk.

- The box in the corner is tiny in comparison to the Hulk's hand which has connotations of the plasters fitting everyone.

- The colour of his skin makes the plaster stand out.

Positive:

- Inquisitive

- Interested

- Curious

- Disabled

Negative:

- Nosy

- Crippled

- Handicapped

- Retarded

Friday 19th January 2024

Persuasion in Adverts

LO: To build the skills needed to analyse and evaluate adverts.

Persuasive techniques:

- Facts and statistics ----> "40 percent less fat" "30 percent less calories". This is used to make people buy the product because they think it's healthier.

- Opinion as fact ----> "satisfries" "Big taste". These would make people buy it because if they are described as tasting good, then obviously other people will want to try it. Also, it is an opinion and not a fact because some people would enjoy the fries, but others wouldn't. It isn't true for everyone.

- Hyperbole ----> "big taste" and the size of the box. They have done this to exaggerate the size ad taste of the food to make people want to buy it and eat it because they A. think it tastes nice and B. think they are getting a lot of food for the price because of how the brand have enlarged the box and the fries.

Weasel words are ambiguous words that are used to "weasel" out of something. These are words like "probably", "may", "often", and "somewhat". These words enable advertisers to make claims without really promising anything.

These jeans may make you look slimmer.

Often there is an improvement in...

Weasel phrase for a can of tomato soup: The rich and creamy taste of our soup often has people jumping for joy. Will you be one of them?

Weasel phrase for a kid's bike: We provide the fun for what may be your family's most treasured photos, and memories.

Wednesday 24th January 2024

Contemporary Adverts

LO: To understand the techniques used in contemporary adverts.

Do Now:

Gender stereotypes for males - strong, cannot cry, brave, tough, protective, don't like pink only 'male' colours, muscular, men go to work, men are more intelligent, men are direct. 

Gender stereotypes for females - can't do anything other than cook and clean, like pink and dressing in 'feminine' clothes, need a man to do everything for them, modelling, tanned, beautiful, dainty, weak. sensitive, women wear a lot of make up, women are creative, women are bossy.

Fiat Advert:

1) Describe the brand identity of Fiat.

Fiat are advertising themselves as unserious and fun. They are saying that their cars are meant for everyone, and can be enjoyed by everyone in different ways. however they display this in very different ways: there are two adverts, one of which is meant for men, and the other for women, and they appeal to their target audience in very different ways. They are making themselves look summery and bright, and the woman is also wearing a sunhat and sunglasses, which both suggest that it is summer time, and the ground is orange, suggesting heat. On the advert for the man, the ground is very luscious and green, and the man is wearing a hat and a summery shirt. This all ties in with what they are advertising, as it is the Fiat 500 spring/summer collection which could show that while they don't take themselves seriously, they want to make sure they are advertising the correct thing, and do take business seriously.

2) List the intertextual references.

We can clearly see that the two adverts have different target audiences in many ways. One is meant to appeal to women, and the other to men. We can see this from the main people in each of the adverts, as the one meant for women has a woman on the cover, and the same for the one meant for men. The name used for the woman, "Sandra P" could be a reference to pop culture, as a lot of pop stars use names like that, with their first name, but only their last initial. The cars are designed to look like a fashion article, rather than an ordinary car. 

3) How has media language been used?

The colour palette that has been chosen are very stereotypical colours for each gender. The advert meant for women has a purple wallpaper background, whereas the one for men has a blue one. Also, for the advert meant for women, the car is the main focus, and she is just sat on it, whereas the one meant for men has the man as the main focus, with the car in the background, showing that the man is "more important" than the product, but the woman isn't. For both the adverts a bubble font is being used, possibly to link them and to show that they are from the same brand, but mostly to emphasise their fun brand identity, as bubble writing has connotations of being child like and enjoyment. The typography underneath the main image that describes what the product is is in the same bubble font as the main text, linking them together. The advert also uses the classic Z layout, so your eyes end looking at the logo, meaning that the logo is what stays in your head, not anything else. They didn't start with the logo because then you look at everything else and forget about the logo. It has been purposefully placed so that that is what you remember.

