Advertising: Maybelline case study and wider reading
Work through the following tasks to make sure you're an expert on the Maybelline CSP and particularly the wider social and cultural context.
Use your notes from class to write about the connotations and representations created by the following technical and audio codes. Write at least a paragraph on each:
1. Narrative & genre: narrative theory and sub-genre
- Sub-genre: Romance (man and women starring in the advert)
- Jumping on the bed (defies the traditional scenes of sex)
2. Cinematography: camera shots and
movement
- Close up of an eye and mascara to advertise the product
- Conventions of beauty blogging advertising because fans would be used to seeing them on a screen as that is their daily job
3. Mise-en-scene: costume &
props
- Colour scheme: mainly gold – prestigious, simplistic, luxury.
- Big change in terms of scenery and clothing after they put on the mascara
- Has a lot of luggage at the beginning which could connote they are going to a lot of parties
4. Mise-en-scene: actors, setting,
lighting and colour
- Only three main characters
- MannyMua (gay)
- Shayla (feminine character, ‘gay best friend’, typical beauty blogger)
- Bellboy (cannot tell if he is gay or not which makes the product appeal to everyone of every sexuality)
- Lighting (naturally lit at the beginning)
- Open the case and gold glow comes out as if they have opened to chest of gold treasure like and actor in an action film)
5. Editing: pace, transitions and
visual effects
- Time lapse – luggage person coming in
- Jump cut – putting mascara on and jumping onto the bed
- Sparkles (CGI) – mascara, luggage, jewellery, clothing
6. Graphics: text/graphics on
screen
- Text on the screen – sans serif (modern, urban, links to the younger audience)
- Yellow, gold and black font/colour scheme
- #Bigshotmascara and the logo imprinted throughout the advert (not typical on TV adverts but typical on YouTube ads) – conventions of a YouTube advert
- Opening “Maybelline presents ‘Big shot mascara’ with Manny and Shayla” – text used to connect to certain audience (their fans)
7. Sound: dialogue, music and sound
effects
- Glistening/sparkle sounds of gold (shining)
- Sparkles accompanied with the loud sound
- YT adverts need to stand out to keep the audience’s attention
- Music: upbeat, miming a nightclub, modern, urban, New York nightclub, designed to go with the advert and the audience.
- Dialogue: Manny (re enforces gay stereotypes)
- Dialogue places the audience with them
- Shocked at the room (they assume the average audience of 13 – 30-year olds would re act the same way. Anyone can transform themselves in the New York lifestyle)
Maybelline 'That Boss Life': wider reading
Read the following articles on this campaign:
Glamour: Manny Gutierrez Is the First Man to Star in a Maybelline Campaign, and It’s a Huge Deal
Your Story: Cosmetics giant breaks gender stereotypes by choosing male model as a face of the brand
Adweek: Maybelline Recruits Manny Gutierrez as Its First Male Beauty Star
Complete the following questions/tasks:
1) Why was this campaign such a landmark for beauty product advertising?
The Maybelline campaign was a landmark for advertising, because it used Manny Gutierrez, rather than other celebrities. This is significant because he is the first male beauty star, and is also a digital influencer - which signifies the powerful role that the internet plays in developing a liminal space where people can be themselves freely.
2) What do the articles suggest regarding the changing representation of sexuality and masculinity?
The articles suggest that conventional representations of masculinity are changing, and that people are embracing the idea of gender fluidity, neutrality and different interpretations of hypermasculinity. Maybelline have typically shown their campaign stars as females, so the fact that they use a male makeup artist shows that they are adapting to change; understanding that make up isn't strictly for girls anymore.
3) Read this WWD article: Maybelline Taps Digital Makeup Influencers for New Mascara Campaign. Why might 'digital influencers' be so attractive to companies?
A lot of makeup brands and companies are starting to use digital influencers more than actual celebrities. Digital influencers appear attractive to these companies, because they tend to have a large following on social media such as YouTube, Insitagram etcc. Because of their huge fanbase, brands are able to advertise their products to the mass-market, whilst also maintaining a "younger, more digital fanbase."
4) Why do you think Maybelline chose to use MannyMua and MakeUpShayla in particular?
I think that Maybelline chose these two make up artists because they push a variety of stereotypes. In make up campaigns, the stars are often white females. However, in this case, the stars are Manny Gutierrez (a gay, Mexican male) along with Shayla Mitchell, a black MUA with over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube. By using these stars, Maybelline are promoting the notion of gender fluidity, and they are also expressing the fact that the beauty and fashion industry have changed - anyone can be a make up artist or digital influencer regardless of gender, sexuality or race/ethnicity.
