OMO advert analysis

 OMO print advert

1) What year was the advert produced?

- It was produced in 1955

2)  How were women represented in most adverts in the 1950s?

- Women were mostly presented as housewives, they were shown to always be cleaning, cooking, washing etc.

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

- This was a technique used to promote their products to customers, so more people would buy from them. The word "bright" to people indicates freshness, cleanliness etc. So people would go towards a brand that supposedly is making their clothes "brighter".

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?

-The woman is dressed in a very old fashion ways, as this was normal in the 1950s.

- She has red lipstick, which was common for producers to use on women in their adverts. Mainly to signal femininity in a woman and sometimes lust.

- The woman has her back to the camera "hanging up" the washed clothes and has a shocked look on her face trying to indicate to audience shes surprised that the product worked so well. 

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

- This is called product image, it's used to show to the audience what the product look like .

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

- These all are prime colours, main colours. They are eye catching and appeal to people, this is to mostly indicate to people certain things. For example white is used, to imply freshness and cleanliness, it illustrates how clean the washing up detergent makes the clothes. The background is blue, indicating the sky. People can understand that the washed clothes are hung up outside. 

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

- The anchorage is a conversation between a daughter and a mother, they talk about how good the OMO product is to promote it to the public. In bold it says "This'll shake you mother", this is used to stand out to the public. People would be surprised and buy to see why it's so good and talked about.

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

- The advert is very stereotypical

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

-         The preferred reading for the advert is, the agreement of the washing up detergent making clothes brighter and cleaner. The producers wanted the audience to think that the product works very well and it makes all the washed clothes perfectly clean.

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

- The opposition to this is how the roles that link to cleaning, cooking etc. is a woman. This is indicating that women are housewives and men are the breadwinners. Another oppositional reading could be the fact that it's always a white woman, they never put a person of colour to take that role.