Tide Print Advert - Media Set Product 1

Tide Print Advert (1950s)

Procter and Gamble

They are an American company who own many multinational goods such as toiletries and detergents they have been running since 1800s and own Tide and other famous brands such as Gillette.

What life was like for women in the 1950s?

In the 1950s, gender roles were important at that time, women had to clean and take care of the children (housewife) while men were at work earning an income for the family. As it was post-war, there was more disposable income with new technological innovation and advertisement on radio and magazines were popular amongst women, therefore most of the advertisement were aimed at women. 

Can you find any similar 1950s adverts what do they have in common?

All adverts in the 1950s also followed the stereotypes of men and women, the housewife would clean and be caring and that's what she enjoys while the husband is out at work or relaxing at home after a long day with his wife taking care of him. The wife is usually wearing a dress and the husband is wearing a suit to signify importance, both conforming to the gender norms in the 50s. The ideology of the 'perfect household'.

Who are D'Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles? What are they famous for?

They are an American advertising company, one of the largest in the world. The company is iconic for creating Coca-Cola Christmas, Skittles, M&Ms and Budweiser adverts which are remembered.

• The audience had a high level of confidence in the company because it was it was a large well-known company and had already been running for over a hundred years, this made them have a lot of power. 
• They didn't just use print advert they also used radio advertisement because when housewives are cleaning the house they listened to the radio at the same time as they were at home all day.
• The purpose of the advert is to make housewives to buy the product. 
  

Mode of address

• The direct address 'No wonder you women', women are being specifically targeted, and 'you' directed at the audience.
• Lexis used is the tagline that is aimed at women, 'Tide has got what women want', which is anchored with the image below. An enigma code, the audience want to know what Tide has got that women want.
• Everyone is using it why aren't you? The tone and lifestyle created is aspirational 'more tide goes into American homes'.

Textual Analysis

• The word 'clean' is highlighted in red and is in bold such as tide, the background colour is white with connotations of cleanliness. Women don't want a husband and their children to be dirty- this could link to the American dream. 
• Action codes- The woman is hugging the box, which means she loves the product. There are two women hanging the washing up, boasting about Tide and picturing what the ideal women look like. There is a washing machine whilst the woman is holding up a sign saying what makes the product special. Most of these activities that women can relate to.
• The perfect housewife - role model for women- perfectionism - ideology. She must be using Tide, wearing makeup, wear heels and nice clothes.
• The colours used include bright red capitalised letters with an exclamation mark, it is the first thing you see of the advert because the Z-line draws audience in. The colour white connotes innocence and purity.
• It is detailed because it makes the audience convinced with all the information that has been given. 
• 'Guaranteed by Good Housekeeping', it is a magazine, women will most likely read this magazine and trust the them, it is given a stamp of approval. 
• The advert is illustrated, common for many adverts at this time.
• The advert includes a z-line layout, first seeing, 'Tide's got what women want!' leading to the audience wanting to see what the statement can be proved, you then see what makes the product so great, the you see a woman hugging the Tide box and more information about it with a statement that the audience should 'Remember!'.