Tide and Theories of Representation

Dress code, hairstyle, fashion, make-up- Polka dot shirts, mainly red, white and blue colour palette associated with the American flag. Tied back hair with hairbands, allows women to do their domestic work without worries for their hairstyles. The women in this poster are wearing a red lipstick which was a key makeup product back in 1950s, 60s. 

Ideologies and lifestyle- One of the women’s main role was to do the whole house work, from cleaning the beds to washing the dishes. With this advert Tide products wants to show how for women the most important thing was to clean and they were expected to love it. 

Use of text and language- “Tide’s got what women want!”, emphasises how the washing products were something really important for women.

Stuart Hall

What stereotypes, or ‘basic traits’, does Tide portray?

-Tide portraits the basic 1950s housewife stereotypes. In this advert women are represented as house cleaning maniacs. For them the most important thing was to do the domestic work and take care of her children. The poster shows how happy and proud they are to have Tide’s washing product. They are wearing make-up, which links to the stereotype that women are taking their time to look “more” beautiful for their husbands. 

What inequalities could have led to the creation of this stereotype?

-We can see an inequality between the two genders. This advert includes only women which suggests that they are the one who are doing the house work. 

How do the images of domestic life form part of the “shared conceptual road map” that give meaning to the “world” of the advert?

-It shows how most of the women live the same lifestyle.

David Gauntlett

Does the Tide advertisement support Gauntlett’s claim that in the past media representations offered singular straightforward messages about male and female identities?

-In the past media representations did offered singular straightforward messages about male and female identities. In the Tide’s advert women are represented as the typical housewife, interested in how she can do her work even better to please her husband. 

To what extent does the representation of women in the Tide advert differ from those found in Adverts today? Give an example.

-Representation of women in media now days is very different from the Tide or any other back then. Now in many adverts such like sports, finances and etc., women are playing the lead role, even if they are stereotypically not linked to females representers. 

Van Zoonen

In what ways is the representation of women culturally specific?

-The representation of women in Tide’s advert is culturally specific to the American stereotypes about women in 1950s. Back then men were working, while women had to do all the housework and at the same time taking care of their children. It was popular to live a “bubble” like lifestyle- a small cute house with garden and a small family. It became really popular only parents and their children to live together- no grandparents or other family relatives. This was the perfect American family. That is why women had to do all the domestic work. She had to be complimented by her husband to keep the good relations and this perfect image of a family. 

What symbols are exploited in Tide?

-The women in Tide’s advert is hugging the washing product, suggesting how much she is relaying on it, because if the laundry is clean her husband will be happy. It shows as well how the domestic work plays a big role in her life. The direct mode of address of the images in the

top right and bottom left-hand corner link to the

imperative “Remember!” and the use of personal

pronouns (“your wash,” “you can buy”).