Music Videos: Introduction & BLACKPINK: How You Like That CSP

Our next media topic is Music Video.

We will be studying the industry and audience contexts for this topic and need to cover two CSPs:

BLACKPINK: How You Like That

Arctic Monkeys: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor



We need to study the industry and audience contexts for these products: 

Industry: how music video is produced and marketed and how this has changed over time.
Audience: Target audience and audience pleasures. How music contributes to an audience's sense of identity. Fandom. How the internet has changed the position of the audience.
PLUS: Historical, cultural and social significance of the music videos and the impact of the internet on the music industry.

Music video will appear in Paper 1, Section B of Exam
Section B is only on INDUSTRIES and AUDIENCES and will consist of:

• 1 short answer question
• 2 medium answer questions – one on audience, one on industry
• 1 extended essay style question on one of the media forms we have studied - which is very likely to be Music Video due to the advance information we have from AQA about the Summer 2022 exams.  
• This essay question will require you to make judgements and draw conclusions. 

Music Video: Introduction and History

Music Video Key Conventions

Music videos typically feature movement – often fast paced either in terms of actors, camerawork or editing. Many contain a performance element or narrative. Music videos can also feature visual effects and intertextuality.

Music videos were originally designed as a promotional device to sell the band or artist’s music but have developed over time to become a recognised artform or product in their own right. Modern music videos no longer have the huge budgets of the 1980s and 1990s but digital media means they are now more accessible than ever. Videos such as Psy’s Gangnam Style have received over 3 billion views on YouTube.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is when one media text references another media text – through genre, conventions, mise-en-scene or specific cultural references.

Music videos often use intertextual references – often to classic films but also to television, popular culture, news, videogames or even other music videos.

Music Video History

Originally, music videos were made like mini ‘films’ of the bands performing (e.g. The Beatles, Elvis)

MTV was launched in 1981 as a platform for music videos and the first music channel on television. Programs such as BBC show Top of The Pops also showcased music videos from the charts alongside ‘live’ stage performances. 

In the 1980s and 1990s big budgets were spent on producing innovative and creative music videos such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller that had a film narrative, a well known director and featured intertextuality (horror films)

Music Video in the Digital Age

In 2005 the launch of YouTube changed the way that consumers access and enjoy music video. Now self-promotion is more common.

The rise of new and digital media paved the way for bands such as One Direction ‘manufactured’ by the industry and increasingly promoted through convergence on social media to maximise profits for the record companies.

Problems With Piracy

Piracy became a huge problem for the music industry as they could not keep up with illegal downloading and streaming services where fans shared content for free therefore… The 2000s saw the rise of streaming services with subscriptions such as Spotify, Apple Music, Beats Music and (most recently) Youtube Music. 

New platforms and music apps on smart phones mean that listeners are now becoming one-device consumers and using their phones for all media access. 

Our First Music Video CSP is BLACKPINK - How You Like That.

This 2020 video promoted the lead single from Blackpink’s first Korean-language studio album, The Album. The video, released on 26th June 2020, was premiered on Blackpink's YouTube channel at the same time as the single was released. 

The video broke many YouTube records, including most-watched premiere (1.66 million concurrent viewers), most views within 24 hours for a music video (86 million views) and fastest video to achieve 100, 200 and 600 million views. It was the 3rd most viewed music video of 2020. As of Autumn 2021, the video has had over 1 BILLION views.

K-Pop: Global Phenomenon 

The K-pop genre reflects the global nature of the media and music industries. Over the last 20 years, K-pop has become a cultural sensation as groups like BTS and BLACKPINK enjoyed global success. This has also resulted in Korean culture becoming mainstream in the West.

Audience

BLACKPINK’s Audience: Blinks

BLACKPINK fans are known as ‘Blinks’ and are largely teenage girls and young women. Their fans are worldwide but they are particularly big in the Philippines and Indonesia as well as western countries such as the UK and USA.

