Audience Pleausres, uses, and gratifications

DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRATIFICATION

Similar Lifestyles - Seeing people of a similar ago, social situation and with similar ideologies to the target audience.

Escapism - By assuming that the life of the target audience is flawed, a media product can temporarily allow a perfect world to live in.

Surveillance / Voyerurism - Allows the target audience to see situations and people that they would not normally see.

Sexual Gratification - Where the target audience take pleasure in seeing people that they find attractive.

Social Interaction - Where the audience are able to use the media product to make friends and integrate in society.







Page / Description of textual elements (Toolkit)

Creme Puff by Max Factor (Woman magazine). This page features a man approaching a woman that is wearing makeup.


Target Audience demographic and audience appeal

The target audience for this advertisement is around the same as the woman featured in the advertisement, I also think that this is quite exclusive, because the advert itself only shows middle class to upper class white people, both male and female. These people are shown to live a luxurious lifestyle, as seen by the woman being able to afford the makeup as well as wearing 'smart' clothes, with the man wearing a suit. I think that these people are typical people to aim at for Woman magazine, as they are the typical people that the magazine aims at as well. Marketing to middle class white males and females is always a safe bet in terms of advertising because there is a lot of appeal, it isn't a niche audience.


Audience interpretations (Making reference to Hall), making reference to social, cultural, and historical circumstances.

The preferred meaning of this advert is that the makeup from Max Factor is good, and the slogan 'Beauty at a moment's notice' could also imply that the woman herself wasn't beautiful before, and it was the makeup that made her what she is, though I think the preferred meaning glances over this, and implies that your life will be better if you purchase the makeup, and it will allow you to attract men (something that was seen as very desirable at the time because of narrative of needing a man / husband to function as a valuable part of society). I feel that the dominant reading also follows this, as the makeup was probably popular at the time, as it had enough popularity to garner its own advertisement.


Possible audience uses and gratifications (Context)

There are many various gratifications to be had from the audience with this advertisement. This is due its acute marketing towards the audience discussed above, such a large audience is sure to gain a lot of people who view this for a similar lifestyle, and furthermore, people in a lower class, such as the working class who still buy this magazine will fall in line well with escapism, as they will view this in order to perhaps 'gain tips' to improve their lives. There is a sexual gratification undertone from this advertisement, as the man is obviously approaching the woman because he finds her attractive. This could also link to the surveillance / voyeurism aspect of gratifications, because in all of the pictures, he is looking at her without her realising, linking directly to this theme. Social interaction could also be a possible gratification for this advert, and I feel that this is because they are talking and reviewing the product to each other, much like gossip.