OMO advert

1) What year was the advert produced?

1955

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

In the 1950s women in adverts were presented as house wives who were controlled by men and seen as useless. They had high expectations set by men and were suppose to be happy doing the house work. 

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

The heading 'OMO makes white brighter' is in a serif font aiming for most of the women in the population to make it more approachable, the bold white letters make it stand out and catching women's attention. The message makes women want to buy the product as they will think it'll make their job easier, this promotes 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?

In the advert you'll be able to spot the central image to be a women with extensive make-up on this implies that their was an enormous expectation about women regarding their appearance in society. This can also be shown by her facial expression as the advert presents the women as happy doing the washing which shows that men expected women to be pleased and not complain about completing the house work.

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

The product image pack shot is added at the bottom to help the audience visualise the product their buying and its seen that pictures are better to catch the audiences attention than words.

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

The connotation of the colour white backs up their slogan 'OMO adds brightness to whiteness' especially as they have repeated the words 'bright' and 'white' this shows the true effect of the product, meanwhile red and blue helps it stands out.

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

The anchorage text uses persuasive language to encourage audience to by their product by referring to female readers as 'you' making the audience feel special and touched that someone wanted to refer to them. As well as this. repetition of 'bright' and 'white' is used throughout the text making it stand out and stick in their head.

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

Representation of women that can be found in the OMO advert of the stereotype of women being viewed as house wives as well as mothers who shouldn't be allowed to get a job. The central image also  makes its clear that they were forced to always wear make-up whether they were in their own house or out which demonstrates the expectations that were drilled into their head from such a young age. In society women weren't viewed as anything more that an object that was controlled and tossed around giving women a negative representation.

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 of the 1955 advert was that the producer wanted women to instantly buy the product after having one glance as they believed it would make hem as happy as the women portrayed in the advert picture. the producer also wanted women to feel a urge of excitement from buying a new cleaning product as the expectation of women was that they they should have been fortunate to have been house wives.

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 oppositional reading of the advert was for it to be viewed as sexist as modern audience would get offended by the representation of women as they believe women should be forced or used. Also the audience are annoyed by the target audience of the product being women which makes them believe the producer of the advert doesn't believe in equality for both genders.