From Vogue’s feature on How BLACKPINK became the biggest K-pop girlband on the planet:

Avril, a 16-year-old Blink (Blackpink’s fandom name) from Peru discovered them in 2018. “Everything about them made me become a fan,” she tells Vogue over Twitter. “The way they perform, their iconic songs and choreos, their friendship, even the way they dress. Blackpink were on a whole new level.”

Audience Pleasures

Applying Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory:

• Diversion: Music video conventions – performance, effects, fast pace etc.
• Personal relationships: Fan interaction online through social media is a key element of K-pop’s global success. Fans feel like they ‘know’ the band members.
• Personal identity: K-pop fandom often involves copying the look of band members and seeing their own style reflected on screen.
• Surveillance: Western audiences gain knowledge of Korean music and culture.

Marketing and Promotion to the Audience

The video’s release was preceded by a series of teasers on the band’s social media accounts (including posters, photos focusing on individual band members and videos) and a reality show (24/365 with Blackpink, available on YouTube). 

A “dance performance” video including the choreography for the music video was released in July 2020; by March 2021 this had achieved over 600 million views and was placed in the top 20 videos of the year by Billboard magazine.

Dance performance:

BLACKPINK 24/365 - Behind the scenes of the How You Like It music video shoot:

Industries

BLACKPINK: Manufactured by YG Entertainment

Blackpink was formed in 2016 by Korean entertainment company YG Entertainment and by 2020 was one of the most successful K-Pop bands in the world. As of 2021, the band was the most followed girl group on Spotify and the most-subscribed music group, female act, and Asian act on YouTube.

The Changing Nature of the Music Industry

How You Like That demonstrates the changing nature of the music industry and how important YouTube and social media has become for music artists. 

The way people consume music videos has changed – now phones, tablets and YouTube are the primary ways audiences engage with music videos (known as convergence). It also shows music video has become a media form in its own right, not just a way to sell an album. 

BLACKPINK’s billions of YouTube views also bring in money through advertising. 

Music: A Global Industry

K-pop demonstrates the global nature of the industry with BLACKPINK selling out arenas across the UK and USA as well as in the East. They played Wembley Arena in 2019 as well as huge US music festival Coachella. 

Music Videos: Regulation

With music videos now largely consumed on YouTube, regulating the content of music videos is very difficult. Some UK-based record companies get their music videos rated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The kinds of issues the BBFC considers in classifying music videos include bad language, dangerous behaviour presented as safe, drug misuse, sexual behaviour and nudity, and threatening behaviour and violence.

You can find out more about this process on the BBFC website here.

Introduction to Music Video and BLACKPINK HYLT: Blog tasks

Introduction Q's:

1) What are the key conventions of music video?

2) What is intertextuality?

3) When did music videos first become a major part of the music industry?

4) What launched in 1981 and why were music videos an important part of the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s?

5) How are music videos distributed and watched in the digital age?

BLACKPINK: How You Like That Q's:

Audience

1) What are BLACKPINK fans known as - and what would the demographics / psychographics be for the BLACKPINK audience?

2) What audience pleasures are offered by the music video for How You Like That?

3) Pick out three particular shots, scenes or moments in the video that would particularly appeal to BLACKPINK fans. Why did you choose those moments? 

4) How was the How You Like That music video marketed and promoted to the audience?

5) Why is K-pop a global phenomenon and what has helped it to become so popular?

Industry

1) How were BLACKPINK formed and what records have they broken?

2) What other successful artists have YG Entertainment created? You may need to Google this.

3) How has technology and the internet (known as technological convergence) changed the way audiences consume music videos?

4) How do BLACKPINK and K-pop show that the media and music industries are now global?

5) How are UK-based music videos regulated and what types of content require warnings? 

Extension Tasks (Choose 1/2)

Read this Guardian feature asking whether YouTube is good or bad for the music industry. What is your opinion on this crucial question?

Read this Guardian feature on how videogames are now more important than music videos for breaking new artists. Do you agree videogames are now more influential than music videos?