5) What does the WWD article suggest is the crucial factor for brands regardless of whether they use influencers or more traditional celebrities?
It depends on the target audience and the social media following of the people they choose to use for their advertisements. If they have a large social media following, then they would be able to reach out to their younger consumers and younger target audience.
Media Magazine: The Changing Face of Masculinity
Now go to our Media Magazine archive and read the feature 'The Changing Face of Masculinity' in MM63 (page 15). This will allow us to compare our two advertising CSPs - the Score hair cream advert and the Maybelline digital campaign. Answer the following questions:
1) What message does the article suggest the Score hair cream advert is trying to communicate to the 1967 audience?
The advert is using female sexuality to show men they can have power: you can conquer, you will be desired.
2) How does the article suggest the Score hair cream advert uses narrative to sell the product?
The strapline: ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ is, like the image, a bold aspirational statement. The narrative is clear: the consumer can have everything they want in the world if they buy the hair product.
3) What 1967 stereotypes does the article suggest the Score hair cream advert reinforces?
The brand’s personality and voice is all about masculine supremacy and self-belief, and is heavily reinforcing stereotypes of a patriarchal society.
4) Applying Stuart Hall's reception theory, what does the article suggest the preferred and oppositional readings could be for the Score hair cream advert?
A dominant reading of the ‘Score’ text would be that as a heterosexual male, one can achieve everything presented before them in the picture: power, control and sex appeal, with better hair. An oppositional reading or a critical interpretation would be that the macho-laden ideas presented in this image are damaging to male self esteem and present women as passive and merely decorative (although they they’re good for carrying your ammo).
5) Moving on to the Maybelline advert, why is the background of Manny Gutierrez and Shayla Mitchell significant?
The tone of the campaign is exciting, upbeat and of its time. It is easy to see why Maybelline New York chose the pair for the campaign. Manny and Shayla have strong, fun personalities; they have grown their own star image through vlogging beauty tutorials so have a clearly defined youth audience. Both emphasise how important it is to be comfortable with yourself and ‘live like a boss’, a positive mantra that is already well used and ingrained in everyday vernacular, especially with the younger generation. The mode of address of the whole campaign is youthful and empowering. Also, the video ad touches on issues of gender representation, ethnicity and lifestyle.
6) What is the narrative of the Maybelline advert?
The advertisement tells the story of two YouTubers, Manny Gutierrez and Shayla Mitchell checking into a New York hotel room with stunning views of the city. They open up a gold, glittery suitcase and out tumbles the product that everyone wants, the ‘Big Shot’ mascara. By simply applying the mascara, the wearer – female or male – is instantly transported to a more sophisticated cosmopolitan life surrounded by the finer things: a Manhattan hotel room, glamorous clothes and the promise of admission to the hottest clubs in the world’s greatest city.
7) What does the article suggest the Maybelline advert's message is?
The ad, like its 1960s counterpart, uses an aspirational image showing two friends who do not conform to masculine and feminine ideals but are nonetheless powerful: happy in their own skin, confident in their bodies and their sexuality.
8) The final section of the article focuses on masculinity. What do the Score advert and the Maybelline advert suggest regarding the changes in society and media between 1967 and 2017?
The difference between the two advertisements is that ‘Score’ is celebrating everything believed to be great about a patriarchal society, while Maybelline is applauding the breakdown of hyper-masculine culture.
Read the following articles on this campaign:
Glamour: Manny Gutierrez Is the First Man to Star in a Maybelline Campaign, and It’s a Huge Deal
Your Story: Cosmetics giant breaks gender stereotypes by choosing male model as a face of the brand
Adweek: Maybelline Recruits Manny Gutierrez as Its First Male Beauty Star
Complete the following questions/tasks:
1) Why was this campaign such a landmark for beauty product advertising?
The Maybelline campaign was a landmark for advertising, because it used Manny Gutierrez, rather than other celebrities. This is significant because he is the first male beauty star, and is also a digital influencer - which signifies the powerful role that the internet plays in developing a liminal space where people can be themselves freely.
2) What do the articles suggest regarding the changing representation of sexuality and masculinity?
The articles suggest that conventional representations of masculinity are changing, and that people are embracing the idea of gender fluidity, neutrality and different interpretations of hypermasculinity. Maybelline have typically shown their campaign stars as females, so the fact that they use a male makeup artist shows that they are adapting to change; understanding that make up isn't strictly for girls anymore.
