Image-based Advertisement Analysis - Essay Example

Image-based Advertisement Analysis Grade (November 22, Image-based Advertisement Analysis Introduction The advertisement Image, ‘France is in the Air’, is an advert developed by the Air France airline travel agency, promoting the company in the African country of Senegal. The target audience of the image-based advert is the African clientele travelling to different destinations in the world. The advert carries a full page of a white woman contrasted against a dark background, and at the edge of the image, the destination of ‘Dakar’ is indicated as one of the cities in Africa where Air France offers its air-travel services. Genre Analysis Purpose and audience The purpose of the advert is to remind or create new awareness to the African travelling clientele that Air France offers its services to the continent. The message of the advert is very easy to comprehend, considering the fact that it has avoided the application of a lot of textual content, rather choosing to indicate the brand name of the company, ‘Air France’, the advert message ‘France in the Air’ and then the destination, ‘Dakar’. Therefore, the advert is already effective in communicating its message even in such brief textual form. The advert delivers its message to the target audience immediately, because it portrays a very unusual image of a white woman-model dressed in the characteristic African headscarf and attire that depicts women of class in Africa. This image captures the attention of the audience and informs them that Air France is a Western air-travel company that is cognizant of the African ways. Rhetorical Analysis: Ethos, Pathos, Logos The Ethos of the advert is questionable, considering the fact that; while the advert is targeting to reach the African clients of the Air France travel company, the author of the advert did not have the courtesy of using an African model. Instead, the advert has used a white model to reach the target customers who are Africans, an indication that Air France does not really perceive the African clients it targets, as owning the airline image. The ethos of the image-based advertisement would have been courteous and appropriate if a black woman model was used as the image in this advert, since it could indicate that Air France really values the African clients, to the extent of allowing them to own the company’s image. On the contrary, the advert has applied the image of a white model, and ‘Africanized’ her through wrapping her head with the characteristic African headscarf mostly worn by African women of class. This creates an ethos contrast surrounding whether the author of the advert really understood the African people, culture and values. Thus, the ethos of the image-based advert is questionable, and so is the character of the author of the advert. Would it not have been more appropriate to portray the image of an African woman-model against a white background? This also raises the question; did the author of the advertisement really have the cultural authority to speak to an African audience? On the other hand, the pathos of the image-based advert is effective in appealing to the emotions of the African air-travel clientele as the target audience of this advertisement. The image of the white woman-model wearing a characteristic African headscarf and attire appeals emotionally to the audience, since it portrays Air France as a dynamic company that takes cognizant of, and adapts to the African ways. Further, the image of the white woman-model dressed in the characteristic African headscarf and attire also appeals emotionally to the target African audience, by portraying Air France as a friendly air-travel agency that brings to Africa Western population and accustoms them to the African ways. The logos of the image-based advert is however ineffective, considering the fact that it does not appeal to the reasoning of the targeted African audience. The use of a white woman-model to advertise the Air France brand in Africa is the first element of the advert that goes against all logic. The more logical appeal would have emanated from the use of an image of an African woman-model, since the audience would be able to reason that Air France does not only embrace the African culture, but is also more comfortable using Africans as its brand ambassadors. Structure The structure of the image-based advert is very simple. The image-based advert simply presents the image of a woman model adorning an African attire and headscarf as the central part of the image, with the brand name ‘Air France’, advertisement message, ‘France in the air’ and the destination, ‘Dakar’ being sidelined to the very edges of the image-based advertisement. Despite this simple structure applied by the advert, the message is clearly delivered, since the advert simply seeks to inform the African air-travel clientele that ‘Air France’ is already in the air, and serves destinations that include the African continent. Therefore, the application of the simple and short textual message is actually sufficient to capture and inform the target audience on the goal of the advert. Visual Semiotics The highly catchy aspect of the image-based advert is the white face of the model-woman portrayed in the advert as well as the red-and-white headscarf worn on her head. According to the Visual Semiotics Theory, the meaning of a visual image comes from the interaction of the components of the image with the audience/perceiver of the image (Parsa, 2004). In this respect, the meaning immediately created by the catchy white woman-model’s face and the red-and-white headscarf on her head is that the brand is cognizant of the African ways. The type of headscarf worn by the model portrayed in the image is normally worn by classy African women. Therefore, since the advert is targeting the air-travel clientele in Africa, its projection of the classy African woman as the population the airline serves is in fact on point. The Visual Semiotics Theory also provides that to understand a visual image fully, the image should not be considered as a single item or in terms of the sum of its parts, but in the way the different components of the image interact to create the intended meaning (Parsa, 2004). The image based advert promoting the Air France travel agency has different components that combines together to form the intended meaning. The background of the whole image is black, with the exception of a cream yellow portion on the extreme edge of the image-based advert. The black background creates sharp contrast between the background and the white model-woman with a red-and-white headscarf. This contrast attracts the attention the audience to interpret the intention and meaning of the advert. The readiness of a visual image is based on its ability to attract and capture the attention of the audience/reader, and immediately generate a ground for perception, memorizing, interpretation and reconstruction of the signs, symbols and meaning of the image (Parsa, 2004). The moment an audience/reader perceives the ‘France is in the Air’, perception is immediately created by the contrast of the woman-model and the dark background, while the red-and-white headscarf generates the interpretation of a classy feminine African figure and the written symbols of ‘Air France’, ‘France in the Air’ and ‘Dakar’ reconstructs the meaning as that of a travelling African woman in the ‘Air France’ airline. Ultimately, the sharp contrasting image of the white woman in African attires against a dark background forms a memory image that is difficult to erase. Therefore, the visual semiotics components of the image-based ‘France in the Air’ advertisement are appropriate and effective for the intended purpose and target audience. Conclusion Advertising is not simply the art of passing the intended message related to a brand to the target audience, but passing the message effectively. The art of advertising can be complex, especially when it comes to advertisements targeting a multicultural audience. The ‘France in the Air’ image-based advert has served to deliver the intended message to the target audience effectively, through a less-textual image advert. Reference Parsa, A. F. (2004). Visual semiotics: how still images mean? Interpreting still images by using semiotic approaches. Turkey: Ege University. Read More