Introduction to Advertising

1) How does the Marmite Gene Project advert use narrative? Apply some narrative theories here.

Todorovs theory: advert starts off with the 'dilemma'/cliffhanger, people finding out if they are a lover or a hater of Marmite. Once the results are revealed, they enter the disequilibrium- you can see how many of them are distorted to the idea pf being a 'lover/hater' and some are seen arguing. In particular, the Dad and son are seen to reach a new equilibrium as the father becomes "accepting" of his child being a lover. 

Barthes: the advert contains many enigma codes for majority of the families- what happens after the ad finishes.

Propps; Marmite can be seen as a hero and a villain according to lover/hater

2) What persuasive techniques are used by the Marmite advert?

The advert uses many common scenarios(real life metaphors) which are relatable to peoples lives- son coming out to a parent, finding out your partner has been "cheating" or realising you're not biologically related. Also, the rhetorical question at the end, lures the audiences to see if they are a lover/hater as it became a sensation, like a trend. It creates a community.

3) Focusing specifically on the Media Magazine article, what does John Berger suggest about advertising in ‘Ways of Seeing’?

"All publicity works on anxiety" Ways of Seeing (1972). Publicity is about the future and advertisement works on creating a dissatisfied version in the present of that person. It offers someone made glamorous due to the product.

4) What is it psychologists refer to as referencing? Which persuasive techniques could you link this idea to?

The producers create lifestyles that appeal to the consumers, they creative idealised lifestyles. You could link testimonial/association showing how celebrities live and that they use the specific product and expert opinion.

5) How has Marmite marketing used intertextuality? Which of the persuasive techniques we’ve learned can this be linked to?

Marmite adverts used Paddington Bear which would be nostalgic to older people who would be the ones to do the grocery shopping. The advert showed him changing Marmalade sandwiches, which he has been eating for 50 years, for Marmite sandwiches. This showed "if Paddington could change, then so could anyone", Cheryl Calverley, marketing manager, on BBC news. 

6) What is the difference between popular culture and high culture? How does Marmite play on this?

As there product would be consumed by The Royal Family, this got used to promote the products. The poster changed things to make it look more like the crest. The crown was replaced by the Marmite jar and breadsticks, the lions were replaced by the Queens corgi's, and the motto "One either loves it or hates it" was related to the Queens speech.

7) Why does Marmite position the audience as ‘enlightened, superior, knowing insiders’?

The audiences understand the conventions of the advertisements and are aware that they are being exploited, this makes them feel superior and makes them feel that their status gets elevated. This makes then makes them become promotional agents and they then spread the word-of-mouth. 

8) What examples does the writer provide of why Marmite advertising is a good example of postmodernism?

With all the intertextual references, the type of advertising and the techniques used (mentioned above), it creates popularity and discussion between audience. This makes there product relatable to audiences. They ways they advertise have also changed with time, being more relevant to movements and relatable to modern day audiences.

MIGRAIN index

 

1) Introduction to Media: 10 questions

2) Semiotics blog tasks - English analysis and Icon, Index, Symbol

3) Language: Reading an image - media codes

4) Media consumption audit

5) Reception theory - advert analyses

6) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions

7) Narrative: Factsheet questions

8) Audience: classification - psychographics presentation notes

9) October assessment learner response

10) Audience theory 1 - Hypodermic needle/Two-step flow/U&G

11) Audience theory 2 - The effects debate - Bandura, Cohen 

12) Industries: Ownership and Control

13) Industries: Hesmondhalgh - The Cultural Industries

14) Industries: Public Service Broadcasting

15) Industries: Regulation

16) Representation: Introduction to Representation

17) Representation: Feminism - Everyday Sexism & Fourth Wave MM article

18) January assessment learner response

19) Representation: Feminist theory

20) Representing ourselves: Identity in the online age - MM article & Factsheet

21) Ideology: BBC Question Time analysis and MM articles

Ideology

 Part 1: BBC Question Time analysis

Watch this clip from BBC Question Time with Russell Brand and Nigel Farage. The BBC deliberately placed the two against each other and the episode resulted in far more people than usual watching and reacting on social media.

1) What examples of binary opposition can you suggest from watching this clip?

Capitalism vs Libertarianism

Rich vs Poor 

2) What ideologies are on display in this clip?

 Liberationist ideologies that working class citizens are being hit the hardest and people should help them.

Part 2: Media Magazine reading

Page 34: The World Of Mockingjay: Ideology, Dystopia And Propaganda

1) Read the article and summarise it in one sentence.

Marxist theories can be applied to this as the upper class rule and dominate the lives of the working class, and those with that power control ideas and resources, the President keeps them in line by spreading fear using propaganda and the media.

2) What view of capitalist ideology is presented in the Hunger Games films?

That the upper class are in control of all the money and resources, and dictate the working class who have to work for it.

3) What do the Hunger Games films suggest about the power of the media to shape and influence ideological beliefs?

The media use propaganda to drive fear into the people and to maintain power and control. 

