A Diachronic Critical Discourse Analysis of Maybelline New York Print Advertisements

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Make It Happen: A Diachronic Critical Discourse Analysis of Maybelline New York Print Advertisements

Master’s Thesis: Language and Society

Evrydiki Karagkouni 12737704

Supervisor: Dr. Robert Cloutier

20-08-2020

University of Amsterdam

Faculty of Humanities

MA Linguistics CONTENTS

1. Introduction ...... 4 2. Theoretical Background ...... 5 2.1 The sex-gender distinction and the Beauty Myth ...... 5 2.2 What is Advertising? ...... 9 2.3 Interaction of elements ...... 10 2.4 Writer, narrator and reader ...... 12 2.5 The critique of Advertising Discourse ...... 13 2.6 Fairclough (2001) and the Three-Dimensional Model ...... 14 2.7 Discourse Analysis ...... 17 2.8 Literature Review ...... 18 2.9 The significance of this research ...... 22 3. Research Question and Hypotheses ...... 23 4. Methodology ...... 24 4.1 Rationale ...... 24 4.2 Source of data ...... 25 4.3 Data Collection & Categorization ...... 27 4.3.1 Images ...... 27 4.3.2 Slogo ...... 27 4.3.3 Synthetic personalization ...... 28 4.3.4 Lexical selection ...... 28 4.3.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement ...... 29 4.3.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 29 4.3.7 Poetic devices ...... 29 5. Results ...... 30 5.1 Adverts from 1940s to 1960s ...... 30 5.1.1 Images ...... 31 5.1.2 The slogo ...... 31 5.1.3 Synthetic Personalization ...... 31 5.1.4 Lexical selection ...... 33 5.1.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement ...... 34 5.1.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 35 5.1.7 Poetic devices ...... 35 5.2 Adverts from 1970s...... 37 5.2.1 Images ...... 38

5.2.2 The slogo ...... 38 5.2.3 Synthetic Personalization ...... 39 5.2.4 Lexical selection ...... 40 5.2.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement ...... 41 5.2.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 42 5.2.7 Poetic devices ...... 42 5.3 Adverts from 1980s...... 43 5.3.1 Images ...... 44 5.3.2 The slogo ...... 44 5.3.3 Synthetic Personalization ...... 45 5.3.4 Lexical selection ...... 46 5.3.5 Repetition of word in the same advertisement ...... 47 5.3.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 48 5.3.7 Poetic devices ...... 48 5.4 Adverts from 1990s ...... 50 5.4.1 Images ...... 50 5.4.2 The slogo ...... 51 5.4.3 Synthetic Personalization ...... 51 5.4.4 Lexical selection ...... 52 5.4.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement ...... 53 5.4.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 54 5.4.7 Poetic devices ...... 54 5.5 Adverts from 2000s...... 55 5.5.1 Images ...... 56 5.5.2 The slogo ...... 57 5.5.3 Synthetic Personalization ...... 57 5.5.4 Lexical selection ...... 58 5.5.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement ...... 58 5.5.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 59 5.5.7 Poetic devices ...... 60 5.6 Adverts from 2010s...... 61 5.6.1 Images ...... 61 5.6.2 The slogo ...... 62 5.6.3 Synthetic Personalization ...... 62 5.6.4 Lexical Selection ...... 63 5.6.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement ...... 64

5.6.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 64 5.6.7 Poetic devices ...... 65 6. Discussion & Conclusion ...... 66 6.1 Images ...... 66 6.2 Slogo ...... 67 6.3 Synthetic Personalization ...... 68 6.4 Lexical selection ...... 69 6.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement ...... 69 6.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons ...... 69 6.7 Poetic devices ...... 70 6.8 Constructing the feminine ideal ...... 70 6.9 Limitations and suggestions for further research ...... 72 7. References ...... 74

1. Introduction

“Let us not forget that behind every woman’s dreams lie the fundamental human issues that touch upon identity, body, beauty, sexuality, race and the longing to be accepted.” (Vasilopoulou, 2014, p. 493)

People are reluctant to acknowledge that concerns related to physical appearance are considered frivolous but in reality, they carry so much weight. Despite the embarrassment that may accompany such a realization, more and more women recognize that something significant is in fact at risk, with regard to the connection between women’s beauty and female emancipation (Wolf, 1991). Women’s freedom is subverted by a concealed “underlife” (Wolf, 1991, p. 10) saturated with beauty ideals. Wolf describes it as “a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control” (p. 10).

Women are constantly judged against unrealistic ideals that concern physical appearance and are relentlessly urged to pursue the seemingly essential quality of beauty. Gender and beauty are two interdependent notions and according to Wolf (1991), beauty, presented as a universal and objective quality, is assumed to be the core of female identity. This study adopts a social constructionist approach on sex and gender. According to Butler (1986), choosing a gender can be comprehended as the realization of possibilities within a system of deeply rooted cultural standards. To put it simply, gender is not a fixed entity: it is socially constructed as one interpretation of sex imposed by cultural norms. Consequently, being a woman is to become a woman by adhering to the prescribed social norms among which are the beauty norms.

This study attempts to answer the following questions: How is the ideology of femininity and beauty constructed and reproduced in discourse? How are unequal power relations discursively enacted, legitimized and perpetuated? The topic offers infinite possibilities for research. This research is an in-depth analysis of the language, images and used in Maybelline New York make-up print advertisements over the course of eight decades (1940s to 2010s). Therefore, a Critical Discourse Analysis informed by Fairclough’s (2001) Three-Dimensional Model in which language is treated as discourse and social practice is a well-suited approach.

The study employs a qualitative research design comprised of a corpus of 56 Maybelline New York advertisements in order to uncover the hidden ideological underpinnings of the advertising discourse and reveal the inherent exploitative relations among societal groups. Butler (1986) proclaims that unequal gender norms recur because people revitalize them repeatedly. Indeed, the illusion perpetuated by the beauty myth becomes increasingly penetrating and persuasive due to deliberate advertising manipulation. Billion-dollar beauty industries are rooted in women’s unconscious anxieties and can in turn strengthen the illusion in an ascending profit-making whorl. As Wolf puts it, the contemporary armory of the myth is a propagation of innumerable images of the prevailing ideal.

2. Theoretical Background

This section provides the theoretical underpinnings of the present research. Firstly, it delves into De Beauvoir’s (1974) sex-gender distinction and correlates it with Wolf’s (1991) perception of the Beauty Myth and by extension beauty product advertisements. Following that, it explores the notion of advertising as discourse and gives a description of Fairclough’s (2001) three-dimensional model which serves as the theoretical framework of the study. Furthermore, it gives a description of what discourse analysis is and provides an overview of existing academic literature related to this study. Finally, this section explains the importance of this research.

2.1 The sex-gender distinction and the Beauty Myth

Drawing on The Second Sex, De Beauvoir’s most celebrated work, this research endeavors to show how we can conceive gender as a process of realizing cultural probabilities through the prism of advertising discourse. As Butler (1986) notes, being a woman is to become a woman: a dynamic process of appropriation, interpretation and reinterpretation. In particular, Butler makes a clear distinction between two kinds of being: being ‘female’ and being a ‘woman’, which constitutes the core of De Beauvoir’s (1974) well known statement “one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” (p. 301).

Gender may be perceived as one interpretation of sex imposed by cultural norms. Being a gender, whether man or woman, can be seen as a dynamic position within the sphere of cultural probabilities. Leboeuf (2016) agrees that sex has a biological implication

5 since it refers to the anatomical traits that classify a person as a male or female. Gender has a social implication and includes the identity and the manners of conducting oneself, so to speak, assumed on account of the social norms that prescribe what is appropriate for a woman or a man. Leboeuf (2016) explains that “to become gendered is, then, to be determined by social forces to acquire the identity and behaviors characteristic of one sex or another” (p. 142). De Beauvoir considers women as products of social powers that act on a newborn; that is to say an infant is originally sexed but genderless and eventually she acquires the corresponding gender. From the moment the doctor declares the newborn’s gender (It’s a girl!), the gender is assigned and the socialization commences. Therefore, in this study the terms ‘male/female’ refer to biological sex and the terms ‘man/woman’ refer to cultural gender. However, it should be noted that the boundaries of these two are not clear cut which very often results in their conflation.

Interpreting De Beauvoir’s assertion, Vasilopoulou (2014) rejects that there is ‘fixed feminine nature’ (p. 492) and explains that the female is identified as Other. The existence of Other is essential for the composition of one’s identity. The self and the Other are two binary but interdependent entities because the individual desires the other’s gaze to ratify his or her own existence. Crucially, according to Wolf (1991) beauty must be the core of female identity, leaving women exposed to external approval and threatening their confidence. Among the old female related ideologies, the ideology of beauty is the last one to endure, meaning that it still has power over women who would have been somewhat uncontrollable on account of the second wave feminism. It has been strengthened to undertake the oppressive activities that notions “about motherhood, domesticity, chastity, and passivity no longer can manage” (p. 11). Now, the ideology of beauty, which is primarily perpetuated through the discourse of advertising, is attempting to clandestinely undermine what feminism has overtly and substantially achieved. Woolf clarifies what the beauty myth denotes: “that the quality called ‘beauty’ objectively and universally exists. Women must want to embody it and men must want to possess women who embody it” (p. 12). It is important to note this embodiment is crucial only for women. Undoubtedly, beauty products advertisements are predominantly female targeted. Female beauty is necessarily associated with their fecundity, as it is supposedly explained in terms of sexual selection, and therefore it is unavoidable and perpetual. Wolf certainly rejects this justification and draws a parallel

6 between the notion of beauty and economy. She argues that beauty is a currency system governed by politics and in present-day western societies, it is the system that preserves male dominance. Women are evaluated against socially imposed ideals that concern outward appearance in a vertical power structure; “it is an expression of power relations in which women must unnaturally compete for resources that men have appropriated for themselves” (p. 12). Vasilopoulou (2014) agrees that women’s condition is a “struggle among a manly-made society” (p. 488).

Butler suggests that to become a woman is not only a social construction but to a certain extent the procedure of self-construction. Thus, she wonders to what extent and in what sense we construct ourselves so as to become our genders through a self-reflexive process. It may seem a bizarre and perplexing assumption that we can step outside gender positions so as to decide for ourselves which gender to choose. As Butler (1986) puts it, “if we are always already gendered, immersed in gender, then what sense does it make to say that we choose what we already are?” (p. 37). Stets and Burke (2000) scrutinized the constituents of identity theory (IT) and social identity theory (SIT), attempting to show that despite their differences they can be combined to construct a comprehensive theory of the self. Both theories stress the reflexivity of the self as an entity that can consider itself as an object and categorize itself with reference to other social classifications. The reflexive activity results in the formation of identities consisted of self-views. The basis of self-categorization differs in the two theories: in social identity theory a group/social identity does not necessarily have to be defined in relation to someone else. In identity theory, an identity is the classification of the self in terms of a role occupation and it always has to be defined in relation to somebody else. Probably, the emergence of stereotypes is best explained by social identity theory. Great emphasis is placed on the evaluation of persons either as the in-group or the outgroup. The in-group will be assessed favorably while the outgroup adversely. De Beauvoir, according to Butler, seems to draw upon Sartre’s notion of ‘quasi knowledge’ in order to specify the act of assuming a gender. It is a choice of a particular sort that we make, not entirely conscious but still linked to consciousness, and only later we become aware that we have made that choice. Assuming a gender is a process that is very infrequently revealed in introspective awareness:

Becoming a gender is an impulsive yet mindful process of interpreting a cultural reality laden with sanctions, taboos, and prescriptions. To choose a gender is to

interpret received gender norms in a way that organizes them anew. Rather than a radical act of creation, gender is a tacit project to renew one's cultural history in one's own terms. (Butler, 1986, p. 40).

Goddard (1998) underlines that advertising discourse plays a fundamental role in the construction of our identities. In order for an advert to be effective it must draw upon language features that influence us. Freitas (2012) explains that in every encounter with an ad, the viewers are engaged in an interchange with it and are invited to adopt a role, even if they are not members of the targeted group. Goddard (1998) affirms that “it is enough that readers think there is some connection-a loose association is all that is required for advertising purposes. It is this point that the process of stereotyping is clearly at work” (p. 62).

Butler observes that, gender compliance is imposed by social pressures so strong that people may get very upset in case, for example, they are told that they are not masculine or feminine enough or that they have not succeeded in performing their manliness or femaleness suitably. If existing is gendered existing, deviating from the entrenched gender could challenge the person’s existence. Commenting on feminine beauty, Wolf argues that in any time period, the characteristics considered as beautiful in women are connotations of their behavior which that particular period regards as acceptable. In reality the beauty myth is always imposing behavior rather than appearance.

