Analyzing Messages Carried in an Advertisement - Essay Example

?Analyzing Messages carried in an Advertisement Human communication is commonly presumed to rely on hearing and interpreting textual information. However, it must be realized that visual information is more powerful than these two mediums put together. Based on this fact, advertisers have put a large emphasis on creating advertisements that carry strong visual messages through appropriate symbolism1. It can then be said that visual semiotics have a large part to play in selling products in the modern marketplace because of their influential position to determine human actions. Carefully chosen images form a subtle relationship between the signifier and the signified so that the randomization pointed out by Berger (1995) is minimized. A meticulously construed advertisement has the power to deliver the same meaning to a host of different people through its overwhelmingly powerful imagery and symbolism. The advertisement under discussion (please see Appendix ‘A’) represents a strong combination of visual symbols that produce provocative thought in order to stimulate one to buy. The central symbol or icon is a Lolita who is depicted as being totally nude. The point in using a Lolita is rather simple – creating desire. In the Greek era, young boys embodied the essence of beauty and hence desire. The tale of Narcissus for example tends to highlight that Greek sexuality centered largely on the beauty and desirability of young boys. In a similar manner, modern Western civilization sees young girls as the embodiment of beauty and desire. The concept of Lolita has come to signify the ultimate object of desire for most in the Western world when it comes to sexuality. The advertisement uses this symbol as a central focus for anyone viewing the advertisement so that the concept of desire becomes the theme of this advertisement. In addition using the concept of Lolita has another deeply seated purpose. Lolita is a strongly linked concept where the signifier and the signified have a strong relationship between themselves. A person viewing a Lolita who is posing naked will not connect the image to any other thing but to sexual desire alone. In this manner the advertisement tends to prod the viewer into bringing out their sexual side so that it can be explored further on a personal scale. The perfume being advertised is nonetheless meant for the female audience and there would seem little point in creating desire between one woman viewing the advertisement and another posing suggestively naked in it. Rather than promote attraction between women, the advertisement is targeted to the female audience’s sexual sides so that, as mentioned before, female viewers are able to bring their own sexual side into focus. Women viewing this advertisement are provided with a strong statement along with a provocative question. The central icon is without a doubt beautiful and desirable which is a strong statement2. On the other hand, the female viewers of this advertisement ask themselves if they are like this central icon which represents a provocative question. The contention of the advertisement’s designer is to bring forth such a comparison so that the viewer asks themselves what they would require in order to be like the Lolita in the middle of the advertisement. Another thing that needs to be kept in mind when analyzing this advertisement is the projection of a Lolita who is desirable yet unattainable. The image of the girl in the middle hints at this in two different ways – the confident and self-assured look on her face provides one justification while the method she uses to place her arms near her waist signifies her personal assurance. This methodology again is not meant for the male audience but rather for the female audience who are shown a beautiful woman who is playing hard to get. The use of such symbols to provide the image of a beautiful, desirable yet hard to get Lolita is something that nearly every woman from every demographic segment wants to become. It could thus be said that the portrayal of this young girl is not only meant to make women become desirable but also more hard to get and thus even more desirable. This extreme desirability and its promotion have yet another startling effect on the viewers of this advertisement as they are provided with a hint of exoticism. Women play hard to get around the globe but this is nowhere as pronounced as in the Orient or India where courtship rituals may require the groom to bestow part of his personal estate and other belongings to the woman. This in itself signifies that the man is ready to do anything for the woman being desired. The concept of being desired to the limits that someone is ready to give up everything they have for you is like a huge morale booster for anyone. Women tend to have urges such that they require their partners to leave everything else for them and to be omnipresent for them at all times. This is rather natural and biologically proclaimed as any woman desires the best possible mate and his attention in order to conceive children and to guarantee their secure future3. This requires that the female be signified in such a manner of beauty and desirability that the male is more or less mesmerized by her. Within the context of the current advertisement, the Lolita with her self-assured postures and perfect figure seems to be asking women if they want to be like her. The feminine side of the argument has been carried on further by placing roses along the periphery of the Lolita’s image. The rose is generally meant to symbolize love and feminine methods of looking at things. The placement of roses adds further credibility for women viewing this advertisement as the rose present them with something they already know of. On another note, the perfume in question is also composed of roses and the resulting scent is also hinted at using the roses in the background4. The viewer of the advertisement is given a fair idea that the advertised product tends to smell like roses. In this manner the roses placed around the periphery are placed there for two distinct purposes – to signify the characteristics of the product and to provide greater feminine projection to the overall advertisement5. However, it must be kept in mind that the relationship between the signifier and the signified is weaker in the context of the roses when compared to the context of the Lolita. Another aspect of the picture is the use of esoteric French language on the top right corner of the advertisement. For most viewers of this advertisement, this serves merely to enhance the exoticism produced by the overall advertisement. However, for those who know French or care to search for its meaning there is an even stronger message. The words “osez moi” that are presented in a large feminine font literally mean “I dare”. The font in use for writing the words “osez-moi” is rather large and provocative as if rebelling from the overall composition of the advertisement. This in itself presents a reflection of what the designer wanted to do as per the advertisement’s message – provoking the average shopper’s consumption habits in order for them to buy this lineage of perfume. On the other hand, the underlying text “le nouveau parfum” simply means “the new fragrance”. The font used to create this statement is rather simple and formal indicating as if the designer were just issuing a statement. This provides a rather fitting end to the textual message which begins as a provocative message but ends as calm, pacified and in control. Putting the two texts together presents a simple message that the Lolita in the middle dares to try the new perfume and if the women viewing the advertisement have the guts to try out a new perfume too. This in itself carries two meanings – one that the Lolita is self-assured enough to do as she pleases and two that she is modern and liberated and not at the mercy of a man’s whims. In addition the color scheme of the overall advertisement tends to focus on the more feminine perceived colors such as pink. Typically roses are red in color but for the purposes of this advertisement, the roses have been portrayed as pink. The same color is continued in order to create the perfume bottle displayed in the middle of the advertisement thus promoting a uniform image for the consumer. Another noteworthy aspect is the use of greyed out color to create the leaves. Typically leaves are green but this advertisement portrays them as grey. This might have been done in order to provide a sense of amplification for the pink roses making them more prominent in the overall score. Overall, the advertisement under discussion uses feminine symbols in order to provoke the female audience to buy perfume by banking on their biological instinct, their desire for desirability and their independence. More importantly, all of this occurs through the use of visual symbols in large part signifying their importance in advertising. References Berger, A.A., 1995. "Semiotics and Cultural Criticism” Cultural Criticism: A Primer of Key Concepts. London: Sage. Bogdan, C., 2002. The Semiotics of Visual Languages. London: East European Monographs. Caesar, M., 1999. Umberto Eco: Philosophy, Semiotics, and the Work of Fiction. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. Crow, D., 2010. Visible Signs: An introduction to semiotics in the visual arts. 2nd ed. London: Ava Publishing. Robin, 2009. Chantal Thomas Osez-Moi! [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "http://www.nstperfume.com/2009/04/14/chantal-thomass-osez-moi-co-bigelow-lemon-new-fragrances/" http://www.nstperfume.com/2009/04/14/chantal-thomass-osez-moi-co-bigelow-lemon-new-fragrances/ [Accessed 24 March 2012]. Appendix ‘A’ Read More