4) How is gender represented?

Gender is represented very differently on these adverts. Women are advertised as only caring about fashion, as the line on their advert reads, "Life's too short to wear a boring car".This shows that women are being represented as fashion oriented because the advert doesn't describe it as life's too short to HAVE a boring car, they put WEAR. Women are represented as not caring about the car as long as it looks pretty. Also, in the paragraph next to the main line, it talks about the colour and design of the car, not how it works or wether it's good for the environment. The line for men says, "sport up" implying that men are interested in sports, and the car acting similar to a sports car.

Homework:

'This Girl Can' is a campaign and movement by Sports England. It was developed to help women feel less self conscious and safer when working out. 22 percent of women reported that they're concerned about sexual harassment while exercising, and 3 in 10 have experienced harassment first-hand, while exercising, mostly on streets and in parks. Over a third of women say they have felt judged when exercising. By avoiding using any athletic heroes, or star athletes, and just using normal people, Sports England are able to target ordinary women of all ages, encouraging them to take part in sport in whatever way they want. It was launched in 2016, and its purpose is to tackle the gender activity gap. It empowers women and girls of all shapes, sizes and sporting abilities by showing them there is no 'right' way to get active. It is funded by the National Lottery.

Friday 26th January 2024

 

Creating Adverts

LO: To use our understanding of advert conventions to create advertisements.

Do Now:

- Anchorage text, usually a tag line or some sort of play-on-words associated with the product.

- Main image, usually a picture of the product or something with the image in.

- Brand name/logo

- Some text describing the product

- The product

- Slogan

- Colour

- Sans serif fonts to make it seem modern, and because they are more accessible (if someone has dyslexia or another learning disability, they might struggle to read serif fonts) sometimes, you do still find print adverts that use serif fonts.

Advert using a rhetorical question:

 

Advert using celebrity endorsement:

Advert using emotive language:

Emotive language: "her love can't keep him safe"

Advert that conforms to stereotypes:

Advert that subverts stereotypes:

Sell line 1: 'Stay dry and look good doing it. Ok, we're lying. You don't look good. You totally look GREAT.😉'

Slogan: "This time, we're lovin' it!"

Sell line 2: "Do you want your dog to love you? Use our bacon strip bandages, and they'll stop biting you like that!"

Weasel phrase: "This could be the solution to your aggressive hen Barbara!"

Celebrity: Jennifer Lawrence 

Wednesday 31st January 2024

Women in advertising

LO: To evaluate how women are represented in a variety of adverts, so that we can apply this to the set text for the exam.

Do Now:

This data shows us:

- The majority of girls (in the class) do not feel confident in themselves and worry about not being good enough.

- The whole class, regardless of gender, enjoys participating in sports and P.E class, but interestingly a lot of people do not do sport/running in their spare time. There was one more boy who didn't, and the number of girls was 7 on each side.

- It was mostly girls who often don't do things because they are scared of being judged, however there were a few boys as well. 

The 'This Girl Can' campaign:

- This Girl Can is a national campaign launched in 2016.

- It was developed by Sport England and funded by the national lottery. This means that there is no commercial aspect - there was no intention to make any money.

- The purpose of the campaign was to break down the primary barrier holding women back from sport - the fear of judgement.

- Before the campaign, research showed that there was a massive gender gap between men and women participating in sport, with 2 million fewer 14-40 year old women than men partaking in regular sporting activity.

- 13 million women said they would like to participate more.

- Just over 6 million of these were not active at all.

- The fear of being judged was the number one barrier for most women who felt they were unable to participate in physical activity.

- As a result of the campaign, 1.6 million women have started exercising and the number of women playing sport and being active is increasing faster than men.

The message these mantras convey to women and to society is that women can do anything that men can do, regardless of the stereotypes that we as a society have built up over years that says women are inferior and cannot do sports. These mantras divert away from the stereotypes by making a point about how women can do whatever sports they want, even if they are considered stereotypically 'masculine' such as boxing, football or rugby. 

