Score Hair Cream - Case Study

Media Factsheet #188

How did advertising techniques change in the 1960s and how does the Score advert reflect this change?

• advertising campaigns were less based off of market research and more on creative intuition with ads main aim to win over consumers using humour, irony and candour in their campaigns.

What representations of women were found in post-war British advertising campaigns?

• The dominant ideology perpetuated was that a womans place was the home and their main onjection should be to provide and maintain their appearance.

 What are the connotations of the mise-en-scene in the image?

• The anchorage text as well as the actor placement on the advert suggest sexual dominance,with the actor placement of the man being 'held' up by the young women also contributing to the normalisation and fetishisation of large age gaps between men and women that were especially prevalent in the mid to late 20th century and even today the idea of a much older man and younger woman can be seen in advertising. The multiple women/one man ratio alludes to a fantasy view and adds to the primal tone of the advert in it's entirety. The actors costumes and makeup reinforce conventional eurocentric beauty standards of the time and enforce the idea that this man is the 'king of the jungle' and on the dominant side of the power imbalance in this narrative. This was a widely sort after goal in the late 60s due to a need to establish hetereosexuality and masculinity after homosexuality was decriminalised therefore by setting the advert in a jungle and placing a heterosexual man at the 'top' in the central image this appeals to a male subconcious and uses insecurities and primal desire to persuade consumers to choose Score. 

What does the factsheet suggest in terms of a narrative analysis of the Score hair cream advert?

• The hegemonic ideology about this man being utterly desirable and heroic with the women being sexually available and falling at his feet due to the explicit narrative of a hunter/protector narrative aswell as being propp's hero; and Todorovs equilibrium of bad hair - buying score and all of a sudden you're a 'ladies man'

How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in 2019?

• The 1967 audience may have read this advert as ironic and humorous with a self referential mocking tone to it however in 2019 the underlying sexist subtext and elusive problematic undertones are arguably more prevalent as we recognise the reinforcement of the established patriarchal tone and in some ways offensive depiction of young women.

How does the Score hair cream advert use persuasive techniques to sell the product to an audience?

• Score hair cream used a brand ethos and distinct brand image to aid promotion for their product- the use of strong emotions and appealing to insecurity also aided advertisement as well as repetition in the anchorage text.

How might you apply feminist theory to the Score hair cream advert?

• The Score advert subverts Butler's theory on gender and actually reinforces binary gender roles however in relation to the idea that gender is socially constructed this is arguably undeniable by the over exaggerated masculine/feminine attitudes presented within the advert by the actors. In relation to Mcrobbies theory, this advert is both empowering and oppressive in its connotations and presentation of women. The fact they are holding the men up connotes strength and power but their eurocentric and unattainable beauty is creating a sub narrative of women can only be strong, successful if they are pretty.

How could Stuart Hall's theory of representation and David Gauntlett's theory regarding gender identity be applied to the Score hair cream advert?

• Gauntlett's theory on masculinity can be applied through the depiction of the man as a classic GI Joe character and reinforces the standards of masculinity that have been prevalent in society for the last half-century. this advert also constricts gender identity into a binary and somewhat over simplified versions of men and women. These constructions also relate to Hall's theory on representation and the idea that the conventions of masculinity and femininity we perpetuate in society are constructed by the media and are a hyper realistic depiction of gender in order to enforce a linear separation between 'man' and 'woman' contrasting the more prominent hegemony of gender fluidity.

What representation of sexuality can be found in the advert and why might this link to the 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality (historical and cultural context)?

• This advert has an overwhelming heterosexual narrative and its dominant reading relates to the idea that men can look good and be desired by women and not relate it to the common stereotype of gay men and the 'camp' stereotype. This relates to the 1967 decriminalisation of same sex relationships and the overwhelming social movements that followed that involved heavy policing and aggressive following of laws that still prohibited complete freedom of male homosexuality and oppressed these mne even more - this advert highlights the aggressive heterosexual narrative and is perhaps laced with fear of a counter hegemonic reading.

How does the advert reflect Britain's colonial past - another important historical and cultural context?

•  The post-colonial narrative can be seen through the exertion of white western dominance despite the exotic setting. the underlying tones of white saviourism are also clear within the score advert and the mans 'throne' as well as gun suggest he's been 'successful' in killing off contenders in order to provide for his own 'tribe'

The Drum: 'This Boy Can article

Why does the writer suggest that we may face a "growing 'boy crisis'"?

• Brands are catering to women empowerment and forgetting to shape new narratives that don''t only empower women but both genders.

How has the Axe/Lynx brand changed its marketing to present a different representation of masculinity?

• They have 'ditched' the bad-boy, constricted narrative and begun to cater to a more fluid narrative regarding gender and male expectation. They have also become much more self referential and mock their old, traditional narratives through their new campaigns and they break the linear expectations of what it means to be a man.

How does campaigner David Brockway, quoted in the article, suggest advertisers "totally reinvent gender constructs"?

• 'invent a world where boys like pink, dont't like going out and getting dirty, or aren't career ambitious'

How have changes in family and society altered how brands are targeting their products?

• It is no longer a black and white demographic. Those who are breadwinners and those who are domestic providers are no longer just one gender, race or age. therefore brands use the past as a way to create humorous and mocking adverts with caricatures of characters or simple,m stereotype driven narratives with slight changes to the narrative structures in order to create an illusion of progressiveness.

Why does Fernando Desouches, Axe/Lynx global brand development director, say you've got to "set the platform" before you explode the myth of masculinity?

•  By constructing the idea of masculinity this allows people to break this barrier, express themselves and change the game in the context of empowerment and social change.

Why Brands need to change campaign

What are two ways advertising traditionally presented masculinity and why does the writer Joseph Gelfer suggest this needs to change?

• 'James Bond' esque ladies men or buffoon style men who are 'safely under their wives thumb', this needs to change in order to stop presenting men with limited choices on who they can be and what it takes to be a man whether it be conforming to or subverting tradition they are still constricted by societal expectations.

What are the five stages of masculinity?

•  Unconscious Masculinity - traditional
•  Conscious Masculinity - traditional but deliberate
•  Critical Masculinities - feminist; socially constructed
•  Multiple Masculinities - anyone can be anything
•  Beyond Masculinities - It doesn't exist

What stage of masculinity do you feel you are at in terms of your views of gender and identity?

• I believe i am at Stage 4 as I don't believe that gender is binary or can be clearly defined and what was once clear masculinity has now been blurred between the sexes and is no longer restrictive in society but rather a depiction of traditional standards that have had a meaning change in contemporary existence. I think that anyone can be anything and that labelling items or attitudes as male or female is an act of social digression.

What stage of masculinity was the Score advert aiming at in 1967?

• Stage 1

Why are the stages of masculinity important for companies and advertisers when targeting an audience?

• The stages of masculinity are important when it comes to targeting a certain demographic as different ages have become accustomed to the stage that was prevalent in their youth - stage 1 advertising may still work for the majority of the older generation whereas it would be seen as backwards and deformative by a younger demographic. The stages of masculinity help formulate progressive narratives and depictions of men or male identifying persons and contribute to an appropriate and profitable campaign scheme.