Leboeuf (2016) remarks that the sex-gender distinction implies that the features by reason of which women were considered inferior to men were merely the product of social constraint. Therefore, social changes that reshape gender features can question established gender hierarchies. In other words, separating sex from gender suggests that biology does not govern social rankings and does not justify social inequalities. Leboeuf’s opinion seems to be in accordance with Wolf’s (1991) views on the ideology of beauty. Wolf dismisses the idea that female physical attractiveness is unchanging and universal and that it is derived from evolution since beauty standards alter faster than the evolution of species. The belief that the male mammal chooses the most physically attractive female counterpart in order to mate has been disproved by the science of anthropology. The idea that women compete with each other in terms of physical attractiveness contradicts the processes of natural selection that involve all other mammals. The beauty myth straightforwardly contradicts women’s actual

8 condition; while today “women are growing, moving, and expressing their individuality” (Wolf, 1991, p. 17), the myth preserves the essential and intentional illusion that beauty is, by its very nature, static, perpetual and universal. Simply put, given that the myth arises merely from the need of present-day’s economy and social hierarchy “to mount a counteroffensive against women” (Wolf, 1991, p. 13), this research attempts to uncover the hidden ideological agenda of advertising discourse that perpetuates it.

2.2 What is Advertising?

Answering the ostensibly simple question ‘What is advertising?’ is the essential first step for a research that endeavors an in-depth examination of elements that constitute this discourse type. The birth of advertising goes back to ancient civilizations as a means of informing people about the availability of commodities. Industrialization in the 19th century stimulated the development of advertising and by the beginning of 20th century advertising evolved in its new form as a means of persuasion and temptation. Onwards 1920, advertising became the utmost mediator between product manufacturers and consumers (Tehseem & Hameed, 2015). As Goddard (1998) observes ‘What is an advertisement?’ may even sound like a bizarre question to the modern consumer since the practice of advertising is so well-established in contemporary society and people are highly accustomed to it. It is not an exaggeration to say that advertising is literally everywhere around us. Maybe on account of its omnipresence, we barely take the time to contemplate the nature of advertising discourse. Yet, every day innumerable readers unconsciously engage in brief conversations with the producers of a vast number of advertising texts. The etymology of the word ‘advertising’ can be traced in the Latin word advertere which means to ‘turn towards’. Indeed, advertisements attempt to attract our attention, in other words to compel us to ‘turn towards them’. Yet undoubtedly, not everything that we notice is an advert. This research adopts Arens’ (2006) definition of advertising. According to Arens (2006) advertising is “the structured and composed nonpersonal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods, services, ideas) by identified sponsors through various media” (p. 7). Goddard (1998) notes that we, as consumers, entertain the illusion that advertising may be effective on some people but not on ourselves. We tend to reject advertising language as frivolous

9 discourse aimed at a less educated public. But Goddard (1998) underscores that, even if we are not willing to admit it, the huge amounts of money spent in advertising confirm that advertising is actually effective. Indeed, we may conjecture that if advertising had been proven to be ineffective it would gradually decline, but on the contrary, there is an increase of advertisements over the past decades. Fairclough (2001) attaches to the advertising discourse the term ‘colonizer’ due to the impressive rise in the amount of advertising and he also points to the ‘penetration’ of adverts into all aspects of present- day life.

2.3 Interaction of elements

Cook (2001) suggests that we should consider language as only one of the many elements that constitute an ad and that the nature of each ad is not concrete but rather dynamic. It is a whole, comprised of many diverse parts which are interdependent as illustrated by Cook in Figure 1. Even in the advertisements in which language is the dominant component, it is still misleading to examine it in isolation. However, an examination of elements such as pictures or music is doomed to inadequacy merely because “they are different from the mode of the analysis itself, which is language” (Cook, 2001, p. 42).

Figure 1 Interplay of elements in ads

Given that is practically impossible to handle all the elements of each advert in a single research paper, this particular thesis will deal mostly with the linguistic features of print ads and will touch upon some aspects of their pictures.

In particular, this study will draw on Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) so as to reveal how advertisers employ images to promote cosmetic products but on a deeper level to

10 construct the ideology of the beautiful and desirable woman. Kellner (1995, as cited in Chafai 2010) explains that images not only strengthen the idea of selling a commodity, but they also robustly sell systems of values, ways of leaving and worldviews. According to Messaris (1997), images serve three main purposes: They evoke emotions, they function as indisputable evidence and they create an implicit connection between the commodity being advertised and some other image. Concerning this implicit connection, in the case of images in ads, they present a product which gives meaning to a ‘human context’. Thus, in the majority of adverts, people are depicted and predominantly young people:

The imagery depicts young people because youth is the stage most given over to the formation of self-identity. It shows leisure activities because those are the hours devoted to the self. It is gender ridden because gender lies at the core of self-identity. Advertising imagery fixes on what individuals fix on, converting their needs into its forms in the hope that acceptance of these figurations will lead to acceptance of the commodities offered (Fowles, 1996, p. 157).

Leiss (1997) affirms that the use of images in media is continuously increasing and the interconnection between words and images becomes more interdependent. Chafai (2010) agrees that language and visuals are complementary in constructing the advertising message.

Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) have examined the constituents of visuals (such as perspective, color, figures, framing) in order to illustrate how images communicate meaning. They argued that images serve similar functions to language as proposed by Halliday: they depict our experience of the world (ideational function), they are used to negotiate our relationship with the people we communicate (interpersonal function) and they are useful to structure our ideas and other sorts of messages so that we can interpret them accurately. Kress and Van Leeuwen suggested that images have their own way to be ‘read’ which is somewhat different to the way we read language. In images participants are depicted as figures instead of as nouns and processes are represented visually instead of through the use of verbs. In any mode (either language or image), some kind of relationship is established between the creator of the message and the recipient. In images, readers are positioned in a relationship with the figures and by extension the creators of the image, by means of perspective, gaze and proximity (long-

11 shots vs close-ups). O’Toole (1994) underscored that gaze is the most crucial feature in images because the creation of a sense of directness and closeness between the viewer and the figure is primarily based on the presence or absence of gaze.

Regarding the textual function of images, it is interesting to note that in contrast to written texts which are structured in a linear manner, images are structured spatially. Image makers possess less control than the authors of texts over how the image will be read, but “they can create pathways for the viewer’s gaze” (Jones, 2019, p. 84). They achieve that by making use of aspects such as foreground - background, center - margins, left side - right side, upper part - lower part. In particular, on the grounds that people read texts from left to right, it is assumed that they read images the same way. Therefore, advertising will most likely place the given information on the left side and the new information on the right side (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006). Yet, it should be noted that this may differ in cultures that people read text from right to left such as Arabic or Hebrew. Similarly, as Kress and Van Leeuwen observed, the top section of a picture usually gives more abstract, ideal information while the bottom section conveys more precise and factual messages. In the case of advertisements, it is probable that the upper part depicts what the product promises while the lower part contains less abstract information such as where the product can be purchased.

2.4 Writer, narrator and reader

Goddard (1998) makes a distinction between the writer and the narrator of the advertising texts. The writers are the copywriters that work for the advertising agencies, while the narrators are constructed by the copywriters in order to communicate the advertising message. Goddard makes a second distinction between the actual readers of an advert and the implied readers that seem to be addressed, namely the narratees. The narratees might be either explicitly addressed or it may be a less clearly defined group of people, specified by their supposed qualities. Goddard notes that “the widest address forms to be given to a narratee in an advertisement are no address form at all (0) or ‘you’” (p. 31). The personal ‘you’ falls into the category of what Fairclough (2001) named Synthetic personalization, “a compensatory tendency to give the impression of treating each of the people handled en masse as an individual” (p. 52). Copywriters attempt to compose the advertising text in an interactive manner that imitates spoken language in order to build an intimate relation between the narrator and the narratee.

Thus, the interaction takes the form of a cordial chat rather than the impersonal communication between a large international corporation and a nameless mass of readers.

The narratee is expected to be a particular kind of person and should wish to act in a particular manner. As Goddard observes, “in wanting to be a certain kind of person as we read and interact with the text, we become narratees- in other words, we position ourselves in the way the text wants us to” (p. 31). The real readers consist of all the people that happen to read the advertising text, and arguably, not all of them are interested in what is promoted by the adverts, nor would they be convinced by those adverts. In most cases, advertisements do not openly name their narratees, rather they specify a “kind of person, a profile that is presumed to exist” (Goddard, 1998, p. 32). This person type may not correspond to the real readers “but he or she might be someone that the real readers would like to be, would like to aspire to. In identifying themselves with this profile, readers ‘become the narratees’ of the text” (p. 32). For that reason, Goddard notes that adverts are strategically positioned in spaces that at least a great number of real readers will most probably identify themselves as narratees. In cosmetic ads, the narratee is, for the most part, constructed as female. But also, men receive a variety of meanings from the content of the advert regarding the presumed nature of women. Freitas (2012) argues that advertisements suggest a worldview of standard values and address people in compliance with them. Presumably a lot of people would challenge these premises if they were explicitly articulated, but most likely a considerable number of viewers will not object to the suggested reality and they ultimately assume the role presented to them: Even when a person is not regarded as member of the targeted audience, an advertisement can still create the impression of addressing them. As Freitas (2012) explains, “for some ads I do step into the position offered. [but] the address in ads can also be effective even when I don’t step in” (p. 433).

2.5 The critique of Advertising Discourse

According to Freitas (2012), examining advertisements as a type of discourse can be very illuminating because of their vivid and illustrative nature with regard to their ability to exhibit their inner work. Freitas notes that the discourse of advertising has been condemned to be considered as marginal due to its insufficiency of credibility. In

13 other words, the advertising discourse draws upon the features of other well established and clearly defined discourse types while it preserves its vagueness. Therefore, the advertising discourse faces an attitude of suspicion from consumers as well as researchers and has been criticized for its shortage of innate and defining attributes. The equivocal nature of this discourse and the absence of clear-cut limits impede its assessment since there is no way to set reliable standards for its evaluation. What is more, the commercial objectives of ads enhance the sense of mistrust towards them. In addition to that, advertising is criticized for generating an opposition between society as it actually is and another fictitious version of it, forged by the adverts. Eventually, advertising may be held accountable for threatening social values; consumers, discontented with the real world, will constantly pursue the deceptive world advanced by the ads as a superior substitute. The marginality of advertising discourse is also related to its invasive nature as an “ad is never the programme people are watching, never the letter they are waiting for, never the part of the newspaper they are reading” (Freitas, 2012, p. 428). Ads are designed to convey their message at a glance because as Freitas puts it, “they are never what people really want to look at” (p. 428). Ads flourish in spite of, or even on account of, the disdain and rejection as a lesser discourse type.

Views on advertising vary in terms of their impact on society: from one standpoint ads can have both a beneficial and negative effect on society. Research into advertising discourse can show in what sense and to what extent ads affect society either positively or adversely. From a second perspective, advertising is just a mirror of the state of affairs and changes in society, whether desirable or not. Looking into advertising as a reflection of society can shed light to vital societal issues. From yet another point of view, ads are always unethical because all the presented features are stylized and embellished as “versions of everyday life in disguise” (Freitas, 2012, p. 429) and advertising itself is an intrusive phenomenon. In this case, research into advertising discourse can spotlight those versions in disguise and suggest ways of coping with them.

2.6 Fairclough (2001) and the Three-Dimensional Model

Fairclough (2001) defines ‘ideologies’ as the common-sense assumptions embedded implicitly in certain conventions of linguistic interaction. Ideologies are closely related

14 to the power relations which regulate these conventions; ideologies are firmly connected to language given that language is the most prevalent form of social interaction and the type of social practice where we depend most on common-sense assumptions. Thus, Fairclough (2001) suggests that language is probably the dominant tool of social control and power and attempts to scrutinize what he names as “the ideological workings of language” (p. 2) in order to make people aware of exploitative relations.

