Semiotic Analysis and Comparison of the Oilatum and Elvive Ads - Term Paper Example

Semiotic Analysis and Comparison-Contrast of the “Oilatum” and “Elvive” Ads Semiotic Analysis and Comparison-Contrast of the “Oilatum” and “Elvive” Ads Introduction Though both of the advertisements, “Oilatum” and “Elvive” use the semiotic significance of images and text, their technicalities of using the images to construct a unified whole differ from each other to a great extent. Whereas the “Oilatum” advertisement employs the abstraction of images of the packs and containers, the “Elvive” advertisement manipulates the concreteness of the image of human model to work out the effectiveness of its products in reality. Indeed the “Elvive” advertisement primarily focuses on the functioning effectiveness of its product, the textual construction in the “Oilatum” necessarily highlights the process of using the product as well as its effectiveness. Such difference between the presentations of the texts in the advertisements evolves from the variation of the numbers of problems which the products are effective for. Technicality used in the “Oilatum” Ad The “Oilatum” advertisement begins with a rhetoric question “Does your child have Eczema?” Indeed this question serves both as an introduction and a concise expression of what the advertisement is about. Being positioned at the top of the advertisement, though the question does not draw the attention of the viewers in the first place, it fairly informs the viewers about the purpose of the advertisement at any moment when they are confronted with the question, “what is the advertisement really bout?” The primarily viewable contents of the Oilatum ad is the sequence of the three words: soak, smooth and soothe. But the sequence, “soak and smooth to soothe” does not convey a complete message about either the product or the process. Rather it is the explanatory imperatives at the bottom of the advertisement that render completeness to the meaning. Also the words, “soak”, “smooth” and “soothe” maintain a hierarchical sequence that clearly tells about the usage of the products in term of their priority. The word “soak” is followed by the images of two types of Oilatum product: Oilatum Junior Bath and Oilatum Shower Gel, and the word, “smooth”, follow the image of Oilatum Junior Cream. At the right hand corner in the bottom, all the three types of Oilatum products gather together above the iconographic brand name. Technicality used in the “Elvive” Ad In the “Elvive” ad, the charm of beautiful hair has been used as an appeal to draw the attention of the viewers. A close shot of the pretty model Cheryl with her long and beautiful hair occupy most of the background of the ad. Obviously the beauty of hair is assisted with the charm of the beautiful model herself. At the right hand corner in the upper part of the ad, the text, “5 problems, 1 solution” appears to satisfy partially the viewer’s to know about the purpose of the ad. Right at the below of these texts, there appears the products brand name, “Elvive” with the trailer “full restore: 5” and an explanatory statement “Hair feels stronger, weightless, with a healthy shine”. To the right of the lower half of Cheryl’s hair, there are two images of Elvive’s container. Also there are six pointer-boxes referring to the hair-problems and the number of the people who choose Elvive. At the bottom-right hand corner of the ad there is the iconic name of the company with its slogan, “because you are worth it, L’Oreal”. Semiotic Analysis: Construction of Imagery, Use of Anchorage and Caption An online free encyclopedia says that an ad is a “form of persuasive communication that offers information about products, ideas, and services that serves the objectives determined by the advertiser” (Encyclopedia.jrank.org). This persuasive communication is done through construction of imagery, use of anchorage and captions. Both of the ads, Oilatum and Elvive use the rhetoric of imagery to different extents. In the ‘Elvive’ ad, there are about three images that construct its whole imagery system. Among these images, one is of a human female model and the other two are of the product’s containers. Indeed the images of the product-containers are the same: one sits on its bottom, while the other stands upside down. This juxtaposition is only meant to draw the attention of the viewers to the containers. In the ad, the text anchorage “5 problems, 1 solution” is not self-reflective and self-explaining. Rather the viewers are confronted with the questions: “what are the problems?” and “what is the solution?” These two questions are answered in a series of anchorages and relay texts. The brand name “Elvive” with the captions, “Full Restore 5” and “Hair feels stronger, weightless, with a healthy shine” comes up with a glimpse of the answer. Now the readers are aware of the fact that Elvive itself is the solution to the five problems and also they come to know that the problems are related to hair. They simply know that Elvive is