Contextual Analysis of Pop Video 'The Promise' By Girls Aloud

Girls Aloud
The Promise
Released 20th October 2008



Girls Aloud are a girl band that were manufactured in 2002 from the TV programme Pop Stars: The Rivals. Since then they have shot to fame and become extremely successful. Their main audience are the young teenage females fitting into a demographic of 12-16. This is clear from the outlets they are marketed such as teen magazines including the likes of Bliss magazine, Sugar magazine and Glamour magazine.

The song ‘The Promise’ is one of the most recent singles released from their latest album. In comparison to previous singles such as ‘Sound of the Underground’ the groups image has grown up alongside the band. The music video for ‘The Promise’ is heavily influenced by the 1960’s era and references to the likes of ‘The Supremes’ are clear in the video.

There are a range of intertextual references in the video that are very stereotypical of the era being represented, these include:-
The 50’s/60’s style drive in movie theatre
The 50’s/60’s style cars
The bouffant style hair
The clothing
The black and white music video with the old film reel quality
The 60’s style microphones
The make up – smokey kohl eyes, and long fake eyelashes
Therefore there is not only reference to the style of an era, but there is also the reference to American movies such as Grease, and to ‘Diana Ross and The Supremes’. By using reference to the likes of ‘The Supremes’ and the glamorous 60’s style the band are creating a highly appealing image to the teenage female demographic that are their main audience. The references ooze sex appeal and beauty but unlike a lot of pop videos they portray don’t portray it in a voyeuristic way, the glamour of the era is tasteful and the girls aren’t strutting around in very little clothing which is a generic convention often seen in pop videos including videos Girls Aloud have released in the past such as ‘Long Hot Summer’. By representing the band in this image with these references they are creating a much more positive image for their audience, as the bands main audience are at a very impressionable age where they aspire to be like their idols, therefore by promoting a more wholesome image the band are opening up to a wider and older audience as they appreciate the wholesome glamour a lot more than the voyeuristic approach. Also, this representation promotes a better image to the male audience as the audience sees that girls can still be sexy without being voyeuristic.

The narrative structure is a mix of both performance based and concept based. The performance is important in reflecting the 60’s influence on the song since in the 60’s music videos were all based on performances, there were few music videos that were narrative based at that time. Also ‘The Supremes’ were all about performance, their music was about the voice, the soul and the image, narrative was not of great importance. The concept based narrative being the girls at the drive-in movie theatre watching the film and flirting with boys was also used to emphasise the influence of the era on the song. It simply illustrates the innocence of teenagers in the era, ultimately demonstrating a positive image of the ‘teenage girl’ to the viewer.

The band and the song are mainstream pop but unlike the majority of Girls Aloud videos and one of the main generic conventions of pop videos the ‘The Promise’ video does not contain a dance routine which is an essential in a pop video. They have taken a more mature approach with this video as a performance behind stand-alone old fashioned microphones conforming to the convention by doing a very minimal routine with general body language – but not a full blown dance routine.
Another generic convention commonly used in a girl group pop video is the use of the opposite sex as love interests. In this video the concept is used. Although the concept is used, in the generic way of portraying the male is quite degrading, they are often beneath the girls and often shown as ‘a pawn in their game’ for instance like in the Girls Aloud video ‘The Show’ or the Sugababes video ‘Push The Button’. But in this video their presence is quite insignificant, and where they are present the relationship between the two genders is very innocent and childlike for instance at 2:35 Nicola is handed a love note and giggles naively and the boy who wrote the note shoots a hopeful innocent glance.

