Advertising and Marketing Component 1 Section B

Tide - 1950s Advertising and Audience

Need to Know Social Context!
 Advertising developed significantly during the 1950s
 Despite women having seen their roles in society change during the Second World War
(where they were needed in medical, military support and other roles outside of the
home) domestic products of the 1950s continued to be aimed at female audiences.
 Good Housekeeping Magazine endorsed Tide – this made GHM an Opinion Leader (Two
Step Flow Theory) for the target audience, reinforcing the idea that Tide was a high quality,
market-leading product.
 The increasing popularity during the 1950s of supermarkets stocking a wider range of
products led to advertising having an increased focus on brand USP.

Task: Rank the statements below in the order in which you think they are TRUE! Also add
your own comments in relation to how each statement is evidenced by the advert for Tide:
1 = most true, 6 = least true

The target audience for Tide is women

The main characters in the advert are women; female audiences would find
this relatable and be able to identify (U&G) with the women in the advert.

The advert will appeal to middle class women because of their need for innovative domestic
technologies and products.

The advert predominantly relies on empowering and relatable stereotypes to appeal to its
target audience.

The advert assumes that the target audience are married housewives and have children.

The advert would be appealing to all women in 1950s America society.

The preferred reading (Stuart Hall) is that, despite being a “new” product, Tide provides
solutions to the audience’s age-old domestic needs.