Quality Street: Media Language Analysis (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Media Studies): Revision Note

Media language analysis

• Media language has been used to create meaning through technical codes, visual codes and narrative codes

Technical Codes

• The typical triangular composition

  • This helps to guide your eyes and highlight the product

• The advert uses the rule of thirds to help structure the information

  • The product is placed in the centre third, making it the main focus of the advert

  • The typography is bold and takes up the bottom third of the poster

    • Its strong purple colour grabs your attention and makes the brand name stand out

• The anchorage created by the gold frame makes the man and the product seem special, almost like they have a halo around them

• The hand-drawn, artistic design, along with the bright primary and secondary colours, reflects the post-war consumerist culture where adverts were designed to look eye-catching

• The advert uses persuasive language techniques like alliteration, emotive language and superlatives, which suggests the audience was educated 

• The bold serif font also gives a sense of richness and high quality

Narrative Codes

• The narrative connotations of “a delicious dilemma” can be interpreted in two ways:

  • The male ‘hero’ is choosing between the two females

  • The females are choosing their chocolate 

• The costume and dress of the male character suggest a formal situation and hint at a wealthier, higher-class lifestyle

• Propp’s Character Theory can also be applied to the narrative of the advert

  • The centred male and his visual importance connotes his character as the protagonist or ‘hero’

• The female characters surround him as if they are ‘damsels in distress’ who need saving

• The advert follows a patriarchal narrative, which was common in many adverts from that time

• A patriarchal narrative reflects the traditional roles of the 1950s

Visual Codes 

• The smiling, happy facial expressions on all characters creates a sense of enjoyment and celebration

  • This suggests the chocolates bring people together

• The body language and pose shows characters leaning towards the chocolates and each other which reinforces the sense of excitement and desire

  • This shows the sweets as something people really want

• The costumes and setting are elegant and formal which connotes wealth, sophistication and luxury

  • It aims to make the chocolates appear like a high-quality treat

• The women are wearing mostly red which connotes passion, romance and desire

  • Miss Sweetly (the female Regency character) wears purple

  • Whilst this has regal connotations, the pastel shade is more feminine and she has more flesh on show which could reinforce the idea of her as an object of desire

• The chocolates themselves are shown clearly and attractively in an open box which allows the audience to see “18 deliciously different toffees and chocolates”

  • This is a real selling point to the audience

Intertextuality

• Intertextuality has been used through the female characters’ clothing as it makes a clear visual reference to the colour and style of the sweets shown in close-up on the bottom third of the advert

• Miss Sweetly and Major Quality (the male Regency character) have been part of the brand identity since 1936

  • Their clothing and style are an intertextual reference to the Regency era of British history

  • This reference brings meaning to the advert as it helps reinforce the representation of the brand as traditional, high-quality and British

• Miss Sweetly and Major Quality are also shown in an old fashioned ornate gold frame in the advert which also references this historical point in time