Fairclough (2001) underscores that since language is a component of society, the connection between society and language is internal and dialectical: “Linguistic phenomena are social phenomena of a special sort, and social phenomena are (in part) linguistic phenomena” (p. 19). Fairclough uses the term discourse to refer to the process of production and the process of interpretation in which a text is a component, in the first case as the output and in the latter as the source. A textual analysis and an analysis of productive and interpretative processes constitute the whole of discourse analysis. Fairclough proposed a three-dimensional model of analysis in which language is treated as discourse and social practice. Fairclough distinguishes three aspects namely texts, interactions and contexts. Corresponding to these aspects of discourse, the three levels of critical discourse analysis that he discerns are description, interpretation and explanation. The level of description is related to the formal properties of the text; the level of interpretation deals with the relationship between text and interaction and the level of explanation refers to the relationship between interactions and social context. Figure 2 is a representation of the three-dimensional model, as outlined by Fairclough himself:

Figure 2 Discourse as text, interaction and context

Regarding the present research, on the level of description specific formal properties of the ads were identified; On the level of interpretation these properties were analyzed in terms of the ways they may affect the prospective consumer; and lastly on the level of explanation they were associated with the ideology of feminine beauty.

Fairclough suggests that when discourse types serve unequal power relations they are functioning ideologically. In other words, he underscores that ideological power is exercised in discourse, such as advertising discourse. Advertising is, for Fairclough, a major kind of discourse in which the embedded ideologies, more or less explicitly, legitimize societal relations and assign roles, such as the role of consumer. Fairclough underlines that “discourse is the favorite vehicle of ideology” (p. 30). “Social structures not only determine discourse but they are also a product of discourse” (p. 31).

By nature, media discourse, such as advertising discourse, is composed for mass audiences. Advertising practitioners though, when creating an advert, certainly have a group of narratees in mind and therefore they address to a presumed person-type. Fairclough refers to that as a constructed subject position and notes that the actual recipients of the advertising message “have to negotiate a relationship with the ideal subject” (p. 41). Fairclough underlines that there is a crucial distinction between the producers of the adverts and the recipients of their message because only the first have a say on the composition of the advert and therefore they exercise power over the recipients. Fairclough refers to the discourse of advertising as a type of strategic discourse that aims at certain goals, and he discusses the three aspects of its ideological function: building relations, building images, building the consumer. The first aspect is related to advertising as a one-way public discourse in which the roles of the undefined producer and the undefined recipient do not switch but both of them need to be methodically personalized. The second aspect concerns the way an image of the product is established through indications that induce a particular frame such as the frame of modern living. The third aspect is, according to Fairclough, the primary ideological action of advertising, that is “constructing subject positions for consumers as members of consumption communities” (p. 168).

2.7 Discourse Analysis

Jones (2019) defined discourse analysis as “the study of the ways sentences and utterances are put together to make texts and interactions and how those texts and interactions fit into the social world.” (p. 2). He also notes that discourse analysis is not merely the study of language but rather a scrutiny on how people use language in their daily interactions thus revealing that that they belong to particular groups and that “they are certain kinds of people” (Jones, 2019, p. 2). This perspective on language is grounded, according to Jones, on four premises:

1. Language is ambiguous. 2. Language is always situated within the material world, within people’s relationships, in history and in relation to other languages. 3. The use of language is inextricably intertwined with who we are; by speaking or writing we enact our diverse and rather fluid identities. 4. Language is always connected with other communicative modes.

The social approach to discourse is concerned with the function of language in ‘social practice’. Language is regarded not only as a tool of communication but also as a component of broader systems through which people build social realities and identities. This approach to discourse can be largely attributed to Foucault (1972), who supported the idea that discourse is the most important instrument for the construction of knowledge as well as a tool for exercising power. Different people use language differently and therefore different types of discourse are related to various person-types and various ‘systems of knowledge’ which Foucault called ‘orders of discourse’. Gee (1996) uses the term ‘Discourses’ as “ways of being in the world” (p. 127). An essential assumption of this perspective on discourse is that it is, by definition, ideological, and always benefits certain people at the expense of others.

The way people create ‘versions of reality’ with their discourse or use it to exert power over people depends on the kinds of words they use to describe things and the grammatical structures they use to communicate ‘who is doing what to whom’, as well as the way they formulate their words to accomplish particular social actions and create particular relationships with other people. (Jones, 2019, p. 41).

Jones (2019) rejects the idea that peoples’ words can be neutral because “they always represent the world in a certain way” (p. 11) and therefore people develop certain relationships with each other based on the words they use. Jones (2019) notes that texts inevitably promote ideologies which he defined as a “specific set of beliefs and assumptions that provide us with models of how the world is supposed to be” (p. 11). Ideologies are not utterly unfavorable since they build a common worldview among members of a specific group and a sense of shared purpose. Nevertheless, they restrict our perception of reality, therefore marginalizing anyone or anything that does not fit in the prescribed norms. Ultimately, according to Jones (2019) even the most ostensibly ‘innocent’ text in some way implicates “systems of inclusion and exclusion” (p. 12). Gee (1972, as cited in Jones 2019) suggested that ideological texts generate “frozen theories or generalizations about the world and how people should behave” (p. 17) which he called ‘cultural models’. Cultural models are frameworks founded on our interpretations of the world and are embedded in what was previously referred to as ‘Discourses’. Jones (2019) underscores the cultural aspect of those models, remarking that they manifest the values of a specific group in a specific place at a specific period of time. He also adds that texts do not just mirror those beliefs but enhance them as well. Cultural models are fundamental for our understanding and interpretation of advertisements.

2.8 Literature Review

The issue of the division between desirable and undesirable women as perpetuated by advertising discourse has been a focal point of discourse analysts. Advertisers presuppose that women wish for certain features construed as ‘desirable’ while the opposites of these are defined as ‘problems’ (Phakdeephasook, 2009). Phakdeephasook examined advertisements found in Thai health and beauty magazines and investigated the lexical selection of the ads, the rhetorical questions, as well as cases of overstatement and intertextuality. The researcher showed that advertisers claim that women can improve themselves without struggle, just by making use of the suitable products. Thus, the desirable woman is institutionally constructed, primarily through the media for the profit of the producers of the beauty commodities.

The promotion of products is also accompanied by the promotion of ideas regarding the notion of beauty. According to Nugrawidhanti (2016), advertisers prompt

18 consumers to buy beauty products and ultimately communicate the ideology of feminine beauty. Nugrawidhanti critically analyzed the discourse of Oriflame cosmetic advertisements and found that each ad is composed of several linguistic features, such as repetition, alliteration, hyperbole, imperative and comparative sentences and the use of second person pronoun. By making use of these features, copywriters intrigue the readers and convince them of the importance of beauty.

Beauty norms are rigidly connected to gender stereotypes as illustrated by several cross- cultural studies (Frith, Shaw and Cheng, 2005; Del Saz-Rubio and Pennock-Speck, 2009; Chafai, 2010; Behnam and Zamanian, 2014). Magazine advertisements from different societies, such as English and Persian or English and Moroccan, despite their differences, present stereotypical and unrealistic images of women which conform to the cultural standards of each society and amplify existing stereotypes and beauty norms (Chafai, 2010; Behnam and Zamanian, 2014). Without doubt, stereotyping goes hand in hand with power relations of inequality and dominance. Chafai (2010) also found that ads related to beauty products are the most prevalent among all ad types found in magazines. Furthermore, women are expected to retain an appealing and flirtatious appearance not for themselves but for the sake of men’s gratification. Frith, Shaw and Cheng (2005) examined advertisements found in fashion and beauty magazines from the U.S and two Asian societies (Singapore and Taiwan). The analysis showed a universality of certain aspects of the female beauty ideal such as the preference for the ‘classic beauty type’. This beauty type was the same in different cultures and involved characteristics such as fair skin, feminine and delicate look, sophisticated style. The most salient difference, according to the researchers, is that in Singapore and Taiwan, the most prominent feature seems to be a beautiful face, while in the U.S more emphasis is given to the body. Repetition, imperatives, rhetorical questions and second person pronouns are the investigated linguistic features in a multimodal study of TV commercials by Del Saz-Rubio and Pennock-Speck (2009). The researchers found that the advertisers implemented strategies not only to inform women about the sanitary products but in a less explicit way to convey stereotypical assumptions about women.

Fairclough (2001) has suggested that when discourse types, such as advertising discourse, serve unequal power relations they are functioning ideologically, meaning that they serve unequal power relations. Fairclough proposed a framework in which

19 language is treated as discourse and social practice. Literature on the discourse of female targeted cosmetic advertisements against the background of Fairclough’s model has been extensive (Baig 2013; Taras 2013; Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus (2013); González Ruiz, 2014; Lunyal 2015; Susanti, 2019). Baig (2013) drew on Fairclough’s three-Dimensional Model and analyzed four different kinds of advertisements (cosmetic, telecommunications service, banking, politics) to show that advertisers employ the discourse in their best interest so as to shape an ideal relationship with the target audience and consequently to enact power over it. In a similar vein, Susanti (2019) critically examined the use of language in beauty advertisements of Pantene and Garnier in accordance with Fairclough’s 3D framework. The author examined the use of second person pronouns, the use of repetition, imperatives and questions. By employing these features, advertisers are successful in constructing images that are appealing to the prospective consumers and therefore they exercise control over them by pursuing them to buy the product.

Advertisements arise from social realities and mirror the ideologies of the society that generates them (Lunyal, 2015). Lunyal conducted a CDA based on Fairclough’s model and examined in detail perfume adverts focusing on their linguistic and visual elements. Women are portrayed as having seductive powers with the use of a weapon, that is the advertised perfume. Yet, the author remarked that this weapon actually works against them as it amplifies prevailing ideologies and power relations. It is concluded that the advertising features are eventually treated in a way to communicate an image of mock empowerment that works towards the interest of men rather than women. Unequal power relations were also the central point of Taras (2013). Taras investigated cosmetic surgery advertisements in order to reveal the linguistic means that determine the power relations and ideologies that are constructed through this particular discourse. The study consisted of advertisements retrieved from twenty-five websites which were analyzed from a CDA standpoint merged with a corpus-based approach. Among others, Taras analyzed the use of personal pronouns and the use of adjectives related to beauty. The research showed that the ads placed particular emphasis on the physical attractiveness and by means of linguistic features constructed the female reader as the prospective client. The cosmetic surgeon (most often a man) has the power to decide for women what is beautiful and what is not. Therefore, an unequal relationship is established while external beauty is built up as a critical element in daily life.

González Ruiz (2014) also drew on Fairclough’s three-dimensional model to conduct a CDA on printed advertisements of a particular brand, that is Max Factor. The researcher examined a corpus of ads from 1940 to 2000 and focused on their linguistic and visual features in order to make a comparison and to observe their evolution over the years. Similar to González Ruiz (2014), the present research is also a CDA with a diachronic perspective but on a different brand, Maybelline New York. González Ruiz investigated linguistic aspects such as word repetition, hyperbole, imperatives and personalization achieved with second person pronouns. The study by González Ruiz did not reveal any considerable changes in the strategies used by the advertisers. The most notable one was the shrinkage of the amount of the advertising text which was attributed by the author to the impact of the Internet and TV as the dominant media. The researcher observed that the ads, with the use of (para)linguistic devices, accomplish their goals which are to grasp readers’ attention, help them to memorize the ad and ultimately purchase the product. The present analysis of Maybelline ads aims to show whether there is consistency across different cosmetic brands concerning potential changes in the techniques employed by the advertisers over decades.

In advertising discourse, inventiveness that concerns aspects of language plays a key role on attracting the consumers’ interest and ultimately convincing them to buy the product. Among others, inventiveness is demonstrated with the use of poetic devices (Emodi, 2011; Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus 2013, Noor et al. 2015). Emodi (2011) examined the semantic features in a corpus of twenty English advertisements. Emodi focused on the connotative use of language, the use of adjectives, coined and misspelled words, the use of repetition, punning, metaphor and ambiguity and concluded that all these elements contribute to the originality of the advertising language. Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus (2013) agree that poetic devices such as alliteration and jingles facilitate consumers to remember the message of the ad and by extension the advertised product. Drawing on Emodi (2011) and Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus (2013), the method of the present study includes figures of speech such as alliteration and rhyme that contribute to the originality of the advertised text. Noor et al. (2015) showed that advertising slogans are creatively employed by copywriters to captivate the audience’s interest. This finding is in accordance with Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus (2013) who found that slogans and taglines are ‘catchy’ devices. In a slightly different fashion, the

21 present research examines the changes in the slogo (tagline) overtime which is a more fixed entity than the slogan (Cook, 2001).

Novelty is considered as an essential quality of the product being sold and it is consistently emphasized by the advertisers (Melynda, 2017). Melynda examined eighteen Maybelline New York printed advertisements with a focus on the linguistic elements and the persuasion techniques employed by the copywriters. Melynda (2017) found that the pioneering persuasion stage proposed by Kleppner (1986), which highlights the innovative elements of the product was the most common stage. Like Melynda (2017), the present research also investigates Maybelline New York ads but from a diachronic perspective and with a quite different methodology. Nevertheless, it examines too the quality of novelty by looking into words that denote the element of originality and innovation of the advertised product. Additionally, like Melynda it investigates the elements of hyperbole, alliteration and rhyme, the use of second person pronoun and the use of imperative.