Read this fantastic Guardian feature on K-Pop in 2025 and its struggles with globalisation and falling between a Korean and a western audience. How do BLACKPINK and our CSP fit into this picture of a struggling industry?

Read this Guardian review of BLACKPINK's album. What does the writer say about the band and songs?

Read this Variety feature on a controversy that offended some global fans of BLACKPINK. What was the problem and how did they respond?

Read this Teen Vogue feature on the music video release of How You Like That. How else did the group promote the release of the song?

Here's another Teen Vogue feature offering a brief history of K-Pop. How did the genre go global? 

Finally, read this excellent Medium blog on the future of the music video in the digital age. Summarise the main points of the blog in 100 words.

Complete for homework if you don't finish it in the lesson - due date on SatchelOne.

Media Assessment 2: Learner Response

Well done on completing your last Media assessment as well as preparing for your next one - the more we practice these kind of questions the more confident we'll be in the exams next year.

The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - that's why we're here! 

Your learner response is as follows:

Create a new blog post called 'Media Assessment 2: Learner Response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Add your score, grade, next step and positive (the question that you are the most proud of) to your assessment tracker, which is in your folder front sheet.

2) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

3) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access this). Write down the mark you achieved for each question:

Q1:
Q2:
Q3:
Q4: 
Q5:
Q6:

Where you didn't achieve full marks, write WHY you think you missed out on the extra marks. Use the indicative content suggestions in the mark scheme to help with this. If you got any media terminology wrong in the assessment you can make a note of it here.

4) Look specifically at question 3 - did you successfully write about both the preferred and oppositional readings? Did your answers match any in the mark scheme? Copy in one answer from the mark scheme that you could have used.

5) Now look at question 4. Write a definition of vertical integration plus the benefits of it listed in the mark scheme to revise this key industry terminology. You may find the blogpost on ownership and control helpful here.

6) Finally, look at your 20-mark essay - question 6. Read this exemplar answer to help give you an idea of what a top-level response looks like. Then, write five points from either the exemplar answer or the mark scheme that you could have used in your answer. This will be excellent revision for a future film industry exam question. 

Your learner response is homework if you don't finish it in the lesson - due date on SatchelOne.

Magazines: Heat CSP

Heat is our second magazine Close Study Product. We need to study the media language and representation of people and groups on the front cover of Heat 21-27 November 2020.

The key notes on Heat are here:

Terminology: Low Brow and High Brow Culture

High Brow: Intellectual, cultured. Aimed at intelligent or educated people. E.g. University Challenge / The Times. 

Low Brow: Lacking culture or intellectual content. Usually aimed at less educated people or seen as a 'guilty pleasure'. E.g. reality TV, celebrity magazines.

General

• From Bauer Media’s website about the brand of Heat: “Heat is the brand that sets popular culture alight and gets people talking. Now a huge multiplatform brand that's unrivalled in the entertainment market, heat is more than just a magazine- it's a radio station, a podcast, an app and has a huge online and social media presence.”
• From the Heat media pack: "In print – we bring readers a truly unique, quality experience. From clever A-list access shoots no other magazine could pull off to celeb news – heat has the celeb contacts to give readers the exclusive every time."
• The magazine also offers shopping and lifestyle tips: "Our all-inclusive approach promises style for everybody, no matter what shape or size, and our team test fashion and beauty products to make sure readers spend their hard-earned pennies wisely. And Life Hacks gives readers down-time inspo by curating the buzziest experiences in travel, food, fitness, wellbeing and homes."

