Advertising: Score case study

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?

According to AdAge (adage.com), advertising agencies in the 1960s relied less on market research and leaned more toward creative instinct in planning their campaigns. The score hair cream advert reflects this as the “new advertising” of the 1960s took its cue from the visual medium of TV and the popular posters of the day.

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

In the UK, advertising in the post-war period was characterised by campaigns that very effectively reinforced that idea that a woman’s place was in the home.

3) Conduct your own semiotic analysis of the Score hair cream advert: What are the connotations of the mise-en-scene in the image?

Setting: jungle theme- evoking Britains colonial past 

Costume: Reinforce western beauty ideas (male gaze), tried to subvert female stereotypes with the utility belts

Makeup: emphasis women are heavily made-up - 'women are a spectacle'

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

The Score advert identifies the man as Propp’s ‘hero’ in this narrative. The image infers that he is ‘exulted’ as the hunter-protector of his ‘tribe’. This has a clear appeal to the target

audience of (younger) males who would identify with the male and aspire to share the same status bestowed on him.

5) How might an audience have responded to the advert in 1967? What about in 2019?

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 inevitable.

Due to the increased awareness of controversial representations of women, an audience from 2019 would criticise the brand and create discourse through social media

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?

Anchorage text: draws the audience to the message (persuasive). It reassures men about their sexuality (hypermasculinity)

Pack shot: The picture of the product advertised - no access to online ads to its important for 1960s audience

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

The females are heavily made up and this links to Judith Butler's theory of the male gaze and that they are just 'a spectacle'

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

David Gauntlett argues that both media producers and audiences play a role in constructing identities. The role of the producer in shaping ideas about masculinity is clear in the Score advert, which is undoubtedly similar to countless other media texts of that era.

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 may feature subtle or implicit sexual imagery that aligns with the sexual liberation movement of the 1960s. This could include imagery suggestive of sensuality or freedom like the phallic symbol which reinforces hyper-masculinity. The decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967, such as the Sexual Offences Act in the UK, marked a significant milestone in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The advert may reflect the growing acceptance of diverse sexualities and expressions of identity during this period, presenting a more open and inclusive portrayal of sexuality compared to earlier decade

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

The lack of cultural representation reinforces colonialist values. The jungle setting, the gun,

the throne all infer that the white western male has been successful in fighting off primitives or dangerous animals to save his own tribe.

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'"?

We are much less equipped to talk about the issues affecting boys. There’s an unconscious bias that males should simply ‘man up’ and deal with any crisis of confidence themselves. 

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

In order to prevent a full blown crisis of self-worth, Brockway advocates that advertisers “totally reinvent gender constructs” and dare to paint a world where boys like pink, don’t like going out and getting dirty, or aren’t career ambitious, for example.

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

Because the household purse has been historically controlled by the woman, it’s almost as if the man’s voice in FMCG has been oppressed or suppressed. We’ve been making assumptions about what men think and feel.”

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?

Fernando Desouches, the Axe/Lynx global brand development director, emphasizes the importance of "setting the platform" before challenging the myth of masculinity because it's important to establish a foundation of trust, understanding, and acceptance before introducing potentially controversial or provocative ideas.