'A Woman Alone' is a 1959 advert from Persil (produced by JWT advertising) from a simpler time, when there wasn't the multitude of products on offer, and the sole purpose of a washing powder was to get things white. In an age of black and white television (colour television broadcasts didn't start in Britain until 1967) there was no point in saying that a washing powder got things clean - you couldn't really demonstrate one red shirt being cleaner than another - so you had to sell a product on its whitening power. This you can see -look how the white in the advert stands out against the (untouched by Persil) greys of the shirts around it.
These are the kind of things you need to think about in your analysis, and when considering this advert as part of your case study:
Sound
The advert opens with emotional string music, the kind of thing you would find in a romantic drama, particularly in the 1950s. This is designed to tie in with the love the woman in the advert feels for her family, tied in with the care she shows for them by making sure they're Persil whitened.
The other non-diegetic (coming from outside the original recording) sound consists of a male voice over, speaking formal standard English using a RP accent (received pronounciation) This gives him authority, and is designed to make the audience for the advert believe in what he says. He is someone to trust, because he speaks well and is a man. All experts in advertising land at this time were men - this was where the power lay.
The actual words he speaks are:
"This woman is alone...yet not alone. Even though her family may be apart from her, they are still a part of her. Being judged by the care she takes of them. Being judged by how white she keeps their clothes. Being judged by the care she takes of them. Being judged by that same whiteness. So Persil is part of her strength, and their happiness. As a mother she uses Persil. As a wife, she uses Persil. Persil washes whiter."
There are some very interesting messages here: look at how the word 'judged' is used - the advert seems to suggest that she is failing in her duty as a wife and a mother if she doesn't use Persil - she will be letting herself down! The voiceover plays on a woman's guilt: only Persil can save her from the scornful looks of the world (and the other Persil mums who are smug in the knowledge that they 'wash whiter' and are looking after their families properly.
Mise-en-Scene
The physical context of the advertisement is clear: the woman is in a clearly ordered kitchen with neat cups and crockery arranged on the dresser, on the sink, and on the dining table where she is in the process of arranging her kitchen. The table is set, and the kitchen sink is clear in the background, firmly placing her as in role as a woman in her natural place - in the kitchen. Her hair and make up is simple and unfussy, and she is not made a sex object either by her make up or clothes: she is dressed in a unrevealing jumper and an apron - hardly the stuff of glamorous dreams! The product is featured in close up so it is foregrounded, but it isn't shown in use...the advert is not selling the practicalities of washing in Persil, but its results.
School and office locations are both represented as being ordered and calm environments. Colours are toned to allow the 'Persil whiteness' of the clothes highlighted to stand out.
Facial Expressions/Body Language
The central character is often shown looking downwards, either at the soft toy in her hands or in close up, making her drift off and think of her family with a dreamy smile on her face. She doesn't look at or challenge the camera, and she doesn't invite the camera to look directly at her. She is not provocative, but could be seen to be submissive, lowering her eyes, and knowing her place. Even though she is doing boring domestic tasks, the look on her face suggests that she enjoys this and enjoys fulfilling her role as a woman, wife and mother, and it is these last two (the wife and mother roles) that define her as a woman.
Sequence
1. Long shot of kitchen to show domestic setting. Woman clearing up breakfast table. She then picks up child's toy.
2. Cut to close up of her face as she thinks of her child.
3. Cut to close up of child's face with the same dreamy expression. Camera zooms out to show child is obviously in school, sat at a desk by a window. She seems to be wholesome, good, and well behaved, clean and attractive. She is sat next to another pupil whose shirt is noticeably less white. Shot ties in with the words of the voiceover 'being judged...'
4. Cut back to mother's face with loving/longing expression.
5. Cut to husband in an office behind a desk. Juxtaposed (put against) colleague wearing a shirt that is less than gleaming white. He notices this and looks concerned at the grey of his own sleeve in contrast to his colleague's
6. Cut to Persil product being put on a cupboard shelf by female hand. Camera pans to woman's contented and downward gazing face.
7. Zoom out to long shot showing the kitchen. Woman gazes lovingly at her husband and puts her arm through his. They smile at each other and wander over to well behaved and calm child who is playing with bricks on the table. Both parents add a brick and the child completes the pyramid, showing family unity. Child looks happy.
8. Cut to close up pack shot of product with bubbles in background, suggesting sparkle/cleanliness.
Narrative
The narrative or story of the advert is actually quite straightforward. The 'Woman Alone' of the title is not actually alone, because she is always with her family thanks to the magical properties of Persil. By dressing them in gleaming white she is showing her care for them. She is first shown alone, in the kitchen (is this a woman's place?) and then we see what her family are up to without her: her daughter is well behaved at school and rewarded for it, and her husband lights up the office (all thanks to her care). Back at home, the woman is joined by her husband, and then child, in building a pyramid of bricks that symbolise their family unity, and the glue that holds the family together and makes it so strong is the care she shows through the use of Persil.
Representation
This is the interesting one. For a modern audience this advert raises a lot of questions, and it is ripe for exploring. Does it reinforce the stereotype that a woman's place is in the home? Why? What is the woman's role here? How does this differ from that of her husband? Why does she keep looking down in such a submissive way? Is this all her life should revolve around, and should she be content with this? Is this the ideal woman, someone other women should aspire to be. Obviously this doesn't really fit with a modern view of the world, and a 1950s reading of the text would probably be much different, but are there echoes of this world view (and this hegemony) in the Persil advertising website? Bear all these questions in mind when you go into your exam, and you'll ace it!
Mr G.
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