Celebrity endorsement is a common practice regarding the promotion of cosmetic products (Nugroho 2009; Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus 2013; Tehseem and Hameed, 2015). Nugroho (2009) examined a particular print ad of the Elizabeth Arden brand for a specific moisturizing cream product. The advertised product is endorsed by a celebrity, that is Catherine Zeta-Zones. The author found that celebrity endorsement is achieved with the use of linguistic and visual elements which function in a complementary way to convey a favorable image of the product that promises to make women look at least a bit younger. Like Nugroho, this research paper investigates the interplay of the linguistic aspect with the visual component of the ads with reference to O’Toole’s (1994) views and attempts to reveal in what ways a positive image of the advertised product is constructed.

2.9 The significance of this research

As Goddard (1998) states, even though each advert is short lived, the impact of advertisements is durable and accumulative because they form a corpus of messages about the society that produced them. Therefore, they are not merely a reflection of societal qualities, but they also contribute to the formation of those qualities. In other

22 words, on a first level they may reflect the values of the advertisement producers and on a second level this mirroring of values crystalizes into standards addressed to everyone. Goddard notes that advertising is a relatively recent type of discourse, but it is old enough to have a record; therefore, contemporary copywriters can adopt the practices of past advertisers and imitate preceding ads. Freitas (2012) affirms that adverts from past decades may give the impression of being outdated and bizarre in the eyes of the modern consumer, but the nature of their discourse has not changed considerably. Therefore, a diachronic examination of ads can be a valuable focus of study for discourse analysis because they are enduringly dynamic and updated and they provide an unceasing flow of data in regard to previous and current social values and ideologies. Goddard argues that examining the way a kind of product has been advertised over time is enlightening regarding cultural changes. Also, a comparison of adverts over the years can illustrate how public beliefs towards issues have altered and how these changes are manifested in the language used since “advertising is an index of attitudes” (Goddard, 1998, p. 90). As Goddard (1998) puts it, advertising discourse contributes to the way we “construct our ideas about the world around us” (p. 91). Those ideas are guided by the advertisers’ expectations regarding what kind of ideas the potential group of purchasers needs to have about itself in order to make the decision to buy a specific product. Advertisements resist thorough examination because of their vagueness and their equivocal nature which serve marketing purposes but they are significant material if one wishes to look into the way society develops and what people regard as acceptable (Freitas, 2012).

3. Research Question and Hypotheses

On the basis of the theoretical background discussed in section 2, this research project is guided by the following question:

How is the ideology of femininity and beauty discursively constructed and reproduced in makeup print advertisements of Maybelline New York over the course of eight decades (1940s-2010s)?

It is hypothesized that Maybelline New York cosmetic ads function ideologically over the years at the expense of women. A set of ideas about the quality of beauty and femininity is discursively constructed and women are judged against socially

23 constructed standards that dictate what is considered desirable in physical appearance and what is not. Advertising professionals employ strategies of manipulation to exercise control over women and female empowerment is appropriated by copywriters in order to function for the benefit of the dominant group.

What is more, based on background research (González Ruiz, 2014), it is hypothesized that Maybelline New York advertisers will be consistent over the years in their use of advertising strategies. It is expected that language and images remain rather unchanged with the exception of the amount and length of the advertising text that will most likely decrease. A consistency across different brands of cosmetic products in the ways advertising professionals choose to present the product under reference can be very enlightening regarding the ways notions of femininity and beauty are constructed in discourse.

4. Methodology

This section provides the method applied in this research in order to either confirm or reject the hypotheses made in section 3. The methodology includes three subsections which are: 4.1 Rationale which provides the reasoning of the chosen method, namely Critical Discourse Analysis, 4.2 Source of data which refers to the archive and the cosmetic brand used for the study and also gives a justification of the way advertisements were selected, 4.3 Data Collection & Categorization which gives an account of the aspects based on which data were collected, examined and compared.

4.1 Rationale

For the purposes of this study, a qualitative research design was employed. Given that words and pictures instead of numbers are employed to describe what the scholar has observed about the phenomenon in question, the findings of a qualitative study, such as this one, are amply descriptive (Merriam, 2009). A Critical Discourse Analysis was implemented on the selected ads as an approach of examining text that highlights relations of power, and inequality and the way these are enacted or resisted (Van Dijk, 1996). Van Dijk enumerates certain characteristics that are indicative of what Critical Discourse Analysis (hereafter CDA) actually is. He clarifies that CDA is a problem- or issue-oriented approach, position or stance of studying text and talk. It is part of a wider

24 classification of critical studies and may focus on all levels and dimensions of discourse not necessarily verbal but on other semiotic dimensions as well. The relations between society and discourse are the center of attention for CDA. Van Dijk (1996) further explains that CDA spotlights “the relations of power, dominance and inequality and the way these are reproduced or resisted by social group members through text and talk” (p. 18). In this process of either reproduction or resistance, ideologies are of great importance. Scholars that undertake a CDA endeavor to expose what is tacit and less evident with regard to relations of dominance and inequality as enacted in discourse as well with their concealed ideologies. Therefore, strategies of manipulation and legitimization that concern the ways that the powerful control people’s minds and by extension their actions, are central in CDA (Van Dijk, 1996).

CDA has been criticized as an approach for its weakness, namely for its lack of clear- cut theoretical frameworks and for the absence of systematic scrutiny (Schegloff, 1997). Widdowson (1995) accuses the CDA paradigm as being contradictory in itself: even though the ‘critical’ aspect implies subjectivity, CDA scholars claim to offer objective interpretations of the discourse in question. He also argues that “discourse is something everybody is talking about but without knowing with any certainty just what it is: in vogue and vague” (p. 158). Despite its weaknesses, a CDA is a very suitable approach for this study since it can unveil strategies of manipulation in the advertising discourse and expose the ideologies of femininity and beauty that preserve unequal gender norms.

4.2 Source of data

A corpus of 56 Maybelline New York print ads was retrieved from the website of The Advertising Archives. According to the website, The Advertising Archives, founded in 1990, is a picture library located in London and it is the largest resource of advertising material in Europe. Maybelline New York is a suitable brand for the purposes of this research, owing to its long history which permits a diachronic examination of the advertisements. In addition, according to the official website of Maybelline New York, ("Maybelline About Us - Company Information, History, & Mission Statement for Maybelline", 2020), the company is the leading make-up brand worldwide since it offers approximately 200 products which are distributed in almost 130 countries. A simple search with the keyword Maybelline in the search box of The Advertising

Archives can provide up to 87 images which are classified by decades from 1930s until 2000s.

For the decade of 1930, only one ad was found in The Advertising Archives and its linguistic features were illegible. For that reason, the starting point of the research was set on the decade of 1940 similar to González Ruiz (2014). For the decades from 1940 to 1960, only 2 adverts from each decade were available. Therefore, those adverts were treated as a whole, representing the period of three decades (1940s-1960s). For the 1970s, 12 ads were found but two pairs were almost identical and for that reason 1 ad from each pair was selected. An example of what counts as almost identical is given in figure 2. The difference in the intensity of colors is almost imperceptible and choosing one ad over the other would not affect the results of the study.

Figure 3 A pair of two almost identical ads

For the 1980s, 11 ads in total were found in The Advertising Archives. 1 add was exclusively about nail polish and was discarded as irrelevant to makeup. For the next decade, 10 advertisements in total were found, all of them relevant to makeup. Regarding the 2000s, 18 ads were available in the archive. 4 ads about nail polish were discarded, 1 pair of ads was found to be exactly identical and the rest were selected so that there would be a balanced data sample of 10 ads for the two halves of each decade for every product (mascara, foundation, lipstick, lip-gloss). Lastly, concerning the 2010s, 29 adverts were found. 2 ads were screenshots of TV commercials and two more were exactly the same. The rest were selected so that there would be a balanced data sample of 10 ads for the two halves of each decade for every product. Overall, for the

26 initial period of 1940s-1960s, 6 advertisements were examined and all subsequent decades included 10 adverts each.

4.3 Data Collection & Categorization

56 Maybelline New York print advertisements were thoroughly examined, and the data were collected, investigated and compared on the basis of the following aspects: 4.3.1 Images, 4.3.2 Slogo, 4.3.3 Synthetic personalization, 4.3.4 Lexical selection, 4.3.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement, 4.3.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons and 4.3.7 Poetic devices.

4.3.1 Images

As discussed in section 2.3, adverts are comprised of many diverse and interdependent parts: Images play a fundamental role and according to Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) they have their own way to be ‘read’. Cook (2001) has suggested that language and visuals interact with each other. Sometimes visuals overshadow language and especially in adverts meaning is conveyed to a great extent through pictures. Previous research on the visual aspects of advertisements (Nugroho, 2009; Chafai, 2010; Tehseem and Hameed, 2015; González Ruiz 2014; Lunyal, 2015) has shown that they can be illuminative in regard to the ways advertisers promote cosmetic products. The investigated aspects of images in this study are: perspective, proximity, foreground - background, center - margins, left side - right side, upper part - lower part, facial expressions and particularly gaze.

4.3.2 Slogo

According to Cook (2001), slogo (commonly known as tagline) is a long-lasting catchphrase that accompanies the products on all the advertising campaigns. The slogo is a relatively fixed index of the entire company while slogan refers to ephemeral phrases that accompany specific lines of products and change with the various campaigns. Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus (2013) examined how slogans and taglines in ads found in women’s magazines are resourcefully employed by copywriters. Examining how the slogo of a specific brand changes overtime can reveal potential shifts in the brand’s core message and character. This research examines the slogo itself as well as the placement of the slogo in the advertisements.

4.3.3 Synthetic personalization

Second Person Pronouns Fairclough (2001) has defined synthetic personalization as “a compensatory tendency to give the impression of treating each of the people handled en masse as an individual” (p. 52). Synthetic personalization in adverts is mostly achieved with the use of second person pronouns (Jones, 2019) and it has been systematically investigated as a persuasion technique (Del Saz-Rubio and Pennock-Speck, 2009; Taras, 2013 González Ruiz, 2014; Nugrawidhanti, 2016; Melynda, 2017; Susanti, 2019). In this way, the advertising text is composed in an interactive manner attempting to build an intimate relation between the copywriter and the narratee.

Imperatives and Rhetorical Questions

Synthetic personalization can also be achieved with the use of imperatives and rhetorical questions. Previous research (Phakdeephasook, 2009; Del Saz-Rubio and Pennock-Speck, 2009; González Ruiz, 2014; Nugrawidhanti, 2016; Melynda, 2017; Susanti 2019) has shown that the use of these two grammatical structures can create a sense of closeness between the advertiser and the reader. Narratees may feel as if they were personally addressed, thus encouraged to obtain the advertised product.

4.3.4 Lexical selection

Words that denote innovation According to background research (Melynda, 2017), emphasizing the innovative features of the product is a recurring technique employed by the advertisers. Some words that fall under this category are the following: ‘new’, ‘introduce’, ‘patent’, ‘revolutionary’, ‘breakthrough’.

Words that denote the quality of beauty and perfection

According to Taras (2013) analyzing beauty related lexical items can disclose the various ways in which beauty is conceptualized in advertising discourse. Similar to Taras, words related to beauty and perfection were examined. In particular, the words ‘beauty’ and ‘perfect’ and their derivatives, the words ‘gorgeous’ ‘flawless’, ‘captivating’ ‘stunning’, ‘attractive’, ‘allure’.

4.3.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement

A lot of researchers have examined word repetition in the discourse of advertising (Del Saz-Rubio and Pennock-Speck, 2009; Emodi, 2011; Behnam and Zamanian, 2014; González Ruiz, 2014; Nugrawidhanti, 2016; Susanti, 2019). By repeating lexical items, advertisers highlight particular aspects of the product and enhance narattees’ memory that potentially increase the chances of growth in sales. Examining this aspect diachronically can show whether there is consistency in the copywriting practices over the years.

4.3.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

Background research (Nugrawidhanti, 2016) has shown that advertisers make frequent use of comparison and especially elliptical comparison in which the second comparandum is absent. For example, ‘lashes look longer’ and ‘Crisper, richer color’ compared to what? It is interesting to see whether this grammatical structure is used by Maybelline advertisers too.

