Television Commercials in the 1950s and 1960s
In this blog post the focus will be on the semiotic analysis of an American television commercial from the 1960s from the brand Tupperware. However, before I delve into the analysis of the advertisement, I will first present my method.
The semiotic approach that I used for this analysis is greatly based on the method explained by Machin (2007). He focuses on the depiction of people in visual communication and explains how multiple elements can convey specific ideas about the product being advertised and can create a specific attitude towards the subjects in the advertisement (p.109).
1. The first element Machin (2007) mentions is the position of the viewer compared to the subjects inside the advertisement and he mentions three aspects of alignment (p.110). These consist of the gaze, which focuses on whether a subject looks at the viewer or not, the angle of interaction, which looks at how certain horizontal or vertical angles can create power relations, and distance, which looks at the size of the frame and how this relates to social relations.
2. The second element, according to Machin (2007), focuses on the kind of subjects that are represented in the commercial (p.118). In this section he focuses on the difference between depictions of individuals and groups. He furthermore looks at both cultural or biological categorization and stereotypes and how this informs the viewer what sort of consumers are addressed.
3. The final element Machin (2007) illustrates focuses on agency and action in advertisements (p.123). In this section he focuses on who does what in an image and what is being done.
The commercial that I will focus on is a commercial by the brand Tupperware who is best known for their storage and containment kitchen products. When analysing the commercial I looked at Machin’s three elements and examined how they influence the commercial’s message and style and I furthermore looked at the narrative of the commercial and its historical context.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxH7alYkJPI
In this commercial from the 1960s, the focus is mostly placed on the Tupperware parties, which embody a sense of community for housewives, and on the products themselves and their positive aspects for women.
When looking into Machin’s (2007) first segment, the aspects of alignment, it becomes clear that the gaze of the women is directed at each other or off screen. This gives the impression that the viewer is an observer and has as a consequence that the viewer will associate with the theme of the subjects’ feelings which consist of a happy and sociable party (p.112). The angle of interaction is mostly oblique when focused on the party and frontal when zooming in on hands holding Tupperware products. While the former makes the viewer feel as if they are witnessing an energetic scene, the latter makes the viewer feel more involved with the products (p.113). When examining the aspect of distance, it becomes clear that there are often close shots on the Tupperware products filled with food and on the hands of a lady which allows the viewer to identify with the woman who is using the Tupperware products.
When looking at Machin’s second segment, the kind of subjects, it becomes clear that the commercial focuses on a group of women who are culturally categorized as middle-class, white, suburban mothers due to their clothing and hairstyle. This is in line with the general tendency of commercials at that time to embody products with a class image by placing them in an upscale setting (Marchand,1985,p.xvii).
When examining Machin’s third segment, the agency, it becomes clear that the actor of the commercial is Tupperware since they should be written to in order to host a party and their products provide a solution for keeping food fresh. So, Tupperware is both responsible for a social gathering for housewives and to aid women in their daily lives.
This commercial is in line with the advertisements in this period since it creates both an experience and the feeling of a personal relationship with the products through organizing Tupperware parties which are made personal through the narrative by, for example, naming the hostess’ name and giving the location of the party (Marchand,1985,p.xxi). It is furthermore in line with the historical time since it focuses more on the consumer and their desires and anxieties because Tupperware allows women to both socialize with the neighbours and to counter their increasing lack of time since Tupperware products allowed women to store food more easily and freshly (Marling,1996, p.226).
Another aspect of the commercial that was very important in the 1960s was the aspect of color and pleasant looking products since “ Life in the age of television was a feast for the eye” (Marling, 1996, p.240). Since color and pleasant visuals were an index of status in the 1960s this gave the commercial a more modern look. Finally another aspect that was popular in the 1950s was the role of the female advisor as the “modern living consultant” (Marling, 1996, p.207). This aspect is also present in this commercial since the Tupperware instructor gives fellow-females advice, which furthermore aims at softening the corporation’s intentions of the commercial.
References:
Machin, D. (2007). Introduction to multimodal analysis. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Marchand, R. (1985). Advertising the American dream: making way for modernity, 1920-1940. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Marling, K. A. (1996). As seen on TV the visual culture of everyday life in the 1950s. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press.