Henry Jenkins and Tomb Raider & Metroid - fandom blog tasks

Maybelline Case Study

 

1) Narrative & genre: narrative theory and sub-genre

• The advert features a typical narrative structure where the characters start of as being normal then become glamorous after using the product (in this case the mascara)
• Romance genre- man, woman, hotel room, bed
• Adventure genre- opening the suitcase like its a treasure chest

2) Cinematography: camera shots and movement

• Extreme close up of eye- showing how well the mascara is used
• Crane shot/hand held shot when they transform into 'stars'
• Close up of mascara

3) Mise-en-scene: costume & props

• Lots of gold clothing- high end and prestige
• Before clothes= casual, after clothes= night out outfits
• Hotel room before= plain, hotel room after= gold accessories
• Lots of luggage shown at the beginning= lots of outfits

4) Mise-en-scene: actors, setting, lighting and colour

Actors:

• Manny- openly gay and acts like a typical gay man (Medhurst theory of 'shorthand')
• Shayla- typical beauty influencer
• Bell boy- transforms from being a traditional masculine man to being open to makeup and gender fluid
• All different ethnicity creates diversity

Setting:

• Hotel room- New York can be seen through the window (quite glamorous)
• Not massively luxurious or expensive- anyone could afford that hotel room. Could be a deliberate move from Maybelline to show audience that YouTubers are normal people and anyone can become a 'star' just by using the mascara

Lighting:

• Very bright and natural lighting from windows
• When they opened the suitcase- gold light shined out
• Sunset and darker lighting after the transformation- suggests the night life fun is just about to begin

Colour:

• Lots of gold- depicts loyalty and a glamorous lifestyle
• Lots of white- represents happiness and gives a clean and pure look

5) Editing: pace, transitions and visual effects

• Jump cuts when they're putting on mascara
• Time lapse when bell boy came in and when they jumped on to the bed
• Visual effect sparkle used throughout the whole video- when putting on mascara, on clothes and jewellery

6) Graphics: text/graphics on screen

• Gold font- glamour
• Sans-serif - modern font aimed at a young audience
• Colour scheme of the beginning title matches their clothes at the end
• There is a # on screen
• First person text- is very friendly and assumes audience knows Manny and Shayla

7) Sound: dialogue, music and sound effects

• Glistering sound effect with sparkle digital effect
• Music was upbeat and urban- trying to mimick a New York night club
• Lyrics in the song reflect the slogan- 'That Boss Life'
• Manny's delivery of the dialogue was very camp
• Their reaction would be the same way an audience would react to a hotel room in New York 

Maybelline 'That Boss Life': wider reading

Read the following articles on this campaign: Glamour: Manny Gutierrez Is the First Man to Star in a Maybelline Campaign, and It’s a Huge Deal
Your Story: Cosmetics giant breaks gender stereotypes by choosing male model as a face of the brand
Adweek: Maybelline Recruits Manny Gutierrez as Its First Male Beauty Star
Complete the following questions/tasks:

1) Why was this campaign such a landmark for beauty product advertising?
It was the first advert where Maybelline used beauty influencers as their models and a male as the lead face of their beauty campaign.

2) What do the articles suggest regarding the changing representation of sexuality and masculinity?
The articles suggest that society is becoming more aware of the fact that males want to use beauty products as well and that, in reality, men care about their appearance too. (A 2013 JWT survey of 1,000 men in the U.S. and U.K. found that 54 percent of men use skincare products like moisturizer and eye cream.)

3) Read this WWD article: Maybelline Taps Digital Makeup Influencers for New Mascara Campaign. Why might 'digital influencers' be so attractive to companies?
Digital influencers are so attractive to companies because of the magnitude of followers they have. They are more relatable to a consumer than a celebrity is and are more socially active with their audience. Therefore, using digital influencers is more likely to attract more customers to a product. 

4) Why do you think Maybelline chose to use MannyMua and MakeUpShayla in particular?
I believe that Maybelline chose Manny and Shayla because of their unique cultural heritage and also because of the fact that they gained a high following quite recently. 

5) What does the WWD article suggest is the crucial factor for brands regardless of whether they use influencers or more traditional celebrities?
The article suggests that “It tends to be a younger brand attracting younger consumers for which the power of the influencers is really strong,”. Therefore, the brand must have a positive image and use people with a high social media following in order to be successful.

8) The final section of the article focuses on masculinity. What do the Score advert and the Maybelline advert suggest regarding the changes in society and media between 1967 and 2017?

Maybelline is challenging the expectation of who can wear their product and is encouraging anyone that does use their product will have their support. Adverts like the Score hair cream do the opposite, they are seen as a way of steering men away from a damaging and emasculating interest in anything feminine related, such as beauty and make-up.

In conclusion, '‘Score’ is celebrating everything believed to be great about a patriarchal society, while Maybelline is applauding the breakdown of a hyper-masculine culture