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Tide Media Studies Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Media Studies revision for Tide

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Context for Tide (Product)

Who Created Tide
Procter & Gamble
Launched
1946
Advert­ising agency used
Print and Radio
The main character
The Housewife

Historical context

Consumer boom saw a develo­pment of domestic techno­logies
Household appliences such as Vaccum Clearners, Washing machines, Tide becoming desirable products for the 1950's
Tide was linked to new techno­logies so also saw a develo­pment during this time

Cultural Context

Print Advert­ise­mentrs created within the 1950's conven­tially used more copy (words)
Consumer culture was develo­ping. many New products were entering the market. This meant that consumers needed more inform­ation in order to convince and audience to consume their product.

Social and Political Contexts

Women were the primary market for products being developed for the home e.g Tide
The sterot­ypical repres­ent­ation of domestic perfection and subser­viance to men became linked to the idea of conven­ience and better quality of life
 

Media Language Barthes

Enigma code
Suspusense through the enigma "What women want"
Proairetic code
There are multiple exclam­ation marks Emphaseing point being presented
Semantic code
The hearts above the main character connotes love for Tide
Symbolic code
The Hyperbole and superl­atives ("Mi­rac­le", "­World's cleanest wash!", "­Worlds whitest wash!") to highlight the effect­iveness of Tide

Media Language - Levi Strauss

"Tide gets clothes cleaner than any other washday product you can buy!" and "­There's nothing like Procter and Gamble's Tide" These both reinforce the binary opposition between Tide and other products as tide being the superior product
"­Unlike soap", "­Whi­ter... than any soap or washing product known" and is "­truly safe" which presents the idea of exclus­ivity with Tide that you can not get with competing products

Codes and conven­tions

Primary Colours
The conota­tions of the colour scheme are bright and happy
Headings, subhea­dings and slogans in a sans-serif font
Creating an informal mode of address to the consumer
Comic strip style image
Reinforces the informal address with informal lexis like "­sudsing whizz"
Z-Line and rule of thirds can be applied to its compos­ition
 

Constr­ucted Repres­ent­ations

The Dress Code chosen for the main character is sterot­ypical for the 1950's, these include a 1950's harystyle reminisent of Veronica Lake's hairstyle. Long hair was dangourus for women working with machinery
Having the hair held back conotes the idea that she is focused on her work (perhaps binary oposing the make-up she is wearing)

Theore­tical perspe­ctives

Hall
The domest­icity in the comic strip constucts a familiar scenario to the audience as a reflection of their own lives
Gauntlett
Women repres­ented act as role models of domestic perfection that the audience may want to construct their idenity against.
Van Zoonen
During War time womens role in society changed, They began taking up "Male roles" while the men were at war; However, this advert does not take into account this new society and reverts back to the sexist patria­rchal ideology of women being house wives. This means that Tide challenges Van Zoonen's theory that the Media contri­butes to social change.
Bell Hooks
Argues taht lighter skinned women fit better into western ideology of beauty. The advert­isement reinforces this by only repres­enting white women
 

Theore­tical perspe­ctives

Hall
The indirect mode of address made by the woman in the main image connotes that her relati­­onship with the product is of prime import­­ance. This is the hegemonic encoding of the advert’s primary message that should be received by the audience.
Gerbner
The Tide advert aims to cultivate the ideas that it is the brand leader. Gerbner’s theory would argue that the repetition of this key message causes audiences to align their own ideologies with them.

Targeting Audien­ces­/Au­dience interp­­re­t­ation

The endors­­ement from Good Housek­­eeping Magazine makes them an Opinion Leader, reinfo­­rcing the quality of Tide.
The preferred reading of the advert’s lexical fields “trust”, “truly safe”, “miracle”, “nothing like” is that, despite being “new”, Tide provides solutions to the audience’s needs.
The likely audience is constr­­ucted through the advert’s use of women with whom they might personally identify, young women in the domestic sphere.