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)
For the purpose of this argument I will explore the image in the context using Barthes methodology in its “signs” (Barthes 1972) produced and deconstruct the image in basic building blocks.
This photograph has been taken by the photographer Steven Klein for the Calvin Klein Fall-Winter 09/10 jeans campaign. The advert captures Eva and unveils the celebrity top half wearing only a pair of jeans on a plain, white background. The picture is in black and white with a caption of Calvin Klein Jeans and the garment label.
Eva Mendes half top is undressed and she is exposing her bare back turning her torso slightly, while her face confronts the spectator. The skin dominates the image and the eye is immediately drawn to the intensity of her expression, the curvaceous figure and her arms in an explosion of seductive beauty, framed by nothing but a pair of jeans. To quote Berger’s line “her expression is the expression of a woman responding with calculated charm to the man whom she imagines looking at her…she is offering up here femininity as the surveyed”. (Berger, 1972, p. 49) The centrality of the body in this case is even more reinforced by the caption advertising the brand called unmistakably the BODY Line.
This image is built around some key elements of the body, gender, race...
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...oston: Allyn & Bacon.
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In a brilliant update of the Killing Us Softly series, Jean Kilbourne explains the dangers of advertisements and how they objectify women. Advertisements intelligently portray women in a sexual and distorted way in order to attract the consumers’ attention. Media sets a standard on how young women view themselves and puts them at risk for developing an eating disorder. Kilbourne’s research has led her to educate those who have fallen victim to achieving the “ideal beauty” that has evolved in today’s society.
… a beautiful young man, shot from the rear, puts on a pair of briefs. In the first ad, he's holding them in his hands, contemplating them. Is he checking out the correct washing-machine temp? It's odd, surely, to stand there looking at your underwear, but never mind. The point is: his underwear is in his hands, not on his butt (Bordo,
I have examined and analyzed the COVERGIRL™ NatureLuxe advertisement that uses common feminine stereotypes. In this advertisement, COVERGIRL™, which runs in Seventeen magazines, targets women through their choices of colors, fonts, and images used. Certain stereotypes are used; such as, those who are more feminine tend to prefer lighter, happier colors, such as pink. Also, the use of a celebrity, who many young women look to as an icon, assists in the advertisement of the COVERGIRL™ product. COVERGIRL™, more than likely, is able to successfully market their lip-gloss product in the United States by using common gender stereotypes to show femininity and how those, mainly women, should be presented in today’s society.
Appearing with a miffed expression, the man, with absolute monotony sings, “Boots and pants, and boots and pants” into the silver, vintage microphone. Holding a pair of faded jeans and a single boot, the man attempts to move the items in coordination with the mumbled beat-boxing in the background. Although the American Eagle Outfitters logo spawns a sense of ethos towards the viewer, the distracting conduct of the man subtracts from the logos and pathos behind the established validity, and viewers are prone to feel that the emotion and logic portrayed by the man are questionable. Anew, the attempted advertisement of the product has failed, thus fueling the compilation of evidence towards the degree of ineffectiveness presented by the commercial. Similar to that of other clips within the campaign, the scene repeats for no apparent reason, which is likely done in order to meet a specific time requirement for broadcasting
People tend to views an image based on how society say it should be they tend to interpret the image on those assumption, but never their own assumptions. Susan Bordo and John Berger writes’ an argumentative essay in relation to how viewing images have an effect on the way we interpret images. Moreover, these arguments come into union to show what society plants into our minds acts itself out when viewing pictures. Both Susan Bordo and John Berger shows that based on assumptions this is what causes us to perceive an image in a certain way. Learning assumption plays into our everyday lives and both authors bring them into reality.
Katharina Linder. 2004. “Images of Women in General Interest and Fashion Magazine Advertisements from 1955 to 2002.” Sex Roles 51:409-421.
We see the ways that the popular media uses gender tensions everywhere. The truth is that sex sells, we know that. The challenge that advertisers face is: How to use it best. Some advertisers do this better than others and the ones that truly have an understanding of gender tensions will, in the end, sell the most. In my last paper, I explored how the company Abercrombie and Fitch uses gender tensions to sell their clothes. They have become among the masters in advertising and the business in booming. They cater to young adults and young adults only for one powerful reason: It is at this age in which the sexual tensions between male and female are greatest. Abercrombie and Fitch has found their niche.
