Blog 7 - promotional creating a brand

There are many purposes of the music video which have been mentioned earlier in the blog that supports an artists song track. To recap these consist of;

- Purposes and pop music videos
- Advertisement
- illustration of the song
- appeals to a visual audience
- Tells a story
- Markets an image

All of these factors are crucial in creating a promotional brand and appealing to relevant audiences and inspiring generations. When working together, these factors interlink with each other to inspire different audiences and help identify with some of the issues of society and subvert and challenge these ideas through the exultation of a specific image through the media.

Spice girls

The spice girls are a prime example of how a record label can exploit gaps within the music industry and introduce a specific artist or group that portrays a particular image and conveys a message, most often to a specific audience within the music industry and inspires them where one can relate or feel empowered by this message.

Origins

In the mid 1990s, the family management team which consisted of Bob Herbert, Chris Herbert and Lindsey Casbon set about creating a girl group which could compete with the boy bands that dominated the mid to late 90s pop scene such as in sync and 5ive.



In February 1994, Heart management placed an advertisement in The Stage trade magazine requesting females between the ages of 18 to 23 who had the ability to dance and sing. They also stated in the magazine advertisement that the applicants had to be streetwise, outgoing, ambitious and dedicated.

Image and Wardrobe

The creators of the spice girls had a specific image and idea for the girls which would include making them dress to depict an image of girl power, as strong independent woman with bold personalities that would have a lasting impact on their influential and young adolescent audience. To bring true emphasis to this idea of strong, independent and individual women, the creators of the Spice girls gave each member of the group their own identity which altogether cultivates this idea of powerful women. Below are some examples of how each individual Spice girl was dressed.

Melanie Brown "Scary Spice"

Melanie Brown or "Mel B" was notorious for her love of the leopard print image and tight suits. She lived up to her name as 'scary spice' through her bold and sometimes aggressive nature where her performance and outfits would resemble her overpowering nature.

Melanie Chisholm "Sporty Spice"

Mel C or "sporty spice" was notorious for her image as a sports woman which challenged the idea that sports were dominantly for men and women's sports were insignificant. There are also cases where Sporty Spice has inspired young girl to take up and participate more often in sporting activities.

Victoria Beckham or "Posh Spice"

 Posh Spice has another specific image that essentially relates to the idea of being posh. She would wear clothes that would be stereotypical representing of someone who appeared posh and the audience would be able to go and buy these clothes in prestigious places such as oxford street to feel closer to Posh spice and her image.

Geri Halliwell "Ginger Spice"

Ginger Spices' image notoriously stems from the fact that the artist is ginger herself. This means that her outfit commonly reflects that of her hair. She could often be seen in red hot pants and short dresses which portray her dynamic range and flexibility of outfits.

Emma Bunton or "Baby Spice"

Baby Spice is the Spice girl that is most out rightly related to her name through her image and costume. Her most notorious costume as seen above is the pink dress and white shoes with her big dummy necklace that is effective in resembling a baby. This Spice girl is specifically related to a young audience which is rather juxtaposed to that of Posh Spice who might be more appealing to an older audience and more inspirational for them.

Spice girls - Wannabe


With groups such as the Spice girls, their image is more important than their actual music and this is where the music video is very important as it is the tool for presenting the image of the spice girls to their relevant audiences. Therefore, the spice girls are a very iconic example of a group where the image dominates the actual music that comes from the band.


Selling the Spice Girls

The Spice girls were created and sold to their audience as a group of life long friends that were just having a laugh and 'goofing off.' In reality, the girls were carefully put together and constructed by team of men working for corporations. This ranges from everything from their individual nicknames to the way that they are dressed. This emphasises the idea that the media is mainly male dominated which conforms to theories such as that of Laura Mulvey and the male gaze.

The Spice girls cumulated plenty of sponsorship deals and advertisements for Pepsi and other well known organisations with known products which helped to globalise the group and gave them more attention and popularity. They were also transformed into mini-Barbie style dolls which gained profit for both toy companies and the record label who would take a cut of the income.

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