tide

Question 1

who created tide?

Answer 1

procter and gamble

Question 2

when was tide created?

Answer 2

1946

Question 3

what advertising agency handled p&g’s accounts in the 50s

Answer 3

dmb&b

Question 4

what character was used in both the print and radio advertising campaigns?

Answer 4

the ‘housewife’ character who loved and adored tide

Question 5

historical context

Answer 5

post ww2 consumer boom which included rapid development of new technologies (eg washing machines) and the products linked to these technologies (eg washing powder)

Question 6

cultural context

Answer 6

more copy was used than we would see today. consumer culture was in the early stages of development and with so many new brands, customers needed more information about the products than a modern audience would, including more advertising and branding

Question 7

codes and conventions present in the text

Answer 7

z line; rule of thirds; headings, subheadings and slogans; informal lexis in sans serif and serious information in serif

Question 8

what can be said about the colours in the advert?

Answer 8

bright primary colours the connote positive associations that producers want the audience to make with the product

Question 9

what reinforces the informal mode of address?

Answer 9

comic strip style image in the bottom right with two women talking using informal lexis (eg ‘sudsing whizz’); sans serif font

Question 10

what can be said about barthes’ hermeneutic and proairetic codes?

Answer 10

suspense is created through the enigma of ‘what women want’ and this is emphasised by the tension building use of multiple exclaimation marks

Question 11

what can be said about barthes’ semantic code?

Answer 11

the hearts and the woman’s gesture codes have connotations of love and relationships - it is connoted that this is ‘what women want’ as well as to do domestic jobs around the house

Question 12

what can be said about the use of hyperbole, superlatives and tripling?

Answer 12

phrases like ‘worlds whitest wash’ and ‘miracle’ oppose the connoted superior cleaning power of tide compared to its competitors

Question 13

what can be said about barthes’ symbolic code?

Answer 13

the symbolic code was clearly successful as p&g’s competitor products were rapidly overtaken, making tide the brand leader by the mid 50s

Question 14

what can be said about levi-strauss’ binary oppositions theory?

Answer 14

‘tide gets clothes cleaner than any other washday product’ reinforces the binary opposition between tide and its competitors. it is ‘unlike soap’ and gets laundry ‘whiter than any soap or washing product known’ which connotes that other products cant offer the same as tide can

Question 14

intertextual references

Answer 14

possibly references ww2 adverts for the ‘womans land army’ and ‘rosie the riveter’

Question 14

how can you describe views towards women during the war?

Answer 14

stereotypical views were being subverted as women were needed in traditionally male roles when men were sent to war

Question 14

how can you describe views towards women in the 1950s?

Answer 14

women were targeted for more domestic products as they were seen as needing to go back to being in more domestic roles after the war - they needed to go back to being ‘domestic perfection’, serving the ‘man of the house’

Question 14

how are representations constructed through processes of selection and combination?

Answer 14

dress code: stereotypical hairstyle made popular by film stars - the fashion of women having their hair shorter was made popular in the war as longer hair was dangerous in machinery; headscarf also links to practicalities developed at this time - having her hair held back connotes she is focused on her work - this binary opposes the full makeup

Question 15

what can be said about hall’s representation theory?

Answer 15

despite the comic strip visual, the images of domesticity and the scenario represented is familiar to the audience as a representation of their own lives

Question 16

what can be said about gauntlett’s identity theory?

Answer 16

the women represented act as role models of domestic perfection that the audience may construct their identity against

Question 17

what can be said about van zoonen’s feminist theory?

Answer 17

contradicts the theory that the media contributes to social change by representing women in non traditional roles and using non traditional language

Question 18

what can be said about bell hooks’ feminist theory?

Answer 18

reinforces the western beauty standard as the only women represented are White and conventionally attractive

Question 19

cultural context

Answer 19

domestic products at this time were still aimed towards women despite the changing roles in society during ww2

Question 20

who is the likely target audience of this advert?

Answer 20

lower-middle class women who wanted innovative domestic technologies and products. increasing popularity of these products from this target audience led to an increased focus on unique selling points

Question 21

who is the likely audience demographic?

Answer 21

young, newly married women with young families. this is created through the use of women with whom they might personally identify (eg the types of clothing seen on the washing line)

Question 22

what is good about the endorsement from good housekeeping?

Answer 22

makes them an opinion leader for the target audience, reinforcing the idea that tide is the market leading product

Question 23

what is the preferred reading? (hall)

Answer 23

despite being a new product, tide provides solutions to the audience’s domestic chore needs

Question 24

what can be said about the indirect mode of address? (hall)

Answer 24

connotes that her relationship with the product is of prime importance. this is the hegemonic encoding of the primary message that should be received by ‘you women’

Question 25

what can be said about the direct mode of address? (hall)

Answer 25

link to the imperative ‘remember!’ and the use of personal pronouns

Question 26

what ideas does the tide advert aim to cultivate? (gerbner)

Answer 26

this is the brand leader; nothing else washes to the same standard; its a desirable product for its female audience; its ‘miracle suds’ are an innovation for the domestic washing market. gerbner argues that the repetition of these messages will cause the audience to align their own ideologies with them