The goal of captivating the readers attention was successfully achieved by the designers of an advertisement for Mitsubishi Motors auto which was printed in MensHealth in February, 2011. Appealing to the viewers desire to feel safety through protection from the surrounding, on the one hand, and the audiences fear of losing the link with the reality, on the other hand, the ad of Sport Outlander implements an effective selling strategy.
Focusing on natural human desire to feel safety, the designers of the advertisement under consideration represent the 710-watt sound system as an instrument for separating and protecting the potential customers from the rest of the world. Taking into account the fact that the sound effects cannot be revealed in a visional ad, the designers used the layout, colors and juxtaposition for encoding their first message to customers.
When I bought my first car, I paid special attention to the sound system though at the moment I have come to realization that it is not the most important characteristic of an auto. However, following the principle Outlander is not only a vehicle but also an article of luxury, the advertisers have mentioned this characteristic in their motto for the purpose of affecting the feelings of the audience.
Taking into account the fact that the sound effects cannot be revealed in a visional ad, the designers used the layout and juxtaposition for encoding their first message to potential customers. It is significant that the background of the ad is empty with only hills and sky on it. As opposed to depicting a car in the flow of traffic, placing it onto a desert road, the authors emphasized the drivers separation from the rest of the world while listening to the sound system.
At the same time, the juxtaposition of the car as a an industrial product and the beautiful natural landscape on the background reflects the implicit advertisers promise of absorbing in the sound and uniting with the world of nature while sitting inside of Outlander and using a Rockford 710-watt system. Appealing to human desires is an effective strategy for affecting their consumer behavior.
It is stated that awareness must precede interest, and interest must precede desire and desire is the necessary prerequisite for action (Hasten and Christensen 428). With the present day realities of megalopolises, people may dream of escaping the crowded cities and flows of traffic. This natural desire of being lost and separated was utilized by the designers of the ad for affecting the audiences perception of the product and following consumer behavior.
Along with manipulating the consumers desires, the ad of Outlander Sport affects the audiences fear of being separated from reality and losing their link with it. Going from one extreme to another, the view of a car on a desert road can invoke not only the viewers desires but also their negative emotions, including those of fear and anxiety. The fear of losing his/her way is familiar to every driver and understandable for those who have never driven a car.
It is stated that nature or nurture, or inherited or learned impulses, activate the fear system, which generate defensive responses (Hasten and Christensen 107). For this reason, appealing to the viewers fears by promising them assistance in finding their way back through a 40-gig navigation system is an effective method for affecting their consumer behavior.
In general, the full text of the ad under consideration promises losing you through using the sound system and finding the way back through using the navigation system offers protection from both internal and external hazards.
The play of words through which the advertisement promises support of navigation system in not only selecting the most appropriate route but also finding yourself is an effective strategy for invoking viewers emotions and generating their defensive responses. Manipulating the audiences fears and metaphorically expanding the functions of the navigation system, the advertisement of Outlander Sport promises more than transportation and can affect potential consumers behavior successfully.
Composing the advertisement text of two contradicting promises to lose yourself and to find your way back through taking the advantages of Outlander Sport devices, the advertizing designers have created a self-sufficient world in their motto. The car in question creates challenges and aids drivers in overcoming them. It clearly represents how the paradox of contradicting values can be used as an effective advertizing instrument.
It is stated that in advertizing, the opposing values of a culture, although often paradoxical, appear to be effective because they relate to the important aspects of peoples lives (Mooij 218). Focusing on sound and navigation systems of Outlander Sport, the ad designers used the play of words and appealed to contradicting feelings of the audience for creating the paradox of values and taking the advantages of it.
Appealing to fears and desires of the audience in one phrase and creating the play of words and the paradox of values, the advertisement of Outlander Sport in MensHealth is effective for not only captivating the viewers attention but also affecting their consumer behavior.
Works Cited
Hansen, Flemming and Sverre Christensen. Emotions, Advertizing and Consumer Choice. Copenhagen Business School Press, 2007. Print.
Mitsubishi Motors. Advertisement. MensHealth February 2011: 29.
Mooij, Marieke. Global Marketing and Advertizing: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2010. Print.
In his essay On reading video text, Robert Scholes explains how videos use the visual sense to relay powerful messages to us. As a significant segment of multimedia, video texts are constantly running on television sets and currently, account for a significant part of the American culture.
According to Scholes, our cultural background helps us to construct a whole story from small bits of video messages displayed in the form of adverts. In other words, the impact of videos on us is powerful because they reflect our societies.
Though the use of video adverts primarily intends to increase sales, their nature confirms how we all belong to a given cultural unit. This paper seeks to analyze and explain the Folgers commercial narrative in the context of American society.
Summary of the Folgers commercial narrative
The Folgers commercial is a short video narrative that advertises a coffee beverage produced by the Folgers Company. The advertisement utilizes a typical American lifestyle. It briefly portrays how family members react to the arrival of one of their own, who has been away for a long time. The advertisement illustrates an extended family set up where a couple lives and cares for their elderly parents.
The cold weather represented in the advert goes hand in hand with the hot Folgers coffee. The advertisement ends with an extended display of a steaming cup, a kettle and a pack of Folgers coffee. The carefully executed advertisement is fully in touch with the values of the American people.
Visual fascination
The shots in this video are remarkably brief, lasting an average of five seconds. The first shot shows a cab driving away as a man approaches the door of a house that seems to be his family house. There is snow on every inch of the compound, and the man is warmly dressed. A middle-aged lady peeps through the window and watches him approach.
She gets so excited to see the man. It is like she missed him so much. She smiles and runs to open the door for him. They tease each other a bit and hug warmly. They walk into the house with happiness written all over their faces. A packet of Folgers coffee and hot water in heating kettle instantly captures the mans attention. He makes a cup of hot coffee for himself before turning back to the woman and handing her a present.
His mother who is still in bed hears him speak with the lady, smiles, and whispers to his father about his arrival. They both hastily get up to welcome their son. The family life displayed by the 46-second video narrative is just magnificent. It gives a perfect portrayal of a typical American family.
Cultural reinforcement in the Folgers advertisement
The Folgers commercial shows us what takes place in a typical American family, in which members have a strong emotional attachment for each other. There is a great display of love and fondness from all members of the family. The snow-covered outdoor surface and the heavy clothes worn by the main character in the advertisement represent cold winter, which is rare for the United States.