‘Semiology provides the analyst with a conceptual toolkit for approaching sign systems systematically in order to discover how they produce meaning’ (Bawer et. all, 2000: 227). Advertising is one of the typically elements used for a convincing presentation product or service to the buyer or user. Advertising provides the link between products or service and people. To be efficient, it must correspond to products and to be relevant for people, expressing and sustaining competitive advantages. My image appears in Glamour, a specialized publication for women, which cultural context is gender, thus providing a greater degree of authority and the intention is to promote the reputation and sales of the perfume. The image is a collection of signs, these signs may include paradigmatic and systematic elements such as the name of the perfume, the fonts used, the colors or the women which appears with an green apple in her hand. ‘The goal of semiotics in the study of advertising is, ultimately, to unmask the arrays of hidden meanings in the underlying level, which form what can be called signification systems’ (Beasley et.all, 2002: 20). It is obvious that in the interpretation of an image controversies can arise and the meaning could be different from person to person due to the cultural level or ways of image analysis, because the reader approaches an image from a personal ideological perspective. Here we can say that the link between signified and signifier is essential. Signifier, is the particular te...
The article focuses on Individualization and uniqueness and how it has begun to find its way into current advertisements. By allowing a woman to express her individuality it shows boldness, fearlessness, and confidence and that is refreshing in today’s world of fashion.
“Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep” (Godfrey, 2013). We hear these sayings all the time, yet we live in a society that seems to constantly contradict this idea (Godfrey, 2013). If looks don’t matter, why is every woman in magazines photoshopped? If looks don’t matter, why are women constantly harming their bodies because they are unhappy with how they look and just want to fit in (Godfrey, 2013)? The unrealistic standard of beauty that women are bombarded with everyday gives them a goal that is impossible (Godfrey, 2013). Sociocultural standard of feminine beauty is presented in almost all forms of popular media, forcing women with images that portray what is considered to be the ideal body (Serdar). A majority of the models
This essay is an analysis of two advertising posters, one of being a modern piece of media, the other being aimed at the previous generation. I will be reviewing posters from Coca Cola and Benetton, the latter being the modern piece of media in this comparison.
Valentino - Voguepedia. 2014. Valentino - Voguepedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Valentino. [Accessed 20 March 2014].
The documentary Killing Us Softly 4 discusses and examines the role of women in advertisements and the effects of the ads throughout history. The film begins by inspecting a variety of old ads. The speaker, Jean Kilbourne, then discusses and dissects each ad describing the messages of the advertisements and the subliminal meanings they evoke. The commercials from the past and now differ in some respects but they still suggest the same messages. These messages include but are not limited to the following: women are sexual objects, physical appearance is everything, and women are naturally inferior then men. Kilbourne discusses that because individuals are surrounded by media and advertisements everywhere they go, that these messages become real attitudes and mindsets in men and women. Women believe they must achieve a level of beauty similar to models they see in magazines and television commercials. On the other hand, men expect real women to have the same characteristics and look as beautiful as the women pictured in ads. However, even though women may diet and exercise, the reality...
Evans is placed on the bottom, in the darker portion of the ad whereas Wood is above him, in the brighter area. In his article for the British newspaper The Telegraph, Auslan Cramb states that the typical attractive stereotype for men is to be “tall, dark and handsome,” which Evans’ positioning in the darkness alludes to. His placement underneath Wood also refers to his more devilish side, evoking a sense of attraction towards the bad boy archetype, which is enhanced even more by the inclusion of Evans’ tattoo on his arm. Wood, on the other hand, is set above him in the well-lit section of the ad. The lighting and positioning augments her divinity and feminine nature over Evans. By placing the two actors in contrasting light and positions, Gucci appeals to the subconscious sex drive of consumers to evoke a desire to purchase the perfume and get what both Evans and Wood have: an attractive
Curry and Clarke’s article believe in a strategy called “visual literacy” which develops women and men’s roles in advertisements (1983: 365). Advertisements are considered a part of mass media and communications, which influence an audience and impact society as a whole. Audiences quickly begin to rely on messages sent through advertisements and can create ideologies of women and men. These messages not only are extremely persuasive, but they additionally are effective in product consumption in the media (Curry and Clarke 1983: