Introduction
I first spotted the advertisment in Wired Digital Magazine. It firstly attracted my attention because on the colours and the visable martini glass. With closer attention, it was noted a lot more detail was in the advert. This advert is for Bombay Sapphire gin, and is part of there Imagionation Series. The advert is known as “Imagination distilled” or “Imagination Machine”. It depicts how much hard work goes into the processes of distilling Bombay Sapphire, using the 10 botanical ingredients from around the world (Nexus, 2014).
Because this advert has a lot of semiotic elements, I will be concentrating on the more predominate elements, and where the eye is drawn to in the static image. Such as, The Martini Glass, The Dragon, Buddha head, and over to the Arch with gardens, then eye follows down the image to the words “Imagination Distilled” and Bottle of Bombay Sapphire. I will also be referring to the colours used and the fog like effect (vapour) at the top of the image. The animated version (which can be found here: - http://vimeo.com/77708711 ) may lead the eye to different elements but they are largely the same.
Identifying Semeotics
Binary structures: two contrary conceptual categories that also entail or presuppose each other (Irvine, 2004).
• Dark Blues and Light Blues (Dusk and Dawn) / Blue (cold, pure) and Gold (Warm, rich)
• Dragon (Evil) Buddha (Good)
• Natural (Gardens. Water, Fog). Unnatural (The distilling machine.)
• Martini Glass Feminine (Sex in the City) Masculine (James Bond)
Cultural codes: The interdependent ways in which texts stand in relation to one another (as well as to the culture at large) to produce meaning.
• Martini Glass – sophisticated upper class (male & female), or ...
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...nd the bottle of spirits. On closer investigation they would realise there is a lot more to it. When the interpreter focuses on the cultural symbols in the advert, they see a Dragon and may think of bad or evil elements to the advert but on closer look you see a man riding and controlling the Dragon which is breathing smoke/vapour. The Buddha can be a sign of good these binary signs can give the view the idea of good and bad in relation to alcohol. The elements are being distilled through the machine; the process takes all the purity and good from these elements to create the Gin. Giving the interpreter the idea that Bombay Sapphire takes a lot of time and energy to make it and that this drink is good, pure and tasty. It’s appealing to a wide audience of many cultures, and to each gender, and maybe even making them feel thirsty for some cool Bombay Sapphire.
The question often is what makes a good advertisement? The answer is simple, it should be able to grab the attention of the targeted audience, and even better it should be able to make the targeted audience fall in love with the advertisement so that they can be persuaded to achieve the desired results. Of all the forms of advertisement, TV commercials always are the best considered effective way to pass the message to the targets. I believe that the combination of audio-visual effects can engrave the commercial into the hearts and minds of the viewers and that is why I have chosen to analyse a TV commercial by Weetabix: Weetabix Chocolate Dubstep Cereal Commercial.
For years’ alcohol companies have been using high profile celebrities to grab the attention of their buyers. By pairing a face that is widely known to most everyone, with a possible liqueur that most haven’t tried, it portrays to the curious buyer that the product has to be good with a famous face on the cover. Kim Kardashian is a well known television personality. She is known most for Keeping Up with The Kardashians as well as for spotlighting her lavish lifestyle. The advertisement uses her to say that Midori will help the drinker have fun, and stand out, while also portraying a feeling of success, beauty and popularity. If you drink Midori, you can be like Kim.
There are many denotations in this ad. There is a man, three women, bags, sides of buildings, a chair, writing on a window, a sidewalk-like walkway, a bottle of Southern Comfort, some white lines, and two lines of copy. The first line of copy reads, "Your free time may have changed. Your drink doesn't have to." The second line reads, "Hang on to your spirit." There is also a division in the ad, the top two-thirds of the ad being the photo image and the bottom one third being a black background.