We usually associate hot coffee with the cold winter season, thus when the guy spots a packet of Folgers coffee and a kettle of hot water; he immediately makes a cup for himself to warm up. The excitement shown by the two people upon seeing one another is to evidence that they are married or engaged. Besides, the fact that the man has a present for the woman he had not seen for a while shows us that they have a close relationship, as it is normal in the American culture to give a present to someone you love after the long absence.
The facial expressions made by the two before the older members of the family come in show additionally that the two are very close. The American culture permits couples to stay with their aged parents and help them with daily chores. For this reason, the young lady has woken up early to prepare breakfast while the aged parents are still in bed.
Most video adverts aired on American television channels are consistent with the values of the American culture. The adverts can elicit powerful reactions in their viewers due to the strong cultural connection they present. The commercial narratives provide a lot of information in a single screenshot. This enables viewers to draw from their experiences and consequently construct an entire life story.
We have established the cultural association by critically analyzing and explaining the images in the Folgers commercial. The 44-second video enables us to construct a whole story of how the depicted family lives a happy life characterized by mutual love and care.
The narrative has also helped to remember the traditional connection between cold weather and hot coffee. Everything in the advertisement portrays a typical experience for everyone who lives in the US both culturally and geographically.
Conclusion
We can regard the Folgers commercial as a differentiated TV advert tailored for Western or American cultural needs. The values portrayed in the advert directly relate to practices of the American people. The snow, the hugs, and the family set up are all typical for the American way of life.
Though there is a limitation in the differentiation elements used, their strong presence indicates the individualistic nature of the advertisement. The social values of showing love and compassion to other members of the family have a universal appeal and will make viewers watch the advert to the last detail. This way the company excellently communicates the intended message to the audience.
The commercial narrative is also quite brief, lasting for 46 seconds and gets finished before a viewer becomes bored with it. Thus, I think the advert was effective in informing the masses about Folgers coffee. Traditionally, literacy only covered the ability to read and write. However, in todays society, the term has expanded to include virtually every undertaking of human beings.
Different forms of media have grown exponentially to form an integral part of society. Therefore, media literacy is an essential part of the literate society. Media literacy should not only focus on the media forms that use the ability to read and write as it has been in the past; rather it should take into account all other aspects of the media.
Members of the society should be able to understand and respond to all the messages delivered through different forms of media. On the other hand, the media should display full knowledge of the values favored by the society it serves. Therefore, it is imperative that media literacy be included as part of the American school curriculum. This way, the majority of the American people will correctly interpret video narratives.
Analysis of print advertisements for similar products using semiotic methods
This is a semiotic analysis of two print advertisements whose similarity lies in the fact that all of them refer to fragrance, but of different sexes.
Semiotics study focuses on signs, sign systems, and their resultant meanings. People use this technique to decode images. The method has become popular in the advertisement industry with usages of images. Images or signs bring an idea or ideas to the audience mind. These combinations of ideas enable the audience to make sense of what is happening. These signs and their symbols give the advertiser opportunities to put their messages across to the audience (Hervey, 1982).
Signs exist in different types. There is an icon, which is like a photograph. It looks familiar to the viewer and brings another mental image. Another sign is an index. This enables viewers to see it and think of other things. Then there is a sign known as a symbol. This represents the same thing the sign symbolizes. Signs enable us to derive meanings when we put them in a logical sequence. The above types of signs enable people to understand written, technical, and narratives in an image.
We have noticed that advertisements have no physical representations of products. Instead, they offer an icon sign of what the product and the product itself represents. Therefore, any semiotic analysis of a print advertisement should focus on photographic imagery and how those images will give the viewers signified ideas. Thus, the representation of this manner enhances the real products image (Sless, 1986).
When we break an image into several parts, then we can decode the content and derive meanings. This enables the audience to understand the message in the image. People can read and interpret codes within a culture due to semiotics. Berger and Luckmann note that when we look at social, ideological, technical, and conventional views, we can develop a list and see how they can work in society (Berger and Luckmann, 1967).
According to Fiske, in the analysis of semiotics, there are mainly three areas of interest. These include the sign itself, the culture in which we find codes and signs, and finally, the codes or systems in which we organized these signs (Fiske, 1982).
We know that signs do not work in isolations, i.e., they involve their contexts. The meaning we derive from a sign does not come from within the sign itself. With references to meanings, Chandler notes, the message is not the meaning but occur in its interpretation and context (Chandler, 1998). In this interaction processes, we must look at semiotics as social interaction among people who give meanings to signs, and the sign itself as it gives many meanings.
This is why interpreters believe that signs are in forms of cultural codes. Therefore, in the interpretation of signs and their meanings, Saussure looks at syntagmatic and paradigmatic structures in signs. Syntagm is orderly arrangements and combinations of different but interacting signs to give meaningful whole.
On the other hand, paradigms are signs which belong to defining categories. Therefore, paradigms will give the viewer plurality in meanings as syntagm will narrow signs and their interpretations into contexts they occur (Thwaites, Lloyd and Mules, 1994).
We can also look at Stuart Hall theory on representation, particularly of women to understand semiotic analysis in the advertisements (Hall, 1980). For instance, the advertisement The Axe Effect (deodorant for women), we can derive several meanings from that advertisement or image.
When we probe and ask questions about an image, we can understand it and know what it represents. According to Hall, an image or its words may represent what is there or something else. Representation is just but to give the audience the meaning or meanings, and the way the audience will also give an image a meaning.
However, the new idea posits that Representation should only have one, but fixed meaning and this meaning should be what viewers make out of an image. In this context, viewers must realize representation within the context of an image or event, but not outside. The image must give us meaning from itself because of what it represents and what viewers depict from it. We refer to this as a conceptual map.
The conceptual map is the meaning or classification we give an image. Viewers learn to classify images in their contexts using their languages. Language is essential in classification because it allows the audience to give a meaning to an image and be able to analyze and describe it using that language. Thus, if there is no language, images would not have meanings.
Halls idea of representation works easily. We have the sign that we associate with an object. Advertisers use this idea to create images for selling their brands. We rely on signs we see and those not visible to us to make meaning out of an image. In this case, what we see or do not see lead us to make assumptions about an image and representation that we give the sign.
For instance, in The Axe Effect, we see white and black hands throwing up womens bras of different colors with the message, LIBERATION! HAPPY WOMENS DAY, GUYS, the viewers will derive different meanings from this image based on what they see and cannot see. We may assume that these women are trying to appeal to the male viewers who may interpret bras as the source of the womens predicaments in society. Once these women get rid of their bras, they feel free, naked, so to say. Could there be men somewhere watching them?
