Media Studies

[Link] Number 188

Close Study Product: Advertising – Score

The aim of this Factsheet is to explore how the Score advert can be
applied as a Close Study Product to the AQA A level assessment.
Activity: Compare the Score advert to the Vaseline
Cream Hair Tonic advert from a decade earlier. To what
Close Study Products extent does the Vaseline advert employ ideas of ‘elitism,
Close Study Products (CSPs) are a range of media products that
authoritarianism and traditional beliefs’? To what extent
must be studied in order to meet the requirements of the new A level
does the Score advert employ ‘humour, straight-talking
specifications and prepare students for the exam. A ‘product’ means
and irony’ in selling the product to a male audience.
something produced by a media industry for a media audience, for
example, a radio or television programme, a website or a video game.
CSPs are examples of either contemporary or historical media products
and should be used to support the study of the theoretical framework
(Media Language, Media Representations, Media Audiences and
Media Industries). They are also useful as a way of exploring the
theories and debates required by the subject content. Students will
also be required to understand the ways in which the CSPs reflect the
social, cultural, historical, economic and political contexts.

Examiner Advice: For the A level Media Studies

examination ‘Score’ should be studied with reference to
Media Language and Media Representations as well as
all relevant contexts.
Gender Roles in 1960s Advertising
In contemporary advertising campaigns it is still possible to identify
Why Study Score? examples of women as objectified or portrayed as domestic servants,
The ‘Jungle’ Score hair cream advert but sexism in 1960s advertising was on a much greater scale – and
is a pre-1970 historical artefact, and continued this way for many years after. As Breena Fain argues (tintup.
as such it lends itself to examination com) with adverts speaking to a woman’s inability to open a bottle of
in relation to the historical, social ketchup, it’s shocking any purchases were made in the 1960s until you
and cultural contexts in which it was consider that women earned far less than men. It is clearly the male
produced. It is particularly useful breadwinner who was the target audience for these advertisements.
in exploring gender roles, sexuality Likewise, advertising agencies, as popularised by the fictitious
and the advertising techniques of the Sterling Cooper agency in Mad Men, were predominantly male
1960s. institutions. According to Fain, the situation has changed radically
in recent times. “Today, we’ve seen a massive shift in how women
The Score print advert, 1967
are portrayed in advertising. This is perhaps partially due to the fact
Advertising Techniques in the 1960s that women hold around 60 percent of positions in (US) advertising
The 1960s ushered in an age of new and pioneering advertising agencies. Women are more
techniques. According to AdAge ([Link]), advertising agencies prevalent in the workplace
in the 1960s relied less on market research and leaned more toward and, therefore, have more
creative instinct in planning their campaigns. “Eschewing portrayals discretionary income than
of elitism, authoritarianism, reverence for institutions and other women in the sixties. Many
traditional beliefs, ads attempted to win over consumers with modern companies are
humour, candour and, above all, irony.” Copy was still used to offer embracing the era of female
an explanation of the product - and to pitch to the consumer - but the empowerment.”
visuals took on a greater importance. The “new advertising” of the
1960s took its cue from the visual medium of TV and the popular In the UK, advertising in the post-war period was characterised by
posters of the day, which featured large visuals and minimal copy campaigns that very effectively reinforced that idea that a woman’s
for a dazzling, dramatic effect. Print ads took on a realistic look, place was in the home. Ironically, during the Second World War,
relying more on photography than illustration, and TV spots gained propaganda posters had convinced women that their place was on
sophistication as new editing techniques were mastered. farms and in factories while the men were away fighting. Post-war,

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188. Close Study Product: Advertising – Score [Link]

and now surplus to requirement in the workplace, the advertising 1970s

industry stepped in to provide a new ‘propaganda’ campaign – one By the 1970s, as the women’s liberation movement gathered its
designed to make women feel useful in the domestic arena. stride, advertisers did try to lead the way with a more progressive
representation of gender. This was achieved through a series of ‘role-
reversal’ adverts, in which the man was seen to undertake a series
of household chores, such as cooking and cleaning. This experiment
with role reversal, however, did not last long, due largely to the
response of the female audience. Such adverts, according to audience
feedback, merely portrayed men as ‘wimps’ and women as ‘lazy’.
Females preferred to see themselves in the role of housewife. It could
thus be argued that the reason this stereotype continued for so many
decades was because women allowed it happen - and not because the
advertising agencies prevented it.

The way women were addressed also changed. In the 1950s it was Media Language
often a male expert who lectured to women about the virtues of a In studying this text the AQA require students explore the following:
product. This changed in the 1960s: the male expert replaced by • Mise-en-scene.
a female in a kitchen regularly extoling the virtues of a new soap
• Production values and aesthetics.
powder to another female. ‘The Good Wife’ – often portrayed as
something of a ‘bimbo’ - was the most common representation of • Semiotics: How images signify cultural meanings.
women in 1960s advertising, who serviced the needs of her family • How advertising conventions are socially and historically
and took pride and joy in housework. The long running slice-of-life relative.
‘Oxo’ campaign (Life with Katie) also promoted the idea that women • The way in which media language incorporates viewpoints and
should have “man appeal”, achieved through good looks as well as ideologies.
the ability to cook a decent meal. Very soon the idea of women as
simple objects evolved into one of females as ‘sex objects’, perhaps The ‘Jungle’ Score advert is presented as an aesthetically pleasing
encouraged by the more liberal attitudes of the sexual revolution in text. The females are represented as objects of beauty – along with
the latter half of the decade. By 1967 it would not be uncommon the man’s sleek hair. The overall image conveys consensual social
to view females as both subservient to men and wearing very little attitudes towards gender in the 1960s, namely that the male is
clothing – as observed in the Score advert. dominant and the female is subservient. The ‘Casino’ version of this
In the post-war period the division of labour between the sexes was advert (see [Link]
clearly defined in advertising. Men were represented exclusively as score-liquid-hair-groom-men-toiletries-grooming-poker-game-party-
the breadwinner and – more often than not - intellectually superior 219827-ymma3-091) portrays a similar image; that of smiling male
to their female spouses. The woman’s role was to support the man in sat a poker table surrounded by four fawning women. The ideology
his efforts, as this extract from a 1950s Kellogg’s Cornflakes advert embedded in the language remains exactly the same – that this a
demonstrates ([Link] patriarchal society.

1950s Kellogg’s Cornflakes advert Activity: Examine the Score advert. Identify the
EXT. OUTSIDE SUBURBAN HOUSE - MORNING denotative and connotative codes in the mise-en-scene.
Comment on:
MALE VOICE OVER: This is Mr Jones. This is how his
wife sent him off to work this morning. Good job she 1. The setting (exotic trees).
didn’t see him two hours later… 2. Props (the gun, the throne).
INT. OFFICE - DAY 3. Costume (short skirts and bikini tops).
MR WATKINS: (On phone, angry) Really Jones I can’t
wait any longer. You promised me that quote today!
Narrative
MR JONES: (On phone, flustered) Just a moment Mr
AQA focus of study:
Watkins. (To his secretary) Where is that schedule?
• How does Score construct a narrative which appeals to its target
SECRETARY: You didn’t complete it Mr Jones.
audience?
MR WATKINS: I told you Jones I can’t wait! (He hangs
• How and why might audience responses to the narrative of the
up)
advert have changed over time?
MALE VOICE OVER: His wife’s fault really. He’s had
• How does this advert create desire for the product?
almost nothing since supper twelve hours ago. No proper
breakfast. He said he hadn’t time. What nonsense! Before The Score advert identifies the man as Propp’s ‘hero’ in this narrative.
his toast and tea give him a big bowl of Cornflakes. No The image infers that he is ‘exulted’ as the hunter-protector of his
cooking, no messy washing up, eaten and digested like ‘tribe’. The adoration – and availability – of the females are his reward
lightening. Delicious! After a breakfast like that his wife for such masculine endeavours. This has a clear appeal to the target
needn’t worry. audience of (younger) males who would identify with the male and

