Volkswagen’s “prom night” television advert from April 2015 is an influential piece of media. Though it holds no specific indicators of what it means, further than a level of purely advertising purposes, it can be discussed through semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols to create meaning and is evident in the text through the analysis of certain techniques (O'Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012). By analyzing the signifiers, denotative and connotative meaning, we are able to draw conclusions on a larger scale of ideology. Volkswagen’s moving image that we are examining is a clip advertising SUV cars. In a new advertisement for the 2015 VW Tiguan, a young couple is being escorted to their high school prom by the girl’s father. In the …show more content…
He is slim, white and has dark brown hair, standing outside waiting for someone to pick him up. Upon entering the car and throughout the trip the boy does not say anything, his emotions and personality are all portrayed through specific and precise body language and movement. This along with the non-diegetic sound of mood music and dim lighting create connotations that the boy is shy and feeling nervous and awkward. Connotation is the idea or feeling produced in addition to the primary meaning when looking at a signifier (O'Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012). His movements are slow and soft and his expression is innocent. The girl is wearing a long, white, lace dress with a high neck, this style and colour effectively connote her youthfulness and innocence. “An item of clothing can be a powerful signifier. The clothes we wear everyday also act as sign systems to tell other people and ourselves who we think we are” (O'Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012). She is seen to be young and girlish, someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly. She has long dark natural coloured and styles hair tied up in a bun, further emphasizing this carefully crafted connotation. The girl also does not speak throughout the video, putting more emphasis one her actions and connoting her feelings through body language as well. She appears classy and respectful yet has a very passive presence in the …show more content…
The man appears tall and muscular, and around mid-40s. His age, colour and the fact that he is driving the car create a sense of the power and control that the man has, both over the two kids, his daughter in particular, and the car he is driving. Driving a car is a direct connotation to power and control. As well as this, black men usually connote strength and power. In the video, we see two teenagers sitting in the back seat unsure of how to act and the dad takes it upon himself to do some fancy maneuvering that helps them break the ice. Going to prom as a teenager can be both awkward and exciting at the same time, even more so when you have your dad driving you there. The father’s simple acts to sympathize and decrease the awkwardness between the two, showing a kind and protective side. The creates a warm connotation surrounding the father, helping the break the barriers created by his physical appearance and produce and more sensitive connotation. At the end of the video we see and anchor: “Tiguan. The SUV that puts you in control”. This ground the advert and gives it meaning, linking an unrelated situation of going to prom meaning. The dominant signifier of the car can then be detonated to a simple sign for the Volkswagen company in its SUV
In this image, a sewage worker is seen cleaning the drainage system, with his bear hands, without the use of either any equipment’s or protection. On the first glace, the image depicts the idea of health risk, because the man is exposed to such contaminants, which for him is work. He is looking up from a dirty drain, covered in filth, which shows that he is clearly used as the subject of this image, whom we are engaged to more as he is making eye contact with its viewers. This picture only includes one person into the frame, as the other man’s face isn’t available to see in this picture, which is man that is holding the bucket. Holding a bucket either emphasise the idea that he is helping the sewage worker, either to get the dirt out or to put the dirt in the drainage system.
This theme is evident in the doubling of stockings with the girl’s natural black legs. The red stockings, which represent sexual, material desires, are contrasted with the natural, elegant beauty of the legs of the black girl. The stockings highlight only the legs, separating them from the girl as a whole and allowing for easier objectification, specifically by young white males. However, the girl knows this, as she has put the stockings on and is being told so by the narrator, who represents the black community. The narrator also clearly recognizes the girl’s beauty, and her beauty is further highlighted in the fact that she is clothed in silk, which relates to royalty and comfortability.
Unlike the other women, the camera goes directly to her face and is at a level angle, which in cinematology creates the feeling of power or equality for the viewer. Her active female presence continues throughout the video. The next scene she appears in is when Kendrick Lamar and a bigger male are fighting over her, as they fight she stands behind and watches, then eventually interferes while laughing splitting up the fight (TDE Films). Which then leads into her taking Lamar's hand, and them “melting” into the road (TDE Films). This scene demonstrates the power a women holds over a man, and the use of visual effects emphasises the active female’s power.
The advertisement of the Lexus LS F Sport persuades consumers on the basis of appealing to emotions. This means that the reasons given to encourage consumers to purchase the vehicle are illogical, and are meant to reach their subconscious mind to influence how they feel. In this case, the advertisement is attempting to give the consumer an experience of positive emotions by the illogical reasons in text. Essentially, it attempts to paint a picture of the potential buyer already owning the vehicle and experiencing the luxurious qualities that are on display to the world.