This commercial uses several of the qualities of modern advertisement outlined by James B. Twitchell (1996). The most obvious quality that is employed by this advertisement is the use of the profane. The advertisement not only includes actually profanity with Aubrey cursing and calling out the marketing developers on their questionable choices, it also uses profane humor by poking fun at itself and the idea of a marketing conglomerate throughout the entire commercial. The use of profane
The target audience is both males and females in their late teens to mid twenties. This company gets the male side of the equation by getting their attention and interest drawn to the attractive woman on the right with bright colors drawing your attention there as well as the bottle of whiskey which is right in the middle of the page. Then what gets these peoples attention to stay there is the fact they have an incredibly good looking female who is posing in next to nothing. Then a way that they try and get the females to look at the advertisement and read it is by showing a very plain girl who seems to be very typical of girls during their younger years. Then beside they show the same girl who now has become a women who is very attractive and just seems so much more powerful and sure of herself. One way that you can achieve that is if you drink Evan Williams Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
It’s shows that drinking liquor is easier to go down then a woman that they are trying to assault. The ad reinforces traditional gender norms because it is agreeing that rape culture is okay. It is agreeing that men should be able to have their way with women. It is showing how men, under the influence, feel as if they are more dominant than usual over women. Men are seen as predators that the women have to get away from. It shows how women are victims to the overpowering dominance of men.I do not feel as if the ad successfully challenged the traditional gender norms, mainly because it encourages men to drink this liquor which may lead to the sexual assault of women. They may feel that this liquor may help them be able to take their victim down. They are basically putting women is danger to the point that they no longer feel safe around men under the influence of Belvedere vodka. Advertisements like this one is actually advertised in magazines and everywhere on the internet now and days. Many advertisements that use women in sexually abusive manners have become accepted by
The ad appears in Adbusters Magazine, a web page created by The Adbusters Media. This is a Canadian foundation that uses ads to fight issues in society like smoking and alcoholism. For example, in this case they are discrediting the Absolut vodka brand, creating a mockery ad against the product...
The advertisement is set in an apartment overlooking some metropolitan city, while a young woman, stands over a hidden man sitting in a 60s style chair with only the forearms and legs showing. The man in the chair holds a martini while the woman holds a...
The tenth picture from the first visual set is titled “Date night”. This picture shows a couple of old men in a jail cell. They are all wearing dirty clothes. This is trying to show that if you drink and get cut, you will go to jail and be in jail with these kind of people. I think this picture is persuasive because it shows that someone will go to jail if they get cut drinking and driving. I think this ad will be more effective for younger adult than older adults because it can be a lot scarier for the young adults.
Given that literature is a form of symbolic culture, that it has culture within it as much as...
They leaned towards a cinema effect instead of a straight forward traditional commercial. Throughout the commercial, we cross back and forth between a dream world and reality. For example, during the China segment, the dragon turns into the Great Wall of China. The dream world also had a cloudy fog throughout the scene to give it an imaginary vibe. This illusion between the two world captivates the same feeling of luxury; it’s surreal. Whereas the reality scenes of the destinations had a clean, crisp appearance. The absence of a narrator also feeds into this fantasy. The commercial allows the images to speak for itself. The orchestra arrangement also made the commercial naturally timeless. The music was selected to be soothing and entrancing to lure the
The bold print also indicates for the woman to remove her clothes, or for the viewer to do so. Everything is very clean, clear, and appealing to the eye. There is a highlight around the woman’s body leaving her look like she’s glowing. The weight scale is indicating that the woman has lost weight and she is shocked by how much she weighs now. The company displays this petite woman which advertises, if you drink their product then the consumers can look like her. This add is posing as a sex symbol for men and is showing younger women that they should look like this woman in the ad. This ad is also indicating that only ‘sexy’ and ‘healthy’ woman can produce healthier milk.
The advert is for a new product called ‘WOMAN’ that they are adding to their line of fragrances. The first thing that is noticed about this advert is the colour. It is very contrasting with the black and white, and gives a big impact to the audience. The white usually signifies innocence but with the black background it’s suggesting hidden depths, like a wild side that you could have. The model’s look is very confident, like she can get
A creative emotional appeal in this advertisement is the title. On the top right hand corner in bold white letters powerfully reads, “The Essence of Britain, made in Switzerland by BREITLING.” In the background of the title are the dark blue clouds in which the title visibly pops out. The white title makes Britain stand out in a pure, sensible way, because Britain is commonly known for royalty and wealth. This title pulls the audience in trying to feel a sense of Britain. This
The only unambiguous message of this commercial is the product it endorses: as product recognition is most important in advertising, Singer subtly creates the “Affiliation”[2] appeal. The fast-moving ad features unidentified people and indeterminate foods; however, amidst the myriad of attractive imagery stands the easily-recognized Coca-Cola contour bottle. While Coke is rarely dispensed in glass bottles anymore, the choice to present it in this container distinguishes it as nostalgic and thus familiar, as opposed to the vague and thus anonymous food that the ad is not promoting. This dichotomy of the indeterminate food and prominent Coke bottle serves as one example of the duality I will discuss throughout the essay: Salma Hayeck resembles the Coke bottle’s distinction in contrast to the unknown people also featured in the commercial[3]. Additionally, the ad evokes affiliation from audiences with its text “Craving” “Coca-Cola” “Real,” which resonates the company’s previous slogan, “The Real Thing.” Essentially viewers acknowledge the reality of Coke through their memories of prior ad campaigns.