Score advert and wider reading

 Media Factsheet - Score hair cream

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #188: Close Study Product - Advertising - Score. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can download it here if you use your Greenford login details to access Google Drive.

Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:

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

In the 1960s, advertising techniques have changed where advertising agencies relied less on market research and instead emphasized creative instinct in planning their campaigns. The Score advert exemplifies this approach by portraying a patriarchal dynamic, depicting men as superior and dominant over women. It also reflects the prevailing beliefs of the era regarding colonization, presenting it as a "manly" pursuit and socially acceptable behaviour for men to engage in hunting and exploration in foreign lands.

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

Campaigns in the 1960s very effectively reinforced the idea that a woman's primary place was within the home. Ironically, during the Second World War, propaganda posters had encouraged women to take on roles in farms and factories while men were away fighting. The prevalent portrayal of women in 1960s advertising was 'The Good Wife,' often depicted somewhat stereotypically as someone who found fulfilment in serving her family and taking pride in household tasks. By 1967, it was not uncommon to see women portrayed as subservient to men. Men, on the other hand, were exclusively depicted as breadwinners and intellectually superior to their female partner.

3) Conduct your own semiotic analysis of the Score hair cream advert: What are the connotations of the mise-en-scene in the image? You may wish to link this to relevant contexts too.

For mise-en-scene we could see for makeup how the girls were heavily made up linking to Mulvey's male gaze where they are sexualised. The mans facial expression is seen as satisfied as he feels a sense of achievement in his position. For setting it is placed in a jungle where this theme evokes Britain's colonial past. Also the girls are dressed provocatively to reinforce western beauty standards but there is an attempt to subvert this through their utility belts and biceps.


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

The factsheets suggests that the narrative is about a man celebrating as the triumphant hunter-protector of his community. It shows that the females serve as his reward for undertaking such masculine endeavours. This notion of women being sexually available and submissive to men is reminiscent of the longstanding series of Lynx deodorant commercials that spanned the early twentieth century.

5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in the 2020s?

In 1967, the advertisement would likely have been widely accepted, considering that women were still fighting for equality during the second wave of feminism. The Equal Pay Act had not yet been passed, and society was firmly entrenched in a patriarchal structure where men dominated nearly every aspect of life. Nowadays, audiences would likely be appalled by both the representation and lack of representation of women and men in the advertisement. Many would take issue with the fetishization of colonialism, as the advert's setting in a jungle, presumably a British colony at the time, would now be deemed socially unacceptable.

6) How does the Score hair cream advert use persuasive techniques (e.g. anchorage text, slogan, product information) to sell the product to an audience?

The advert uses persuasive techniques through the anchorage where it seems to target men by promising them an easier grooming experience and the opportunity to embody the idealized image of masculinity. The product name implies winning or achieving success, suggesting that using this product will help men gain attention or approval, particularly from females. Additionally, the use of a red flag on the product may symbolize passion and dominance, appealing to male consumers' desires to assert control and command attention in their interactions with others.

7) How might you apply feminist theory to the Score hair cream advert - such as van Zoonen, bell hooks or Judith Butler?

Judith Butlers Gender troubles theory could apply to how social norms are socially constructed where both males and females have to adhere to them as seen in the advert where they reinforce these stereotypes. Van Zoonens theory of feminism is shown with how the girls are following culture when playing the role of a women where they are seen as weak and objectified by the male. The advert also reinforces western beauty standers to the point of the girls being heavily made up.

8) How could David Gauntlett's theory regarding gender identity be applied to the Score hair cream advert?

We can see by the advert that identity is becoming more fluid where the women are expressed as strong through their utility belts and biceps to show how they are trying to break the norm. There is also an argument on generational difference where back then the ideologies on how each gender should act was restricted and culturally influenced where as now days a more modern audience would argue against tradition.

9) 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)?

The advert was produced in the year of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in order to promote masculinity in males and being heterosexual in society. Homosexuality was looked down upon as a taboo topic where tradition made it seem wrong and sinful. The advert wanted to show what a stereotypical male should be presented as.

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

They paid much more attention to building a distinctive character for the brand. The brand message is clear: to present the product as grooming product for a ‘real’ man. The choice of the ‘Score’ brand name is deliberate and carries very obvious connotations.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Wider reading

The Drum: This Boy Can article

Read this article from The Drum magazine on gender and the new masculinity. If the Drum website is blocked, you can find the text of the article here. Think about how the issues raised in this article link to our Score hair cream advert CSP and then answer the following questions:

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

It says that we often find ourselves less equipped to address the challenges facing boys. There exists an unconscious bias suggesting that males should simply "man up" and handle any crisis of confidence on their own. This bias stems from the perception that men, particularly white, middle-class, Western men, enjoy better pay, more opportunities, and are not subjected to inhumane oppression in certain parts of the world. However, the stark reality is that men are more likely than women to commit suicide, drop out of education, and become involved in crime, drugs, and binge-drinking.

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

They both were able to undertake a large-scale research project into modern male identity, men are craving a more diverse definition of what it means to be a ‘successful’ man in 2016, and to relieve the unrelenting pressure on them to conform to suffocating, old paradigms. This insight led to the step-change find your magic campaign from the former bad-boy brand.

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

He urged the industry to be “more revolutionary”, particularly when it comes to male body image, which he says is at risk of following the negative path trodden by its female counterpart. He also states about a huge rise in eating and body image disorders among young men. He wanted to stop this and create a new way of seeing males in society.

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

Brands are targeting their products by trying to seek “a true understanding of their target consumer; who they really are, their beliefs, their attitudes, where they are now, where they want to be in future. They try to experiment with social media as it allows flexibility and for more targeted messages.

5) 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?

The director says this to show how its only just the beginning of masculinity and how all guys, in ads, are attractive.  He states how we have social media platforms where we can express our opinions and bond with others to help men break this toxic masculinity and be themselves. He also says “What being a man means, and what ‘success’ means, is changing and this change is for the good. The message hasn’t exploded yet but we will make it explode. We will democratise it