1) What year was the advert produced?
- This advert was from 1955
2) How were women represented in most adverts in the 1950s? Add as much detail to this answer as you can as these are the social, cultural and historical contexts we will need to write about in the exam.
- In 1955, British society was still adjusting after World War Two in which women took on many traditionally male jobs with men off fighting. This led to advertising in the 1950s often trying to reinforce traditional female stereotypes of housewives and mothers in order to protect male power both at work and at home.
3) How does the heading message ('OMO makes whites bright') and the style of the text promote the product?
- The bold heading and text style emphasize the product's importance, while the background design depicts an explosion effect, as a pull factor, highlighting the product's effectiveness, interesting the audience.
4) Analyse the mise-en-scene in the advert (CLAMPS): how is costume, make-up and placement of the model used to suggest women's role in society?
- The woman in the ad wears casual work clothes, implying she might be working from home. Her happy expression suggests she enjoys washing clothes. The bright lighting highlights the product's brightness, and her makeup suggests the importance of appearance even at home. Positioned centrally and holding a bright towel, she symbolizes the product's effectiveness. This reinforces traditional gender roles, suggesting women handle household chores.
5) Why is a picture of the product added to the bottom right of the advert?
- In the bottom right corner of the advertisement, the product is included to show the viewers what it looks like in order to find it in stores.
6) What are the connotations of the chosen colours in this advert - red, white and blue?
- Red is a strong, sharp colour, drawing in the consumer and blue is a clean and sleek colour reinforcing the cleanliness and efficiency for OMO product.
7) How does the anchorage text use persuasive language to encourage the audience to buy the product? Give examples.
- The persuasive Anchorage text uses bold language, like "This'll shake you, Mother," to sell the product. It focuses on generations of housewives and addresses mothers, who usually give advice to their daughters about products. Surprisingly, the ad shows daughters recommending the product to their mothers for its effectiveness. The repetition of "bright" and "white" highlights its features.
8) What representation of women can be found in this OMO advert? Make specific reference to the advert and discuss stereotypes.
- In the advertisement, women are depicted as enjoying domestic duties, as evidenced by the woman's cheerful expression devoid of stress. She appears pleasantly surprised, and the presence of makeup suggests an unnecessary emphasis on appearance for home tasks.
9) What is the preferred reading for this advert - what did the producers of the advert want the audience to think in 1955?
- The preferred reading for this advert made in 1955 is women to think that cleaning/domestic work is exciting and fun. This is used as an attempt to get women back into working for domestic jobs while men take back their jobs after the war since women were made to take up those jobs while the men were absent.
10) What is the oppositional reading for this advert - how might a modern audience respond to this text and the representation of women here?
- Poeple may respond to this text negatively, seeing it as sexist, reinforcing the stereotype that women should only work domestic jobs and men shouldnt.
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