Tide advert analysis 2023

Context (courtesy of the exam board)

• Designed specifically for heavy-duty, machine cleaning, Procter & Gamble launched Tide in 1946 and it quickly became the brand leader in America, a position it maintains today.
• The D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B)advertising agency handled P&G’s accounts throughout the 1950s. Its campaigns for Tide referred explicitly to P&G because their market research showed that consumers had high levels of confidence in the company.
• Uniquely, DMB&B used print and radio advertising campaigns concurrently in order to quickly build audience familiarity with the brand. Both media forms used the “housewife” character and the ideology that its customers “loved” and “adored” Tide.

U block

•  The advert uses a significant amount of red, which functions as a symbolic code, and suggests love. 
• This is further anchored through  the striking MES of the housewife literally hugging the box of tide in a passionate embrace. This is further emphasised through the model’s facial expression, as she gazes lovingly into the ‘eyes’ of the box of tide. 
• The selection of font is red, bold, and sans serif, which connotes both love and passion. Furthermore, the headline ‘Tide’s got what women want!’ appears to have been directly painted on the advert, which connotes both a homemade quality and authenticity, which contradicts the mass produced nature of the product
• The selection of the colours red, white and blue corresponds to the rule of three, which is more striking and emphatic than using too many colours. However, red, white and blue has symbolic connotations of America, patriotism, and nationalism. By evoking patriotic ideologies, the advert is able to target a patriotic audience
• The target audience for this advert is a housewife, (an unpaid labourer), female, American, white, and lower middle class. 
• A simple lifestyle is encoded through the simple clothing and the relatable and straightforward acts of hanging up the washing. However, the MES of smiling, delighted women reinforces the ideology that all women love to clean. This highly highly stereotypical mode of address reinforces a sexist ideology towards women. However, at the time in which this advert was made, this sexist ideology would be more dominant and more widely accepted
• In the Tide advert, women are solely represented in one way: as housewives who can only do housework. While we only see women clean, we also do not see any men help, or even any examples of women talking about anything that isn’t cleaning. Additionally, in the comic book style dialogue insert, the conversation between two almost identical women makes explicit reference to proctor and gamble, which emphasises an unnatural obsession with the product

R block

• The expression of the model connotes both happiness and passion, which is reinforced through the MES of the colour red which dominates this advert. Red has symbolic connotations of love, passion, and sex, which is repeated throughout the advert. Therefore, an exciting and dramatic lifestyle is sold to the target audience.
• The advert resembles the poster for a romance film. And therefore targets a predominantly female audience, which helps to maximise success
• The graphics of the love hearts emerging from the housewife’s head demonstrates a genuine love and connection for the product, and re emphasises the romantic themes of this advert
• The sans serif font used throughout the advert is simple, straightforward and to the point. Clearly the advert is directly targeting working class women. This is reinforce through the MES of the housewife completing her own washing rather than a maid
• The Z line rule is used extensively in this advert, to clearly present the advert to the target audience
• The main heading, ‘Tide’s got what women want’ uses a pushy mode of address, and not only targets a stereotype of a housewife, but also represents women as stereotypical. Between the 1950s and now, many ideological changes have happened, and such a viewpoint is now seen as sexist. However, in 1950s America, this would be seen as the dominant ideology 
• The colours red white and blue and perhaps symbolic of the American flag. It constructs a patriotic ideology, and appeals to a patriotic audience, and infers that it is the best in the country 
• The font used looks like it has been painted on with a brush, which may suggests a friendly and informal mode of address. However, it can also connote messiness (and therefore being cleaned), a sudden thought, a homemade aesthetic, and a sense of permanence. This highly polysemic approach leaves the interpretation to the audience, while at the same time leaving it clear that we (women) should buy the product 
• ‘What women want’ is alliterative, and presents an attractive wordplay to the audience