Most media texts target a wide range of audiences, how true is this to your chosen texts?

MAD MEN
Introduction
My first studied text is AMCs, Emmy award winning show Mad Men. I specifically looked at series 5 episode 11 'The other woman'. The preferred reading for Mad Men is niche targeting at people of similar age to cast members that are interested in historical views including issues with womens rights and the birth of advertising. viewers may also take models of behaviour from characters to use in their everyday lives.

Discussion point 
No non-digetic sound used throughout the episode.

Evidence
Throughout the episode running for a duration of 50mins the only non-digetic sound used is at the very end when peggy leaves the office having just quit. This allows the audience to feel more involved in the episode and allows them to individually understand the feelings and emotions of characters without being told how to feeling through sound imposed by producers.

Discussion point
The scheduling and channel on which Mad Men is shown.

Evidence 
Mad Men is scheduled on sky atlantic which is a pay monthly cable channel. Mainstream channels cater for all needs and rely on ratings to pay for the snows. As Mad Men targets a niche audience viewers are willing to pay for sky atlantic in order to watch specific TV shows that are catered for their needs.

Discussion point
Lack of cast variety

Evidence 
The cast of Mad Men are all of a similar age and is are ran by a male dominated work force. This restricts the amount of viewers able to relate to the cast, gain personal identity and models of behaviour that the preferred audience would.

Conclusion 
This proves that the statement of 'most media texts target a wide range of audiences, how true is this of your chosen texts?' is false in regard to Mad Men.

LOST
Introduction
The second text i studied was ABCs Lost. I focused on season 1, pilot 2 which is one of the most expensive pilots ever made costing between $10-14 million. Lost offers a very passive view to its audience as a wide range is targeted through the use of a hybrid gender, ensemble cast and the use of a neutral location within the narrative.

Sex sells

Website relating to the views people have on using sex to sell a product.

http://inspirationfeed.com/inspiration/sex-sells-50-creative-sexual-advertisements/

First draft, introduction.

The representation of woman changes drastically when advertising a product to different genders. Through selling aspirations, companies are able to sell products. I will prove this with examples of Tom Ford and Chanel No.5s’ perfume campaigns. My aim is see whether sex sells and the effect these campaigns have on their audiences. Tom Fords’ campaign is very sexualised and objectifies woman in order to attract men. However, in the Chanel No.5 campaign, Nicole Kidman is portrayed as being very glamorous and sells aspirations of love and romance, which influences women to buy the product. To prove this I will look at what the companies are selling apart from the perfume, whether that be sex, ideology or escapism. I will also research whether this advertising was successful and whether the perfume products sold. To do this I will apply specific theories, one being Laura Mulvey’s theory of 'the male gaze' and how woman are objectified to meet male aspirations, another being the mirror stage and how this makes woman aspirer to be like the woman they see in advertising campaigns such as Chanel.

Tom Fords sexuality

Tom Ford is openly gay, and he and his partner, journalist Richard Buckley, have been together since 1986. Buckley was the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International. Buckley was diagnosed with cancer in 1989 and after his recovery the two moved from New York to Italy. The couple reported the birth of their son, Alexander John Buckley Ford, in September 2012. - Wikipedia

Many find it shocking the Tom Ford is gay. This could build on the argument that the naked woman are used just for business purposes of selling a product and are not used to be objectified. 

Advertising critics response to Tom Ford perfume campaign

Tom Ford makes clothes only for men. He makes fragrances only for men. Why do his ads feature women? That was a rhetorical question.

First ad: the woman is biting the f*** you finger. B***j**, much? Other than the sunglasses, what in hell’s name does this have to do with men’s clothes? Oh wait. This isn’t selling clothes. It’s selling a culture.

Second ad (fragrance): the woman has a completely shaved body. This is not anywhere near a natural body. The bottle is placed between the legs. The hand leads to the bottle. The hand is an invitation. The bottle is the gift. Conveniently, it also stands in the place of the vagina. Message of the ad: if you buy this cologne, you also buy vagina. The woman has no head. She is not a real person.

Third ad: Actually has some men’s suits. Anyway, men can remain clothed. Women must be naked and available. Buy Tom Ford, buy a naked woman who will grab your crotch.

Fourth ad: Buy Tom Ford, buy the opportunity to stare at the naked shaved crotch of a woman.

In case you were wondering, the answer to the rhetorical question is that objectifying women is very profitable in the fashion industry. It’s an entire industry built on the assumption that people will pay, a lot, to be objectified (the clothes make you, man, not you your clothes). Clothes = identity.

Tom Ford’s response to criticism that his ads are sexist?

sunburntmirth.wordpress.com

This response is by someone clearly against the fact the woman are objectified in Tom Ford ads. All of the response is negative which shows the contrast against how people reacted to Chanel No.5.

Advertising critics response to Chanel No.5 perfume campaign

Nicole Kidman Ad for Chanel No. 5 Perfume

Chanel spent a ton of money for Nicole Kidman to star in its advertising campaign. A few years ago, she did a famous TV ad that cost millions, but the Australian celeb has also starred in about three or four different Chanel print ads. This is the best one.

The photography is beautiful. There is a very dark background, and most of the picture is in fact black, but the contrast is perfect. The soft lighting on her face, arm, hand, and back is sufficient.

Sexy and elegant are the two words that describe this beautiful celebrity ad. Nicole Kidman has her hair up in classic evening fashion, and she's wearing a black dress, also in the style of classic evening elegance.

Many perfume ads try too hard to be sexy and pass the threshold of moderation, ending up trashy. This ad isn't like that. Chanel is more highbrow.

Ads where the subject turns around or even turns just slightly and looks toward the camera are often effective at catching the viewers' attention. It's as if the viewer called and the subject turned around in response.

To the audience which would buy Chanel No. 5 and wear it on an elegant evening this is a very appealing advertisement. Simple. Sexy. Elegant. Classic. Chanel.

Rating: 3.0 stars

advertisingcritic.com

The response to the Chanel No.5 perfume campaign is very positive with critics referring to how beautiful, sexy and elegant Nicole Kidman looks and how the overall campaign is very classy and not trashy. This is very different to the response Tom Fords perfume campaign received. 

Tom Ford images