something that can make hair stronger, weightless and shiny. Yet the readers do not know what Elvive really is. The image of the product container below the ‘Elvive’ Caption is self-explaining enough to the viewers or readers. The image of the container of the product itself has a caption that bears the specific identity of the product as well as the general identity that it is a replenishing shampoo for weak, limp and lifeless hair. In the “Oilatum” ad, the construction of the imagery such as the images of containers, the artistic inscription of the words “soak”, “smooth” and “soothe” etc conjures up an aura of a fairy and elfish atmosphere in the ad. The word “soak” itself is both an image and an anchorage. The technique and art of presenting the word, “soak” remarkably turns it to be the abstraction of bath and shower. There are the sprinkling drops of water around the word, its winding body tone and also its watery color together work out its meaning. Consequently it appears to be an abstraction of bath or shower. Also the word “soak” is followed by the images of two types of Oilatum products. Such positioning makes “soak” as an anchorage to the usage-quality of the products. Again the word “smooth”, being positioned after the image of Oilatum Junior Cream, passes on the sensation of a cream. After all, the combination is somewhat reminiscent of a commonly cited mathematical equation, “2+2=4”. Finally the relay at the bottom clarifies the whole process of the usage of the product. Gender Specificity and Effects of the Ads If the image of the female model is taken apart from the textual anchorages, it means a little to the viewers. If it is kept aloof, the only things that draw the attention a viewer is the female charm -of the model- which is greatly enhanced by her hair. When, at a first glance, a male viewer will be attracted by the overall beauty of the model, a female viewer is supposed to discern her hair’s role in the enhancement of her beauty. Indeed this discernible quality of the model’s hair has been used to draw the attention of the targeted viewers. Therefore, it is evident that the target viewers of the ad primarily are women. Thus with the use of the picture of the female model, the ad turns to be almost gender specific. This gender specificity is further emphasized with the textual relay at the bottom of the ad, “Cheryl is wearing natural hair extension, Cared for with Full Restore 5”. But the “Oilatum” ad is not gender specific in any way. As the product is supposed to be used for babies’ eczema, its ad also has maintained gender specificity. Target Consumers and Marketing Policy It is said that “Advertising is paid, non-personal communication that is designed to communicate in a creative manner, through the use of mass or information-directed media, the nature of products, services, and ideas” (Encyclopedia.jrank.org). By its very definition, ads are meant for recognition, publicity and popularity of products for organization. The products can be both commercial and non-commercial. But for commercial products the utility option is highlighted in order to provoke the customer to buy the products (Ross, 2000, p.3). In order to increase the probability of sale, often a group or multiple groups of consumers are targeted in an ad. The contents of the “Elvive” ad specify a certain gender that is female. This gender specific quality of the ad necessarily is intended to attract the girls and women as primary target group who are supposed to consume the product. But the charm of femininity expressed through the image of beautiful female model may attract men as secondary target group who can play significant role to motivate their female associates. The gender neutrality of the “Oilatum” ad is intended to draw the attention of the secondary target group such as parents, guardians, elders, etc. When the “Elvive” retains its appeal to the viewers through the female charm of the beautiful model, the “Oilatum” ad tends to do it by creating an elfish or baby-like affection in the viewer’s mind. In both of the ads the utility-appeal has been created through caption, anchorage and imagery. Conclusion When the “Elvive” product is effective for five hair-problems, the “Oilatum” is effective for only one, namely eczema. But the usage of the “Oilatum” product requires at least two types of bottle in its healing process. That is, first the user has to soak or shower with the Oilatum and then he/she has to apply the Oilatum cream. These functionalities of the products have been worked out through the different technical constructions of image and texts in the two advertisements. References Encyclopedia.jrank.org, “Advertising Effects - The Functions of Advertising, Advertising and Psychology, How Advertising Works, Getting Attention, Processing Information, Information Evaluation”. Viewed 27 October, 2010, Ross, C 2000. “Seeing ourselves: an analysis of ideology and fantasy in popular advertisement”, Queen’s University Film Studies, Viewed 27 October, 2010, Read More