I now feel that i have enough information to start question 1:
Give an account of, and evaluate, the research methods you used to investigate your chosen area of advertising.

Controversial Advert- Sisley

http://www.hemmy.net/2007/07/22/sisley-fashion-junkie/
A controversial and amusing advert from Sisley showing women addicted to fashion. The advert uses dresses to symbolise heroine and alcohol. Such an advert isn’t good for the fashion world and the young teen girls who see it. However, as controversy attracts attention this could be what Sisley wanted in the first place. This advert was made to shock and it does exactly that with two models, one looking particularly listless, taking a 'hit' of a white vest made to look much like something else. From such an advert Sisley has attempted to show their products addictive as drugs. The advertisement has shown women indulged in the act of snorting cocaine and the dress has been arranged to appear as the drug. The advertisement is also showing some real cocaine kept on a credit card.

Controversial Advert- D&G

http://www.eitb24.com/new/en/B24_36294/life/MILAN-BASED-FASHION-HOUSE-Dolce-Gabbana-angry-at/
Dolce & Gabbana plans to pull the advertisement, which shows a man holding a woman to the ground by her wrists while a group of men look on, following complaints from consumers' groups.
The issue with this advert was that it was believed that the advert stylised male dominance and made it seem acceptable for men to force themselves on to women. The ministry said in a staement: "One could infer from the advertisement that it is acceptable to use force as a way of imposing oneself on a woman, reinforced by the passive and complicit manner of the men looking on.

Portrayal of women in adverts

Goffman concludes that women are weakened by advertising portrayals via five categories: relative size(women shown smaller or lower, relative to men), feminine touch(women constantly touching themselves), function ranking(occupational), reutilization of subordination (proclivity for lying down at inappropriate times, etc.), and licensed withdrawal(women never quite a part of the scene, possibly via far-off gazes).
The following theoretical definitions in Goffman's Gender Advertisements are utilized in this study:

(1) Relative Size. One way in which social weight (e.g., power, authority, rank, office, renowned) is echoed expressively in social situations is through relative size, especially height. The male's usual superiority of status over the female will be expressible in his greater girth and height. It is assumed that differences in size will correlate with differences in social weight.

(2) Feminine Touch. Women, more than men, are pictured using their fingers and hands to trace the outlines of an object or to cradle it or to caress its surface or to effect a "just barely touching." This ritualistic touching is to be distinguished from the utilitarian kind that grasps, manipulates, or holds.

(3)Function Ranking. When a man and a woman collaborate face-to-face in an undertaking, the man is likely to perform the executive role. This hierarchy of functions is pictured either within an occupational frame or outside of occupational specializations.

(4) Reutilization of Subordination. A classic stereotype of deference is that of lowering oneself physically in some form or other of prostration. Correspondingly, holding the body erect and the head high is stereotypically a mark of unashamed ness, superiority, and disdain. The configurations of canting postures can be read as an acceptance of subordination, an expression of ingratiation, submissiveness, and appeasement.

(5) Licensed Withdrawal. Women more than men are pictured engaged in involvements which remove them psychologically from the social situation at large, leaving them unoriented in it and to it, and dependent on the protectiveness of others who are present. Turning one's gaze away from another's can be seen as having the consequence of withdrawing from the current thrust of communication. The individual also can withdraw his/her gaze from the scene at large, and be psychologically "away" from the scene. Maintaining a telephone conversation is another sign of licensed withdrawal.

Background info- OK Magazine

· OK is a British weekly magazine, specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993.

· OK is the world’s biggest celebrity lifestyle magazine, with more than 30 million readers worldwide, and now appears in 19 countries (Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Germany, Greece, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, UK and the US).

· OK is one of the most popular celebrity gossip magazines in the UK. A new issue is released every Tuesday. The magazine itself also has another inner mag called Hot Stars, which it has been said is similar to rival magazine Heat.

· The magazine tends to feature exclusive interviews and personal revelations from celebrities including engagements and pregnancies.

· OK! Is now published in 16 different countries around the world with new editions starting up at regular intervals.

· It is estimated the magazine has established a worldwide readership of more than 30 million and continues to grow.

· OK! Has achieved popularity among high spending, upmarket readers by pioneering the idea of an all-round celebrity -based title that surpasses rival magazines in traditional areas of women’s interests. Along with intimate presentations of celebrities and their lifestyles, readers enjoy social pages, travel, beauty, hair, food and health features, and horoscopes.

OK! Australia is published by Northern & Shell Pacific Ltd
Northern & Shell Pacific is a joint venture owned by Northern & Shell Plc of the UK and ACP Magazines of Australia. Northern & Shell was founded in December 1974 with the vision of becoming a significant force in British and worldwide media. That ambition was developed through a wide portfolio of magazines and broadcast interests, and came of age with the acquisition of Express Newspapers in November 2000. Today, Northern & Shell owns four UK national newspapers and is a 50/50 joint venture partner in two more in the Republic of Ireland. It also dominates important parts of the UK consumer magazine market, operates in all major areas of publishing and has diverse interests in television, print, distribution, investment and property.

Images of Women in Magazine Advertisement

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_n11-12_v37/ai_20391904/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

Advertisements have consistently confined women to traditional mother-, home-, or beauty/sex-oriented roles that are not representative of women's diversity.

· Courtney and Lockeretz (1979) examined images of women in magazine advertisements. They reported the following findings:
Ø Women were rarely shown in out-of-home working roles.
Ø Not many women were shown as a professional or high-level business person.
Ø Women rarely ventured far from home by themselves or with other women.
Ø Women were shown as dependent on men's protection.
Ø Men were shown regarding women as sex objects or as domestic adjuncts.
Ø Females were most often shown in ads for cleaning products, food products, beauty products, drugs, clothing, and home appliances.
Ø Males were most often shown in ads for cars, travel, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, banks, industrial products, entertainment media, and industrial companies.

Company Profile

http://www.okmagazine.com.au/advertising-company-profile.html

From looking at this site i was able to get a good idea of what the OK magazine is offering its readers and what its regular features are.
I also found from looking at the magazines reader that:

• OK magazine increases by 9.5% every year
• that 94% of its readers are female with 6% being male
• 70% want to read about clothes and fashion
• OK magazine is the country's top weekly selling celebrity title.