 

This campaign stands out to me because they have used a stereotypically masculine sport to contradict the stereotypes that only men can box, because it's 'too dangerous' for women. They have also used a person who wears a hijab for the advertisement, emphasising how anyone can exercise. 

This campaign stood out to me because while they are making a point about how women can and should exercise, they are also showing how it is an activity for fun and to make you feel good, and how you don't need to change your body because however you look you are perfect.

Advert 1:

- Women are being represented as strong, as she is climbing a rope and we can see her muscles flexing to do so. This could also be showing her perseverance.

- They are quite young.

- They are wearing a sports outfit showing that they are committed to working out and have been for quite some time. 

Advert 2:

- They have used someone of a different ethnicity, demonstrating how exercise is for everyone, and to be inclusive.

- She has a sheen on her skin (a sheen of sweat) which shows women as strong and as motivated, because this shows she has been running for a while.

- They have used an action shot to show how the woman will not stop, even for an advertisement, once again demonstrating women's perseverance and motivation.

Advert 3:

- She is a professional track runner, running for Great Britain with a serious face, demonstrating that she is prepared and going to win.

All the adverts fit stereotypes as all the people in them are physically fit and strong. They are also all very slim, and are clearly very committed to exercise, and have been good at exercise for some time. 

There are many differences between this poster and the Nike and Adidas posters. One of these are that in the Nike and Adidas posters, they have used either professional athletes or very physically strong and committed women, maybe to show that their products help you get to that stage. Their purpose is to make money off the adverts, whereas the 'This Girl Can' advert is part of a non commercial campaign, meaning they do not want to make any money off the adverts. They have used a regular women working out and while the Nike and Adidas adverts made their models look very stereotypically attractive, she looks how anyone would look while working out. The woman in the ''This Girl Can' advert is beautiful because she's having fun and enjoying moving her body. She isn't taking the workout seriously, whereas the Nike and Adidas posters had their models look very serious and committed to exercise. The 'This Girl Can' campaign aim to appeal to all women to try and get them moving and motivate them to move their bodies. This may be why the adverts are so different, because they are trying to do different things. Nike and Adidas are trying to sell their products, whereas 'This Girl Can' are just trying to get women feeling good about themselves while exercising. The 'This Girl Can' campaign also make a point about how even though she is sweating loads, she feels beautiful and sexy while she is doing it. It challenges the stereotype that girls dislike getting dirty and sweaty, which is very different to the Nike and Adidas ones, who show their models sweating, but in a very stereotypically attractive way.

Friday 2nd February 2024

Advertising set text: number 2

LO: To analyse the construction of the 'This Girl Can' set text.

Do Now:

This advert targets a wider range of women than the print poster because in the posters, only one woman is in it, because the main focus is on her. However, in a video, then they can take shots of a lot more people, and be more inclusive in these shots. For example, in the video, they showed clips of mothers working out with their babies, (which would be difficult to capture in an image) appealing to all women rather than just one individual. They were able to include people of different ethnicities, age and body type. 

Connotations:

Sweat - motivated work out, gross.

Pig - Cute, dirty, playful.

Fox - Sly, pretty, rare.

Lexis:

- There are two similes in the 'mantra' used in this advert.

- 'sweating like a pig' and 'feeling like a fox'

- One is negative and the second flips the negativity on its head and makes it a positive.

- The advert has used this phrase to challenge stereotypes that say women can't do exercise and get sweaty. This links in with the campaign as the whole thing is about empowering women and closing the gender gap that exists within exercise, and by saying that exercising makes women feel good (which it does, exercise releases endorphins) they break this stereotype.

Typography:

- They have used a serif font because it is a more feminine looking font, and the target audience is women.

- Also, if they had used sans serif, then you wouldn't be able to see as much of the image.

