Advertising: Score case study- masculinity is advertisement changing. (Gelfer)

Advertising: Score case study and wider reading 

We have already studied the changing representation of women in advertising but there is no doubt that the portrayal of men and masculinity has also changed significantly too.

Our first advertising CSP, the 1967 Score hair cream advert, provides a compelling case study for the representation of both men and women.

Notes from the lesson and the blog task are below.

Hypermasculinity in advertising

Hypermasculinity is defined as: a psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behaviour, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality.

Advertising in the 1950s-1980s often featured a hypermasculine representation of men – and some representations in the media today still continue this.

Gelfer: Changing masculinity in advertising

Joseph Gelfer, a director of masculinity research, suggests that the way masculinity is represented in advertising is changing. Looking at advertising over the last 20 years:

 “Previously, masculinity was mostly presented in one of two ways: either a glamorous James Bond-style masculinity that attracted ‘the ladies’, or a buffoon-style masculinity that was firmly under the wifely thumb. 

Thankfully, and somewhat belatedly, things are beginning to change.” (Gelfer, 2017)

 Gelfer: Five stages of Masculinity

Gelfer suggests there are five stages of masculinity – how people perceive and understand what it means to be a man.

 Stage 1: “unconscious masculinity” – traditional view of men

Stage 2: “conscious masculinity” – as above but deliberate

Stage 3: “critical masculinities” – feminist; socially constructed

Stage 4: “multiple masculinities” – anyone can be anything

Stage 5: “beyond masculinities” – it doesn’t exist 

Gelfer says advertisers need to think about how their target audience views men and masculinity when creating campaigns.

Masculinity in crisis? David Gauntlett

Media theorist David Gauntlett has written extensively on gender and identity. He disagrees with the popular view that masculinity is ‘in crisis’:

“Contemporary masculinity is often said to be 'in crisis'; as women become increasingly assertive and successful… men are said to be anxious and confused about what their role is today.”

Instead, Gauntlett suggests that many modern representations of masculinity are “about men finding a place for themselves in the modern world.” He sees this as a positive thing. (Gauntlett, 2002)

Score hair cream advert: CSP contex

The Score hair cream advert is an historical artefact from 1967. It should be examined by considering its historical, social and cultural contexts, particularly as it relates to gender roles, sexuality and the historical context of advertising techniques.
Context: 1967 can be seen as a period of change in the UK with legislation on (and changing attitudes to) the role of women – and men – in society. Produced in the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality and three years before the 1970 Equal Pay Act, the representation of gender could be read as signalling more anxiety than might first appear. The reference to colonialist values can also be linked to social and cultural contexts of the ending of Empire.

Score hair cream advert

Answer the following questions to ensure you have a comprehensive textual analysis of the Score hair cream advert:

1) What year was the advert produced and why is the historical context important?
1967- its important because it shows how differently it may have been viewed compared to an earlier time due to the new legations and more rights for women. The advert producers may be worried about how it may be received in this feminist- forward starting era. However there is still sexism and products are heavily mainly dominated masculine driven 

2) Analyse the mise-en-scene in the advert how is costume, make-up and placement of models constructed to show male dominance?
Well the women are underneath him and holding him up demonstrating his dominance and how men are of higher status in power. not only that but the fact that there are lots of women holding him up portrays their weaknesses. The women are wearing quite limited, sexualised clothing and unrealistic to show submissiveness. Men are the best and the leaders of the world 
Costume
The costumes of the models display dominance due to the fact that the women have minimal clothing clothing on, meaning that we are able to see a lot of skin, whereas with the man, who is the main interest in the advert, only has his arms showing, which presents this idea of dominance and strength compared to the women as well as any challengers. The worth of women compared to men 

Lighting
The lighting of the set uses key lighting as well as some filler lights to make sure that there aren't any shadows that are visible. This may have been done to highlight body part to make the women look more desirable. This helps reinforce the idea of this advert being heavily heterosexual due to the fact that it is suggesting that if you use this product, you will get beautiful girls, just like this man seemingly has done so.