Page 48: They Live - Understanding Ideology

1) What are the four accepted ideological beliefs in western societies highlighted by the article?

• Money = Happiness
• Consumer goods = Fulfilment
• Marriage/Family/Children = Happiness
• Obedience/Work = Fulfilment

2) What does Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggest about power and ideology in society?

Hegemony is a way in which people with power maintain and control it through consent rather than force. He argues that the power of ideology comes from ideas and structures which serve and support the elite to rule with ideas rather than militaristic strength and fear.

3) What does French theorist Louis Althusser suggest about ideology and consumerism?

That we should buy more goods and consume as much as you can, and that material wealth makes us happy.

4) Do YOU agree with the idea behind They Live - that we are unthinkingly controlled by the media which is run in the interests of the economic elite? These are the big questions of A Level Media!

I partially agree that we are unthinkingly controlled by the media and that this definitely is done to run in the interest of the economic elite. This is because many people passively consume the media, taking in things which have no significance to them, this allows companies to make profit as these passive audiences constantly use their products. However, there are audiences who are active and pick and choose what they want to see, also challenging what the see.

Collective identity and representing ourselves

 MM41 - page 6

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

We have complex ideas about our selves. There is a difference between what we think we are like and how we would like to be seen.

Our identity was based on our roles in society e.g. class, and that our self-image was based on our success, and that external images were a reflection of the individuals internalising in society.

People could and were encouraged to adopt identities  and that consumer were based to convince their audiences with what they wanted, satisfying the audiences (Blumler and Katz: Uses and Gratifications theory).

People starting to think as themselves as individuals and to express themselves in a unique and different way and products helped formed their identity. 

In the 70's and 80's it became aware that branding was associated with personality and that people buy products that describe their self-identity.

Through the internet and the creation of avatars, we now have control over our public image.

2) List three brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

• Nike
• Coca Cola
• McDonald's

I am happy to be associated with Nike as I like the shoes/clothing that they design and due to the fact that I like playing sports, I love drinking Coca Cola and eating McDonald's as I love my food.

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

In my opinion, most people are materialistic and are unconscious and ignorant to some extent about their surrounding. They lack common knowledge etc. and are too focused on their appearance and what others think of them, that they create and construct a different version of themselves to the real them.

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' suggest that media pictures and images dominate and distort the way we look at the world. The images are used to reflect reality, but in reality they have no reflection of the real event. These images then get sent around the world to people to show them what 'is happening'.

5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

I don't have any social media pages where I post images.


6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

In my opinion, I think that 'data mining' breaches the privacy of media consumers, so should not be done. I don't think they should sell us products based on our social media presence as this invades our privacy and makes us feel like whatever we do, we are being watched at. This makes people feel insecure when using social media etc. 

Now read the cartoon in MM62 (p36) that summarises David Gauntlett’s theories of identity. Write five simple bullet points summarising what you have learned from the cartoon about Gauntlett's theories of identity.

• In his book 'Gender and identity' (2nd edition - 2008), he suggests an overview of representations in the media that help promote the view that audiences use the media to construct their identity.
• He argues that mass media now offer a much more diverse range of representation then before, which allows audiences to "pick and mix" and audiences actively process the messages put across by media texts regarding lifestyle and self-identity.
• Audiences enjoy products due to the pleasure they provide and also create fandoms.
• He looked at Mulvey's male gaze and Giddens concept of structuralisation, which is influential but 'rested on a monolithic view of male and female roles'.
• He argues that identity is fluid. 

Media Factsheet #72

1) What is collective identity? Write your own definition in as close to 50 words as possible.

Based around a collection of individuals who share a set of traditions, value, culture, belief's and understandings of the world around. This is generalised to those specific type of people. 

2) Complete the task on the factsheet (page 1) - write a list of as many things as you can think of that represent Britain. What do they have in common? Have you represented the whole of Britain or just one aspect/viewpoint?

• Tea & Biscuits
• Fry up
• Fish & Chips
• Chicken Tikka 
• Armed Forces
• Monarchy
• EastEnders
• The BBC
• Old People
• Capitalism 

They are all stereotype associate with the British. I've covered as much of the British population as possible that I can think of.

3) How does James May's Top Toys offer a nostalgic representation of Britain?

The show is about toys from the 80's/90's which appeal to audiences who are 30+ and males, which they would've played with as children. It shows how new generations play with much different toys than kids used to.

4) How has new technology changed collective identity?

It has enabled people to actively engage with the content and the culture around them and use it to create their own products e.g. parodies, using YouTube to create content etc.

5) What phrase does David Gauntlett (2008) use to describe this new focus on identity? 

'The make and connect agenda'

6) How does the Shaun of the Dead Facebook group provide an example of Henry Jenkins' theory of interpretive communities online?

Jenkins (2006) argues that the boundary between texts and and reader has broken down, not in the way that the readers construct texts but in the growth of fan culture. In the 'Shaun of the Dead"  Facebook group this can be seen through how they have learnt things form the film and create their community and talk about their experiences and things from the film.