We must put an identity with a representation. If representation does not have an identity, then it would not represent any image. We must put it in its context to derive the meaning or meanings from the image. These advertisements will only have effects on the audience if they can identify with the representation of groups in them.
In the advertisement The Axe Effect, if womens freedom or liberation is in the advertisement, they will see themselves as able to be like the women in the advertisement who feel liberated after using Axe. They are also aware that women liberation is long overdue, and it is what women long to achieve. Therefore, they must strive and feel like the group of women who have achieved liberation through the deodorant.
In the advertisement for womens deodorant, The Axe Effect, essentially the striking advertisement colors are red, dark red and sky blue. Also, there are skin complexions of women from different races represented by hands. There is also a dark background so that the images standout.
These mixtures of colors, both in bras and skin complexions, are not coincidences. We can see how the use of colors is significant in womens advertisement. Colors, in this context, are elements that both the viewers and advertisers understand their integral parts in the advertisement. Colour is a sign of aesthetic code that both the advertiser and viewer understand their shared values in the given cultural contexts.
The advertisement Old Spice strongly uses photographic images to get the viewer to create meaning out of it. The advertiser uses many signifiers to establish the identity of the deodorant. This is an image that reflects the ideas of the texts beneath it. The male model, posing as a doctor, represents the youthful generation who are active in their late 20s. Behind the doctor, there is a patient who could be the source of chronic body odor the doctor is referring to in his message.
Beneath the model is an iconic image of the Old Spice, which is close to the message it represents, PROS STRENGTH. These different elements of the advertisement create a clear and whole message with a single meaning. At a glance, we must notice the difference between the youthful model and the sick, old patient.
The youthful image adds glamour to the message. This serves to enhance both the product image and its textual elements. The image of the patient represents the generation that produces chronic body odor that the doctor needs protection from during his job.
The striking feature of the semiotic elements of this advertisement is within its idea of body odor protection, which is the reason for the images in the advertisement. The young model, a doctor, looks at ease, not knowing where the stethoscope lies on the patients body. The doctor seems not to be under any restriction about the professional code of conduct.
He has no necktie, looks in the opposite direction and with the left hand in the pocket. The doctor enjoys immense freedom by his loose dust coat, and a relaxed gaze, as the patient reacts with a surprised feeling. The advertisement freedom in a hospital setting, which is usually a place of intense activities, cannot get better than this (Ryan and Schwartz, 1956).
We must note that in most advertisements, the image alone cannot achieve the advertisers desires. Therefore, advertisers must include messages alongside their images to enable viewers to form the concept or representation behind the image. The messages we have in these advertisements include PROS, STRENGTH, and LIBERATION! HAPPY WOMENS DAY, GUYS.
These messages enable viewers to generate concepts to signify images and messages. Thus, the relationships establish the products codes, which both the advertisers and the audience can relate and understand their meanings. Codes will enable the audience to get the basic ideas advertisers have in mind when creating such adverts. The use of both the language (the words) and iconic images allow viewers to get the messages of the advertisements (Holdcroft, 1991).
Similarities and differences
Semiotic similarities and differences exist in these adverts. For instance, let us look at how women and men express their sense of freedom. Womens representation of freedom relates to their bodily features; thus, the use of bras in the image. These are undergarments, which hold their private body parts. Therefore, throwing them in the sky means liberation to them. Advertisers know that adverts with minimal sex appeal rarely attract attention, particularly with body products.
On the other hand, a man can simply achieve a sense of freedom by adopting a relaxed gaze (Kennedy, 1974). Men do not have to throw their undergarments to achieve freedom. Though, the deodorants enable both sexes to achieve freedom, but somehow, in different ways.
The womens advert may appear simple, but its representation allows viewers to generate different meanings from it. Viewers can give it a pragmatic interpretation based on what it signifies with the relevancy of the advertisement context. The essential elements viewers can use in this advert are the colors, hands, and bras.
Unlike the colors in the womens advert, the male advert has no mixtures of colors. It consists of a single striking color of the background where the message lies.
The rest of the setting takes the form of a natural environment. The striking white texts from a dark red background are signifiers, which work to give the advert a masculine appeal predominant in the message. Therefore, colors have significant functions in both advertisements. They serve both the cultural codes in terms of interpretations and aesthetic codes with a reference to appeals.
We can notice the semiotic significance of human images in the advertisements. We have womens hand with the rest of their bodies not visible. On the other hand, we can see the man as a whole except for his legs. There are also iconic representations of products in the advertisements. The iconic similarities in the products only serve illustrative purposes. Otherwise, the messages come from the human subjects involved.
Unlike in the male advert, where we a full representation of the figure, this is lacking in the womens advert. However, the advert has strong signifiers to give the product a tangible representation. The choices of words, such as LIBERATION! HAPPY WOMENS DAY, GUYS, clearly demonstrate the advertisers message and the intended audience. This signifies the products message of liberation across the races. Thus, the product is suitable for women of different races (Lechte, 1994).
These advertisements have signifiers which reinforce the advertisers intended meanings. They make the viewers think that they will achieve liberation and stay fresh during their working hours. The adverts achieve this sense of liberation by the bras flying in the sky and a relaxed doctor attending a patient. However, the womens advert attracts viewers existing knowledge by observing the photographic images of hands and bras. These images show that the real products are refreshing and give people chances of having fulfilling experiences.
Mythical meanings
Stuart Hall notes that images do not have any fixed meanings. However, they have preferred meanings as attributed by the audience. People use their existing knowledge and the power they have to give advertisements meanings. Advertisers use their creative power to influence advertisement messages. They can manipulate images as much as they want to give them the desired meaning. Some cultures may ignore these ideological representations in advertisement images.
However, advertisers combine these images with their power to represent both women and men in certain ways to enable them to market their products. Such appeals may have what Barthes refers to as myth. Here, myths represent the dominant ideologies of the contemporary world regarding advertisements. Further, Barthes argues, myth has a double function. It points out, and it notifies, it makes us understand something, and it imposes it on us (Barthes, 1967).
When we look at these advertisements, we do not easily connect them to the reality of the world, except for images of the products we may be familiar with from previous experiences. Their narrative messages look like fantasy. The images we have in both adverts do not occur in daily, normal life.
Therefore, representations do not lie within the cultural codes of everyday life. These conditions appear to be fictional. However, the context relies on concepts which point towards reality, such as a sick man in a hospital, but women throwing their bras in mass are out of context in any culture.