Main image:

- Centred mid-shot: showing from the waist/hips up, fills the frame. This shows that we are meant to focus on her upper body, as she is moving it and we can see from her facial expression that she is enjoying it. Our attention is drawn to how she isn't a celebrity or model. She is a regular woman enjoying herself while exercising.

- Not a female celebrity, but a woman in her 30s. This shows that 'This Girl Can' are appealing to everyone, and it also fits into their campaign, as it is meant for everyone to encourage them to exercise without judgement.

- Hair scraped back into s scruffy ponytail. This shows she doesn't care what she looks like, she's enjoying herself and that's that. It also shows that she doesn't care about judgement from others, which ties in with the campaign as they want to make women feel safe and judgement free.

- Sweaty - no/minimal makeup. This shows she isn't bothered how she looks, she's enjoying herself and that's all that matters.

- Workout/active wear (clashing colours). This shows, again, she doesn't care how she looks, she's just happy and enjoying herself. She is wearing comfortable clothes in order to do what she enjoys.

- Eyes closed with a slight smile. This shows she is enjoying herself, and she is tired, but in a satisfied and relaxed way.

- Active position- aerobics/dance/zumba? This shows that they are challenging the stereotype that says dance isn't a sport because she is very tired and has clearly in or has had a vigorous workout. It also shows that they are saying that you can exercise but have fun at the same time.

- Other women in similar positions in the background (out of focus). This shows again that the sport i s for everyone, everyone can do it. It appeals to all women because there are several women in the background, all different ethnicities, age and body type.This links in with the campaign.

Additional Media Language- (ML):

- HashtagThisGirlCan connects the audience to social media.

- The use of the hashtag will hopefully connect women with other like-minded individuals and create a sense of of social cohesion, thereby further reinforcing the message and encouragement among audience members. It also links to the youtube advert.

Comparisons:

Similarities - They are both adverts that are inclusive, as the products/messages are for everyone, not just for a certain class or age.

They both use the anchorage text/mantra to draw the person in, and to make them think a little deeper about the meaning behind it. They also use it to emphasise the message/item.

Differences - The Quality Street advert is a commercial advert (to sell a product) whereas the "This Girl Can" is non-commercial (they aren't trying to sell anything).

The Quality Street advert portray women in a negative way, whereas in the "This Girl Can" advert, they are presenting them as strong, powerful and motivated.

Wednesday 7th February 2024

Representation and Theory

LO: To explore the representations in the set text and apply relevant theory.

Do Now:

The intention of the 'This Girl Can' campaign is to encourage women to exercise without fear of judgment. They aim to ensure women feel safe and comfortable while exercising, as 22 percent of women reported that they are concerned about sexual harassment.

Dominant ideology:

Dominant ideology is the attitudes, beliefs, values, and morals shared by the majority of people in a given society.

The UK - Liberal-democratic.

Cornwall - Pasties.

Campaign Agenda:

- Encourage women to participate in physical activities by challenging the dominant ideology about women's relationship with exercise.

- The dominant ideology is that women cannot exercise because they are too weak or too precious. A lot of people believe that women cannot exercise if they don't look stereotypically 'perfect', or that they cannot work out without judgement. A lot of people see women as unwilling to get sweaty and dirty, and therefore unwilling to exercise.

- They seek to challenge this through their campaign by using ordinary women in their adverts to show that anyone can exercise, free of judgement and free of the constrains that society puts on them. Using regular women who are enjoying themselves allows them to challenge this because it shows every single woman that not only can they exercise, it can also be fun and be enjoyable.

Challenging stereotypes:

- Stereotypically, women have often been thought of as the 'weaker' sex and often less successful where sport is concerned.

- I think it has come a long way from what it used to be, however women are still thought of as stereotypically 'weaker', not only in sport but everywhere as some people think. This is not an accurate representation, and a lot of the world has moved on from this kind of thinking, however there are still many backwards people and countries that are still in this frame of mind. The 'This Girl Can' campaign aims to change that. 

1) Her facial expression creates a positive feeling about sport for the female audience because she is smiling slightly with her eyes closed, showing she is enjoying herself, and therefore showing the female audience that they can enjoy themselves too.

