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 context

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.

Blog task: Score advert and wider reading

Complete the following tasks and wider reading on the Score hair cream advert and masculinity in advertising.

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?

Produced in 1967 - This advert was produced in the year that homosexuality was decriminalised and three years before the Equal Pay Act was initiated

2) Analyse the mise-en-scene in the advert how is costume, make-up and placement of models constructed to show male dominance?

We can see that the man is the one who is at the top and above women that also seem as though they are lifting him up and the man is the one who appears to be smiling the most. We see that his masculine features are put in the frame clearly e.g his arms

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 advert was produced in the year when homosexuality was decriminalised and also three years before equal pay rights. 

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”?

It is significant because the fact that the fear of homosexuality was still somewhat alive, Score want to let their audience know that it is for the ‘real men'

5) What representation of sexuality can be found in the advert?

We could probably infer that the representation of sexuality was that most men would still be straight, we can see this through the way the women are standing around the man 

6) How does the advert reflect representations of masculinity in advertising 50 years ago?

We see that the representations of men being at the top and that they are the most masculine and 50 years ago when homosexuality did start becoming legal, they still had negative ideas and so the advert reflects the way they represent the ‘real man’ and not a stereotypical gay man

7) How much do you think things have changed with regards to representations of masculinity in advertising?

I think that most adverts today we can still see the male being the dominant figure and the female being there to satisfy his needs, females still appear to be sexualised in many adverts to this day

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?

Men are craving a more diverse definition of what it means to be a ‘successful’ man in 2016, and to relieve the unrelenting pressure on them to conform to suffocating, old paradigms

3) How does campaigner David Brockway, quoted in the article, suggest advertisers "totally reinvent gender constructs”?

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?

As Miller says, the definition of “family” in places like Britain is profoundly changing – but advertising is not helping to normalise different scenarios by largely failing to portray this new normal.

Joey Whincup, insight director at Creative Race, agrees that success comes down to better research and she’s witnessing a slow but growing shift towards targeting consumers on more than the usual ‘ABC1 male’ demographics. Quite a few brands still segment like this, but others are seeking “a true understanding of their target consumer; who they really are, their beliefs, their attitudes, where they are now, where they want to be in future. “These brands are not just governed by the jobs men do or their age”.

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 says. “This is just the beginning. The slap in the face to say ‘this is masculinity’. All these guys [in the ad] are attractive. Now we have our platform and our point of view, we can break the man-bullshit and show it doesn’t matter who you want to be, just express yourself and we will support that.

“What being a man means, and what ‘success’ means, is changing and this change is for the good. The message hasn’t exploded yet but we will make it explode. We will democratise it.”

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?

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

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

Two equally important reasons: one altruistic, the other self-serving. The altruistic reason is that traditional masculinity causes problems, whether it be its impact on men’s wellbeing or on women and their equal representation in society. All brands need to do their part in making the world a better place, so looking at masculinity can really be seen as part of corporate social responsibility efforts. The self-serving reason is that masculinity is constantly shifting and brands need an equally agile response in order to engage with consumers and remain relevant and competitive. By repeating tired clichés or offering alternatives of only limited imagination, brands are in danger of failing on both these fronts.

3) What are the five stages of masculinity?

Stage 1 is defined as "unconscious masculinity", which means that traditional masculinity has been adopted by someone without them even thinking about it. People at Stage 1 are living their lives according to what they perceive to be "common sense" or "intuition" and do not actively address masculinity, perhaps because they are too busy surviving, or just don’t have the required critical thinking skills.

Stage 2 is defined as "conscious masculinity", which means that traditional masculinity has been consciously adopted by someone. People at Stage 2 look to various "proofs" of masculinity, such as historical evidence, biological determinism or even holy books.

Stage 3 is defined as "critical masculinities" and is largely aligned with feminist thought. People at Stage 3 are aware that society is often patriarchal and homophobic and want to counter these problems. They also tend to believe that masculinity is not biologically determined, rather socially constructed.

Stage 4 is defined as "multiple masculinities" and suggests that masculinity can mean anything to anyone. People at Stage 4 share many of the concerns of those at Stage 3, but they are less burdened by guilt from the problems caused by masculinity, and focus more on the freedom to be who they want to be.

Stage 5 is defined as "beyond masculinities" and proposes the simple truth that masculinity does not exist. People at Stage 5 understand how masculinity operates at the other stages, but ultimately believe it to be an illusion that society has created to keep people in line.

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

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