There is a certain meaning we give images. These meanings relate to the way societies and cultures value and use images. In some traditions, a womans bra remains a private part of her clothing. However, the advertisement world has exceptions here. Still, it relates such undergarments to women. This means that the advertisement industry is still a male-dominated field where women can only get representation in terms of their sexuality or through their undergarments.
On the other hand, the male model only reflects a prosperous person who works hard and excels in society Deodorants give people a fresh smell, and the majority believe in them to fight body odor; thus it can make their smell. This is necessary to make the target audience consider these images seriously.
Advertisements work by adopting common norms and conventions which a given society shares. For instance, we believe that deodorants work to keep us fresh. Therefore, manufacturers have developed different products to suit different sexes. Consequently, advertisers have developed adverts to appeal to different consumers using different techniques to appeal to societies which share common conventions.
Appendix
Ad 1Ad 2
Reference List
Barthes, R 1967, Elements of Semiology, Jonathan Cape, London.
Berger, P and Luckmann, T 1967, The Social Construction of Reality, Anchor/Doubleday, New York.
Chandler, D 1998, Semiotics for Beginners, Abya-Yala, Quito, Ecuador.
Fiske, J 1982, Introduction to Communication Studies, Routledge, London.
Hall, S 1980, Encoding/decoding, Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, vol.79, pp. 128-38.
Hervey, S 1982, Semiotic Perspectives, George Allen & Unwin, London.
Holdcroft, D 1991, Saussure: Signs, Systems and Arbitrariness, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Kennedy, J 1974, A Psychology of Picture Perception, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Lechte, J 1994, Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers: From Structuralism to Postmodernity, Routledge, London.
Ryan, T and Schwartz, B 1956, Speed of Perception as a Function of Mode of Representation, American Journal of Psychology, vol. 96, pp. 66-69.
Sless, D 1986 In Search of Semiotics, Croom Helm, London.
Thwaites, T, Lloyd, D and Mules, W 1994, Tools for Cultural Studies: An Introduction, Macmillan, South Melbourne.
Eating disorders refer to the adverse modifications in eating behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. They belong to the group of psychiatric disorders. Eating disorders are one of the most urgent problems in the modern society. They are characterized by the highest mortality rates within the group of mental disorders. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa most often occur in young females. The extreme evaluation of slimness in Western women via various media channels has enhanced the increasing of anorexia and bulimia disorders throughout the world.
Anorexia and Bulimia Overview
Such eating disorders as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most problematic health condition among young women and adolescents in the U.S. These disorders represent an urgent issue on the global level as well. Anorexia and bulimia, initially, were spread in Western societies. Due to the processes of globalization, they have reached other societies. Currently, more than seventy million people suffer from these eating disorders (ED) worldwide.
Anorexia nervosa is a mental disorder. The distinctive features of anorexia are the obsessed desire to lose weight, severe food control, and the overwhelming fear of becoming stout. According to Demarque et al. (2015), the psychopathology of anorexia is connected with the overvaluation of thinness. Besides, people who suffer from this ED often have disturbances of body image. They consider themselves stout even if they are gaunt. The symptoms of bulimia nervosa and anorexia are identical. Nevertheless, these are different health conditions in terms of the nature of their development. Thus, people who suffer from bulimia are afraid of becoming fat too. They overeat at least twice a week and try to get rid of the food via self-induced vomiting, diuretics, fasting, laxatives, or extreme exercise. In other words, the binge eating occurs, and then it is followed by purging.
Theoretical Model
Several theoretical models comprise the etiology of ED occurrence. Three essential groups of factors that influence the development of these disorders should be distinguished. Psychological, biological, and environmental factors predetermine the formation of psychiatric diseases. Currently, most scholars agree that environmental factors are dominant over others if speaking about these conditions. According to this model, the new standards of female beauty are actively spread. The Western society promotes the idea of the attraction of thinness. The media are the most effective ways that can alter human minds.
The globalization brings the same tendencies in non-Western countries. Television programs, advertisements, magazines, and other media popularize the idea of slimness and stigmatize the obesity. As a result, one can be profoundly influenced by these factors. Sharan and Sundar (2015) add that environmental factors like enrollment to ballet schools, teasing by family and friends, and comments and directives from authority figures regarding need to change weight play a role in the pathogenesis of eating disorders (p. 291).
The thinness is the most significant mainstream in modern media nowadays. Media are the source for understanding how to look for women. As a result, those who do not meet the current requirements may later suffer from anorexia or bulimia. The impact of this environmental factors can be understood through the social comparison theory. According to it, it is a part of human nature to compare everything. People always evaluate themselves. Women observe thin actresses and models everywhere and compare themselves. As a result, they experience increasing body dissatisfaction (Vonderen & Kinnally, 2012).
Current Media Initiatives
Media have the immense impact on the development of body image in females. The Internet has always represented an impressive way of influencing people. In the recent few years, the world faced the rise of social media. Currently, social media are becoming the most significant threat to the development of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Almost everyone can access the Internet nowadays. Young girls grow up with tablets, smartphones, and the uninterrupted access to the Internet. Social media such as Facebook or Instagram are popular ways of sharing images with ideal bodies. The use of social media differs from traditional media. This process is characterized by increased interactivity as far as users can actively search necessary information and share it with others instantaneously.
The impact of social media should not be underestimated. For instance, almost 10 million photographs appear on Facebook every hour. In such a way, Facebook provides women with the opportunity to compare themselves to billion other pictures of ideal bodies. As a result, the body dissatisfaction rises, and it may ensue in the developing of bulimia or anorexia. Fardouly, Diedrichs, Vartanian, and Halliwell (2014) have conducted research investigating the impact of Facebook on the body image perception. The results showed that women who visited Facebook every day were more often in the bad mood due to the discrepancies of their bodies with photographs they saw.
Experts warn that Twitter, Facebook, and other social media services provide opportunities for eating disorders development in young girls. The tendency is that the girls share photographs of extremely thin models for their motivation to become the same. Such motivation aims at the developing of the feeling of disgust to the dangerous products. The most terrible fact is that numerous sites are continuously updating. New photos are uploaded, and young females enjoy the picture. The permanent observation of such images impacts ones consciousness. As a result, many of girls try to correct their body with the help of severe diets.
The nutrition regimes that are described on various websites should be looked at separately. They are not only extremely strict but harmful as well. Millions of pictures with menus describe what to eat to lose ten kilograms in a week. Such speed of dieting is absurd. The reality shows that girls practice them and anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa may develop. According to Borland and Smyth (2015), the culture of posting the perfect selfie to a social media account means many teenagers now doctor their photographs to create a slimmer image of themselves (p. 5).
