Advertising Assessment: Learner Response :)

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

WWW: Mostly secure knowledge of social, cultural and historical contexts which link to Ad 

EBI: Not enough textual analysis referenced in responses or depth and detail 

2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

• Q1: Monochrome (black and white) – stylish, sophisticated, reinforces traditional heterosexual meanings; consistent with aspirational branding. Low-key lighting, ‘chiaroscuro’, backlighting visible in shot – suggests stage lights/spotlights, perhaps a fashion show 

• Q2: Representation of gender reinforces Judith Butler’s idea of gender as performance – dominant/submissive gender roles clearly reinforced in construction of advert 

3) Look at your answer and the mark scheme for Question 1 (Diamonds advert unseen text). List three examples of media terminology or theory that you could have included in your answer. 

• Promise of irresistible appeal – ‘sex sells’ (common narrative in men’s grooming; Barthes’ action code) 
• Man as the hunted, looked-at object; objectification of men (Gill – female gaze) 
• Black tie as a phallic object (Mulvey) – being grabbed by female model 

4) Look at your answer and the mark scheme for Question 2. What aspects of the cultural and historical context for the Score hair cream advert do you need to revise or develop in future?

Cultural: 

• Hypermasculine, heterosexual image does not seem to reflect the significant social and cultural changes of last 50 years in terms of gender roles. Reinforces hegemonic masculinity 

• The representation of the male as hunter in a foreign jungle setting suggests a reference to the British Empire and the colonial dominance of the 19th century 

Historical: 

• Armani advert arguably reflects the ‘crisis of masculinity’ some refer to – assertively heterosexual, perhaps reflecting the struggle men face to find their place/role in the 21st century. Armani captures the way men wish to see the world 

• Aggressively heterosexual representation perhaps shows male insecurity in light of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967 

5) Now look over your mark, teacher comments and the mark scheme for Question 3 - the 20-mark essay question on David Gauntlett and whether identities are becoming more fluid. Find two arguments in favour and two arguments against the statement from the anticipated content in the mark scheme.

In favour: 

• Gauntlett argues that gender representation and identity is constantly changing (a “moving target”) and suggests masculinity is not in crisis. Instead finds that men are finding their place in a changing world – Manny Gutierrez provides a compelling example of this 

• The explicitly heterosexual, hypermasculine representations of the Score hair cream advert demonstrate how much things have changed in 50 years – “Get what you’ve always wanted”. A company would likely face a social media backlash for a similar campaign today 

Against: 

• Identity is now a ‘culture war’ issue divided on partisan lines (left v right or in America Republican v Democrat). Therefore, it could be argued that an acceptance of liberal and fluid identities is still some way off (recent elections in the UK arguably reinforce this view) 

• Van Zoonen argues that media language constructs gender and that this largely reinforces traditional gender stereotypes. This would suggest gender identities are still largely restrictive and not as liberal as Gauntlett may suggest 

Men's Health Audience: Blog Tasks :)

Read the Men's Health Media Pack in full to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Men's Health target audience then answer the following questions with short answers or bullet points:

1) How does the magazine introduce itself?

The magazine introduces itself as the biggest-selling men’s lifestyle magazine, both in the UK and worldwide. Its success is built on a winning editorial formula which combines visually-engaging health, wellbeing and nutrition features with premium content covering fashion, grooming, watches, tech and travel

2) What does the introduction suggest about the representation of masculinity in Men's Health's?

The introduction suggests that the representation of masculinity in Men's Health is more focused on fitness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle which reinforces the stereotypes of hypermasculinity

3) What is the difference between circulation and readership?

Circulation is the actual number of copies printed and distributed. Readership is an estimate of how many people read the magazine in total (also known as readers-per-copy). Men’s Health (UK edition) has a circulation of around 100,000 and a readership of closer to 1 million

4) What was the circulation of Men's Health in thousands at the time this Media Pack was published? Can you find an up-to-date circulation figure for Men's Health? How much has it fallen?

At the time that this Media Pack was published, the circulation of Men's Health was 180,000 according to figures from ABC taken from January-June 2016 but up-to-date figures show that (according to figures from ABC taken from January-December 2021) the circulation of Men's Health dropped to 89,811 

5) How do readers generally interact with the digital version of the magazine?