2) The advert seeks to encourage women to see themselves in the model they have chosen by showing that the woman in the advert is sweaty and not looking stereotypically 'perfect' but she doesn't care because she is enjoying herself and knows/feels free from judgement from others,

3) I think the title of the campaign is successful at being inclusive. The word, 'girl' is not specific to any age, size or circumstances. It appeals to all women. The word, 'can' connotes that anyone can do anything they want, as long as they don't let fear or fear of judgement get in their way. It could alienate those who are non-binary, as they are not included in the campaign, as they use the word 'girl'. However, other than that they are inclusive of anyone of any age, size, ethnicity or religion.

Theory:

- Laura Mulvey came up with the male gaze theory. The male gaze theory is a sexualised portrayal of women. By objectifying women, the male gaze represents women through the sexual desires of heterosexual male viewers. It depicts the female body and personality as an object for men to view, own, and conquer.

- I don't think we can apply it, as the advert is not catered towards men, however we can consider how the advert contradicts the male gaze theory. There are no men in the advert, showing that the women are not there for men's pleasure: they are there for their own enjoyment. The woman is there to exercise and have fun, not to be looked at by men. We can infer this from the fact that she doesn't care how she looks.

Theory: Propp

- Vladimir Propp: narrative character roles/functions.

- He says: There are a variety of key character roles that appear in almost every narrative.

The Hero - Emmet, Wyldstyle and Vitruvius.

The Villain - Hans, the Duke of Weselton and Lord Business.

The Donor - Dobby, Minerva Mcgonagall and Severus Snape. 

Hero, villain, princess/damsel in distress, father, donor, helper, dispatcher, false hero.

- He also says that these characters are involved in a series of different stages/functions or actions with narratives.

- For example, the hero is dispatched on a quest, the villain tries to stop them in their path, the donor gives a useful tip/tool to help them along the way (the usefulness of this does not always reveal itself until later), the princess is objectified and usually needs to be saved by the hero, she usually has a controlling father, the father is controlling and tries to get her to marry someone, the helper comes at the critical points in the story to help people, the false hero is usually undercover, and relays stuff back to the hero and the dispatcher sends people to go help the princess.

- Many, but not all of these elements can be applied to contemporary media products.

Friday 9th February 2024

C1 Section A PPE

LO: To practise how to answer exam style questions effectively.

Do Now:

- Strong

- Powerful

- Challenging stereotypes

- Free 

- Relatable

Question 1: 'This Girl Can'

Explore how the print advertisement for 'This Girl Can' uses media language to create meanings:

(a) Text/written language

The print advertisement 'This Girl Can' uses written language to challenge stereotypes. This can be seen through the mantra on the advert that reads, 'sweating like a pig, feeling like a fox'. These similes challenge stereotypes because one stereotype is that women dislike/can't get sweaty or dirty, and the phrase 'sweating like a pig' challenges this because this means that she is sweating a lot, as the word 'pig' has connotations of dirt, and when people think of sweating, they often associate it with dirt. The advert also challenges stereotypes by putting the two phrases next to each other, that some people would argue contradict one another, as the connotations of the word 'fox' is that someone looks sexy and stereotypically beautiful. This challenges stereotypes because people don't think of sweating and getting dirty as sexy or beautiful, but the advert is throwing stereotypes out the window by saying that when sweating you can feel sexy and good and amazing. 

Another way the advert uses written language is to be inclusive and to empower women in sport. They have done this through the very simple but effective use of their logo, 'This Girl Can'. This is inclusive as the word, 'girl' is very generic and can be taken on my anyone, including transgender women, and women of any size, age shape, level of fitness and ethnicity. This links in with the campaign's aim, which is to make women feel safe and free from judgement while exercising, which they have achieved through their use of the logo. They also empower women in sport through this logo, because most sport adverts were (at the time the campaign was created in 2016) and still are catered towards men. Through their logo, they include women in that sporting circle, and because the term, 'girl' is so generic, it could make any women trying to get into fitness feel like they are not alone. They make women feel empowered and strong by using their logo because it is finally an advert that is catered towards them and meant to make them feel included, comfortable and safe.