Heat's target audience

• FEMALE/MALE: 90% / 10%
• AVG AGE: 37
• AGE PROFILE: 52% AGED 15/34 (14% 15-24, 37% 25-34)
• SEGMENT: 50% ABC1
• MARITAL STATUS: 57% MARRIED (or living with partner) / 43% single

Source: Heat Media Pack 

Media Language

• Typography/Fonts:  Sans serif fonts to make the magazine feel modern, informal and offering the latest gossip. ‘Posh’ written in serif to make it feel ‘posh’.
• Cover lines: Indirect address favoured by celebrity gossip magazines emphasises the gossip feel. Questions to audience create inclusive, gossipy feel and words like ‘shock new pics’ and ‘Behind closed doors’.
• Name checks/star appeal: the cover is packed with celebrity gossip and the magazine sells itself on having the latest celebrity gossip. Note the stars are given first names only - Heat readers know these celebs already and want to hear the latest.
• Colour scheme: Pink, yellow and red. Bright colours to attract attention – important without a single central image. Gossip magazines tend to be busier and more packed with images to suggest issues that are bursting with different stories. 

Representations

• The people represented on the cover are mostly celebrities and well known actors, reality television stars and music artists. Why?
• Celebrities are presented as important and desirable – but some of the paparazzi photography is designed to make them look like ‘normal’ people.

Social and Cultural Contexts

The features in Heat focus on a few key areas:

• Relationships: normative and subversive as words are used such as ‘secretive’, ‘baby daddy’ and ‘heartache’. Focus is on relationship breakdowns. 
• Shopping: Christmas shopping suggestions on front cover. Heat magazine emphasises High Street shopping recommendations and affordable ways to get the latest looks.
• British TV and music: Most of the images and stories relate to reality TV stars and/or pop stars (or former pop stars). This is an example of intertextuality with Heat regularly references other media products (e.g. ‘I’m A Celeb Exclusive’).
  

Heat Case Study: Blog Tasks

Work through the following tasks and questions to build a detailed case study for Heat - 21-27 November 2020 - our CSP front cover. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on magazines.

Introduction - Heat Media pack

1) Look at the Heat Media Pack. Go to page 2: the Heat mission. Write three things that Heat offers its readers under 'print'.

2) Now go to page 3 of the Media Pack - celebrity focus. What does the page say that Heat offers readers?

3) Now look at page 4 of the Heat Media Pack. What other content does Heat magazine offer its readers aside from celebrity news?

4) Look at page 5. What is Heat magazine's audience profile? Write all the key details of their audience here. 

Media Language

1) How are the cover lines written to make the audience want to buy the magazine? Consider the interest/intrigue they create.

2) What are the connotations of the Heat colour scheme on this particular front cover?

3) How are images used to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. paparazzi images or aspects of mise-en-scene such props, costume, make-up, body position, facial expression etc.)

4) What differences can you find between the use of design and typography between Tatler and Heat? List at least three differences and explain the effect on audiences.

Media Representations

1) What type of celebrities appear on the front cover of Heat? List them here. 

2) How are celebrities represented in Heat? (Positively? Negatively? Reinforcing or challenging stereotypes?)

3) How are women represented on the cover of Heat? Think about both images and cover lines here.

4) How do Heat and Tatler represent social class? What different social classes can you find in the features and celebrities on the cover? (E.g. middle/upper class / working class)

 

Grade 8/9 Extension Tasks

1) How does the front cover engage audiences with possible narratives? Look for stories, cliffhangers, dramatic cover lines etc.

2) What are paparazzi images and why are they crucial to the front cover of Heat? 

3) How does the front cover juxtapose text and images to create contrast and narrative on the front cover of Heat?

4) What do these two magazines suggest about representations of social class in the British media?

Complete for Homework - due date on SatchelOne

Magazines: Tatler CSP

Print magazine Tatler is our first Close Study Product in this unit. We need to study the media language and representation of people, places and groups on the front cover of Tatler (January 2021).

Some of the key notes from the lesson are here:

General

• Tatler is Britain’s oldest magazine (founded in 1901).
• Targeted at upper classes and upper-middle classes.
• Lifestyle magazine with focus on fashion; high society events such as balls and celebrities such as the Royal family and members of the aristocracy (people with inherited wealth, titles and land.)
• There are versions in Russia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
• Over the years, Tatler has remained interested in the lives of the Royal family, but has tried to re-invent itself as more ‘edgy’ and modern in recent years, to try and target a younger audience. 