4.3.7 Poetic devices

Alliteration and Rhyme According to Grey (2008, as cited in Melynda 2017) alliteration, which is also called head or initial rhyme, is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more adjacent words or syllables. Rhyme is a pattern of correspondence in sounds between words which extend from the end to the last fully stressed vowel (Grey 2008). Alliteration and rhyme create a poetic effect that is very likely to catch the reader’s attention. Emodi (2011) and Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus (2013) observed that poetic devices such as alliteration and rhyme are systematically used by copywriters to intrigue prospective consumers.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement used by advertisers to emphasize the superiority and effectiveness of the cosmetic product. González Ruiz (2014), Nugrawidhanti (2016) and Melynda (2017) showed that hyperbole is a figure of speech used very frequently in advertisements. Most instances of hyperbole include one of the words:

‘ultra’, ‘ultimate’, ‘hyper’, ‘super’, ‘extreme’, ‘express’, ‘instantly’, ‘immediately’, ‘incredible’, ‘unbelievable’. Also, there are cases of exaggerated comparisons.

5. Results

This section gives the results of the present study. Advertisements from 1940s to 2010s are scrutinized on the basis of the aspects discussed in the aforementioned methodology.

5.1 Adverts from 1940s to 1960s

This section includes 6 adverts from the period 1940s to 1960s which are thoroughly investigated on the basis of the chosen aspects. Figure 4 is a collection of the examined ads.

Figure 4 Ads from 1940s-1960s

5.1.1 Images

All 6 advertisements have a close up of a young woman’s face and the camera angle positions the narratee on the same level with her. Additionally, in all cases the woman gazes directly into the camera and by extension the narratee, therefore a sense of intimacy is established. In 2 ads there is a ‘before vs after’ comparison; the woman’s face before the eye products have been applied to is backgrounded at the upper part while her face after the application of the product is foregrounded at the lower part of the ad. It is expected that the narratee will notice the difference between the two pictures and therefore be convinced of the products’ effectiveness. In one of these two pictures there is a case of celebrity endorsement. According to the caption, the woman depicted is Norman Christopher, Queen of the 1947 Tournament of Roses. 2 adverts are not photographs but illustrations; one is colored and the other is black and white. These 2 ads are quite similar in terms of the illustration but they differ considerably in their text. In the last ad the woman holds a gun and aims directly at the direction of the viewer. It is probably suggested that thanks to Maybelline mascara the woman acquires seductive powers. Nevertheless, one may wonder whether ultimately this empowerment is deceiving and works at the expense of women.

5.1.2 The slogo

In all cases of this time period, the slogo accompanies the logo and it is placed at the bottom of the ads. In addition, emphasis is placed particularly on eye-makeup since Maybelline cosmetics of that period concerned exclusively eye products. The quality of the products is also emphasized along with their reasonable price as revealed by the fourth slogo.

5.1.3 Synthetic Personalization

a. Second Person Pronouns Synthetic personalization achieved with the use of second person pronouns (you, your, yours) is used systematically by Maybelline copywriter as it occurs in 5 out of 6 ads.

Copywriters aim to make the readers feel that they are personally addressed. In particular, the possessive pronoun ‘your’ specifies either the face, eyes, lashes and skin of the reader or her make-up routine. ‘You’ is used 4 times as a subject pronoun and 2 as an object pronoun. In the latter case, it is used to specify the beneficial effect of the product. According to Maybelline advertisers, the narratee’s eyes are supposed to be accentuated and alluring, her lashes should look luxuriant, her complexion should be creamy:

Is your make-up fair to your eyes? Your eyes need added allure Your entire face radiates Accent your eyes Your beauty routine Look your loveliest always The top of your face To accentuate the color of your eyes Your entire face Add Maybelline to your regular make-up Under your beautiful eyes It blends perfectly with your skin It’s yours Before your very eyes Seize your chance for power Ultra lash your lashes

You use lipstick You’ve never realized When you stop with half a make-up You’ll be so glad Makes you look as if you were born with long luxuriant lashes Gives you a creamy complexion

b. Imperatives and Rhetorical Questions A lot of cases of imperative clause can be found in 4 out of 6 ads and 2 instances of rhetorical questions. By using these grammatical structures, copywriters attempt to prompt consumers to try the advertised product:

Imperatives

See how easily Maybelline glorifies the eyes

Add Maybelline to your beauty routine

Look what happens when you stop with half make-up

See what a few soft touches of Maybelline can do

See what a thrilling difference it makes!

Keep undereye circles undercover

Pick one to match your skin and make-up and smooth it on

Seize your chance for power

Ultra Lash your Lashes

Rhetorical Questions

Is your make-up fair to your eyes?

The eyes seem dull. Don’t they?

5.1.4 Lexical selection

a. Words that denote innovation Words that denote innovation are mentioned at least once in 5 out of 6 ads of the 1940s- 1960s period. Advertisers show a preference in the word ‘new’ which refers to the advertised product, particularly eye makeup products:

In new metal vanity New automatic magic mascara With totally New Spiral Brush

New magic Mascara is so smooth New, really waterproof New Maybelline Cover stick With a unique, specially designed Duo-Taper Brush

b. Words that denote the quality of beauty and perfection Words that denote beauty and perfection are present in 5 out of 6 advertisements of the 1940s-1960s. The word ‘beauty’ itself and its derivatives are the most common, emphasizing the beautifying effect of the cosmetic product:

Your eyes need added allure Your entire face radiates Look your loveliest always Gracefully tapered eyebrows Your entire face is more attractive Devoted to the art of eye beauty! Never has lash-loveliness been so easy, so pleasant, so perfect! Lashes look their loveliest always Four beauty-giving shades Always the purest and best in eye beauty Under your beautiful eyes Maybelline Cover Stick smooths right over everything… beautifully. In beautiful gold-tone metal vanity It blends perfectly with your skin tone Give you a creamy, clear-looking, beautiful luscious complexion

5.1.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement

In the period 1940s-1960s, word repetition is a recurring advertising practice. There is a noticeable preference in repeating ‘eye’ related words such as the word ‘eye’ itself, the words ‘lash’ and ‘brow’ as well as the name of the brand and the advertised products:

i. Eye (x9), make-up (x4), Maybelline (x3), mascara (x3), brow (x3), accent (x2) ii. Eye (x9), Maybelline (x7), makeup (x3), mascara (x3), brow (x3), shadow (x3) iii. Lash (x8), eye (x4), brush (x3), curl (x2), spiral (x3), so (x3) iv. Lash (x4), brush (x2), spiral (x2), Maybelline (x2), magic (x2) v. Cover (x6), under (x4), dark (x3), circles (x4), Maybelline (x3), eye (x3) vi. Lashes (x7), eye (x3), build (x3)

5.1.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

All 6 ads from this time period have at least 1 instance of elliptical comparison on words such as ‘dark’, ‘long’, ‘lovely’, ‘easy’, ‘good’. Apparently, an attractive woman is expected to have dark, long lashes and expressive eyebrows:

Lashes look naturally darker, longer, and more luxuriant.

Maybelline Eyebrow Pencil accents brows gracefully, making them much more expressive.

Look your loveliest always

With darker, longer-looking lashes…

Your entire face is more attractive.

Lashes new gentler, easier way

Easiest way ever to lovely lashes!

Lashes look their longest and loveliest always

Far better than a rod!

Always the purest and best in eye beauty

The finest in eye-make up, yet sensibly priced

Ultra Lash your lashes for the lashiest look.

5.1.7 Poetic devices

a. Alliteration and Rhyme The poetic device of alliteration which creates a rhythmic effect is present in all ads from the 1940s-1960s. Most words that are alliterated include the voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l] sound in words such as ‘long’, ‘look’, ‘lash’, ‘lovely’. Advertisers presuppose that women’s lashes should be long luxuriant and curly while their complexion should be creamy and clear looking. Regarding rhyme, no instance was found:

Alliteration

Big build up

Colors and curls

Creamy clear-looking complexion

Look your loveliest

Longer looking lashes

Lovely lashes

Lash loveliness

Lashes look their longest and loveliest

Long luxuriant lashes

Lower lids

Magic Mascara by Maybelline

Soft smooth

Simple brush strokes

Spiral Brush supplies

Sting or smart

Self-sharpener

Rhyme

36 b. Hyperbole

In the period of 1940s-1960s the figure of speech of hyperbole is used repeatedly in 4 out of 6 ads and concerns eye-makeup products such as mascara. Hyperbole is used to stress the effectiveness of the product as well as how effortlessly and quickly it can be used. For example, emphasis is given on eye-lashes that, as the advertisers advocate, look instantly longer thanks to the advertised product:

How easily Maybelline glorifies the eyes

What a thrilling difference!

With completely flattering make-up, your entire face radiates

Darkens instantly without a trace of stiffness

Easiest way ever to lovely lashes!

Never has lash-loveliness been so easy, so pleasant, so perfect!

Lashes look their longest and loveliest always

Takes just seconds

Ultra Lash your lashes

Makes lashes go to fantastic lengths before your very eyes

5.2 Adverts from 1970s

This section provides an analysis of 10 scrutinized adverts from the decade of 1970. Figure 5 is a collage of the selected ads.

Figure 5 Ads from 1970s 5.2.1 Images

All 10 adverts have a close up shot of a young woman’s face that the product under reference has been applied to. The camera angle positions the viewer on the same level with the woman. Also, in almost all cases, the woman’s face occupies the upper part of the ad. In 9 out of 10 ads the woman is looking confidently or even lustfully straight in the photographer’s eye, by extension the reader’s eye. The direct gaze along with the facial expressions of self-reliance and contentment creates a sense of closeness with the viewer. Moreover, a picture of the product itself is presented in each ad, so that the association between the advertised product and the woman who wears it is enhanced. Presumably, the potential consumer will identify the particular product in stores while she knows beforehand its effect when applied on the face.

5.2.2 The slogo

a. The finest in eye make-up, yet sensibly priced. b. FINE EYE MAKE-UP SENSIBLY PRICED c. Quality cosmetics at your price.

The slogo of the ads (in its three variations) places particular emphasis on two aspects: the quality of the product and its price. The company intends to suggest that even though the price of the product is reasonable, it does not take away from its quality. The

38 slogo always accompanies the logo and in 8 out of 10 cases, it is found at the bottom of the ad.

5.2.3 Synthetic Personalization

a. Second Person Pronouns In this decade, synthetic personalization, achieved with the second person pronoun, is a recurrent technique used by advertisers to establish a sense of directness and closeness with the narratee. The possessive pronoun ‘your’ is used to specify the eyes and lashers of the reader or the cosmetic product itself, namely eye shadows. In 10 out of 12 cases, ‘you’ is used as a subject pronoun which creates the sense that the narratee is the center of attention and she is directly addressed. Apparently, women are expected to make use of cosmetics such shadows that embellish their eyes and mascara that lengthens their lashes in order to “capture the interest of a secret somebody” as the Maybelline copywriter suggests:

Top off all your eye shadows With your favorite Maybelline shadows It lengthens your lashes Quality cosmetics at your price With your own lashes To make your winter eyes bloom

You’re bound to capture the interest of a secret somebody! You can afford to experiment Just look what you get Choose the one you like best Do you suffer from lumpy lashes? The way you want it And you know how Great-Lash builds Even if you wear it all day The way you made them Part of you

Just the way you want them That’s what we promise you

b. Imperatives and Rhetorical Questions

Imperatives

In 1970s advertisers make frequent use of imperatives and rhetorical question, thus encouraging the readers of the advert to try the product:

Top off your eye shadows Try it So…mix, match, try all these highlighters Just look what you get in each kit But go ahead, have fun-choose the one you like best Apply here! Take the easy way Choose Great-Lash in Dark Blue

Rhetoric Questions Result? Can the formula be missing? Do you suffer from lumpy lashes?