Psychiatrists are worried about the increasing pressure of social media on young people. One simple click allows an individual to look at thousand ideal bodies. The self-dissatisfaction rises. The significant thing is that most of those pictures are Photoshopped. People do not want to understand it and decide to torture their body and organism to become the same. The truth is that they will never be the same as far as those images will continue improving as well. The research of Borland and Smyth also shows that the number of hospitalizations because of eating disorders has increased drastically in a few years. Currently, one in twenty people has some eating disorder. The most common types of them are anorexia and bulimia.
Proposal to change market initiatives
The creation of the campaign that can oppose the negative advertising about womens body imaging can be a challenging task. It can be explained by the fact that current advertising in social media is already deeply rooted even in the unconsciousness of many women. Besides, social media is a developing sphere that cannot be controlled easily. One should possess the specialized knowledge to create a social media campaign.
First, it is necessary to analyze the nature of the disease and current media campaigns that enhance risk factors. These aspects have been already explained in the previous sections of the paper. Thus, the primary concern about bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa refers to the extreme losing of weight that is devastating for the human organism. Photographs of ideal bodies are critical risk factors. Then, it is necessary to evaluate the target audience. Teenagers and young women represent the target audience who suffers from bulimia and anorexia. The next stage in the campaign will be the analysis of current anti-anorexia and bulimia campaign and the identification of the most useful details. Finally, I will present information regarding the implementation of the campaign in social media.
Understanding of target audience is essential for setting the right priorities in any campaign. Thus, adolescents and young females are victims of anorexia and bulimia most often. Adolescents are neither children nor adults. Their mentality and the perception of the world are in the process of development. Teenagers like to become unique and not like the others. Several potential options predetermine the development of illnesses. The first is the influence of parents. For instance, a girl may say her mother that she wants to lose weight and show the pictures of bodies she likes. The mother may become angry about such an idea and scold the child. Just not to listen to the mother, a girl may start her diet alone. The other options are related to such phenomena as personal fable and the imaginary audience. These terms describe the processes that experience all teenagers.
The first one presupposes the personal overestimation. Thus, a girl may look at the photo of a thin girl and be sure that she can be the same. Without proper control, such activity may lead to adverse outcomes. The imaginary audience is a term that describes the feeling that somebody is looking at a teenager. This sense is typical for all teenagers. Imagine the same girl who looks at the photo first and then in the mirror. She cannot stand the idea that somebody sees her imperfect body. The consequences of these thoughts may also be harmful. The situation with young women is rather different. They compare themselves to models and suffer from inner tortures for being imperfect. Besides, they may be obsessed with the idea of slimness because of the desire to be like the model and attract a lot of attention.
Having analyzed some of the current anti-anorexia and bulimia campaigns, I have concluded that most of them are focused on the increasing of population awareness of the problems. In social media, people are attracted by beautiful photographs and interesting posts. Thus, in my media campaign I will try to find methods of presenting the same information in new ways. For instance, infographics are popular modern means of sharing information.
The target audience analysis assisted me in finding out some ways of changing the current media campaign. Thus, there should be posts in social media that address mothers. Modern parents often use Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for their purposes. I consider it useful to make infographics or posts that demonstrate the signs of anorexia or bulimia. Besides, there should be pieces of advice to parents concerning the methods of finding the mutual understanding with adolescent children.
One more technique is to promote the understanding that not everybody from photos looks the same in real life. This aim can be accomplished by uploading initial images and their Photoshopped versions for comparison. There are also more severe methods. Thus, it is possible to share via social media the photographs of people who suffer from acute anorexia and bulimia disorders. However, even such pictures may not stop females from dieting if they have already decided to lose weight. Because of this, it is advisable to monitor the information that is spread via the Internet and present healthy and moderate ways for losing weight.
One more initiative can be the sharing of stories of people who undergo treatment. A person may upload photos with every step towards recovery. This experience can be inspirational for others. The essential idea about the campaign implementation concerns the approach to the problem. In my opinion, writing posts about the terrible consequences of anorexia and bulimia is not very useful. The problem should not be mentioned at all. The aim of the campaign should be to teach women love their body, be able to differentiate reality from carefully prepared settings and take care of themselves in a healthy and useful ways.
References
Borland, S., & Smyth, S. (2015, July 14). Social Media Fuelling Anorexia. The Pretoria News, p. 12.
Demarque, M., Guzman, G., Morrison, E., Ahovi, J., Moro, M., & Blanchet-Collet, C. (2015). Anorexia Nervosa in a Girl of Chinese Origin: Psychological, somatic, and transcultural factors. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 20(2), 276-288.
Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, F., Vartanian, L., & Halliwell, E. (2014). Social Comparison on Social Media: the Impact of Facebook on Young Womens Body Image Concerns and Mood. Body Image, 13(1), 38-45.
Sharan, P., & Sundar, A. (2015). Eating Disorders in Women. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 57(2), 286-295.
Vonderen, K., & Kinnally, V. (2012). Media Effects on Body Image. American Communication Journal, 14(2), 41-57.
It is possible to presume that the visual materials may largely support the contemporary initiatives for the achievement of climate sustainability. Images on the ecological issues aim to encourage the ecologically friendly behavior and raise awareness of the topical problems. When arguments are visually supported, it becomes easier to comprehend and remember them.
The images which will be analyzed in the essay are the posters illustrating the issues associated with the climate change, e.g., the role of a person in this process, and possible ways to improve the situation. The posters Human Change, Not Climate Change and Do What You Can convey the idea that every individual can favorably influence the environment and that every substantial progress starts with a small step.
Human Change, Not Climate Change Poster
It is evident that the human activity is hazardous for the climate. Transportation, production processes, extraction of natural resources, etc. influence the environment every day. To prevent the severe damages, the global community should undertake measures to control various human activities. The most effective way to deal with climate change is mitigation of risks (Chen et al. V). The solutions recommended by scholars and scientists include the regulation and limitation of fossil fuels use, as well as the research and development of alternative sources of energy (Lefebvre et al. 6). However, it is possible to say that since the environmentally harmful activities constitute a significant part of the current mode of life, the substantial changes in the human consciousness and worldview are first required. The poster Human Change, Not Climate Change addresses this idea. It shows why it is essential to prevent climate change. The author and the publication date of the poster were not indicated. It uses specialty fonts in both inscriptions which suit the color scheme. All capital and bold letters are used. The large font is intended to attract the attention of viewers.
