River Island

 River island - clothes shop, affordable, British brand, similar to H&M and New look

  • High street fashion brand 
  • Established in 1948
  • Over 250 UK stores 
  • Expanding worldwide and online 
  • Typically, conventional high street fashion advertising
  • A shift in 2018's campaign 
River Island campaign -
  •  To challenge outdated stereotypes 
  • to promote inclusivity and diversity
  • To celebrate individuality and not define individuals by their ability or stereotype
Jordan Luce 
  • A french basketball player 
  • Background - strong bold block colour meaning the focus is all on him
  • Autumnal colour linking with the clothes 
  • Red is the colour of love and romance, he is french, red wine 
  • The use of hashtags means this campaign is easily spread on social media, free marketing
  • 'Smooth moves only' shows that a disability is not a flaw 
  • Catchy slogan, sticks in peoples minds 
  • People will sympathize with this person 
  • Showing off the clothes, gold = winning, success, luxury
  • 'Smooths moves only' an instruction not to stereotype 
  • He is smiling, hes confident and happy within his body 
  • The big logo at the bottom shows that this is still a capitalist company wanting to make money
  • The clothes are interesting - conversation starter
  • The slogan are in capital letters, its an important part of the campaign, its bold which catches peoples eyes 
  • No serifs (smooth elevated writing) shows it is a very clear message, not messing around with fancy fonts
  • Direct gaze and wide smile engages the audience 
  • signifies that people should not be labelled or judged 
  • his smiling facial expression represents him in a positive and uplifting way 
  • His central framing shows his importance 
representation in media 
  • 25% of the population have a physical disability
  • Only 4% are represented in media 
  • Often represented as inferior, weak and vulnerable 
Media Language 
  • Shot type - Medium long shot -  we can see the wheelchair and the model wearing the clothes
  • Composition and layout - The brand name and logo are in the lower third of the frame which is the last thing the audience will see. the slogan and hashtag are framed in the center of the advert signifying the importance of this message. the models face falls in the top third of the frame, empowering him
  • The slogan - 'smooth moves only' individual effortlessly moves through life. Cool, slick, controlled. He is not defined or restricted by his disability
  • Location - shot in the studio, emphasis on the model rather than the background. The red background has connotations of love 
  • Body Language - Smiling, happy, confident, attractive model - the disability is entirely secondary
  • Typeface/font - sans serif font used as it is bold and impactful  

Representation 
  • The representation here is positive - a happy ex-pro athlete comfortable and succesfull living with his disability 
  • The advertisement represents race positivity - as a whole it challenges a able bodied patriarchy
  • The advert is positioning the audience as liberal and progressive with a belief in equality and diversity
  • Ultimately it is a consumer branding advertisement that is encouraging consumption of products from River Island, using a positive and non-limiting representations to do this
 














How have both dove and river island subverted convention to tailor their brand image?

Point/comparison

Both Dove and river island campaigns use hashtags in their campaigns, for example, in the Dove campaign, the hashtag used is "#Beautifullyrealmoms" and in the River Island campaign the hashtag used is "#Labelsareforclothes"

Media language devices to back this up

RI = The hashtag is in the centre of the frame, suggesting its importance within this campaign, as it is in the center, it will catch the audiences eyes meaning they will be more engaged with the message that River Island are trying to push out, River Island also use sans serif meaning the font is bold, impactful and important, this message is serious and important.

Dove = The hashtag within doves campaign is centered at the bottom right of the advertisement, Dove use a 











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