Tide Poster (L,R&A)

Question 1

(TIDE) When was this poster released?

Answer 1

1950s

Question 2

What was Tide specifically designed for?

Answer 2

Heavy-duty, machine cleaning

Question 3

What company launched Tide?

Answer 3

Procter and Gamble

Question 4

Which company created Tide’s advertising?

Answer 4

The D’Arcy Marius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) - they handled all of Procter and Gamble’s advertising during the 1950s

Question 5

How did DMB&B advertise Tide?

Answer 5

They used both print and radio advertising campaigns to quickly build audience familiarity.

Both of these media forms appealed to the “housewife” character as they listened to the radio while cleaning etc.

Question 6

Historical context of Tide

Answer 6

There was a consumer boom post-WW2 so there was a rapid development of new technologies for the home and products linked to those e.g. washing powder.

Women’s Land Amy was set up in 1917 and then reformed in 1939 - gave women ‘male’ jobs.

Women were seen to be the ones in charge of the domestic side of the house which was reflected in the media/advertisements as they targeted women which became linked to a modern need for speed. Flattery was used to entice women back into their homes after the war

Question 7

Significance of gesture codes in Tide

Answer 7

She is hugging the Tide box to show how much she loves the product and which suggests that other women should love it too.

The camera is angled down whereas she is looking up to imply that Tide has been sent from a god.

Question 8

Significance of the mise-en-scene in Tide

Answer 8

There is only 1 prop (the large Tide box) which emphasises the product to the consumer.

The costume shows a modern audience when the advert was created. It also shows women of the time what they should be dressed like as a house wife.

Question 9

Significance of lighting in Tide

Answer 9

There is a spotlight on the woman which gives a glow to her face. This makes her seem more attractive which would sell the product more.

Question 10

Significance of the main image of Tide

Answer 10

The main image is a close up shot which emphasises how happy she is and how much she loves the product

Question 11

Significance of colour in Tide

Answer 11

The advert contains a lot of red and other bright colours

Red - connotations of sexuality, sexualises the woman, makes men more interested in buying the product for their wives, stands out against the white

Bright colours - positive associations the producer want the audience to make with the product

Question 12

Significance of context in Tide

Answer 12

The advert is reinforcing the sexist patriarchal domination and is depicting white heterosexual middle-class America.

Question 13

(Tide) Barthes semiotics theory - conform or challenge?

Answer 13

It conforms!

Hermeneutic code - enigma in “what women want”

Semantic code - there are hearts above the main image which have connotations of love

Question 14

(Tide) Levi-Strauss’ structuralism theory - conform or challenge?

Answer 14

It conforms!

“The gets clothes cleaner than any other washday product you can buy!”

This quote reinforces the binary opposition between Tide and its rival companies.

Question 15

Social and political contexts in Tide

Answer 15

Rosie the Riveter is an example of representations which challenge stereotypical views of women

Traditionally ‘male roles’ were given to women when the men went off to fight in WW2

Domestic products were still aimed at female audience in the 1950s

Question 16

Significance of the dress codes in Tide

Answer 16

Stereotypical 1950s hairstyle is on the main woman.
This hairstyle was common in the 1950s as it was hazardous for women to have long hair because during the war they worked with machinery. Same goes for the headscarf.

This is a binary opposition of the full face of makeup that the woman is wearing

Question 17

(Tide) Hall’s representation theory - conform or challenge?

Answer 17

It conforms!

The scenario shown in the images on the poster would be familiar to the audience as it is a representation of their own lives and is a stereotype of women in the 1950s which reduces women to being just housewives which forms part of the “shared conceptual road map”.

Question 18

(Tide) Gauntlett’s identity theory - conform or challenge?

Answer 18

It conforms!

The women in the advert are represented as role models of domestic perfection that the audience will watch to construct their own sense of identity against.

Question 19

(Tide) Van Zoonen’s feminist theory - conform or challenge?

Answer 19

It challenges it!

The media does not contribute to social change as this poster is representing women in traditional roles and using sexist language in order to sell their product.

Question 20

(Tide) hooks’ feminist theory - conform or challenge?

Answer 20

It conforms!

The advert reinforces the idea that lighter skinned women are more desirable as that is what is represented in order to sell the product.

Question 21

Significance of fonts in Tide

Answer 21

Sans serif font - used for titles and slogans etc, connotes informal address

Serif font - used for the more ‘technical’ details which connotes that it is the more serious or factual information

Question 22

When was the Women’s Land Army set up?

Answer 22

1917 (during WW1) and it was then reformed in 1939 (in preparation for WW2)

Question 23

Cultural context for Tide

Answer 23

‘Consumer culture’ was just beginning so many ‘new’ brands (such as Tide) needed to give audiences more information than a modern audience would need.

Question 24

Representation of women in Tide

Answer 24

Complex - women are presented stereotypical but it can also be seen to represent women in the work place due to the woman’s hairstyle

Question 25

Audience demographic of Tide

Answer 25

Constructed through the advert’s use of women who may personally identify (would most likely be newly married women and young families which is created through connotations of the washing line with different types of clothes on it)

Question 26

Good Housekeeping Magazine

Answer 26

There is an endorsement from them on the advert (making them the Opinion Leader) which would target a specific audience and would reinforce the idea that Tide is the market-leading product.

Question 27

Preferred reading of Tide (Hall)

Answer 27

Despite being a ‘new’ product, Tide provides solutions to the audience’s domestic chore needs.

Question 28

(Tide) Gerbner’s cultivation theory - conform or challenge?

Answer 28

It conforms!

Repetition of the key messages (e.g. nothing washes like Tide, it is a desirable product for the female audience) causes audiences to increasingly align their own ideologies with them.

Question 29

2016 Tide adverts

Answer 29

Man in the advert - subverting stereotypical gender roles.

Black woman on the advert - suggests how representations have changed as that would have not sold the product in the 50s