3) Read this WWD article: Maybelline Taps Digital Makeup Influencers for New Mascara Campaign. Why might 'digital influencers' be so attractive to companies?
A lot of makeup brands and companies are starting to use digital influencers more than actual celebrities. Digital influencers appear attractive to these companies, because they tend to have a large following on social media such as YouTube, Insitagram etcc. Because of their huge fanbase, brands are able to advertise their products to the mass-market, whilst also maintaining a "younger, more digital fanbase."
4) Why do you think Maybelline chose to use MannyMua and MakeUpShayla in particular?
I think that Maybelline chose these two make up artists because they push a variety of stereotypes. In make up campaigns, the stars are often white females. However, in this case, the stars are Manny Gutierrez (a gay, Mexican male) along with Shayla Mitchell, a black MUA with over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube. By using these stars, Maybelline are promoting the notion of gender fluidity, and they are also expressing the fact that the beauty and fashion industry have changed - anyone can be a make up artist or digital influencer regardless of gender, sexuality or race/ethnicity.
5) What does the WWD article suggest is the crucial factor for brands regardless of whether they use influencers or more traditional celebrities?
It depends on the target audience and the social media following of the people they choose to use for their advertisements. If they have a large social media following, then they would be able to reach out to their younger consumers and younger target audience.
Media Magazine: The Changing Face of Masculinity
Now go to our Media Magazine archive and read the feature 'The Changing Face of Masculinity' in MM63 (page 15). This will allow us to compare our two advertising CSPs - the Score hair cream advert and the Maybelline digital campaign. Answer the following questions:
1) What message does the article suggest the Score hair cream advert is trying to communicate to the 1967 audience?
The advert is using female sexuality to show men they can have power: you can conquer, you will be desired.
2) How does the article suggest the Score hair cream advert uses narrative to sell the product?
The strapline: ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ is, like the image, a bold aspirational statement. The narrative is clear: the consumer can have everything they want in the world if they buy the hair product.
3) What 1967 stereotypes does the article suggest the Score hair cream advert reinforces?
The brand’s personality and voice is all about masculine supremacy and self-belief, and is heavily reinforcing stereotypes of a patriarchal society.
4) Applying Stuart Hall's reception theory, what does the article suggest the preferred and oppositional readings could be for the Score hair cream advert?
A dominant reading of the ‘Score’ text would be that as a heterosexual male, one can achieve everything presented before them in the picture: power, control and sex appeal, with better hair. An oppositional reading or a critical interpretation would be that the macho-laden ideas presented in this image are damaging to male self esteem and present women as passive and merely decorative (although they they’re good for carrying your ammo).
5) Moving on to the Maybelline advert, why is the background of Manny Gutierrez and Shayla Mitchell significant?
The tone of the campaign is exciting, upbeat and of its time. It is easy to see why Maybelline New York chose the pair for the campaign. Manny and Shayla have strong, fun personalities; they have grown their own star image through vlogging beauty tutorials so have a clearly defined youth audience. Both emphasise how important it is to be comfortable with yourself and ‘live like a boss’, a positive mantra that is already well used and ingrained in everyday vernacular, especially with the younger generation. The mode of address of the whole campaign is youthful and empowering. Also, the video ad touches on issues of gender representation, ethnicity and lifestyle.
6) What is the narrative of the Maybelline advert?
The advertisement tells the story of two YouTubers, Manny Gutierrez and Shayla Mitchell checking into a New York hotel room with stunning views of the city. They open up a gold, glittery suitcase and out tumbles the product that everyone wants, the ‘Big Shot’ mascara. By simply applying the mascara, the wearer – female or male – is instantly transported to a more sophisticated cosmopolitan life surrounded by the finer things: a Manhattan hotel room, glamorous clothes and the promise of admission to the hottest clubs in the world’s greatest city.
7) What does the article suggest the Maybelline advert's message is?
The ad, like its 1960s counterpart, uses an aspirational image showing two friends who do not conform to masculine and feminine ideals but are nonetheless powerful: happy in their own skin, confident in their bodies and their sexuality.
8) The final section of the article focuses on masculinity. What do the Score advert and the Maybelline advert suggest regarding the changes in society and media between 1967 and 2017?
The difference between the two advertisements is that ‘Score’ is celebrating everything believed to be great about a patriarchal society, while Maybelline is applauding the breakdown of hyper-masculine culture.
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