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188. Close Study Product: Advertising – Score [Link]

aspire to share the same status bestowed on him. The idea of women The Liquid hair tonic is a product of the American Bristol-Meyers
being sexually available and falling at the feet of a man is echoed in Company. Like many large companies of this era, they paid much
the long running series of Lynx deodorant commercials that ran for the more attention to building a distinctive character for the brand. The
greater part of the early twentieth century. Even though many decades brand message is clear: to present the product as grooming product
separate the Score and Lynx commercials, their message – despite for a ‘real’ (masculine) man. The choice of the ‘Score’ brand name is
changes in social attitudes - is remarkable similar. There is clearly deliberate and carries very obvious connotations.
much truth in the mantra that sex sells. Indeed, it could be argued that
the advertising techniques of fifty years ago are fundamentally similar
to today – if more explicit.
Audience responses to the Score advert are likely to have changed
over time – but by how much? The 1967 male audience might read
the narrative as ironic and humorous (the dominant reading?) but it is
unlikely that they would challenge the underlying ideology implicit
within the advert. Females, though not the target audience, might read
the gender representations in an oppositional way but at the same
time accept its representation of a patriarchal society as normal or
Activity: How is the copy used to persuade the audience
inevitable. Modern audiences, including students of the media, are
to buy this product?
likely to respond in a different way, aware that its sexist narrative
is outdated and, for some, offensive. However, the fact that some 1. What specific words does it use to appeal to a male
advertisers still use a similar technique to sell deodorant to teenage audience?
boys, it could be argued that younger male audiences would not view 2. Why does it employ the brand name ‘Score’? What
this narrative as problematic. Indeed how far do video games such as are the connotations?
Grand Theft Auto 5 continue to position women as sex objects and 3. How is the red flag logo used? Does it convey any
encourage misogynistic attitudes from its audience? particular meaning?

Activity: Compare the Score advert

to the Fallen Angels Lynx commercial Representation
from 2011 ([Link] AQA focus of study, with emphasis on the representation of gender:
watch?v=PqD5SecdNbs) Identify ways • The processes which lead media producers to make choices
that each advert creates desire for the about how to represent social groups.
product. To what extent are they similar • How audience responses to interpretations of media
and different? Can you account for the representations reflect social, cultural and historical attitudes.
similarities and differences?
• The effect of historical contexts on representations.
• Theories of representation including Hall.
The Story of Lynx (The Guardian, 5th March 2012) • Theories of gender performativity including Butler.
What is Lynx to us is Axe to the French, where it began life in 1983. • Feminist theories including bell hooks and van Zoonen.
Two years later the brand that was to become the smell of teenage • Theories of identity including Gauntlett.
boys’ changing rooms arrived in the UK. In the twenty-five or so
years since, Lynx has expanded to include new scents and shower The Score advert is a product of its social, cultural and economic
gels and is now the UK’s number one male grooming brand. And context. The advert is one that has been conceived in a male dominated
it is not just teenage boys who use the stuff to mark their territory. advertising agency, using the dominant (hegemonic) representation of
More than 8 million men in the UK use Lynx every day, and almost the male to sell to an exclusively male audience. Whether viewed as
half of all shower gel sold in this country is a Lynx shower gel. Lynx ironic or not its representation of gender is not seen as problematic to
sells itself on the dubious idea that it makes its wearer immediately a 1960s society.
irresistible to women and almost every marketing campaign has used
pretty girls falling helplessly at the feet of a slightly skinny, geeky Activity: Look at examples of print and audio-visual
young man. They call it the Lynx Effect and it has struck a chord with texts from the 1960s. Identify how the historical context
a rather startling amount of British men. (the social and political attitudes of the day) has shaped
those texts. Consider the effects of these media products
Techniques of Persuasion
on the audience. How far do they reinforce a patriarchal
AQA focus of study:
society?
• Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and
understanding of the persuasive techniques used in the advert Applying Feminist Theories
and issues surrounding brand values, brand message, brand The feminist writer Liesbet van Zoonen argues that ‘gender’ is
personality and brand positioning should inform the analysis. constructed through discourse and that its meaning varies according
to the cultural and historical context. The Score advert constructs
a representation of women that is typical of the late 1960s - and