. Using rhetorical appeals of ethos and pathos, Hyundai released a commercial featuring the latest model of their Genesis line of vehicles. They depicted a father as played by celebrity Kevin Hart, following and tracking his daughter throughout the night on her first date. Using the “find my car” option, Kevin was able to locate his daughter and her date from initially a movie theater, onwards to a carnival, then to a cliff overlooking the city where the date on each occasion would try to make advances towards the daughter only to be thwarted by the father seemingly appearing out of nowhere to discourage the date from any such advances. The commercial shows ethos by featuring Kevin Hart, using their product and its features. Kevin Hart’s character
Commercials tend to be more humorous, appointed to a younger more adolescent audience. When the commercial, “Daughter” aired during Super Bowl LI, it represented a more serious topic. The luxury brand, Audi, took a plunge and directed their commercial to one of the most talked about social issues of this time period. “Daughter” does not solely advertise the car, but it transmits the idea of females being equal to males. From the outset of this commercial, it releases a sense of innocence resembling that of a child and their childhood.
Smiling faces, beautiful women and “American made” were the typical elements in advertisements during this decade. DDB’s first “big idea” behind the campaign was no different; The main goal was to make the Volkswagen more American by shooting Suzy Parker standing next to a Volkswagen. It wasn’t until after visiting the production line and watching the step by step production of the Volkswagen did DDB strike gold with an innovate new “big idea.” What resonated with the American advertising team the most during this visit was the incredible quality control of the German factory, thus they decided on “an honest car promoted with Honesty.”
The commercial I reviewed is an advertisement for the 2016 Honda Ridgeling truck which had a parciular form of advertisement which appealed to the viewers. The presentation of the truck is unique and clever. It appeals to viewers emotions with laughter. I chose to write about the “Honda Ridgeline” commercial. In the beginning of the commercial there is a shiny grey Honda truck with two white sheep whose wool is very long.
For my semiotic analysis I chose to talk about a commercial for ‘Be delicious’ from Donna Karan New York to demonstrate how advertising generates its meanings, construct the image and behaviors ideology in order to attract customers.
The advertisement illustrates the most recent model of the Volkswagen Bug overflowing with different popular odds and ins from the past seventy years. It is an example of how the beetle owner’s lives have changed, however, they still are loyal to the same unique car as their lives grow and expand with the vehicle that they love so much. The same rounded structure, now with a front engine, and more predominate curves across the body is still the same loved little car; it is still the same Volkswagen
Funnily enough, just as the couple were about to kiss, her Dad enters the scene in the background on a helicopter saying "you're messing with the wrong daddy!” Swiftly stopping what they were doing, the daughters date says "that's it, I'm taking you home. " Just at the moment they were about to kiss. Having her dad come in the moment at that time suggests that they may have the car and be alone, but the 'Car Finder' works wonders. Knowing most men like to be in control, especially parental dads, this puts the car into this perfect nutshell whereby it consists of everything a man needs in order to be successful. "
The Ford and Toyota discuss how strong and tough the trucks are, and the Chevy ad caters to the longevity ability of the car to be “more than just a car”. All three are saying that their cars are the epitome of a specific category, whether it be towing capacity, awards won, or the car being a member of the family. The Chevrolet ad is a little over 5 minutes long. Much of it is dedicated to describing the search for the car and the father’s love for the car.
He is dressed well, in shape, and overall looked like he had his whole life together. He seems like he knows what exactly he needs and his decision making skills are reliable or else he would not be this successful. Thus, his pseudo reason of buying that car reinforces the company’s ethos. With the appropriate ethos being present alongside the pathos, it efficiently conjoined the appropriate pathos with the car advertised. Thus, the ethos played an important role in the ad because all the pathos created would be useless to the ad if they did not bind to the product itself.
The author is writing this for those people who also think like him who see a car as more than just something you use but something you love and people who choose to turn the car of their dreams into something they love and pride. This artifact appeal to pathos because in the film after Eric builds his dream car and races it in one of his favorite races the Targa Tasmania Rally, during his 3rd day of racing he loses control and crashes the car off the side of the road and ends up totaling his car he just put all his heart into and couldn't continue the rest of the race and finish which broke his heart because of the fact that it was his dream to race his car there and it was all over. It also appeals to ethos in the way that Eric Bana has been racing and driving ever since he was just old enough to see over the steering wheel. It helps us see how even with all the skill and money put into a car, it really matters on the driver and their ability to control the car to win races and he has been doing it ever since he could and it has proved him to be a great driver. It appeals to logos because of the facts he uses when talking about the car and the specifications of the car for racing and how those features let him be able him to increase his race times and driving abilities.
Beside the woman’s hand, one can clearly see the words spelled out in the same consistency of the blood: “Don’t Talk While He Drives.” Below this message sits a small shield that represents the police force of Bangalore city (Mallikarjun, Vinci, and Joono). This advertisement clearly has a disquieting message in order to appeal to the desired audience in a shocking and unforgettable