Watch this trailer for BBC's Posh People - a documentary about Tatler, the oldest magazine in Britain.

 

And here's the first episode of the documentary - Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous:

Media Language

• This refers to how the producers communicate their message to the audience through the media text. 
• Mise-en-scene: what you see - remember CLAMPS (Costume / Lighting / Actors / Make-up / Props / Setting)
• Typography / Fonts: serif title and sans serif cover lines. 
• Words used and their connotations. 
• Colour schemes: usually two or three in a magazine. Sometimes title matches or is juxtaposed with colours elsewhere on the cover.

Representations

• Tend to reflect dominant representations/stereotypes of wealthy upper-class British people on the cover through images and cover lines.
• The cover star is Emma Weymouth (aka Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath) and is a rare black cover star for Tatler. Emma Thynn's father is a Nigerian oil billionaire and her mother is an English socialite (socialite: a person who is well known in fashionable society). This cover star shows Tatler is trying to update its representation of race in the magazine in response to recent cultural changes such as the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Average age of Tatler reader is 41 but the cover tends to focus on celebrities or models who are younger than this (due to dominant ideals of beauty in the Media).
• Cover lines (stories inside) tend to focus on preoccupations of upper classes e.g ‘Inside the new British establishment'; Blond ambition (about Boris Johnson's brother); Off-duty Royal dressing. 

Social and cultural contexts

• The issues that Tatler is concerned with tend to be political but not in a particularly gritty way because the magazine is more interested in fashion, merchandise, beauty and ‘lifestyle’ rather than dealing with news in any depth. Hence references to Boris Johnson's brother and 'the workings of the Westminster web'.
• The preoccupation with parties, private schools, luxury holidays and exclusivity (the ‘Tatler Privilege Club’) assumes a high level of income and an elitist attitude which may alienate or offend people from a different social class. 81% of the readership has an above average income. 44% buy shoes or clothes more than once a month so the cultural context of the magazine could be judged as ‘niche’ (for the few) rather than ‘mainstream’ (for everyone).
• Some of the stories featured in Tatler can be seen as outdated as they are concerned with riding, hunting and shooting which are pursuits generally only enjoyed by upper classes. 

Here's an annotated copy of the cover of Tatler to help you (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access this).

Tatler: Case Study Blog Tasks

Work through the following tasks and questions to build a detailed case study for Tatler issue January 2021 (below). This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on print magazines. First, create a new blogpost called Tatler CSP: Blog Task.

Introduction - Tatler Media Pack

1) Look at the Tatler Media Pack. Go to page 2: How does the editor introduce the magazine?

2) Now go to page 4 of the Media Pack. Focus on the print magazine (NOT tatler.com - the website). List the key demographic details: age, gender %, ABC1 % (social class), HHI (Household Income), % of those living in London and the South East. What do these demographic details suggest about the average Tatler reader?

3) Look at page 6. What do Tatler readers think about fashion? How much do they spend?

4) Go to page 10. What are the special editions of Tatler that run throughout the year? What does this suggest about the Tatler audience? What about the pyschographic audience group that best fits Tatler?


Media Language

1) What different examples of typography can you find on the cover of Tatler? What are the connotations of the serif and sans serif fonts?

2) How do the cover lines appeal to the Tatler target audience?

3) What are the connotations of the Tatler colour scheme on this particular front cover?

4) How is the central image designed to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. the model, the mise-en-scene such as props, costume and make-up, body position, facial expression etc.)

Representations

1) What celebrities or famous people are mentioned on the cover? Why do you think Tatler put them on the cover?

2) What do the cover lines suggest about the lifestyle of rich people in the UK?

3) Looking at the image and cover lines together, what different groups of people are represented on the cover and how are they represented? (E.g. men/women/rich people/race & ethnicity etc.) 

4) Are there any stereotypes being reinforced or subverted? How? Why?

