Designed for heavy-duty machine cleaning; launched by Procter & Gamble in 1946.
Quickly became and remains the brand leader in America.
Advertising by D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) highlighted consumer confidence in P&G.
Utilized concurrent print and radio advertising employing the housewife character.
Post-WWII consumer boom led to the development of home technologies, creating demand for products like Tide.
Media Language
Industry Context:
1950s print adverts used more text due to early consumer culture and unfamiliarity with new brands.
Recognizable conventions include:
Z-line and rule of thirds composition.
Bright primary colors connoting positivity.
Sans-serif fonts for headings suggesting informal address.
Comic strip-style imagery for casual communication.
Serif fonts for technical details implying seriousness.
Theoretical Perspectives:
Semiotics - Roland Barthes:
Enigmas and connotations (hearts, gesture codes) suggest love and relationships.
Hyperbole and superlatives emphasize Tide’s superiority.
Representation
Industry Context:
Women were primary consumers targeted in advertising for home products during the post-WWII era.
Stereotypical domestic roles were portrayed with a modern twist for convenience.
Media Language in Representation:
Dress codes reflected 1950s fashion influenced by film stars.
Attire suggested practicality and focus on domestic roles.
Theoretical Perspectives:
Stuart Hall’s Theory of Representation:
Domesticity in adverts reflects shared cultural understandings.
Comic strip style relatable to real life.
David Gauntlett's Theory of Identity:
Women in adverts serve as role models for ideal domesticity.
Audiences
Targeting and Addressing Audiences:
Post-war societal roles of women influenced product marketing.
Target audience: Affluent lower-middle class women.
Supermarkets increased focus on brands and their unique selling points.
Identification with young, newly married women with families (Uses and Gratifications Theory).
Endorsement by Good Housekeeping as an Opinion Leader.
Theoretical Perspectives:
Reception Theory - Stuart Hall:
Indirect and direct address in adverts establishes relationships and imperative messages.
Cultivation Theory - George Gerbner:
Repetition in advertising reinforces key messages, influencing audience ideologies.
Conclusion
The Tide advert of the 1950s encapsulates strategies of targeted advertising, representation of gender roles, and cultivation of brand loyalty through various media languages and theoretical perspectives. It highlights the shift in consumer culture in post-war America and the evolution of advertising techniques.