'Woman' magazine- Breeze soap advert analysis

Breeze soap advert analysis

Layout and design:

The advert is long and tall which contrasts with the usual a4 size.  The top half of the advert features a picture of a naked woman covered in soap suds blowing a kiss. The bottom half of the advert includes a paragraph of text which describes the product, as well as the product logo allowing the product to create a brand identity. The simplistic design of the picture and the text allows the reader to clearly see the description of the product.

Central image:

The central image is placed in the top half of the advert. It is of a naked woman covered in soap suds blowing a kiss. The woman in the advert is wearing very unrealistic glamorous makeup. This creates the belief that women must always look good for men, even at unrealistic times, for example in the bath. This further creates the idea that women are reliant on men and that their life revolves around men and their husband. The woman in the advert is naked which presents her as a sexual object. This links to the Liesbet Van Zoonen theory that women are presented as sexual objects for the male gaze. This is also supported by the Laura Mulvey 1975 Male gaze theory that women are only used in the media for the erotic male gaze. The sexual presentation in the advert contrasts with the rest of the magazine where there was a lack of articles surrounding intimate topics like sex. The most erotic topic headline was “lingerie goes lively” which is still very subtle compared to modern magazines. The sexual nature of this advert may shock the reader as they are seeing something they do not expect, this would intrigue and entice them into reading the text on the advert and finding out more about the product. The woman in the advert is not a celebrity which allows her to be able to relate to the readers as they can see themselves in her shoes, they can picture themselves looking as glamorised as her in the bath which encourages them to buy the product. Moreover, the woman in the advert is white. This links to the bell hook’s theory as there is a lack of diversity in the representation of the advert. The advert conveys the belief that only white woman can appear so glamorised in the bath, the advert portrays the superiority of white woman. Furthermore, the woman in the advert is blowing a kiss. This links to the Roland Barthes semantic theory as the kiss represents love and romance. This further relates to the sexual nature of the advert and the idea that the woman only appears this way for the attention and pleasure of men.

Typography and graphics:

The advert uses a very simple and clear font for their text. This allows the reader to clearly read up about the product. The advert uses the same size of text throughout which is atypical for adverts, usually adverts which enlarge the text of importance. Aside from the logo, the only piece of text that stands out is at the bottom of the advert and is in bold. The sentence says “all over feminine… all-day fresh…” This coveys to the audience that this is the message the company want the reader to be life with as it is in bold and at the end of the advert. The repetition in the phrase “all-day” presents the long lasting nature of the product. There is also fricative language in the words “feminine” and “fresh” which further portrays these words as important to the reader. This quote conveys the three main features of the soap; how long it lasts, that it’s feminine and that it leaves women fresh. Moreover, at the start of the text the phrase “Because you’re a woman” is also in bold, this is also repeated later in the text. This further implies the femininity of the product and how women deserve better soaps. The phrase sets expectations around the word “woman” and what that means.

Print technical codes:

The central image is a medium shot. This allows the reader to see a clear view of the woman’s face and makeup whilst also seeing her body. Allowing the reader to see the body type of the model adds to what society wants from women, it creates a further want for women to be relatively skinny. The medium shot also shows the soap suds on the body of the woman to the audience, showing what the product is before they have read the text. The use of the soap suds creates an impression of luxury and relaxation. This links to the Roland Barthes semantic theory as the reader connects the central image and soap suds with what they expect of the product. It sets expectations for the product before the reader has even read what the product is.

Language and mode of address:

The text at the bottom of the advert uses multiple techniques to present the product. Firstly, the advert uses plosive alliteration. For example, “Darling, you need Breeze. Because Breeze”. The use of the plosive alliteration creates a more shocking affect for the reader, embedding the message and product into their minds. The alliteration also makes the text more memorable so the reader remember the information about the product.  There is also repetition in the word “Darling” as it is later shown in the text, for example “darling, please, bath with Breeze”. The use of the repetition in the word “darling” creates a sense of relaxation and care for the reader. It makes women feel pampered and cared for rather than them caring for others. The use of this further entices the audience to buy the product. Moreover, the advert also uses an imperative to present the product. For example, “bath with breeze”. The imperative “bath” clearly tells the reader what the product is and what they use it for. The imperative will further encourage people to buy the product as they are being instructed to do so.