OMO

Introduction:

This is a CSP on old-fashioned advertising focusing on the O M O washing powder print advertisement for the UK in 1954. 

This was just a few years after the end of the Second World War(1939-1945) in what was called post-war Britain.

OMO stands for ‘Old Mother Owl. This old-fashioned advertisement would have appeared in a magazine or newspaper. 

It is specifically targeted at married women in the UK in the 1950's who did not work but rather stayed at home and were called housewives.

OMO is a brand name washing powder made by a big international Dutch/British company called Unilever in 1954. They later changed their brand name in the UK from OMO to Persil and Surf. The OMO brand is however still used in South Africa and Australia (and here in the UAE!)

SOCIAL, CULTURAL, HISTORICAL CONTEXT- 1950's

Advertisements always reflect what was going on in the country at the time that the advert was created which is what we call the social, cultural and historical contexts.

This print advert represents the social, cultural and historical contexts of what  Britain was like back in the 1950's which was very different to how Britain is today in 2024. The Second World War(1939-45)had ended a few years before in 1945 and there was a shortage of food in Britain in the 1950’s called rationing. This period in the early 1950’s was still referred to as the post war years.

During the Second World War when the men were away fighting in other countries, women had taken over many men’s jobs in Britain such as driving trucks, busses, and trains as well as working in factories. When the soldiers came back from the Second World War in 1945 most of these women had to give these job back to the men. In the 1950's there was now an expectation that women who got married and had children would stay at home and do all the cooking,washing, babysitting and cleaning. The typical 1950s man would go to work and earn all the money for his family. Men were also paid more than women in the 1950s for doing the same jobs. 

Advertisements for washing powders like OMO were always targeted at married women with children and also nearly always featured stereotypical representations of women in the kitchen appearing to enjoy washing and cleaning and looking after the children because that reflected the social and cultural context of that time period..

This stereotypical image of a woman who is a housewife and mother is used to appeal to the target audience of 1950's married women who will instantly recognise the stereotypical image and quickly understand the message. Stereotypes help consumers from a specific target audience understand the advertisers message more quickly.

PATRIARCHAL  SOCIETY

In the1950s society was patriarchal which means it was dominated by men. Society made judgements about women based on how clean their household was and how clean their clothes were as a need for a women's self-esteem and social status. 

Most people also went to church in the 1950s and there was a religious belief at the time that  'cleanliness was next to Godliness' so women would want clean clothes for their family as a symbol of social worth and esteem. There is a very strong focus on whiteness and brightness, implying purity and holiness, which conveys the idea that a woman should take pride in her appearance and her family and that they are a reflection of her.

Stereotypes:

Stereotypes make it easier for advertisers to target the intended audience and makes it easier for them to understand the advertisement quickly.

The stereotypical image that the advertisement wishes to imprint is one of a typical 1950' mother who is happy taking exceptional pride in the 'brilliantly bright' whiteness of the washing and finds the OMO product delivers this exciting result. The mum is looking directly at the camera in direct mode of address. 

The woman appears to be happy in her work and has her sleeves rolled up connoting hard work. Her eyebrows are raised to convey her excitement at OMO making her washing a brighter white. She has a stereotypical glamorous white female look wearing makeup with bright red lipstick and shoulder length styled hair. 

Her appearance also reflects the social and cultural context of the time because she resembles Britain’s new Queen,Elizabeth in terms of her physical appearance,makeup and hairstyle. Social status was very important for woman and families in the 1950’s and the Queen was the post war nation’s new young symbol of high social status. A washing up advertisement being associated with the new young Queen in terms of her look and appearance would persuade the target audience that brighter whites really could raise your social status.

The advertisement and the box packaging uses bright primary colours such as red,white and blue which can also be interpreted as connoting patriotism, royalty and the Union Jack. The Second World War ended in 1945 so the 1950’s was known as the post war era which was a time when the country felt very united and patriotic so the colours of the British flag used in the advertisement would be appealing to a patriotic British post war target audience.

The other main colour is green which could represent nature and the countryside in Britain. Women in the 1950's were expected to look pretty and glamorous for their husbands even when doing the housework. The husbands expected to return from a hard days work to a clean tidy house with dinner waiting on the table and their wives looking glamorous with pretty makeup,a nice dress and perfectly styled hair.

The advertiser aims to encourage women to buy the OMO product so that they can have what the advertisement calls brilliant white clothes connoting that it will also keep the woman’s husband and family clean and happy. 

The image shows a medium/close up camera shot of a woman making direct mode of address who appears to have her sleeves rolled up and is dressed like a maid. She appears happy and excited that the washing powder has made her clothes so bright.