Natalia's blog

  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 theory 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...

  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 mothe...

  Representation:   the way a group or individual is portrayed in the media. Normalised:  when something becomes considered ‘normal’ or ‘usual’ Stereotype:  viewing a group or individual in a fixed, over-simplified way. Conventions:  typical features of a media product.  Reinforce a stereotype:  the representation supports our usual expectations. Subvert a stereotype:  the representation goes against our usual expectations. Social, Cultural and Historical contexts Another aspect we have to consider whenever we study a media product is how it reflects British society and what message it may be sending to audiences. Our exam board AQA calls this 'social and cultural contexts' and those words will appear in several exam questions in our final exams. Similarly, when we study media products from  history , we will also need to consider historical contexts - how the media product reflects the time period in which it was created. These are the key q...

  Denotation:   the literal meaning of something Connotation:  the deeper meaning or what is suggested (reading between the lines) Codes and conventions of print adverts When studying print adverts we need to look for the following  conventions  or  typical features : Picture of product USP - unique selling point. What is it that makes the product special or different to appeal to consumers? Lighting Setting / colour scheme Logo – this is usually the brand name  Slogan – this is a catchy phrase summing up the ethos of the product e.g Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ Adverts will often use unique and interesting ways to attract the attention of the target audience.  This might be: innovative branding; clever use of space; unconventional or subversive ideas; emotional connections or shock / controversy. Persuasive techniques in advertising Advertisements are generally trying to persuade their target audience to: Buy a product or service Believe something or act ...