David Gauntlett - Theory of Identity

To what extent do you agree with David Gauntlett's theory of identity in relation to print advertisements in the UK?

David Gauntlett who is a British sociologist, was born March of 1971 and as a media theorist he was also the Professor of Creativity and Design, and Director of Research, at the University of Westminster. 

Whilst, in the past, the media tended to convey singular straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offers us a much more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from which we can pick and mix different ideas.

Although gender categories haven't been shattered, these alternative ideas and images have have at least created a space for diversity of identities.
We have seen various ways in which identification has been perspective over the years. Stereotypes have varied a lot over the past years. In reference to jobs we are experiencing many of what used to be seen as male exclusive jobs are now being rapidly populated by men. An example of this is that as of 2018 all women are allowed to enrol with any role within the military/ armed forces in the UK, including fighting on the front line.

The mass media is a force for change, the traditional view of woman being has wives or low-status workers is no longer in the picture. There are now successful female power icons, people to look up to for young women and children who might not have been there before. This allows us to slowly break created stereotypes.

Comparing two different types of media (adverts) we can see how drastically the way women are presented in the media has changed.

Old Advert
As you can see the whole advert is littered with derogatory language. It is illustrated that a woman's purpose is to be subservient to the man/ husband. Focusing on household tasks Kellogg's selling point is that the cereal gives her the energy to be able to serve the man and look after the house. It also claims to make the woman seem more attractive "The cuter she looks!" further putting pressure on women to look a certain way, this is largely debated at more recent times and this is how adverts could be made in earlier times.



New Advert
This slightly more modern advert (still quite old, just newer), has already changed its approach, being a big brand Kellogg's clearly realised they had to appear as socially acceptable and whereas other brands continued to publish adverts similar to the previous one. Kellogg's quickly understood that it was vital to the brands longevity. We see no reference to derogatory language and the advert is clear of any sexist remarks. There is a female included amidst the other children and it appears to be advertising to everyone, despite gender. The term "Boy!" isn't related to gender and is instead referring to excitement caused by having the product.



In conclusion, I think that  the theory can be applicable in some cases but society is also changing and adapting to new ideas and how things are nowadays.

Lucozade & Gatorade Comparison Essay

Both the Lucozade and Gatorade adverts have a similar concept. However, they portray them differently and we will be using Media Language elements to show the similarities and differences between the two adverts.

Colour has been used very effectively in both adverts. In the Lucozade advert we experience a cool blue and yellow colour scheme. Not only does the cool blue give off a scientific clean aurora, which further makes the reader trust the pseudo 'science' backing the advert. It also links into Brand Identity by using the signature colour of Lucozade. Colour in the Gatorade advert strongly contrasts what we see in the Lucozade advert, we experience an almost completely black and white colour scheme, the whole image is black and white and this connotes the seriousness of the image. Not just the athlete as serious and determined but the brand as well being represented as serious and professional.

Brand Identity use is very subtitle in the sense that the Lucozade bottle is all the brand identity that is needed, there is brand identity connoted in the use of colour as well. Yellow and blue is the key colour scheme for lucozade and therefore it strongly connotes an overall feel of brand identity. The slogan is also very focused on. Its large and one of the first things you see when looking at the advert. The phrase "In a different league" has many references and meanings, anyone who is familiar with Gareth Bale will have know that around the time of the advert Gareth Bale happened to be moving to a different football team (Real Madrid) and the tagline suggests that he is moving to a higher quality team. It also has connotations with just being above and beyond everyone else, this is lucozade's way of showing how they believe that not only is their sports drink the best on the market, it will aid you in performing to the best of your ability and as well better than all of your opposition.

The image used in the advert connotes a strong sense of passion. The passion comes from the image of footballer Gareth Bale, his direct gaze connotes a very serious tone, further emphasised by his chiselled and also has a element of direct address as he is making eye contact the advert feels very personal to you and this may cause it to be more impacting to the viewer. The layout is quite simplistic and gives off a modern and slightly scientific aurora. The white line frames the advert and helps reinforce the scientific effect. In the top right corner we see pseudo science data diagrams, these further give off the connotations of a scientific nature. The reason behind this is that the company wants you to believe that there is scientific backing behind the sports drink and people trust science and would be more inclined to purchase the bottle if they see any evidence of scientific backing.