Social and cultural contexts

1) What types of people are NOT featured in Tatler? (Watch the clip above again if you need help with this - the clue is in the title 'Posh People')

2) Tatler runs special issues on holidays, spa breaks, cosmetic surgery, watches and jewellery and private schools. What does this suggest about the magazine's representation of life in Britain? 

3) What audience groups might be offended or insulted by the front cover of Tatler? 

4) Find three other front covers for Tatler from different months. What issues, subjects or people are regularly featured in Tatler?


Grade 8/9 Extension Tasks

As an extension, you may want to watch the documentary about Tatler linked above to find out more on the social and cultural contexts for the magazine. Then, think about or write answers to these questions:

1) What would be the preferred and oppositional readings to this cover of Tatler?

2) Are there any misrepresentations or under-representations of certain groups? What might this suggest about the target audience?

3) How does the front cover engage audiences with possible narratives? Look for stories, cliffhangers, dramatic cover lines etc.

4) Read this Guardian article on the BBC documentary about Tatler called Posh People. What does the article suggest about the people who produce and read Tatler?

Complete for homework - due date on SatchelOne.

Advertising CSP 3: Represent NHS Blood campaign

Our final close-study product for Advertising and Marketing is the NHS Blood and Transplant online campaign video 'Represent' featuring Lady Leshurr.

This product provides an excellent opportunity to explore a range of different representations: ethnicity, masculinity, femininity, class, age, disability and ability and place. It's also a different type of advert as it's not promoting a product but instead is a campaign designed to influence the audience's behaviour.

Sample Questions for Advertising and Marketing

In your Media exams, you are likely to get questions similar to these:

1) Why do advertisers use stereotypes? [6 marks]

2) Explain how advertisements reflect the social and cultural contexts in which they were created. [12 marks]

Think about how you might answer those questions based on the CSPs we have studied.

Advertising Campaigns

Some adverts are produced in a series as a campaign. An advertising campaign is a series of advertisements that share a singular theme, message or idea. These are used to raise awareness of an issue or of the brand itself. The best campaigns have an emotional impact on audiences.

An advertising campaign will usually appear across multiple media platforms - print, broadcast and online.

Represent: Background Information

Lady Leshurr is an English rapper, singer and producer. She is famous for her freestyling rap style and has her own clothing line. 

This is the advert CSP:

This is a 'making of' video about how the Represent video was made:

The two articles we read in the lesson provide details on the campaign and how it was developed. This also gives information on why blood from people with a BAME background is so vital. 

GLOW words to use in connection to this campaign

• Literal – the actual, obvious meaning 
• Semiotics - the message behind what you see (hidden messages)
• Reinforce stereotype – when a representation is what we expect
• Challenge/subvert stereotype - When a representation goes against what we normally see in the media
• Mass - A mass audience is made up of a large group of people (men, women, children, elderly)
• Niche - A niche audience is a small subset with very unique interests or characteristics 

Codes and Conventions of Urban Music Videos

• There are many low-angled, close up shots in hip hop videos, to imply the artists’ power over their audience. The low angle gives them the power, because they look down on the audience and the close up gives status because it implies they’re important enough to have a frame to themselves.
• Sections of direct contact with the camera (the artist usually spends a lot of time looking straight into the camera as if to talk or have a conversation with the audience and relate to them)
• Props regarding costume tend to be used, for e.g. gold jewellery (male rap artists are commonly known to wear heavy chains or prominent rings)
• Show a clear display of emotions – if the tone of the song is angry, the artist is likely to present this through their gestures and facial expressions.
• Strong editing cuts between concept / performance and narrative.

Represent NHS Blood & Transplant campaign: Blog tasks

Work through the tasks in this blogpost to make sure you're an expert on this CSP.

1) What is an advertising campaign?

2) What is the objective of the NHS Represent campaign? 

3) What does this advert want people to do once they've seen it (the 'call to action')? 

4) Why is the advert called 'Represent'? 

5) Why have the producers chosen celebrities to feature in the advert? Give an example of three well-known people who appear in the advert and why they are famous - make sure you write their names and spell them accurately.

