Written Task 2 Starter Multi-Vocality

Texts in general normally have a singular meaning and purpose. The term keep it “short and sweet” was derived from the directness of advertisements, but there are situations where a certain advertisement can have more than one message and can be interpreted differently based on an individual. The advertisement linked below is of a respected detergent company Tide. This company has existed since the late 1900’s therefore it is easy to find a range of advertisements which can now at this time and age be analyzed and shown to have to meanings. Multi-vocality refers to the different meanings a text can have.

This advertisement was played during the 2014 Superbowl.  “Dad Mom” was a major campaign in which Tide used different pictorial and literary elements to sell the product as a lifestyle rather than a materialistic object.  The message which “sticks” to the audience after watching is that fathers can in fact do laundry and that there is nothing wrong with it.

As stated before this text is multivocal so it can be seen as both an offensive and positive promotion of a product.

 In this clip one can see that the video zooms in on the father but also the fact that he is doing laundry.  The father is introduced folding laundry saying “while my wife works, I’m at home folding laundry”. This first comment is not considered stereotypical but empowering therefore Tide uses it effectively to mask the hidden message. The father also addresses his name saying that he is masculine but still has the soft side of women.  

The ad uses the girls dress (frilly) to further enforce the stereotype by saying “I can fold even the frilliest girl dress like a man but with the most precision”.  Role reversal is not as apparent but again the stereotypical role of women is to keep the house clean therefore using this keyword precision directly refers to women.

The main message that this advert is projecting to the audience is that in order to complete house-held duties you need to have feminine qualities. Stereotypes are regularly seen as offensive therefore this advert can be seen as a negative.

Another meaning which can be inferred based on the direct message is the idea of empowerment. As the social infrastructure changed, women had become a major part of a family’s economic income. This ad uses that logical thinking to target the majority of the working population into communicating that this product is perfect that lifestyle therefore projecting the product in a positive manner. Woman will see this ad as a way to promote or even encourage their husbands into buying this product. Also the product also promotes and accentuates the positive aspects of doing laundry and in a sense helping out at home through the use of this product.  The text title “Dad mom” on its own intends to promote and help fathers understand that it is an achievable goal to be a man masculine enough even to do the laundry.

In conclusion texts can generally be seen as more than one thing and these views often branch out into a positive or negative impact.