Human Change, not Climate Change.
The placement of the text is meaningful, i.e., the phrase Human Change basically points at the mind, the area where the changes must occur. The color used in the poster is probably the most important element of this visual argument. The image is created in the colors of the rainbow which symbolize promise and enlightenment. Therefore, the colors make a positive impression and instill the belief in a favorable outcome. The major visual element is a semi-abstract face with the incorporated shapes of various alternative energy sources. For instance, wind turbines are used as eyes, and a leaf is depicted instead of the mouth. The solar batteries make the ears, while the hair looks like the surface of the Earth covered with trees and inhabited by birds and plant species. At the same time, wind turbines, and ecological transportation modes represent the sustainable human activities. Lastly, there is a person sitting in the middle of the head in the Buddha posture which symbolizes the human in the sublime, relaxed, and auspicious state of mind. The upper text, Human Change, is semantically opposed to the phrase Not Climate Change put in the lower part. The latter is placed in the cloud of the smoke coming out of the factory pipes. It seems that the visual pattern in this area forms a garment. In this way, the text may indicate that the efforts which target the external side of the problem are superficial and, therefore, may not be very efficient. For better results, the inner transformation is required. Overall, the visual and textual contrasts identified in the poster can be easily read by viewers. Moreover, they create an emotional and intellectual appeal which may help to address the issue in an effective way.
Do What You Can Poster
Although it is considered that adverse human activities contribute to the deterioration of the environmental condition, the climate change may also be a result of human inactivity. Based on this, the promotion of ecologically friendly practices should always commence at the local level (Uitto et al. 25). Every community should be aware of its main environmental problems and undertake efforts to improve the situation. For instance, the industrialized and advanced societies should pay attention to the issue of overconsumption and its impact on the environment (Crate and Nuttal 271). The reduction in consumption rates may have a good effect. Nevertheless, the fact that most people do not believe in own capabilities to make any impact poses the major issue. And the second poster Do What You Can by Sydney Smith strives to attract the public attention to this side of the problem.
The poster inscriptions are bold and capitalized. There are two pieces of text, and they are both located in the middle. The author uses the complementary and semi-complementary colors which make the visual elements distinctive and well-contrasted to the background and each other. The poster shows how various attributes of human activities such as oil derricks, cars, factories, etc. influence the ecological state. We see the smoke coming out of the pipes and the pile of garbage floating in the water. However, the major detrimental effect is the melting of the Antarctic ice. Smith played around this idea by placing the Antarctica at the bottom of the Earth and showing how the drops of the melted water are running down. At the lower part of the poster, a woman and a girl near three wastebaskets are depicted. The girl throws the garbage into the waste-separation baskets, and it seems that the woman approves her behavior. Thus, not only the image transfers the risk information about the climate change but also reveals the significance of education and encouragement.
The upper inscription appeals to everyone to do at least what one can. Separating waste is a little thing but, in the long run, it may lead to big results.
Do What You Can Poster
The above image is an encouraging poster Do What You Can.
The explicit message of this poster is evident. It encourages to do little everyday things to help the planet. It shows that the involvement of every person is important, no matter how young or old he or she may be. The image of the polluted Earth implicitly conveys the information about potential risks and threats of climate change. It shows what possible outcome of the human activity may be unless people change their conduct.
Summary
Both posters address the problem of climate change but approach it from the different sides. The first poster focuses on the potential positive outcomes which may be achieved in case people change themselves. It presents a bright image of a safe place for living, where individuals use alternative sources of energy and perform ecologically friendly practices. The second poster pays greater attention to the negative consequences of human activities. It encourages individuals to intervene their habits to improve their life and protect the planet.
It is possible to conclude that both of the posters are efficient in their ways. While the first may be considered more creative, the second one is more literal and clear. The incorporation of multiple graphic objects and symbols related to the topic, as well as the slight touch upon the negative aspects of the climate change, makes them similar to some extent. However, the implications of the selected works are far not the most aggressive and negative. For instance, the rainbow colors in the first image rather create a cheerful and hopeful atmosphere.
Both images call for actions. They encourage people to become different to sustain the Earth. It is possible to say that they are aimed to address the broad audience. They effectively attract the attention of viewers to the topical environmental problems and provoke reflection on them.
Works Cited
Chen, Wei-Yin, et al., editors. Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. 2nd ed., Springer, 2017.
Crate, Susan A., and Mark Nuttall. Anthropology and Climate Change: From Encounters to Actions. Routledge, 2016.
Production of goods and services is crucial for the existence of the society, but the advertisement used to promote them has a number of negative effects on the society. In this paper, a number of these results will be discussed, and some possible ways to oppose this influence will be offered.
Adverts that Support, Create and Exacerbate the Stereotypes
Jean Kilbourne in her lecture exposes the influence of advertising on the perceptions of beauty and on gender stereotypes that exist in a culture (TEDx Talks, 2014). The lecturer explains that women are practically always portrayed as perfectly beautiful, always young, etc., by using Photoshop; moreover, females are very often objectified and degraded in advertisements, being shown as passive sexual objects. The resulting normalization of such views adds to the gender-related problems existing in the culture, such as the violence against women, their generally lower position in the society, etc. Young females, being exposed to such advertisement from an early age, start comparing themselves to the photoshopped models, which results in low self-esteem (TEDx Talks, 2014).
Thus, in fact, advertising does not only sell products. It supports the stereotypes that already exist in the culture, in particular, gender stereotypes (TEDx Talks, 2014). However, it might be argued that the stereotypes and perceptions are not only supported but also created. For instance, it is acknowledged that advertisement is capable of creating fashions so as to make new products sell well (Zheng, Shen, Chow, & Chiu, 2013).
Of course, for the purpose of effectiveness, the adverts will often try to create new fashions that are somehow connected to the views already existing in the society. For instance, the ads labeled Clean Your Balls used by Unilever to make people buy its Axe Detailer (Funny Commercials, 2010) uses the existing views of masculinity to sell a then-new commercial product which would otherwise be likely to be perceived as redundant by most individuals.
This allows the creative marketers to gradually exacerbate the already existing social problems. For example, alcohol adverts are often aimed at males; these commercials employ the tactics of presenting alcohol as a strong attribute of masculinity, portraying men who drink it as strong, brave, and sometimes even sexually attractive (Towns, Parker, & Chase, 2012). Apart from promoting alcohol abuse, which is a crucial risk factor both for victimization and perpetration of IPV [intimate partner violence] (Karakurt, Smith, & Whiting, 2014, p. 694), it may be assumed that this enforces the stereotypes that real men should use force to prove their masculinity, which also adds to the problem of violence.