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188. Close Study Product: Advertising – Score [Link]

accepted as ‘normal’. Indeed the women depicted in the advert are not as a period of slow transformation in western cultures in terms of
dissimilarly dressed to Jane Fonda in the film Barbarella (released changing attitudes towards the role of men and women in society,
in the same year). Women in this era were largely represented as something that the Score advert can be seen to negotiate. Produced in
either domestic servants or sex objects – and in Score they might be the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality the representation of
considered both servant and sex object. Much like Laura Mulvey, van heterosexuality could be read as signalling more anxiety than might
Zoonen argues that in mainstream media texts the visual and narrative first appear. For males growing up in the 1970s and 1980s being
codes are used to objectify the female body. labelled “queer” was a direct challenge to one’s manhood. Male
grooming adverts in these two decades predominantly represented the
bell hooks is a feminist writer user as a ‘real man’, employing brand ambassadors like the footballer
and social activist who has Kevin Keegan and boxer Henry Cooper to promote Brut deodorant
explored the intersectionality and after-shave.
of race, social class and gender
issues. Regarding feminist
theory as a historically middle Henry Cooper with
class concern, her contemporary Muhammed Ali
perspective identifies a kind Such anxieties continue
of double or triple oppression
to exist. While British
of women who are also black
television, for decades, has
and/or working class. She
been progressive enough
also advocates that feminism should be seen as the struggle to end
to represent gay men on
patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination (and that men
the small screen, it has
need to participate in this process). Indeed hooks uses term ‘white
almost universally been in
supremacist, capitalist patriarchy’ to describe all the oppressive
the guise of ‘camp’. The
factors in our society. This might aptly describe the image presented
likes of Graham Norton and Paul O’Grady, for example, offer a much
in the Score advert.
safer version of homosexual men, with their feminine traits, which is
Judith Butler asserts that gender is not biologically determined but more acceptable to mainstream audiences.
rather socially determined; learned through society. She believes
that gender is a performance. Both the male and the female in the
The Decriminalisation of Homosexuality
Score advert are performing the roles of the (masculine) man and the According to Paul Burston writing in The Guardian (27th July 2017),
(feminine) woman in accordance with their biological sex. The advert “It’s a commonly held misconception that the 1967 act legalised male
also serves to reinforce the binary opposite gender roles ascribed by homosexuality. It didn’t. It partially decriminalised it under certain
society. conditions. In the years that followed, gay sexuality was policed
more aggressively than before and the number of men arrested for
Stuart Hall’s ideas about the systems of representation can also be breaching those conditions actually rose considerably.” Incredibly,
discussed in relation to the advert. To what extent has the producer several police constabularies actively took advantage of loop holes
created a representation of gender that is deliberate in its depiction in the Sexual Offences act of 1967 to prosecute homosexual men
of a dominant male (intentional approach)? To what extent do the engaging in consensual sex in their own homes. Research by Peter
representations simply reflect the gender inequality of 1967 (reflective Tatchell confirms this: in 1966 some 420 men were convicted of the
approach)? Or indeed, to what extent is a constructionit approach gay crime of gross indecency. By 1974, that number had soared by
the most appropriate: one where the producer (the maker of sign more than 300% to over 1,700 convictions.
systems) and the audience (who read them) both play a part in how
that representation achieves meaning? How producers encode texts Post-colonial Theory
and how audiences decode texts can differ. Are the representations The reference to colonialist values can also be linked to social and
meant to be taken at face value, or read as ironic? cultural contexts of the ending of the British Empire. Paul Gilroy
argues that despite the passing of empire, the white western world still
David Gauntlett argues that both media producers and audiences
exerts its dominance through cultural products. In Hollywood film,
play a role in constructing identities. The role of the producer in
for example, the white male (usually American) plays the role of the
shaping ideas about masculinity is clear in the Score advert, which
hero, who inevitably saves the (dependent) world from disaster. The
is undoubtedly similar to countless other media texts of that era.
Score advert follows a similar narrative. The jungle setting, the gun,
Surrounded by such representations, 1960s men would inevitably use
the throne all infer that the white western male has been successful
these to shape their own identities and their sense of what it means
in fighting off primitives or dangerous animals to save his own tribe.
to be a man in the mid-twentieth century. Similarly, women would
have a clear sense about their place in the world, despite many of
the social changes that were leading to greater equality both socially Acknowledgements: This Media Studies Factsheet was
and sexually (for instance, through access to the contraceptive pill). researched and written by Mike Chappell and published in
Historical, Social and Cultural Contexts January 2019 by Curriculum Press. Media Studies Factsheets
may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students,
The 1960s are thought of as a period of contestation and change, provided that their school is a registered subscriber. No part
supported by iconic images of student revolt, anti-war protests and of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
the 1967 summer of love. However, 1967 can be seen in actuality system, or transmitted, in any other form or by any other means,
without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN 1351-5136
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