5.2.4 Lexical selection

a. Words that denote innovation The word ‘new’ which refers to the eye makeup product is mentioned at least once in 7 out of 10 ads of the 1970s:

New kind of glimmer and shimmer New creamy-smooth Maybelline New all eye kit New! Automatic super shinny lip color

New Great-lash kit New easy-carry beauty kit New super-narrow backing strip The three newest additions

b. Words that denote beauty and perfection Words that indicate beauty or perfection are used frequently by advertisers in the decade of 1970. The word beauty and its derivatives are the most common, underscoring the advantageous effect of the product to the narratee’s physical appearance:

The biggest beauty build-up ever The easy way great looking eyes Easy carry beauty kit Keeps your eyes the way you made the. Beautiful. They’re beautifully styled Blend perfectly with your own lashes

5.2.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement

Word repetition is a practice very often employed by Maybelline advertisers during 1970s. Eye-related words are frequently repeated such as the word ‘eye’ itself or the word ‘lash’. Words that refer to the product are also repeated such as ‘mascara’, ‘brush’ and ‘shadow’:

i. Lash (x10), formula (x4), brush (x4), long (x3), Maybelline (x3), mascara (x2) ii. Eye (x5), Maybelline (x3) shadow (x2) iii. Eye (x4), Maybelline (x2) iv. Lash (x10), long (x3), Maybelline (x2) v. shine (x10), color (x3) vi. Lash (x5), eye (x3), shade (x3), Maybelline (x2) vii. Eye (x4), Shadow (x3), Maybelline (x2) viii. Just (x10), lashes (x10), Maybelline (x2) ix. Snow (x8), bloom (x4), eye (x3) x. Lash (x10), mascara (x6), ultra (x6), Maybelline (x3)

5.2.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

In this decade, (elliptical) comparisons are used quite frequently by Maybelline advertisers in adjectives such as ‘long’, ‘thick’, ‘soft’, ‘big’, ‘tiny’, ‘dark’ and ‘lovely’. On the face of it, a woman shall be considered beautiful if she has dark, thick and long lashes:

Can it truly make ordinary lashes look longer, longest? Each lash turns darker, thicker, softer, lovelier before her very eyes…tiniest lashes our brought out of hiding. The biggest beauty build-up ever. You’re sure of luxuriant, thicker, longer lashes with no nasty lumps Longer-lasting as well as longer. They look thick, thicker, thickest.

5.2.7 Poetic devices

a. Alliteration and Rhyme A lot of instances of alliteration and one instance of rhyme can be found in the analyzed adverts of 1970s. Similar to the previous period, most words that are alliterated include the voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l] sound such as ‘long’, ‘look’, ‘lash’, ‘love’, ‘last’. Alliteration and rhyme are figures of speech that create a lyrical effect and thus adverts grab the attention of the narratees:

Alliteration Builds body Colors collection Deep delicious Glow, girl glow Lively loveliness Love the look Lengthens your lashes

Longer lashes Longer lasting Lumpy lashes Lovely long lashes that last and last Mix, match Magic Mascara Super shinySprinkled with snowflake tiny touch Twin-tip

Rhyme Glimmer and shimmer

b. Hyperbole A significant number of hyperboles can be found in the adverts of 1970s. Advertisers show a preference in the use of exaggerated words such as ‘ultra’ and ‘super’. Similar to previous decades, this figure of speech primarily refers to eye-make up products, such as lash mascara:

The Missing Ultra Lash Ultra Lash mascara The valuable formula The biggest beauty build-up ever Do you suffer from lumpy lashes? Ultra lash Super-separating Super shiny lip color A new super-narrow backing strip Ultra lash mascara

5.3 Adverts from 1980s

This part is an examination of 10 advertisements from the period of 1980s. Figure 6 is a collection of the ads under investigation.

Figure 6 Ads from 1980s

5.3.1 Images

All 10 adverts involve a close up shot of a young woman’s face wearing make-up. In 9 out of 10 ads, the women gaze directly the photographer and by extension the viewer who is the potential buyer; therefore, a sense of intimacy is created. In the single ad that the woman does not do so, her expression seems to be sexually provoking while she touches her naked shoulder with her hand. The advertised product itself (in its different variations and shades) is also foregrounded in each ad.

5.3.2 The slogo

Quite surprisingly, in this decade, no slogo can be found in any of the analyzed adverts.

5.3.3 Synthetic Personalization

a. Second person pronouns In 1980s, synthetic personalization, realized with the use of second person pronouns remains a frequently used technique by advertisers in order to make the reader feel that they are directly addressed. The possessive pronoun ‘your’ specifies the reader’s eyes, lips or lids. In 10 cases, ‘you’ is a subject pronoun which makes the narratee the agent of the beautifying action and in 5 cases it is used as an object pronoun which emphasizes what the product offers to the narratee. It is to be presumed that women are expected to be beautiful by making use of eye shadows and pencils and by having shiny colored lips thanks to the advertised lipstick:

You can shadow, line, define your eyes To your lid colors Contour your eyes When your lips are dressed That’ll make your lips shiny Glides across your lid Leaving your eyes more beautiful than you ever dreamt

You can shadow, line, define your eyes You always have the perfect control Ultra-Slim also gives you Blooming Colors gives you four shades You can shadow Shades that give you smooth lines What’s new? You! Maybelline invites you to experience You can feel free to give your lashes No matter how much you put on

Colors you’ll want to bat your lashes at You’ve never seen anything like it No matter how you get wet or how you get wet. Leaving your eyes more beautiful than you ever dreamt

b. Imperatives and Rhetorical Questions In 1980s, imperatives and rhetorical questions that attempt to stir consumers into buying the particular product are still used by Maybelline advertisers. Thick lashes and shadowed eyes are presented as desirable features. Yet, the number of imperatives and rhetorical questions is decreased in relation to the previous decade:

Imperatives Take a tip Come on in and see the 4 new Blooming Colors Wear any shade alone or shadow, highlight and contour your eyes Choose thick lashes

Rhetorical Questions What’s new?

5.3.4 Lexical selection

a. Words that denote innovation Words such as ‘new’, ‘introduce’ and ‘revolutionary’ can be detected in 8 out of 10 ads of this decade. The word ‘new’ that refers to the advertised product either lipstick, eye pencil, mascara, or shadow is noticeably the most common:

New Ultra-Slim lipstick New! Maybelline eye writers New Blooming Colors Collection What’s new? You! The remarkable new make-up The new lip gloss

New! Rich ‘n Gentle mascara New Blooming Colors mascara Introducing New Perfect Pen eyeliner A revolutionary soft flexible tip

b. Words that denote beauty and perfection In the advertisements of 1980s, using words that connote the quality of beauty or perfection is a very common practice. In particular, 7 instances of ‘beautiful(ly)’, 4 instances of ‘perfect’ and 1 instance of ‘gorgeous’ can be found. The advertised product is promoted as a beautifying factor:

Take a tip for beautiful lips Have the perfect control to shape beautiful lips In 15 beautiful shades Beautifully coordinated by experts! Contour in perfect taste. Perfect every time! It’s more a matter of perfecting your skin There is but one way for skin to respond…beautifully. Eyes can’t get any more gorgeous than that. Leaving your eyes more beautiful than you ever dreamt For truly beautiful eyes

5.3.5 Repetition of word in the same advertisement

In 1980s, word repetition remains a common advertising practice for the promotion of Maybelline cosmetic products. The repeated words primarily refer to features of the advertised product:

i. Slim (x6), tip (x5), Beautiful (x4), Maybelline (x2) ii. Eye (x3), long (x2), color (x2), pencil (x2), Maybelline (x3) iii. Blooming colors (x5), Line (x3) iv. Blooming (x4), colors (x5)

v. Make-up (x4), Maybelline (x2) vi. Lip (x5), kiss (x4), Maybelline (x2) vii. Thick (x6), rich (x5), gentle (x5), Maybelline (x2) viii. Colors (x4), Maybelline (x2) ix. Eye (x4), pencil (x3), Maybelline (x2) x. Wet (x2), mascara (x2)

5.3.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

In this decade, Maybelline advertisers make frequent use of (elliptical) comparisons on adjectives such as ‘long’, ‘thick’ and ‘thin’. They particularly stress the effectiveness of the cosmetic product, for example how well eyes are defined or how thick lashes become:

They wear longer than any other pencil. Choose thick, thicker, thickest lashes. All the way up to 100% thicker. Makes thinnest or thickest lines a breeze. Leaving your eyes more beautiful than you ever dreamed possible.

5.3.7 Poetic devices

a. Alliteration and Rhyme A lot of instances of alliteration in a variety of sounds and two instances of rhyme can be found in the adverts of 1980s. These poetic devices give the ads a metrical sense that can attract the reader’s attention:

Alliteration Basic Black Beyond the Basics Colors coordinated Kissing koolers Long-lasting color

Long-lasting lid color Lid and liner colors Perfect pen Slanted, slim tip Slim with a slant tip Smudge, smear Texture and tone Tasty new twist Thinnest or thickest

Rhyme Line, define Verve, nerve

b. Hyperbole In 1980s advertisers still use hyperboles extensively to highlight the effectiveness of the product with words such as ‘ultra’, ‘incredible’, ‘unbelievable’ and exaggerated comparisons. Similar to the previous periods under examination, most hyperboles concern eye makeup products and there are a few instances of lip and foundation products:

Ultra slim lipstick Ultra performance pure make up A level of performance and purity all but unheard of until now Incredible texture and tone Rich thickness plus All the way up to 100% thicker Rollicking, high-kicking, high fashion colors Eyes can’t get more gorgeous than that The most incredible breakthrough since the invention of the pencil You’ve never seen anything like it. The control is unbelievable 49

Then dries in an instant. And lasts for hours Leaving your eyes more beautiful than you ever dreamed possible

5.4 Adverts from 1990s

This section gives a detailed analysis of 10 advertisements from 1990s. Figure 7 presents the ads under examination.

Figure 7 Ads from 1990s

5.4.1 Images

In 9 out of 10 ads a woman is the central figure of each ad. In 2 ads there is a long shot of the woman so that we can see not only her face but also her slim body. In 4 ads we can see at least the upper part of her body. This may suggest that, in contrast to previous decades which involved only close up shots, the notion of beauty has been extended in 1990s to involve not only a beautiful face but also an attractive thin body. The women look cheerful, confident or even sensual. The advertised product also occupies some space in the advert so that the viewer can associate it with the attractive woman that wears it. In most cases the woman in the ad is a celebrity, in particular a famous model, namely Christy Turlington and Josie Maran. These are cases of what is called celebrity endorsement. Just the picture of the celebrity creates a loose association in the mind of the prospective consumer: that the celebrity in the advert under reference uses the particular product and by all appearances she is satisfied with it. Apparently, these celebrities are so recognizable that any further clarifications seem redundant.

5.4.2 The slogo

MAYBE SHE’S BORN WITH IT. MAYBE IT’S MAYBELLINE.

The new slogo of the company is presented in the ads of 1990s. The slogo is in capital letters displayed in a black-white contrast. It is always found at the bottom of each ad and what is of particular importance is the repetition of ‘Maybe’. Arguably, this slogo can grasp the reader’s attention and it can be memorized effortlessly and even unintentionally.

5.4.3 Synthetic Personalization

a. Second Person Pronouns In 1990s there is a noticeable decline in the use of synthetic personalization established with the use of second person pronouns. Still, it remains one of the possible advertising techniques to create a sense of directness and closeness with the potential consumer. In particular, 2 instances of ‘your’ are found that specify the skin and face of the narratee. Also, there are 2 instances of ‘you’ both functioning as a subject pronoun to the verb ‘know’ and 3 cases of ‘you’ as an object pronoun that emphasize what the product offers to the consumer:

What it’s doing to your skin You’ll know True Illusion is different as soon as it floats across your face

You know what’s happening To protect you You’ll know True Illusion is different That’s perfectly you Maybelline takes you into the light

b. Imperatives and Rhetorical Questions In 1990s, advertisers still make use of imperatives and rhetorical questions but their number is reduced compared to the two previous decades. The use of these sentences creates the sense that the reader is personally addressed as if the they had a chat with the copywriter:

Imperatives Guess again! Imagine what it’s doing to your skin Have a beautiful day

Rhetorical Questions Magic? Guess again Heredity? Oh, please

5.4.4 Lexical selection

a. Words that denote innovation A plethora of words that denote innovation can be found in 8 out of 10 ads of this decade such as ‘new’, ‘introduce’ and ‘breakthrough’. They predominantly refer to the latest advertised product and its new advantageous effect:

New Waterproof! Neutrals enter a new era

Introducing Revitalizing Color New from Maybelline A whole new kind of natural Introducing New True Illusion It’s a whole new reason to wear make-up A Maybelline beauty Breakthrough Create a new kind of natural Introducing curlier, flirtier lashes New Maybelline wonder curl mascara Introducing Maybelline Industrial Revolution It’s a brave new color

b. Words that denote beauty and perfection In the advertisements of 1990s, using words that indicate beauty and perfection is still quite a common technique employed by the advertisers. ‘Beauty’, ‘perfect’ and their derivatives are the most common words that stress how beauty is achievable thanks to the advertised product:

Only Maybelline could make a curl this captivating! Soften imperfections Have a beautiful day A look that’s flawless Maybelline beauty breakthrough That’s perfectly you Zapped with lip perfection