Consumerism Worsened by Advertisement
In addition, as was noted, many products (such as Axe Detailer ) would have been viewed as redundant prior to advertising campaigns. In fact, the importance of consuming that adverts promote may be a reason for stating that advertisement is a factor that stimulates consumerism in the society, with all its fallout, such as the neglect of the global ecological problems, world poverty, and so on.
Opposing the Negative Influence of Advertising
It might be hard to oppose the adverse impact of advertising on the society on ones own, although it is possible to organize educational campaigns, create texts exposing the effects of ads, etc. It might be assumed that acting collectively would yield better results. For instance, there exist a number of ways a grassroots organization may attempt to reduce the number of ads in a city by reclaiming the public space, for example, via ads-busting or promoting legislation that would ban advertising in the public city space (Lydon, Bartman, Garcia, Preston, & Woudstra, n.d.).
Conclusion
Therefore, advertisements may have numerous negative effects on the society. Unfortunately, it is often openly advised to use adverts that may harm the societyfor instance, by using sexuality to maximise the effectiveness of ads to achieve favourable consumer behaviour outcomes (Wyllie, Carlson, & Rosenberger, 2014, p. 697)all to help commercial organizations make more profits. However, it is possible to oppose this, not only on an individual level but also by taking a collective action.
Karakurt, G., Smith, D., & Whiting, J. (2014). Impact of intimate partner violence on womens mental health. Journal of Family Violence, 29(7), 693-702. Web.
Towns, A. J., Parker, C., & Chase, P. (2012). Constructions of masculinity in alcohol advertising: Implications for the prevention of domestic violence. Addiction Research & Theory, 20(5), 389-401. Web.
Wyllie, J., Carlson, J., & Rosenberger, P. J. (2014). Examining the influence of different levels of sexual-stimuli intensity by gender on advertising effectiveness. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(7-8), 697-718. Web.
Studies show that young people do not save, and this behavior follows them into adulthood under the assumption that the government will take care of their needs in old age. People find it difficult to put some money aside because there always seems to be an urgent need for that money. In addition, people are unaware of the importance of saving early in life, and tend to wait till they are old. This problem is further emphasized by the lack of disposable income, due to various family requirements that build up debt. It is difficult to get people interested in saving especially if they have different priorities like clearing debts or meeting urgent needs. Some people think of saving as an over conscious activity, boring, and even impossible for some who have never thought about it. The challenge has been getting young people to start saving.
As a result, various efforts have come up to make saving relevant, feasible, important and interesting, as well as, changing the perception of the youth about trusting the financial institutions and cutting their short-term costs for the long-term goal. Aviva Insurance Company is one of the organizations that have come up with strategies targeting increased savings among the youth. Through the Saving for the future, a society wide-challenge advertising campaign, Aviva attempts to rebrand savings by depicting it as a beneficial necessity. This campaign seeks to enact social change in the attitude of young professional towards saving using new technology and platforms to get the message across to the target group, starting with the youth in the United Kingdom.
The Target Marketing Process
A survey conducted between 2004 and 2008 to determine consumer attitudes to saving (CAS) in various countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and North America managed to get the saving trends on the youth aged 18-25 years, who comprised 15% of a sample of 100,000 individuals. The sample population also comprised the age brackets 25-34 and 35-44 who each made 21% of the population, 45-54, who comprised 18%, and above the age of 55, who made 25% of the sample population. 54% of the sample stated that saving was necessary for retirement, through only 43% saved on a regular basis.
Conversely, 61% of the sample was weary that they would not save enough by the age of retirement to afford a high standard of living following retirement. Fifty percent of the sample showed that they would have preferred to start saving earlier, however, only about 33% of the sample stated the same in Western Europe. This study by Aviva identified a disparity between the levels of savings that people were comfortable with depending on the environment. One of the methods identified to increase savings was to educate the people on transforming from short-term saving to long-term saving, through the accumulation of assets and disposal of a broader range of assets (Aviva 2008).
The study reveals an increasing need for retired individuals to seek either full-time or part-time employment to continue receiving payment. This is mainly due to the fear that they will not have enough resources to maintain a comfortable life after retirement. The main challenge faced by financial services companies is increasing the level of savings due to the challenging economic climate. The study by Aviva noted that the economic climate reduces savings due to reduced household income owing to lack of affordability of financial saving schemes, and existing debts and loans. Another significant cause of reduced saving is the risk of losing savings or investments in uncertain global financial markets. Some of the methods identified to overcome this challenge involved the introduction of favorable policies to address each of the barriers in order to increase savings (Aviva 2012). This intervention requires collaboration among various entities including policy makers, financial regulators, and private individuals among others, in order to identify the most appropriate solutions.
Market Research
Studies show an increasing proportion of old people as a percentage of the population (Aviva 2012). This implies that the government may find it increasingly difficult to meet the retirement needs of the retired workforce. This is partly due to the inability of the economically active age group to meet the requirements. The conventional company pension schemes have also come under pressure, leading the need for individuals to seek alternative sources of income after retirement (Stark 2005). These patterns and uncertainties have led to a lot of anxiety to working individuals, requiring them to save more. However, people are still reluctant about increasing their savings.
Financial services firms like Aviva, as well as, public policy makers have identified the reasons for this tendency including the lack of attractive ad innovative savings formats, and the absence of relevant information. Identification of these needs has led to the emergence of strategies that encourage a change of behavior through enhancing product demand. Additionally, firms are providing consumers with information and tools to help them make rational choices in order to meet their requirements in the long-term. One such strategy is the Aviva Saving the future: a society-wide challenge campaign that targets the youth in changing the savings culture (Harrison 2011).
Market Segmentation
With over 1.5 billion youths in the world aged between 14 and 25 years, there is a need to enhance their economic potential at an early age. One of the most powerful means of reaching this age bracket involves encouraging them to open savings accounts in order to cushion them against economic shocks, build assets and accumulate wealth. This trend can also lead to enhanced social and economic growth. However, changing the mindset of the youth from a passive role that waits for things to fall in place, to an active role in enhancing their long-term financial situation requires a financial service component that is clear, effective and cost-effective (Sebstad and Stack 2005). Tackling this issue requires one to examine various factors including: the demand for savings services among the youth; the products that might meet the demand; the need for financial education to encourage them to take-up the savings package; the key barriers for access and use of savings services; and the nature of costs barriers to providing savings services and how to overcome them (Harrison 2011).