Actor Positioning
The positioning of the actors assists in displaying the power of the gender roles at this point in history as the women are on the sides of the man in the middle, which already represents power. The women are holding the man up demonstrating how he is has higher status. more powerful and he looks down to women. Bunch of women holding the man up demonstrating their weakness in strength. 

3) The main slogan is: 'Get what you've always wanted'. What does this suggest to the audience and how does it reflect the social and cultural context of 1967?
The slogan suggests that this hair cream is a sort of lust fragrance that attracts women. it really dehumanises women as like an object, that they are just nothing but a pet to "have". society and cultural this time was obvs very sexist and shows womens place in society is to serve the needs of men. they have no achievements.


4) Why is it significant that the advert text says it is "made by men" and that it also contains "Score's famous masculine scent"?  5) What representation of sexuality can be found in the advert?
It can be argued that this advert is perhaps trying too hard to be straight and shies away from being gay whatsoever. This is clear from the body of text at the bottom of the advert which says "Made by Men" which suggests that the producers of this advert are trying to suggest that there were no women in the making of this product, making it 100% for men and therefore 100% straight, which supposedly was a good thing as being homosexual was only legalised in 1967, the same year as this advert was created, therefore invoking the idea that even after it was decriminalised, it still wasn't a good idea to be an open homosexual.

6) How does the advert reflect representations of masculinity in advertising 50 years ago?
That the way to sell products was mainly through sexualising women or women aimed. It would be about how to get girls and demonstrate mens dominance which was ideal to men, and womens submissiveness they liked too.

7) How much do you think things have changed with regards to representations of masculinity in advertising?
I think it has changed to an extent because yes now ads specifically like fragrance ads are like just male based and promoting men through their own hard work etc and have nothing to do with women however a lot of the time it is very sexualised and we do see a sexy women attracted to the frangrece and involving sex.

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'"?
The writer suggest that there is a lack of men being empowered in advertising today, disallowing growing boys to see a variety of role in performing that gender, which could cause wrong or incorrect views in the future.

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

Lynx/Axe have changed their marketing campaigns to make it seem as if men don't jut want to be surrounded by women and instead focues on themselves and their lives. This therefore pdisplays masculinity in a different light as it shows other thing than just being around women.

3) How does campaigner David Brockway, quoted in the article, suggest advertisers "totally reinvent gender constructs"?
Brockaway is suggesting that we need to be living in a world without stereotype as they are harming our youth in their preferences and potentially blocking out other possibilities of opinions and tastes.

4) How have changes in family and society altered how brands are targeting their products?
These changes have forced brands to advertise to appeal to both genders in order to reach thier netire market as not doing so would be a waste or advertising and marketing money.

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?
Desouches suggests that you need to give the audience what they know and what they are used to, before you can explore new ideas as well as myths that haven't perhaps been looked into before. 

Campaign: Why brands need to change

Read this Campaign article on Why brands need to change their approach to marketing masculinity. If the Campaign website is blocked, you can find the text of the article here. Think about how the article relates to our work on gender and advertising then answer the following questions:

1) What are two ways advertising traditionally presented masculinity?

• One for the ladies, James Bond esque style guy
• A buffoon who was under the control of the wife character.

2) What are the two reasons the writer Joseph Gelfer suggests for why this needs to change?

• A traditional take on masculinity is harmful to the wellbeing
• masculinity is constantly changing and brands need a versatile response in order to engage with consumers and stay relevant.

3) What are the five stages of masculinity?

DONE ABOVE

4) Take the Five Stages of Masculinity Personality Inventory testto see what stage of masculinity you are at. Where did it suggest your views are currently? Do you agree with its assessment? You can read more about the five stages of masculinity here.
It was recorded as stage 3

5) What stage of masculinity was the Score advert aiming at in 1967?

Stage 1 of unconscious masculinity

6) Why are the stages of masculinity important for companies and advertisers when targeting an audience?

Stages 1, 3 and arguable 4 can be important for advertisers as they allow the advertisers to construct their demographic and aim their products accordingly, this would obviously allow for more appeal to the product as if that is who their market is then the product should perform well in sales and popularity.