5.4.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement

In this decade repetition of words appears to be reduced which can be partly attributed to the decrease of the amount of the advertising text. Yet it is still used by advertising practitioners. Repeated words concern predominantly the advertised product itself or the face features that the product presumably improves:

i. Curls (x5) ii. Shadow (x2) iii. - iv. Skin (x2) v. Make-up (x2) vi. Make-up (x3), illusion (x3) vii. Moisture (x4), lip (x4) viii. Curl (x5), lash (x2) ix. - x. -

5.4.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

In contrast to the two previous decades, the analysis of 1990s ads revealed only 2 instances of elliptical comparatives on the words ‘curly’ and ‘flirty’ which suggest how women’s lashes should be:

Introducing curlier, flirtier lashes

5.4.7 Poetic devices

a. Alliteration and Rhyme The poetic device of alliteration is still present in the ads of 1990s but the number of instances is reduced. The few instances reveal that soft supple skin and curly lashes are desirable features that can be achieved thanks to the advertised cosmetic product. Also, in contrast to 1970s and 1980s, there is no instance of rhyme:

Alliteration Beauty breakthrough Could make a curl this captivating Neutrals enter a new era Skin, so soft supple Steely shades

Rhyme

b. Hyperbole In the ads of this decade there is still a considerable number of exaggerated statements. Hyperboles of 1990s concern eye-make up products such as mascara and shadows, but also foundation and lip products. Maybelline advertisers presuppose that lashes should be curly, skin should be soft and lips should be smooth and supple:

Only Maybelline could make a curl this captivating! Dramatically soft Matte Shadows Others have skin that begs to be touched. So soft supple So natural looking it’s virtually undetectable Maybelline creates a whole new kind of natural It’s a whole new reason to wear makeup That all adds up to smooth, supple, 100% traffic-stopping lips Wonder curl mascara

5.5 Adverts from 2000s

This section examines 10 adverts from the decade of 2000.The advertisements chosen for the scrutiny are presented in figure 8.

Figure 8 Ads from 2000s

5.5.1 Images

Similarly to previous decades, in 2000s the figure of an attractive woman dominates each ad. In particular, the advertising professionals offer a close-up shot of each woman who in most cases is a celebrity, either a model or an actress. Christy Turlington, Josie Maran, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Andriana Lima, Kirstin Davis are some of the celebrities that endorse the product under reference. The endorsers are positioned on the same level with the viewer, they look self-assured and in 8 out of 10 ads they gaze directly into the camera; A sense of closeness is created. In 2 instances the celebrities direct quote is given in quotation marks, therefore amplifying the endorsement:

a. “It’s makeup made easy” Sarah Michelle Gellar

b. “why wait a week or even a day?” Kristin Davis

The advertised product also occupies some space in the ad and it is foregrounded at the right side of the advert. The reader of the ad is lead to think that the cause of the celebrity’s confidence is the particular product.

5.5.2 The slogo

MAYBE SHE’S BORN WITH IT. MAYBE IT’S MAYBELLINE.

In the decade of 2000, the slogo remains the same as in 1990s.

5.5.3 Synthetic Personalization

a. Second Person Pronouns Synthetic personalization, achieved with the use of second person pronouns, is further reduced in the decade of 2000. Only three instances of ‘your’ are found that specify the narratee’s lips, and lashes and no instances of ‘you’:

Won’t dry your lips Find your perfect wine shade Lengthens your lash look

b. Imperatives and Rhetorical Questions In 2000s, advertisers still make use of imperatives and rhetorical questions in an attempt to build a sense of closeness with the narratee and ultimately convince them to buy the product:

Imperatives Shine on! Rewind the years instantly! Find your perfect shade Click for an intoxicating dose of droplets Rhetorical Questions “Why wait a week or even a day?” Our secret?

5.5.4 Lexical selection

a. Words that denote innovation The word ‘new’, which emphasizes the innovation of the advertised product, is repetitively present in the adverts of 2000s as it appears in 9 out of 10 ads:

New Maybelline express make-up New Watershine lip gloss New Define-a-lash A new lash length New forever metallics Caffeine makes it new! New from moisture extreme New Watershine Elixir New Sculpting Tip New Color Sensational New Lash Stiletto Our patented formula

b. Words that denote beauty and perfection In the 2000s, advertisers of Maybelline still make use of words that denote beauty or perfection:

Lip perfection Pro- Vitamin A Your perfect wine shade Perfectly defined For a captivating look Lip color so stunning

5.5.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement

Repeating words in each ad is a common advertising technique in the decade of 2000. Copywriters mostly choose to repeat words that either refer to features of the advertised product or to features that the product promises to improve:

i. Clump (x9), lash (x4), zero (x3), define (x3) length (x2), sexy (x2) refine (x2) ii. Make-up (x4) iii. Shine (x3), lip (x2), gloss (x2) iv. Moisture (x3), lip (x3) v. Metal (x3), color (x2) vi. Skin (x3), firm (x2), instantly (x2), young (x2) vii. Moisture (x3), collagen (x2), shade (x2) viii. Shine (x3), concentrated (x2) ix. Color (x4), sensational (x2) x. Lash (x7), length (x4), long (x2), provocative (x2), patent (x2)

5.5.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

In this decade, (elliptical) comparisons are used very frequently by Maybelline advertisers on words such as ‘sexy’, ‘firm’, ‘rested’, ‘radiant’, ‘bright’, ‘young’, ‘long’, ‘rich’, ‘sleek’, ‘crispy’, ‘creamy’. The reader of the ad is lead to assume that women’s skin should be firm, bright and young-looking and their lashes should be long, refined and sensual. Additionally, their lips should be smooth, full and tempting:

Sexier, refined length Tired skin looks firmer and more rested immediately Skin looks years younger instantly Micro-pearls illuminate skin for a more radiant, brighter, younger look Lips are visibly fuller and up to 50% smoother Color is instantly maximized: richer, more voluptuous Crisper, richer, color from pure pigments Creamier feel from nourishing honey nectar Up to 70% longer lash look The hottest thing lashes will ever wear Lashes look sleeker 59

5.5.7 Poetic devices

a. Alliteration and Rhyme

A lot of instances of alliteration particularly in the voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l] sound in words such as ‘lash’, ‘length’, ‘look’, ‘lip’ and 4 cases of rhyme can be found in the adverts of 2000s. Alliteration and rhyme poeticize the ads and attract the narratee’s attention:

Alliteration Firms fast Lash length Lips look Liquid lipcolor Longer lash look Lengthens your lash look Lashes look sleeker Makeup made easy Smooth, supple lips years younger Why wait?

Rhyme Lightweight stick, things quick Refined, redefined Concentrated shine, perfectly defined Get flash that lasts

b. Hyperbole Although there is a noticeable decrease in the number of hyperboles found in the decade of 2000, advertisers still make use of this figure of speech which refers to foundation, eye and lip products:

Unique built in clump remover leave zero clumps on brush Our unique shaped-to-the lash brush is ultra flexible and accentuate each and every lash Express makeup 3 in 1 A mouth-watering Burst of crystalline shine Pure metal shine Hyper Pearl formula for metal powered color

5.6 Adverts from 2010s

This section investigates 10 advertisements from the most recent decade. Figure 9 is a collection of those ads.

Figure 9 Ads from 2010s

5.6.1 Images

Similarly to the four previous decades, the adverts from 2010s are governed by the close-up shot of an appealing woman. The reader is at the same level with the woman on account of the particular camera angle and in 9 out of 10 ads the figure is looking directly into the camera, therefore the reader. In all cases, the figure is a celebrity and more specifically, a model: Christy Turlington, Erin Wasson, Julia Stegner, Emily DiDonato, Jourdan Dunn, Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima. In some of the ads, the picture of

61 the celebrity is accompanied by what appears to be the celebrity’s direct quote, therefore implicitly but also creatively enhancing the endorsement:

a. Raise eyebrows? I do it all the time. b. Passion, I’m all about it. c. Drama? Sometimes I like to push it. d. When I make a move, I do it precisely.

In all cases the advertised product is foregrounded on the right side of the advert while the celebrity’s face is on the left. In all probability, the reader will presume that the advertised product is what makes the celebrity so charming.

5.6.2 The slogo

a. MAYBE SHE’S BORN WITH IT. MAYBE IT’S MAYBELLINE b. MAKE IT HAPPEN

Until the middle of the decade, the old slogo of Maybelline is still at use. In 2016, the new slogo is introduced. The new slogo ‘MAKE IT HAPPEN’ spelled again in capital letters, is an imperative clause, open to multiple interpretations; a possible interpretation could be that of prompting women to actively pursue their aspirations whatever those are.

5.6.3 Synthetic Personalization

a. Second person pronouns In the decade of 2010, only 2 instances of possessive pronouns were found and no cases of subject or object pronouns. Advertisers seem to have abandoned the use of this technique but it can also be attributed to the decrease in the amount of the advertised text:

Does your longwear live up to its name? Show us your #pushupmascara look

b. Imperatives and Rhetorical Questions In this decade, imperatives and rhetorical questions are still used by Maybelline advertisers so as to build a more intimate relationship with the reader and encourage them to obtain the product. In the case of the rhetorical question it is interesting to note

62 that the copywriters give the impression to the reader that those sentences are actually uttered by the celebrity who endorses the product.

Imperatives Go beyond covering Build up to 4x more volume Meet our first ever 10h Tint Gloss Dare to come alive Dare to get the push-up effect Fill gaps precisely

Rhetorical Questions Does your longwear live-up to its name? Raise eyebrows? Drama? Sometimes I like to push it

5.6.4 Lexical Selection

a. Words that denote innovation Similar to all previous decades, in 2010s we can detect a large number of words that express innovation such as ‘new’ and ‘introduce’ that refer to the advertised product and appear in 8 out of 10 ads:

Introducing The Eraser The New Anti-Aging Foundation New Volum’ express New Super Stay 10H Tint Gloss Our new kind of finish Our new kind of feel New Color Sensational Vivids New Brow drama New the falsies push up drama New Brow precise fiber volumizer mascara 63

b. Words that denote beauty and perfection In the most recent decade, advertising professional still show a preference in using words that denote beauty or perfection to promote the product:

Perfect and cover foundation For ultimate flawless-looking perfection Bright goes gorgeous Master the perfect brow

5.6.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement

Advertisers still make use of word repetition in order to convince consumers to buy Maybelline makeup products. Repeated words primarily refer to the feature that the product is applied to or to characteristics of the product itself. Also, advertisers seem to emphasize the element of seductiveness since the words ‘sensational’ and ‘passion’ are repeated:

i. Eraser (x6), foundation (x4), conceal (x2) ii. Party (x2) iii. Lash (x3), Clump (x2) iv. Kind (x3) v. Sensational (x2) vi. Long (x2), wear (x2) vii. Brow (x5) viii. Sensational (x2), color (x2), passion (x2) ix. Drama (x3) x. Brow (x4), fiber (x3)

5.6.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

In 2010s, using elliptical comparatives in Maybelline adverts remains a common practice. The comparatives concern adjectives such as ‘big’, ‘full’, ‘flirty’, ‘bright’ ‘creamy’ and ‘crispy’:

Lashes look bigger, flirtier one by one Build up to 4x more volume Brighter color Creamier feel Crisper color Fill gaps precisely for fuller brows

5.6.7 Poetic devices

a. Alliteration and Rhyme

A considerable number of instances of alliteration and one case of rhyme can be found in the adverts of 2010s. This is consistent with the finding from previous decades:

Alliteration Crisper color. Creamier feel. Feels fresh Goes gorgeous, never garish Longwear live up Super stay So sensational Super-saturated shades

Rhyme Instantly, visibly, precisely

b. Hyperbole In the ads of this decade the poetic device of hyperbole is still used by the advertisers to stress the effectiveness of the foundation, eye or lip product. This finding is consistent with all previous decades:

For ultimate flawless-looking perfection Our super-concentrated and Goji-Berry enriched formula New super stay 10H Tint Gloss

In 10 super-saturated shades Superstay flex technology

6. Discussion & Conclusion

In this section the findings presented in the previous part are analyzed and compared against the backdrop of Fairclough’s three-Dimensional model. The findings of this research which occur on the level of description are correlated with the level of interpretation and the level of explanation. In other words, the formal properties of the advertising text are firstly connected with what Fairclough named processes of production and interpretation and ultimately with the social conditions of production and interpretation and their social effects. This is achieved on the basis of two interwoven notions: gender and beauty. Cosmetic advertising is examined as a means of constructing and perpetuating notions of femininity and beauty. Finally, the study is concluded with an acknowledgement of its limitations and with suggestions for further research.