Readers generally interact with the digital versions of the magazine via the Men's Health website which has 562,000 monthly unique users (Comscore), 1,200,000 monthly users (GA) and 1,934,000 monthly page views (GA). This website is predominantly accessed on mobile by 68% of users and by 21% on desktop and 11% on tablets

6) How many people do Men's Health reach across social media platforms?

Across social media platforms, Men's Health reaches a total of 1,295,000 people. This number is made up of 944k from Facebook, 285k from Twitter and 66k from Instagram 

7) What is the audience profile for Men's Health readers? 

• 905k are ABC1, aged 25-44
• 700K have a degree
• 200K earn over £50K

8) What is the Men's Health fashion philosophy? How much do Men's Health readers collectively spend on fashion?

The Men's Health fashion philosophy is stylish, contemporary, wearable and individual- Men's Health readers collectively spend £1.1bn on fashion a year

9) What percentage of Men's Health readers use moisturiser daily? What does this suggest about Men's Health readers' view of masculinity?

73% of Men's Health readers use moisturiser daily. This suggests that modern-day Men's Health readers' view of masculinity is different from the opinions of older generations because older generations would have the impression that self-care for men's physical appearance is a feminine trait that would make men less masculine. This means that there are real generational differences in opinions about identity (David Gauntlett) 

10) What audience pleasures are offered by the magazine?

One of the audience pleasures that are offered by the magazine is surveillance- this is because the magazine is full of advice and information on how to keep yourself fit and healthy which means that this magazine is informative and provides helpful information which is considered to be an audience pleasure. Men's Health also offers the audience pleasure of personal relationships- this is because Men's Health uses celebrities on the front cover that certain audiences may have a strong interest for (especially if the celebrity is part of a franchise that has a large fan base) which also provides an audience pleasure because audiences enjoy seeing celebrities they recognise on magazines 

11) What lifestyle and job would you expect the average Men's Health reader to have?

The lifestyle and job I expect for an average Men's Health reader to have is a healthy lifestyle that includes a good diet and regular workouts at the gym and a job that earns a lot of money- perhaps an office job or working for a big company based on how much they spend on fashion every year 

12) Why do you think Men's Health has managed to remain in business when many other magazines have struggled due to the rise of digital media?

I think it is likely that Men's Health has remained in business when many other magazines have struggled due to the rise in digital media because it has not stuck to the traditional views of masculinity- as masculinity is changing, Men's Health is changing with it. This is because there is less toxic masculinity in society and this has been reflected through the subversion of toxic masculinity in the magazine- the reinforcement of traditional male stereotypes is losing dominance in this magazine as well as society 

Magazine Practical Research and Planning: Blog Tasks :)

 Research

1) Use Google to research potential magazines that you could use as your brand/design for this project. Create a shortlist of three potential magazines and embed an example front cover from each one

Elle Magazine

Billboard magazine 

Marie Claire magazine

2) Choose one of the three magazine brands to use for your project. Then find three different front covers for your chosen magazine and embed them in your blogpost. Analyse the fonts, colours and typical design. What is the language or writing style? How are the cover lines written? You need to become an expert in the design and construction of this magazine and its branding

ELLE MAGAZINE: 

Elle magazine tends to have one colour theme for each cover- for example, the cover with Zoe Kravitz has a general theme of the colour red as the name of the magazine is in big red typography and the models' dress is also red. We can also see that some of the supporting cover lines also have been written in red writing. In the Dakota magazine cover, neutral colours like brown and dark orange are the general theme because that is the colour that the model is wearing and the name of the magazine has been written in black which is also a neutral colour- this is also supported by the orange colour of the typography in the supporting cover lines. In the Rihanna cover, the undeniable colour theme is yellow because the model is wearing yellow and the name of the magazine is also written in yellow just to emphasise the colour theme 