6) What are the connotations of the slow-paced long shot of empty chairs at the end of the advert?

7) How does the advert match the key conventions of a typical urban music video?

8) How does the advert subvert stereotypes? Give three examples (e.g. ethnicity, masculinity, femininity, age, class, disability/ability etc.) 

9) How does the advert reinforce certain stereotypes? Could there be an oppositional reading where some audiences would find this advert offensive or reinforcing negative stereotypes?

10) Choose one key moment from the advert and write an analysis of the connotations of camera shots and mise-en-scene (CLAMPS).


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

1) Read this MOBO press release about the "B Positive" campaign - the follow-up to the Represent advert. How does it aim to build on the success of the Represent campaign?

2) How is celebrity endorsement or star power used to make the campaign stand out?

3) Research the following stars in more detail: Lady Leshurr, Ade Adepitan, Kanya King. Why are they famous? How do they help the campaign reach different segments of their niche audience?

4) How does the advert use genre and intertextuality to appeal to the target audience? You may need to research these key terms first in order to answer this question.

You will have lesson time to answer these questions but will need to complete for homework - due date on SatchelOne. 

Advertising CSP 2: Audrey Hepburn Galaxy Advert

Our second close-study product for Advertising and Marketing is the 2016 Galaxy chocolate advert 'Chauffeur' featuring a CGI version of Hollywood film star Audrey Hepburn.

This product provides an excellent opportunity to explore a range of different representations: celebrity, place (Italy), gender and more. 

Galaxy Advert: Background Information

This is the advert CSP:

You can read more about the incredible CGI technology that went into creating the advert here. There is also a Guardian feature from the production company behind the advert explaining the technical process. 

GLOW words to use for this CSP

• Intertextuality: When one media text refers to or suggests another media text
• Semiotic codes: The media language choices (‘signs’) that create connotations for the audience.

Historical context of confectionary advertising

Nostalgia, or a "yearning for yesterday," is a frequently used advertising tool.  It is particularly common in the chocolate industry.

This classic Flake advert from the 1980s creates a nostalgic atmosphere of a more innocent time: 

Galaxy brand identity

The Galaxy brand identity has focused on luxury and indulgence for over 25 years. This 1995 advert is a good example of the Galaxy brand and also features a nostalgic soundtrack:



Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn was a huge Hollywood star in the 1950s and 1960s. She was associated with Hollywood glamour and style and was also a fashion icon and model. She died in 1993 at the age of 63.

For the Galaxy advert, the advertising agency used a CGI-version of Hepburn from 1953, the year of her hit film Roman Holiday. The advert is set on the luxurious Italian Riviera which creates intertextuality and nostalgia – two key audience pleasures.

Intertextuality in Media Products

Intertextuality is where one media product (e.g. Galaxy) makes reference to other media products (e.g. Audrey Hepburn movies such as 1953 film Roman Holiday) to interest and engage the audience.

Narrative theories

We also need to learn narrative theories in GCSE Media Studies and the Galaxy advert is an ideal time to learn these. Narrative theories help us understand how media texts are constructed to engage an audience and keep them watching or reading until the end.

Propp’s  Character theory

Vladimir Propp stated that there were seven basic character functions when he analysed 100 fairy tales and that these were present in most narratives. Media products still use these recognisable character types today:

Hero, Villain, Heroine/Princess, Father, Donor, Helper/Sidekick, False Hero

Todorov: Equilibrium

Todorov suggested that all narratives follow a three part structure.

They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when a new equilibrium is restored.

Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > New equilibrium

This can be applied to most media narratives.

Galaxy Advert: Representations

The TV advertisement for Galaxy uses a range of stereotypes. Stereotypes are used so that information can be quickly communicated to the target audience. What stereotypes are used in this advert and why? Are they reinforced or subverted?

Place: Italy

Celebrity: Audrey Hepburn

Product: Galaxy chocolate

Time: 1950s

Gender: Men & Women

Galaxy 'Chauffeur' Advert: Blog Tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Galaxy Advert CSP' and then work through the following tasks to make sure you're an expert on this CSP. 