(b) Visual codes (for example:images, lighting, dress)

The 'This Girl Can' campaign aims to encourage women to not only start exercising, but also to help them feel safe and free of judgement while doing so.

One way the 'This Girl Can' print advert uses media language to create meanings is through the model used in the advertisement. They haven't used a famous athlete or someone who is incredibly fit and has obviously been exercising for a long time, they have used an ordinary woman to be inclusive to everyone their adverts are aimed at. This might make women feel more motivated to exercise, because if they see someone who doesn't look anything like them on an advert, it isn't going to make them want to exercise. However, if they see someone who looks like them, then it might make them feel less alone in exercise and make them consider that if that woman can do it, why can't they? The woman is also not wearing any makeup, showing she doesn't care what she looks like, she is working out and is enjoying it and that is all that matters. This again would make women who don't consider themselves stereotypically beautiful feel more included because it makes them want to do and feel the same way the woman in the advert does. The woman in the advert is smiling with her eyes closed, showing she is enjoying herself and that she is tired, but in a relaxed happy way, showing the audience how fun and how enjoyable exercise can be when you find your favourite sport. This ties in with the campaign because they are all about trying to help women enjoy exercise and to help them feel like they aren't being judged. This is not conventional for a typical print advert, as most of those are trying to sell a product, and therefore would use someone who is a professional in the field. It is a non-commercial advertisement, meaning they are not trying to sell anything, which could be why they do not conform to the stereotypes of a print advert. 

Another way the 'This Girl Can' advert uses media language to create meanings is through the outfit that has been chosen for the model. They have used an outfit that doesn't necessarily match or go together to show that it doesn't matter what you look like when your having fun because no one cares, and if they do they will admire your motivation. The woman wearing the advert is also sweating a lot, linking in to how she doesn't look stereotypically 'perfect' like so many other models in fitness adverts do. They always have a slight sheen of 'attractive' sweat, whereas the model is completely natural, showing that it is a great thing to sweat a lot when exercising as long as you are enjoying yourself. To emphasise this, her hair is thrown up in a messy ponytail, to show that she isn't afraid of judgement because she is enjoying herself so much. This ties into the campaign because they want women to feel the same way the woman in the advert is showing. This is also not conventional for a print advert, as the colour of her top (aqua blue) is stereotypically considered a masculine colour, and a lot of print adverts appeal to this stereotype. Her messy hair is also not stereotypical for a print advert, as most try and make their models look unrealistically attractive. The 'This Girl Can' campaign, however, is trying to veer away from stereotypes, and this could potentially be the reason they do not conform to the conventions of a print advert.

Finally, the advert uses media language to create meanings through the shot type. They have used a mid shot to show we are meant to focus on her upper body and her face, and how she is enjoying the movement of her body. The advert also has a blurred background with other women there to show that the model is the main focus of the advert but also to show that she is not alone. A lot of women fear exercising alone, so by showing this, it shows that they aren't alone. This ties in with the campaign's aims because they aim to make women feel comfortable, and safe and included in sport and society, and they have achieved this through the shot type, main image, and outfit. Again, this is not conventional for a print advert, as most would use a long shot to show you are meant to focus on the model's body, however here, you are meant to focus on her enjoyment of the exercise. The 'This Girl Can' campaign are all about feeling judgement free while working out, and this ties into this because unlike most print adverts, you are meant to look at her face.

Wednesday 21st February 2024

Dirt: C1 section A PPE

LO: To revise how to answer exam style questions effectively.

PPE Q1a: 5/5
WWW: Excellent points well explained and supported
EBI - nothing

PPE Q1b:8/10
WWW: good focus on the meanings constructed by the visual codes
EBI: add in whether these elements match typical conventions of print adverts or not

Question 2

(a) Explain how political contexts influence magazines. Refer to Pride magazine to support your points.