Elle magazine uses a Didot font (Serif in nature) for their name of the magzaine and a Sans Serif Didot for the rest of its cover lines to create a visual hierarchy- the most important is the text in Didot (Serif) because it is said that Serif represents "authority, tradition, respect, and grandeur" which explains why that is

font used to state the name of the magazine. Elle magazine is trying to portray the idea that their magazine has superiority over other magazines. The use of Sans Serif Didot font for the supporting cover lines represents the idea of modernity as well as minimalism in order to appeal to a modern audience without the excessive use of typography and extravagant varieties of colours and fonts 

Typically, the model has been placed in front of the name of the magazine and the typography is behind them. The model is generally placed on the middle of the cover through the use of a medium shot which is a type of camera shot that shows the subject from the waist up and allows us to see the model fully as well as leaving enough space for the cover lines to show without being covered by the model. Generally, there are about three or four supporting cover lines and one lead article line. The date of publication is usually written underneath one of the Es of "Elle" in small and faint font, perhaps in order to avoid the problem of the publication date distracting audiences from the cover itself 

Planning

1) On a Word or Google document, plan your main cover line (also called the 'main flash') - this is the main cover story that links to your central image

"Rise in non-binary and gender fluid models shaping society" (written at the bottom of the model in larger writing than the supporting cover lines) 

2) Briefly plan the image you will need for the cover - model, costume, make-up, lighting etc. At this point, simply describe the image you need to capture

Elle magazine tends to use high-key lighting in order to make the model stand out from the background- the subject is brightly lit and has softer shadows. I plan to use Kanye Francis as my model and he will be wearing a red suit and that will be matched by typography also in a red colour. No make-up will be required because Elle magazine is a fashion magazine rather than health and beauty so a statement does not have to be made through the use of a man wearing make-up. The image will be a medium shot where we can only see from his waist upwards where he is facing the camera with a serious facial expression- this is the general theme for Elle magazines 

3) Write the cover lines and any additional text you need for your magazine cover

• "Secrets for success: The key to being the best dressed wherever you are" 
• "De-stress for your best self: Mental health tips to guide you through 2022" 
• "Women in Film: Elizabeth Olsen shares secrets from acting to skincare" 
• "Skin care to best hair: The best rated skin and hair products of 2022" 
• Issue date: May 2022 
• Price: £3.99 
• Barcode: 
  
  
  
  

4) Sketch out your cover on plain A4 paper using your written planning. Take a photo of your sketch and upload it to your blogpost

Photoshoot

1) On your planning document, write the date, time and location of your photoshoot and the name of the model or photographer you will use (you can choose anyone to be your cover model or you can be the cover model yourself)

• Date: Thursday 5th May 2022 
• Time: Between 11:05am-12:45pm 
• Location: DF05 (media classroom in front of a green screen) 
• Name of model: Kanye Francis 
• Name of photographer: Faye Mehdi 

Publication to blog and evaluation

1) Once you have completed your design in Photoshop, go to 'File > Save as' and save your finished Photoshop magazine cover as a JPEG image. Then, upload it to your blogpost

2) Upload two genuine covers of the magazine you have chosen and put them next to your front cover

3) Write a short evaluation of your work: have you succeeded in your brief to create a new, original edition of an existing magazine? Does your cover stand up alongside the genuine covers of your chosen magazine? How professional is your work alongside those genuine examples?

I think I have succeeded in my brief to create a new, original edition of Elle magazine- this is because I have successfully recreated the elements that Elle magazine includes in their magazine covers such as the name of the magazine being behind the subject of the magazine and the same amount of supporting cover lines but used my own cover lines and subject. However, I had issues with the lighting so that reduced how professional my cover looks which is something I could have worked on if I had more time. The font of the typography was difficult to recreate so there is a clear difference in the font between my cover and the Elle magazine covers 

4) Finally, what would you do differently if you completed this assignment again?

If  I completed this task again, I would do the photoshoot in natural lighting because I had issues with making the lighting look natural and blend in with the background so I would make sure I have a natural background to make it look more professional because the image I used was too dark in comparison to the usual colours that Elle magazine uses. I would also make sure to familiarise myself with Photoshop because I spent a long time trying to get used to how it works and that slowed down the process of creating the cover so I if I completed this assignment again, I would make sure I knew enough about the programme before starting