According to Roland Barthe’s Constructing Myths theory, a myth is “a type of speech” (Barthe, 1957). Linguistic sign, which has two parts, the Signifier, which is the physical appearance of the word, in this case the words S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S; and the Signified, which refers to the image we create in our minds when we hear the signifier. Santa Claus is generally portrayed as a portly, joyous, white-bearded man, sporting a red coat with white collar and cuffs and black leather belt and boots and carries a bag full of gifts for children. This image is accepted and related with Christmas across the world. How it looks as if Santa is wearing the colours of Coca-Cola is a main reason why he makes an excellent selection as a mascot for Coca-Cola. And red, which was complimented by white, is accepted to be a warm and positive colour that draws the eye at any given moment. Similarly in semiotics, denotation is the literal meaning of a word and connotation is the implicit meaning, and has the same relationship as the signifier and signified and is connected to signification.
Signification is about how meanings are produced and circulated and the Coca-Cola Company has taken the history of Santa Claus, to help promote Coca-Cola as a brand during the Christmas season. However according to Chandler (2013), “Myths differ from other kinds of signifiers. For one thing, they are never arbitrary. They always contain some kind of analogy which motivates them. In contrast to ideas of false consciousness, myths don’t hide anything. Instead, myths inflect or distort particular images or signs to carry a particular meaning. Myth doesn’t hide things, it distorts them. It alienates the history of the sign.” This is known as the Arbiter meaning, wh...
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...d by the Coke advert was what introduced the all new Santa Claus appearance to a much larger audience, both old and young all around the world, compared to the less established earlier publications regarding Saint Nicolas. This is verified thought “aesthetic practice of challenging assumptions” which comes under anarchy in design. This is an example how art and design can achieve social change. Design can aid in the creation of an idea that will be accepted or dismissed. It changes insight based on occasion, but for an advertisement the experience is always pleasurable. The Sunblom Coca-Cola advertisement currently in question does not boast of the first Santa Claus representation, but certainly holds the most popular one that was embraced at large and hanged the perception of a larger audience that accepted the newly introduced Santa image along with Coca-Cola.
Evidently, myths have become the culprit of traditions. That being said, the contemporary and ancient myths of Santa Claus and Krampus can only be understood by determining the elements that devise their entireties. Both narratives involve elements of opposition, trickery, mythemes, repetition, symbols, and ritualistic processes all of which support the structure of each holiday myth and tradition. Overall, the individual elements facilitate a valid, detailed compare and contrast analysis when examining the myths of Santa Claus and Krampus in a North American culture.
Nabisco, the company that produces Oreo Cookies, has always been known for outstanding commercials. Yet this “Oreo Cookie” commercial is perhaps the most remarkable. First, she twists the cookie apart and then, this cute little girl with her hair in pigtails proceeds to dunk the cookie in a tall glass of milk, submerging her entire hand. The camera then shifts to show the child’s grandfather eating the cookie in the same manner. This advertisement aims at leading audiences to reminisce of the simple pleasures of their childhood, like enjoying a cookie. While doing so, the advertisers have created a memorable commercial.
A symbol in literature is an object that stands for a word, cause, belief, or another object. A metaphor is a figure of speech where a word of phrase is applied to something but it should not be taken literally. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird symbolizes innocence. The mockingbird is innocent, singing for people to hear its music. In the book Atticus says to Scout, “Remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.” When Scout asked Miss Maudie about it, Miss Maudie tells her, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but they sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Killing something so innocent would be a sin because it had never done anything to hurt you.
When using symbolism in a story, in a movie or in life in general it helps you understand the meaning of it and lets you get deep inside the topic for a better understanding. Symbolism is a person place or thing that can be interpreted in a different way. A example of symbolism can be related to the religious world. Many people see a tiny edible piece as just another item to eat, but Catholics that attend church see it as a religious piece that symbolizes the body of Christ. You will also see symbolism when you see a navy blue star or when you see a eagle face, a football fan may look at that star as The Dallas Cowboys Team and the eagles head as the Philadelphia Eagles Team.
Foster defines myth as a forming and managing force of a story and its images; our capacity to clarify ourselves; myths are so profoundly instilled our social memory that they both shape our culture and are formed by it.
Is Santa truly a secular figure or is he a religious one? This has been a long-standing argument. However, instead of viewing Saint Nick as either secular or religious, it would be more beneficial to examine him as a figure consisting of both religious and secular elements. It is true that the contemporary Santa Claus may be more associated with secular concepts, such as consumerism, but it is also crucial to emphasize the origins of the jolly old man. He is the product of Western Christianization. It is thought that he was created from a combination of the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, a Christian saint, who was known for giving gifts, and the fictional character of Father Christmas from British folklore (CITE). Santa Claus can be viewed
Writers often use symbolism in the story to give a more vivid description rather than just saying, pictures are a perfect example. Symbolism is the art of using any object, place, name or anything that represents something rather
Originally, myths, or Dreamtime stories, were not expressed simply in verbal or written form but were enacted, chanted, painted, cost...
Catchy jingles are what persuades consumers to buy more and more products that they hear about every day. This concept has been around for years and the Coca-Cola Company is no stranger to it. Back in July of 1971, Coca-Cola released the commercial, “I’d like to Buy the World a Coke” that sent their customers into chaos with over 100,000 letters being sent to the company asking for more. This leaves many people asking: how did this one commercial have such an impact on the audience? And what did Coca-Cola use that drew so many people in? Here we will discover the method behind what is “I’d like to buy the World a Coke.”
In this essay I will describe an image taken from an advert and use visual methodological approach to analyse and depict the different set of meanings produced by this image. In order to explicate my ideas I will provide a brief outline of the picture. Then, I will describe a number of coded and non coded meanings and how the advert is employing a range of signifiers to communicate messages to the consumer and reinforce the brand identity. (Barthes 1972)
Symbolism is a literary technique that is used to clarify the author's intent. Sometimes it is used to great effect, while other times it only seems to muddle the meaning of a passage. In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses objects and people as symbols to allegorically reveal his message to the reader.
Symbolism is a type of literary device authors use to add special effect and meaning to their stories. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, symbolism is “The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships (“symbolism”).” Objects, people, actions, and words often are used to symbolize a deeper meaning throughout the text of a story. As one reads a story, they must realize that each sentence they are reading could have a double meaning; this means that further thought is often necessary, on the part of the reader, to better understand the whole effect the author was trying to portray. Tennessee Williams wrote The Glass Menagerie in a somewhat complex and confusing manor; if the reader does not read into the meaning of the symbols that are scattered throughout the text, the story is misunderstood.
Thury, Eva and Margaret K. Devinney. “Theory: Man and His Symbols.” Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 519-537. Print.
Campbell describes myths as “the search for meaning; for an experience of being alive” (Power of Myth). “That every myth every legend is true,” and is “metaphorical of the human and cosmic myster...
Coca - Cola : Claims, Values and Polices Coca-Cola is a well-known and cherished brand name. When people think of this name, memories tend to overflow in their heads. Why do you need to be a member? Because, not only does Coke taste great and refresh your own personal memories, it also fills you with memories of the Coca-Cola like "Always Coca-Cola", the antics of the Coke polar bears, and all of the different ads that have represented Coke over the years. Just about every ad you see, as a consumer, has tons of hidden meanings.