Gender Representation in 'British Coke Zero' and 'L'Oreal Expert for Men' Advertisments

Textual Analysis: How is the male gender represented in these two texts?

The advertisements; ‘British Coke Zero’ and ‘L’Oreal Expert for Men’ presents male gender in a stereotyped and conventional manner, however there are a number of differences between them.  

Coca Cola portrays men in a more one dimensional fashion. The advertisement is based on a young male (in his twenties), casually dressed- handsome. Scenes involve the main protagonist being joined by other young males, generally dressed as working, affluent and potentially high achieving individuals. 

In terms of the mise-en-scène, the setting is an urban city with ‘Coke Zero’ advertisements centring around the protagonist; this is just to draw the audience’s attention. With the main character, the audience is taken on a journey that easily allows them to determine his sexuality (conforming to the heterosexual ideology). Additionally, women are positioned for the male gaze inside the ad. In an early scene, a female looks at him in desire, despite being emotionally and physically attached to another man. References to women are only ones that have sexual connotations or are purposefully specific, representing male confidence and dominance.  To add to this idea, the diegetic dialogue, a “girlfriend, without a five year plan” and the semantics of the word “fumbling” (in a context with the word “bra”) negatively depicts women as sexual object or a life constraint. Pace within the advertisement is fast in terms of both editing and sound. As for the non-diegetic soundtrack, it is high tempo with guitars playing to a building crescendo. There are concert type cheers throughout to build up the energy for the main character, giving the audience a level of personal identity.  

Ultimately, the audience is presented with positive spontaneity and an image of a male who is popular and has made the right decisions. During the advert, the protagonist gathers other males who share his enthusiasm for the product (as shown through the raising of the bottle). To the audience it appears as a male movement, moreover an act of solidarity.  In relation to the edit, the fast cuts show that the male gender has a busy lifestyle with girlfriends, holidays and work. The colours for the advertisement tend to lean on the black and red branding of Coke Zero. The connotations of these colours are significant to the audience as black shows masculinity and class and red represents the passion and love. In the final shots of the Coca Cola advert, the man is presented feeling satisfied by drinking the product amongst disproportionate billboard on a skyscraper. Generally, the message is that if you drink this product you will be: young, popular and a sexually attractive, high achieving male. 

On the other hand, the L’Oreal advertisement presents an older and more mature male. The setting also has an urban contemporary style, but unlike the Coca Cola ad there are vintage features present. The vintage dressing gown costume within the advert conveys a sense of luxury and drama. However, this ad suggests that the man doesn’t need to gain popularity; instead he conforms to the stereotype of a male “expert”. Inclusive of this idea is the opening dialogue which cites, “A lot of people ask me”. Similarly to the other representation, the audience is drawn in through the use of modernism through mobiles and “apps”. The tempo of the non-diegetic score is much slower and classier. The man is confident, as well as independent. This is a contrast to the young man that needs his friends around him. This man describes the product, or perhaps himself, as “sharp…smooth…sophisticated”. The image presented to the audience here is a well groomed affluent male who has experience. Unlike the other advert, this man laughs at himself. The Coca Cola ad on the other hand made it acceptable for men to laugh at others misfortune and pain. The individual within the advert is represented as a very self-assured, James Bond- almost like character, which doesn’t need others in the background. In the end he’s presented as a stereotypical ‘expert’ wearing a ‘sharp’ suit and having power and influence. As for the smooth and consistent edits in the advert, it reflects his smooth and consistent style of the man. Even the close up shots accentuates the protagonist’s facial expressions and demonstrates to the audience humour and confidence in a man.

The first advertisement is trying to present a lifestyle for men. However the second advert is unconventional, in the sense that it presents idealistic lifestyle, in cool solitude which is then broken by humour and the diegetic SFX noises of the products reality (e.g. shaving sounds). Though in both adverts, the audience is invited to be like or take advice from the male characters in the scenes.