Although voyeurism isn’t used in the acting of clothing, some voyeuristic shots are used especially in the black and white performance where the camera tracks up the girls’ hourglass bodies and takes close up shots of the girls’ hips especially. This creates sex appeal, but at the same time promotes a healthy image as the camera emphasises the girl’s healthy curves as opposed to being stick thin. Voyeurism is also used during the scenes at the theatre such as at 3:50 where the camera uses a medium close up and tracks Nicolas body from her feet to her head as she is posing against a car in a very short dress. Although this seems voyeuristic it doesn’t come across as degrading as the overall outcome of the video is very innocent and a one off shot like that seems to simply be promoting her beauty as opposed to a voyeuristic approach.

During the performance section of the video the lighting is used in addition to the film reel effect to emphasise the glamour of the 1960’s and the ‘bright lights of showbiz’ concept. There is a variety of lighting techniques used to emphasise this such as the spotlight, stage lighting including floor lighting and the light reflection of the glitzy dresses that is flashing all the time, there is also the intertextual reference to the old fashioned backstage mirror lighting in the background. All these lighting techniques simply add to the fascination of stardom and the dream that is Broadway.

The link between the music and visuals in this video aren’t very important in this video, the shots change after ever few seconds to reflect the pace of the song, but the transitions aren’t in time with the beat, they cut back and forth to different angles of the same action or between the two different narratives mid lyric and between beats, this creates a very soft transition between the two narratives and also gives the impression (particularly during the performance narrative) that the edit is very simple and the performance is almost live, as it reflects the style used in live videos or coverage of a TV performance or concert performance. There is also the occasional cross fade such as at 3:45 which creates a dream like effect, and also reflects the girls state of mind and shows the link between the lyrics being sung during the performance and the awe the girls feel when watching the performance.

There are a range of camera shots and angles used and they are very different for the two different narratives. During the performance narrative, a lot of the shots are medium shots and are head on to capture all of the action; this is a very conventional style of capturing music performances. There is also tracking and panning across the five girls during chorus using a head and shoulder shot to capture each of them singing in more detail. As each girl is singing on their own the camera focuses on that person from all different angles such as from a low angle, a close up of the girls face from both head on and side on, there is also subtle zooms both in and out, the combination of these gives the performance a very smooth, sexy feel and gives the viewer the chance to see every aspect of the performance.
The concept based narrative is based on the beautiful, pure, innocent teenage girls watching a movie and experiencing the innocent flirting with boys. Their naivety and beauty is accentuated by the camera shots used and the expressions of the girls. There are a lot of close ups that focus on the girls faces and their reactions, each time the girl is either looking up, making them look wide eyed and naïve or looking down looking shy and innocent.
There is a very specific shot at 00:40 where there is a medium close up of Cheryl clutching ‘She’ magazine o her chest, this is an iconic shot as it sums up everything a teenage girl was about during that time period and even in the present day. Teenage girls follow glossy magazines as their bible and this shot depicts that concept perfectly.
Another one is at 2:59 where Kimberly is fixing her make-up in a compact mirror and then pouting in the rear view mirror of her car to check her appearance. This is also another very stereotypical shot of teenage girls during the 60’s time period where glamour and beauty was a very big part of their day to day life; it is also something girls of the present day can relate to as well.

The band began with the UK label Polydor Records, subsidised by Universal Music. In 2006 Polydor launched a label solely dedicated to pop music called Fascination Records which Girls Aloud transferred to. The band had an advantage in capturing an audience through the TV programme Pop Stars: The Rivals which gave the public the power to essentially create the band, and the national recognition from the programme instantly gave the band overnight stardom making it easy for them to overcome the hurdle that is one of the hardest for up and coming bands which is to become known. Also, they were moulded in front of the publics eyes to become a pop group so they also were immediately given a target audience. Being a part of Polydor Records gave the girls the opportunity to work with a well established label as well with links to other well known artist including Gwen Stefani and Eminem. Working with a well established label also helps to give the band recognition as opposed to a small unknown indie label. It also gives the impression that they are likely to be a very successful band as a large company has put its reputation on the line to promote them. By transferring to a pop dedicated label gives the group and the label the chance to focus solely on their genre potentially making the image stronger also.