The use of a sans-serif font makes the advert more impact, with this type of typography we associate a serious message. As apposed to serif font that along with the curled edged and flicks connotes a less serious nature. The boldness and rigid format is much more impacting and due to this the advert carries more weight in the sense that it becomes more trustworthy and reliable. The language used is arguably minimal and due to the format of a very uncluttered simplistic layout it leaves less room for language to be utilised. However, the language of 'scientifically proven' are labelled near the drink. Many people will see this and will be convinced that the drink is superior to other brand competitors, people trust science and when science is brought into the situation many people can be swayed to believing that the drink is much better for you than it actually may be. Although Lucozade makes this claim it does not specify what is actually scientifically proven. Lucozade, which has had issues before with making certain claims that turn out to be not true, they have ended up having to change what they have claimed. They have used that claim because technically they are not claiming anything and they are in full right to use small print to state what they are actually claiming but it immediately has a pseudo science effect on many consumers and can cause them to buy the product.

Gatorade

Media Language elements have been selected and combined to create a mix of science, aspiration and passion.

Colour
The colour of the advert differs a lot from the previous advert, as you can see the majority of the colour is greyscale/ black and white and this is for a specific effect. The colour connotes a strong sense of seriousness. This no-nonsense imagery is complemented by the colour scheme and its further representations of seriousness. The other colours included are only of the products located bottom right, the colour of the brand is also used in areas where they want to draw attention, such as the mention of "experts" & "PRO range"

Brand Identity
B

Image
T

Layout
T

Typography
T

Language
T

The myth of science is signified by:

• The use of high-contrast photography using very low light.
• The use of a cool blue background that matches one of the brand colours.
• The use of scientific-looking pseudo data diagrams on the right-hand side.
• The simple, uncluttered and formal layout, framed by the white key line.
• The explicit claim that something - it is not made clear what - is "scientifically proven".

Aspiration is connoted by:

• The use of language such as "In a different league" .
• The use of a celebrity role model with, as suggested by the data about him in the top right corner, a record of sporting achievement.
• Gareth Bale is posed and lit to emphasise his chisel;ed features and seriousness.

Passion is connoted by:

• The use of "Lucozade Yes" as a slogan.
• The seriousness and direct address of Gareth Bale's pose.

Brand identity is maintained through the use of the complimentary blue and orange colour used in the packaging design and the use (through very small) of the lucozade logo.

Advert Notes

Semiotic Analysis:

Curtis // Colour
Blades // Brand Identity
Is // Image
Likely // Language 
To // Typography
Lose // Layout 

A // Attention
I // Interest
D // Desire
A // Action

Lucozade

Media Language elements have been selected and combined to create a mix of science, aspiration and passion.

The myth of science is signified by:

• The use of high-contrast photography using very low light.
• The use of a cool blue background that matches one of the brand colours.
• The use of scientific-looking pseudo data diagrams on the right-hand side.
• The simple, uncluttered and formal layout, framed by the white key line.
• The explicit claim that something - it is not made clear what - is "scientifically proven".

Aspiration is connoted by:

• The use of language such as "In a different league" .
• The use of a celebrity role model with, as suggested by the data about him in the top right corner, a record of sporting achievement.
• Gareth Bale is posed and lit to emphasise his chiseled features and seriousness.

Passion is connoted by:

• The use of "Lucozade Yes" as a slogan.
• The seriousness and direct address of Gareth Bale's pose.

Brand identity is maintained through the use of the complimentary blue and orange colour used in the packaging design and the use (through very small) of the lucozade logo.

Shelter

Media language elements have been selected and combined to connote humanity, care and realism.

Humanity and care are signified as follows:

• The layout of each poster is dominated by a big close-up of a face to focus on the emotion - particularly anxiety - on each face.
• The main copy, such as "But where will we live?", relates to the individuals depicted, personalising the issues of poverty, debt and rogue landlords.
• The repetition of "We can help across the campaign connotes care.

Realism is connoted by:

• The simple layout.
• The use of plain language in a conversational tone.
• The use of a no-nonsense capitalised sans-serif font (No curly ends).
• The casting of unknown people rather than celebrities.
• The lack of an obvious persuasive technique.

The brand identity is maintained through the use of the shelter house colour (red) and the Shelter logo.

Old Spice

Media language elements have been selected and combined to signify surrealist humour and pleasure.

Surrealist humour is signified through:

• First, by juxtaposition - surreal combinations such as a man who is wearing a beach, a man having a volcano head, and the beach featuring both peril (an attack by Neptune capsizing a boat, a crab menacing a man buried in the sand) and pleasure.
• Second, by using a naturalistic, brightly lit style of media language to depict these events.
• Third, by used of a comically absurd claim in the copy.

Pleasure is signified through the bright and colourful media language and the use of signifiers of pleasure (a woman sunbathes, a fisherman catches a shark, someone discovers a treasure chest in the surf. The pleasure would be conventionally aspirational, as would the us of an attractive ex-American football player, but both are undercut by ludicrous nature of surrealism.

Brand identity is maintained by the use of the Old Spice logo which, in its decorative italic font, contrasts with the no-nonsense sans-serif capitals of the copy, which itself contrasts ironically with the absurd claim the copy makes.