Advertising and marketing assessment

1) What does intertextuality refer to in Media Studies? [2 marks]

Where one media product makes reference to other media products. An example of this is the Galaxy advert- they make a reference to Hepburn's movie 'Roman Holiday' through the setting used.


2) Explain how the OMO advertisement reflects the social and historical context of its time. [6 marks]

The OMO advert suggests that only women do domestic works e.g. cooking and cleaning. This is because in the text it says "This'll shake you Mother." The fact that it references a "mother" reinforces gender roles of women as domestic goddesses. 

One way it reflects the social and historical context of its time is because it is driven by the societal belief that women are inferior. This can be seen in the advert as the female is being a dutiful mother and wife by carrying out her role. She isn't complaining and is smiling as she has to obey her husband by carrying out her duty. 

Another way it reflects the social and historical context of its time is because of her appearance. In the OMO advert the female is dressed up in a formal way and is wearing heavy make-up (lipstick, neat hair and nails). This reflects the stereotype of women being objectified as they had to look a certain way to please their husbands. 

3) How do advertisements reinforce and challenge stereotypes in the media?

Answer with reference to the NHS Blood and Transplant online advertising campaign Represent. [12 marks]

The NHS Represent Campaign reinforces stereotypes in the media in many ways. One way is because BAME people aren't as educated as white people. This can be seen in the advert where they show BAME people with jobs such as actors, sports people and fashion designers which don't require a qualification. In the media these roles are mostly done by black people or Asians- such as rappers (Stormzy), sports (Rashford, Asher-Smith, Kohli and Ding-Jun-Hui).

The NHS Represent Campaign challenges stereotypes in the media in many ways. One way is that BAME people can get high ranked jobs as white people such as scientists, authors and mathematicians. E.g. authors ( Malorie Blackman and Jawaharlal Nehru), Scientists ( C.V. Raman) and mathematicians (  Srinivasa Ramanujan ). In the video this can be seen in the video where there are black scientists, politicians, Chefs and CEO of companies.  

The NHS Represent Campaign Challenges stereotypes. Another way they do this by saying disabled people can be successful and do things. An example of this is the wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan. He subverts the stereotype of disabled people unable to do things as he is an active basketball player.