Re-watch the Galaxy advert above then answer the questions below:

1) What key conventions of TV advertising can you find in the Galaxy advert?

2) What is the key message the Galaxy advert is communicating about its chocolate? The slogan for the advert will help you with this question.

3) Who is Audrey Hepburn and why did Galaxy select Audrey Hepburn for this advert? 

4) In your own words, what is intertextuality?

5) What Audrey Hepburn films are referred to in this advert and how is this effect created (e.g. mise-en-scene - CLAMPS: costume, lighting, actors, make-up, props, setting)?

6) Which of Propp's character types are can be found in the advert and how do they change? (Note: just choose two or three character types that are definitely used in the advert - it does not use all seven). 

7) How does the advert's narrative (story) follow Todorov's theory of equilibrium?

8) What representation of celebrity can be found in this advert? Think about how Audrey Hepburn is presented. 

9) What representations of gender can you find in this advert?

10) How are stereotypes subverted at the end of the Galaxy advert to reflect modern social and cultural contexts? 

Grade 8/9 Extension Tasks

Read the Framestore case study and the Guardian feature again. How did they recreate an Audrey Hepburn film using location, casting and CGI?

Now read this Vintage Everyday feature behind the scenes of the Galaxy advert. What other background information do you learn here regarding the construction of the advert?

Women in the 1950s are represented very differently in two of our advertising CSPs: OMO and Galaxy. What similarities and differences can you find by analysing the two products?

Due date for this work on SatchelOne.

Advertising CSP 1: OMO Print Advert

The first close-study product for Advertising and Marketing is the 1955 advert for OMO washing powder that appeared in Woman's Own magazine.

This product provides an excellent opportunity to analyse the changing representation of women in advertising over the last 60 years.

Sample questions for Advertising and Marketing

In your Media exams, you are likely to get questions similar to these:

- Why do advertisers use stereotypes? [6 marks]

- Explain how advertisements reflect the historical context in which they were created. [12 marks]

OMO Advert CSP (1955)

OMO was a popular washing powder brand in the 1950s. This advert was from 1955 and needs to be studied both in terms of historical context and how it would be received today.

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.

Annotations

In the lesson, you'll have a chance to annotate your own copy of the OMO advert and make notes of the key conventions and what they communicate to the audience.

Here are some of the questions we discussed when we annotated our copy of the advert in class:

And here's an image of an annotated advert from the lesson on OMO - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access this.

OMO Advert: Blog Tasks

Create a blogpost called 'OMO Advert CSP Blog Tasks' and work through the following tasks: 

1) What year was the advert produced?

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.

3) How does the heading message ('OMO makes whites bright') and the style of the text promote the product?

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?

5) Why is a picture of the product added to the bottom right of the advert?

6) What are the connotations of the chosen colours in this advert - red, white and blue?

7) How does the anchorage text use persuasive language to encourage the audience to buy the product? Give examples.

8) What representation of women can be found in this OMO advert? Make specific reference to the advert and discuss stereotypes.

9) What is the preferred reading for this advert - what did the producers of the advert want the audience to think in 1955?

10) What is the oppositional reading for this advert - How might a modern audience respond to this text and the representation of women here?

Grade 8/9 Extension Questions

1) How much do you think things have changed over the last 60 years with regards to representations of women in advertising? Give examples from a variety of adverts

2) How is the aftermath of World War Two reflected in the Omo advert? Why did many adverts in the 1950s strongly reinforce the stereotype of women as mothers and housewives?

3) Read this Guardian feature on possible law changes with regards to gender representations in advertising. Do you agree with this approach?

4) Now read this Guardian feature entitled 'Mad Men and invisible women'. Why does it suggest the advertising industry has 'failed to move on'? Do you agree? Read some of the comments below the article to get a range of differing views on this topic.

You will have some lesson time to answer these questions but will need to complete for homework - due date on SatchelOne.