6.1 Images

Overall, there is a consistency in the way advertising professionals of Maybelline make use of images over the decades. In the overwhelming majority of examined ads, a young woman who wears the product under reference is the central figure and viewers are presented with a close up of her alluring face. The camera angle positions the woman at the same level with the viewer and the woman looks directly in the photographer’s eye and by extension the viewer. She looks confident, content or even lustful. The figure of a seductive woman, temptingly addressing the viewer is consistently used in advertising, assuming the role of an ‘agent provocateur’ that stimulates the viewer (Lunyal, 2015). A feeling of intimacy is created between the figure of the ad and the narratee. Ostensibly, the woman is very satisfied with the advertised product and invites the readers to try it.

The recommendation of the product is particularly intensified with celebrity endorsement which as an advertising method appears in 1940s and becomes even more evident in the decade of 1990. The woman that recommends the product is not merely

66 an unknown model but rather a recognizable person that, in all likelihood, women would aspire to identify with. A connection is created between the celebrity’s attractive appearance and the advertised product; by all appearances the product is what makes the celebrity ‘beautiful’. Images of physically attractive women-celebrities that wear cosmetics disseminate the prevailing ideology of how women should look if they wish to be beautiful. Beauty is inextricably correlated with accented eyes and colored lips, soft and young-looking skin.

6.2 Slogo

The following catchphrases are the main slogos that can be found over the analyzed decades:

a. WORLD’S FAVOURITE EYE MAKE-UP b. Maybelline…devoted exclusively to the art of eye beauty! c. Maybelline-always the purest and best in eye beauty d. The finest in eye make-up, yet sensibly priced. e. FINE EYE MAKE-UP SENSIBLY PRICED f. MAYBE SHE’S BORN WITH IT. MAYBE IT’S MAYBELLINE g. MAKE IT HAPPEN

For the first period under examination, emphasis is placed particularly on the brand’s expertise in regard to eye-makeup since Maybelline cosmetics of that period concerned exclusively eye products. The 1960s slogo ‘The finest in eye make-up, yet sensibly priced’ evolved into a shorter version but in capital letters ‘FINE EYE MAKE-UP SENSIBLY PRICED’. It is a slogo that highlights two main aspects of the cosmetic item, namely the quality and price suggesting that it is ‘a value for money’ product. Quite surprisingly, in the 1980s no slogo is detected. In the 1990s the slogo has been changed to the well-known ‘Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline’ which involves the repetition of the word ‘maybe’. An aural effect is created which resembles that of a rhymed poem, so to speak. It catches the reader’s attention and it can be memorized very easily. What is implied here is probably that Maybelline products are so effective that it is hard to discern whether the woman is wearing makeup or whether she is naturally beautiful. Nevertheless, certainly, women are not born with long curly lashes, perfectly defined brows, burgundy colored lips and unblemished skin that does not age. 67

The last slogo and most recent one first appeared in 2016. It is an imperative clause that encourages women to ‘make it happen’. What women should make happen is unclear. Maybe it is an invitation to realize their dreams, whatever those dreams are. From appearance, this slogo is a stimulus of female empowerment. Yet from a more critical perspective it is hard to see how cosmetic products which have been accused of perpetuating oppressive ideologies of femininity and beauty can be liberating for women. What is the connection of a stereotypically attractive physical appearance with realizing one’s aspirations? Additionally, it seems contradictory that the very same ads which urge women to be constantly preoccupied with their appearance also encourage them to aim for other goals too, apart from just being beautiful. Therefore, the latest Maybelline slogo can be perceived as an attempt of faux empowerment that merely serves marketing purposes.

6.3 Synthetic Personalization

In the ads from 1940s to 1980s synthetic personalization, achieved with the use of the second person pronouns, appears to be a very common practice. From 1990s onwards, we notice a gradual decline in the preference of the advertisers to this technique. Yet, it should be noted that the decline may be attributed to an extent to the overall decrease in the amount of the advertised text and the advertisers’ preference for simple syntax and short sentences. Throughout the decades, the possessive pronoun ‘your’ is used to specify the narratee’s facial features or her make up routine. ‘You’ is used either as a subject pronoun that demonstrates how the narratee is the agent of the beautifying action, or as an object pronoun that emphasizes what the product offers to the consumer. In particular, as Maybelline advertisers suggest, women’s eyes are supposed to be accentuated and alluring, their lashes should be long and thick, their complexion should be flawless and young-looking. Overall, synthetic personalization is a technique that creates a sense of directness and intimacy by making the reader feel as if they were personally addressed.

The use of imperative clauses and rhetorical questions by Maybelline copywriters that enhance the effect of synthetic personalization is relatively consistent over the eight decades. By using these two grammatical structures, a sense of closeness is created between the copywriters and the readers of the ads. It is as if the reader is invited to have a conversation with the copywriter or with the celebrity that endorses the product.

Hence, the reader is prompted to consider purchasing the product that promises to make her facial characteristics more appealing in compliance with the feminine beauty norms that Maybelline perpetuates.

6.4 Lexical selection

The comparison regarding words that indicate the element of innovation, reveals a remarkable consistency regarding the way advertising practitioners choose to promote the products throughout the decades: the novelty of the makeup product is emphasized; Maybelline advertisers show a noticeable preference in the word ‘new’. The potential buyer is led to assume that the advertised product is superior to others thanks to its innovative features.

Throughout the examined decades, there is also a relative consistency regarding words that denote beauty and perfection used by the advertisers to promote the cosmetic item. A slight decrease noticed in the more recent decades can be attributed to the reduction of the amount of the advertising text. Investigating lexical items related to beauty and perfection reveals the presence of beauty norms in the advertising text as well as the various ways these notions are conceptualized in Maybelline ads. The word ‘beauty’ itself and its derivatives are the most common, emphasizing the beautifying effect of the cosmetic product.

6.5 Repetition of words in the same advertisement

Overall, the advertising practice of repeating lexical items remains consistent over the eight decades under examination. Copywriters repeat lexical items so as to emphasize the effectiveness of the product and enhance memorability. There is a noticeable preference in repeating words related to facial characteristics, primarily ‘eye’ related words, as well as words that refer to features of the product, the name of the brand and the name of the product. Also, from 2000 onwards, advertisers seem to emphasize the element of seductiveness since the words ‘sensational’ and ‘passion’ are repeated. Once again, a small decrease in the more recent decades may be due to the general shrinkage in the amount of advertising text.

6.6 (Elliptical) Comparisons

With the exception of 1990s, comparisons and especially elliptical comparisons is a common technique used by Maybelline advertisers over the time period of 80 years. By making comparisons, advertisers attempt to show the effectiveness of the advertised product or its superiority in relation to other products. By not stating clearly the second thing being compared, advertisers deceive the potential buyers into believing that this product is the best of all without providing any actual evidence. Considering the adjectives being compared over the decades, one is lead to assume that women’s skin should be firm, bright and youthful and their lashes should be long, dark, thick and sensual. In addition, their eyebrows are expected to be full and expressive while their lips should be smooth, and tempting.

6.7 Poetic devices

Only a few instances of rhyme but a lot of instances of alliteration were found in the analyzed advertisements. Their number is quite consistent over the decades. Rhyme and alliteration create a poetic effect that is likely to capture the reader’s attention. The most common alliterated sound is the voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l] sound in words such as ‘long’, ‘lash’, ‘length’, ‘love’, ‘look’, ‘lip’. Alliterated words and rhyme reveal how Maybelline advertisers conceive beauty and how they reproduce the conceived beauty norms that concern women. They presuppose that women’s lashes should be long luxuriant and curly while their complexion should be creamy and clear looking. What is more, their lips should be smooth and supple.

Over the eight decades under examination the poetic device of hyperbole is consistently used by the advertisers of Maybelline. By employing words such as ‘ultra’, ‘super’, ‘extreme’, ‘instantly’, ‘incredible’ and other exaggerated utterances the effectiveness of the product is underscored. Most exaggerated statements concern eye makeup products but there also instances of lip and foundation products.

6.8 Constructing the feminine ideal

Overall, there is a notable consistency regarding the strategies advertising professionals employ in order to promote Maybelline New York make-up products over the course of eight decades (1940s-2010s). In other words, no considerable changes were found in the ways advertisers use language and images in print advertisements. Furthermore, the findings of the research suggest that the way feminine beauty is conceptualized has not

70 altered over the years. The hypothesis of the study is confirmed, namely that Maybelline New York cosmetic ads function ideologically because they construct and perpetuate notions of feminine beauty at the expense of women. Beliefs about the objective and universal essence of beauty and femininity are discursively constructed and women are judged against standards which classify them as desirable or non-desirable. Phakdeephasook (2009) affirms that “to be a desirable woman, one must be primarily good looking rather than anything else”. Thus, women are made to feel that they are evaluated either as ingroup or as outgroup. Purchasing the advertised cosmetic product will supposedly increase the chances to be (self)evaluated as ingroup (Kaur, Arumugam & Yunus 2013), therefore enhancing one’s self-esteem. On the other hand, as outgroup, one most probably lacks confidence.

Cosmetic products are promoted as an embracement or celebration of womanhood while in reality they undermine it by reinforcing the idea that beauty exists as an objective and universal quality. Women are subject to external approval governed by socially constructed beauty norms; beauty is projected as the prerequisite of female identity. Being beautiful means having long and thick lashes, contoured eyebrows, glossy lips, young and flawless complexion. Advertisers modify consumers’ actual needs by making them discontented with their present condition. Maybe their lashes are not very long, their skin is flawed, and they have black circles under their eyes. In short, they are imperfect. Yet, the advertised products can allegedly fix the imperfections without much effort. Indeed, all the images in Maybelline ads throughout the decades, depict exclusively young women that presumably most people would find attractive. As Wolf (1991) notes, age is conflicting with beauty because women become more powerful as they grow older and because the ties between generations of women must be cut.

In addition, even though women ostensibly defy the long-established gender stereotype of the reserved, almost insecure woman, they get trapped in another one, that of the woman seductress. Apparently, cosmetic adverts construct the gendered narratee who is expected to use the advertised product, that is female. As Taras (2013) argues, given that the construction of the female narratee is achieved implicitly and predominantly with the depiction of female figures, a kind of default position is established for them. The representation of women as default consumers of cosmetic products not only ratifies the significance of beauty “but also perpetuates this ideology by framing it as

71 normal and commonsensical” (Taras, 2013, p. 77). But male readers too, receive messages concerning the presumed female nature, and make assumptions about how women should be. Although men are absent from the ads, the male gaze is captivated by the alluring images of female figures. Cosmetic product manufactures and by extension advertising practitioners exercise control over women and as a consequence an unequal power relationship is formed. Wolf (1991) advocates that “the beauty myth is not about women at all. It is about men’s institutions and institutional power.” (p. 13). According to Vasilopoulou (2014) being an authentic woman entails vigorously fighting for freedom which requires emotional, financial, or professional sacrifices. And the aim must be the same:

Born to be a woman by choice is a contract every woman should make to herself and towards the life she chooses to follow, in order to physically and emotionally struggle to change and to realize the scope of her dreams. (Vasilopoulou, 2014, p. 493)

6.9 Limitations and suggestions for further research

Firstly, the subjective aspect of the method should be acknowledged since the analysis of data involved some kind of intuition. The correlation of the finding with ideologies of femininity and beauty also entails the subjective element. Secondly, as Cook (2001) explains, images cannot be described exhaustively in language simply because they are a distinct type of communication from language. Indeed, the different degrees of facial expressions are infinite. It is not possible to enumerate all the different gazes or smiles in the range of a person’s available expressions.

Moreover, regarding the data of the study another limitation should be mentioned. For the first time period under examination (1940s-1960s), there was only a limited number of available adverts in The Advertising Archives. Yet, the number was sufficient to permit at least an informative indication of the advertising practices of that period. Further research can be conducted with the use of more data, collected from other archives. Additionally, on top of the ten analyzed features of this study, more elements can be investigated either in regard to the linguistic or the visual aspects of the ads. Certainly, this study provided some insight in the advertising practices but it cannot provide universal conclusions. Therefore, future researchers can examine diachronically other cosmetic brands to determine whether the results are in accordance 72 with each other across different brands or even across different cultures. It can also be very interesting to conduct similar studies with data retrieved from other sources such as television, radio and social media.

It is hoped that this research has shed some light into issues related to gender ideologies and power relations as exercised in the advertising discourse. Uncovering the hidden agenda of this well-established discourse type can pave the way for a deeper understanding of gender inequalities and therefore take action for their mitigation.

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