Work through the following tasks to make sure you're an expert on the Maybelline CSP and particularly the wider social and cultural context.
'That Boss Life' close textual analysis
Use your notes from watching the video 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
They're on a trip to New York and the room is EVERYYYTHHHEEEEEEENNNNNNNGGGGGGG, so they get bossed up. Then they go out and come back to someone who's broken into their room. They strike poses for the camera.
The heroes are Manny and the woman, who can pose so fiercely thanks to the helper (mascara). The villian is the guy trying to steal the bossing up equipment at the end.
2) Cinematography: camera shots and movement
There's a lot of slow motion shots while the camera is moving, possibly relating to action movies and music videos, to give it an urban kick, transporting it into coolville.
3) Mise-en-scene: costume & props
similar to music videos, the mascara takes the conventional place of money.
They all look basic before the mascara, then they look EXTRA TODAAY after it.
Everything takes on the colour grading of the tube and the costumes chance to a similar gold.
4) Mise-en-scene: actors, setting, lighting and colour
actors: they got well known people to star in the advert to suggest product endorsement from the influencers
setting: despite it being very empty at first, it's a New York hotel room. This suggests high status.
lighting: high-key lighting to begin with, before going dark and classy.
colour: White to gold, getting EXTRA TODAAY
5) Editing: pace, transitions and visual effects
The editing is very slow paced with only 15 cuts. The emphasis is really more on the post production slow motion to fast motion. The camera moves a lot, making the small space seem busier and giving the overall product more movement to catch the eye.
6) Graphics: text/graphics on screen
There is the logo of Maybelline and the campaign logo straight away on screen. This clarifies the advert's intentions right off the bat and makes the wacky style make sense. The Maybelline logo is constantly on screen so viewers know to associate this garbage with the company.
7) Sound: dialogue, music and sound effects
The sound design is very poor, so you can barely understand what Manny is saying for all of it. They were really going for a music video vibe with the bass dropping. There are clinking sound effects throughout, relating to gold and metal, trying to make the cheap tubes appear better than they are.
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
Complete the following questions/tasks:
1) Why was this campaign such a landmark for beauty product advertising?
It featured a man doing a traditionally female endeavour without ridicule.
2) What do the articles suggest regarding the changing representation of sexuality and masculinity?
It's evolving with the changing times as Gauntlett suggested.
3) Read this WWD article: Maybelline Taps Digital Makeup Influencers for New Mascara Campaign. Why might 'digital influencers' be so attractive to companies?
They have a more human reputation, meaning they're more likely to be relatable to fans in an enticing way.
4) Why do you think Maybelline chose to use MannyMUA and MakeUpShayla in particular?
One is a gay man and the other is a woman of colour, which shows their campaign is for everyone and not just pretty white women.
5) What does the WWD article suggest is the crucial factor for brands regardless of whether they use influencers or more traditional celebrities?
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 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’re good for carrying your ammo)."
5) Moving on to the Maybelline advert, why is the background of Manny Gutierrez and Shayla Mitchell significant?
"sensation. 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 striking 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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