Using the extract, organise and summarise the contextual information under the following headings.
Cultural and Aesthetic
Culture is one of the main things that affected the soap ads, and the context of the time was a hugley important factor which shows in the ads of this time which may even be true today.'Ads rarely challenge the mainstream' and 'Thus in soap advertisments the figure, dress, comportment, posture and cleaniness of the characters gave a very clean indication of what was socially acceptable'. I think things like this show just how influencial advertising was on society at the time. Ads at the time ' drew strongly on reinforced late Victorian and Edwardian domestic and gendered norms'. I think ads gave the image more to women as consumers than the housewife in what was I think a male-dominated world. Some ads even 'sensual classical goddesses, well aware of their seductive power' which may in turn have been the start of women appearing commanding and controlling and a picture of feminine power.
Political and Economic
The ads that were produced in the first world war by Lever brothers focused on British and patriotic card. with the idea that 'when such quality exists, victory is assured' and an ad showing a British solider resting his foot on a box of Sunlight which might even make people feel guilty if they didn't buy Sunlight for it is ' Soapmaker to her majesty the queen'.
Social and Technological
The social theme in the soap ads for Sunlight were of women being 'saved from drudgery'. The main audience for was primarily targeted at women as the main purchases of the product. The soap also claimed to improve their love life because of how easy it was to wash with Sunlight. Lever Brothers also gave domestic advice in booklets, they also say that the trouble she (woman/housewife) has with washing 'should never form the principal item of her conversation', because 'a wife who..never nags.. will have the reward in her entire trust of her husband' This shows just how much Sunlight and their power as advertisers effected the life of a housewife. It also said to effect the social status of their daugters. 'Does your daughter know what Sunlight soap can do?' Then they go on to tell them about all the amazing benefits and results you can get from Sunlight and then say ...'if you have told her these things, then you have indeed worked for your daughters happiness'.. The extract also mentions that Victorians sanitary achievements with the manufacturer of affordable soaps which helped tackle Britain s problem with cleanliness and people began to shower on a regular basis. The extract also talk s about how we might not discuss the positive side of soap today but if it was not for this crucial change in society ( invention of cheaper soap) it is a sign of 'how ideas have been transformed'. Advertisers made it their business to tell people of their hygiene problems another clever way in selling their products as they made out their soaps were the perfect solution 'people who did not know they had a problem soon knew they had'. the advertising campaign for Listerine even invented their own disease called 'halitosis' convincing millions of people they had it. The message was that ' if one wished to gain or retain a partner, a job, a reputation and self asteem, one needed to attend to personal hygiene.'
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