Quality Street: Historical & Cultural Context (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Media Studies): Revision Note

Product context: Quality Street

• Quality Street are a well-known brand of mixed chocolates now made by Nestlé

  • They were first created in 1936 by Mackintosh's of Halifax

• The name ‘Quality Street’ comes from a play written by J. M. Barrie (the same author who wrote Peter Pan)

• Quality Street has a strong link with British culture, particularly during Christmas time

• The set text advert for Quality Street was produced and distributed in 1956

• The advert was released not long after World War 2 had ended (1945)

  • Everyday life was becoming more consumer driven as rationing ended and people had more money and freedom

• The target audience was young to middle aged adults age 25-40

• The print advert was hand drawn reflecting the limitations of technology at the time of production

Historical, social & cultural context

• Quality Street packaging uses characters from the Regency era (early 1800s in Britain) to seem classy and old-fashioned

• The Regency era and the 1950s both had big social and cultural changes, particularly in relation to technology, architecture, fashion and the arts

The 1950s set text advert

• The 1950s made art, theatre, and luxury items more affordable for normal people

• Gender roles in the 1950s were traditional and very different from today

• The advert supports a patriarchal idea

  • This means it shows a society where men have the most power and make the decisions

  • This reflects how society actually worked in the 1950s

• The product was aimed at working class families, but the advert used middle and upper-class imagery to make the product seem more special and luxurious

• The branding suggests elegance and encourages consumers to be more aspirational (wanting to be higher class and buy high quality products) 

• After WW2 rationing, people could enjoy treats again, so luxury chocolates became popular 

• The advert shows characters of different social classes

  • The Regency characters appear of the highest class

  • The man in the suit a lower class than the regency characters but a higher class than the two women

• The chocolates bring them all together suggesting the product is too good for anyone to miss out on

• This makes the product more appealing and targets a wider audience