Targeting
Studies show that young people around the world can and do save. The practice is evident in both developed and developing countries, though it is driven by incentives, promotion and social support. Research shows that the youth seek convenient access to their savings, relative security, liquidity in the event of emergencies, and illiquidity to secure opportunities to grow their savings. The youth in the UK, aged 18 25 are either in higher education institutions or the onset of formal employment. Others may also be in informal employment, either on a full-time basis, or part-time in order to cater for their learning requirements. As a result, the saving opportunities available to them need to fit in with their schedules. This implies that some of the key determinants of saving include flexibility of making deposits, convenience of accessing their money, and financial accessibility in terms of easy liquidation of the money in the event of an emergency (Skandia, 2012).
Market Positioning
Professionals in the UK urge the youth to make saving for retirement a priority by their mid-twenties since there is a high likelihood that the state will not cater for their retirement needs. Research shows that about 33% of youth in their mid-twenties are willing to seek better employment opportunities in other countries. This was identified as one of the primary ways for the youths to secure their financial and professional success. The youth are also encouraged to enhance their savings by living within their means and discouraging them from getting into debt (Skandia 2012).
Out of the surveys conducted to identify the willingness of the youth to adopt these practices, it was discovered that just over 70% were willing to heed to this advice. The youth were also advised to change their career for better packages, and to start planning for their future early in life. About 60% of the youth agree that they should focus more on saving than spending, while only 29% are keen about making saving for retirement a priority. The studies also revealed that the UK youth need to save more than currently retired individuals in order to live a comfortable life in old age (Meyer, Jamie, and Ray 2008).
Promotional Strategy
Considering the savings requirements for the young people, it is evident that what lacks are proper incentives to motivate them into retaining more of their money. However, there is a demand for savings that can be capitalized on by promotion that is tailored to the market (Harnest & Neilson, 2009). For instance, the design of promotions that draw a connection between the spending of youth on small luxuries and the potential to accumulate small amounts to acquire more expensive and more important items than what they currently purchase. Another vital element is the design of customized products that suit the market segment in terms of minimum amounts and frequency of deposits, and the period of withdrawal. It is easy to reach the youth with educational material in the form of posters or bill-boards that are bright and energetic (Making Cents International 2008).
Studies show that the youth are easily influenced by the tastes and preferences of their peers. As such, camps, seminars, conferences, and workshops that target a sample population for training and educating on the importance of saving at a young age can be an effective strategy in reaching a wider market. The advertisement methods and promotional efforts employed by Aviva involve the distribution of posters through social media. These posters contain information that urges the youth to forego spending on small items, but to instead, save and invest in more important items. The peer effect is obtained through social media like Facebook and Twitter, whereby the youth are encouraged to join various fan pages or groups in order to portray cohesion for the initiative. Mobile applications can also be used to make the saving process easy (McCormick, 2008). Some of the services available through mobile phones include mobile banking, and gaming aimed at cultivating a culture of saving. Images of some these campaigns are shown below.
Poster encouraging youth to forego buying and save
Campaign encouraging the youth to save for more exciting but more expensive fun things
Reference List
Aviva 2008, Understanding consumer attitudes to saving 2004 2008. Web.
Aviva 2012, The Aviva Family Finances Report. Web.
Harnest, J., & Neilson, E 2009, Microfinance Institutions and The Next Generation, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Case Study Series, pp. 1-10. Web.
Harrison, C 2011, Avivas campaign to boost youth savings culture, CorpComms. Web.
Making Cents International 2008, Youth Microenterprise and Livelihoods: State of the Field, in the 2007 Youth Microenterprise Conference. Making Cents International, USA. Web.
McCormick, M 2008, The Effectiveness of Youth Financial Education A Review of the Literature, New America Foundation, Washington, DC.
Meyer, J, Jamie, Z, & Ray, B 2008, Child Savings Accounts: Global Trends in Design and Practice, Washington, DC: New America Foundation.
Sebstad, J, Cohen, M & Stack, K 2005, Assessing the Outcomes of Financial Education, Working Paper #3. Web.
Skandia, 2012, UKs Youth Encouraged To Bolt Britain. Web.
Stark, E, 2005, Microenterprise and Economic Growth: Youth and Microenterprise,. PowerPoint presentation, USAID, Washington, DC.
Signs and codes in visual arts are described as the means for providing particular information and mood. People understand signs and codes in visuals as living in one and the same society we have common rules for interpreting those signs and codes that helps us understand the surrounding world (Quin 2006, p. 9). Codes on the pictures help us see its meaning as codes provide the rules that generate the signs (Smith 2005, p. 235) In other words, signs are phenomena which represent other phenomena (Johansen & Larsen 2002, p. 25). Looking at the picture it is possible to define the sign any code there, any part of the picture. This is possible because signs do not have prototypical properties, like a tree or a sea. Signs also have specific functions that help us interpret those correctly. Therefore, signs may be used for referencing to particular content, for expressing or communicating views and attitudes, for expressing particular meaning, for explaining the main idea of the visual, for convicting and persuading others or for making contact (Fourie 2004, p. 336).
Signs in the Image and Their Correlative Meaning
The image we are to interpret is the picture which shows a man and a woman in passion. They embrace one another and a man is kissing a womans neck. Neither man nor woman were familiar for any member of the picture, therefore, we came to the conclusion that notify particular is described and the theme may be related to any problem without reference to a concrete person. The possible signs are closed eyes, open lips, clouds on the backgrounds, half-naked woman, the position of the bodies, the dark colors which may express the night and the passion. The womans head thrown back and the mans body under a woman in combination with other signs help the viewer to consider the picture as a passionate scene where two lowers are about to express their feelings. After short communication, we came to this conclusion and all agreed on the signs and the theme of the picture.
The new sign added to the image and the new meaning that was created
As it has already been mentioned, the main idea of the picture seemed to be passion and love. The changes of some particular codes and signs may lead to the change of the meaning (Biocca 1991. p. 24). However, we have decided to change the meaning slightly having added the picture of the perfume with the signature euphoria . The signs which pointed at passion because of love have changed the meaning. How, the passion is based on one of five human feelings, the smell. This decision was made to create the new meaning of the picture. How, looking at the picture people see the perfume image and understand the main reason for the passion of a man and a woman at the picture because of their smell, not based on love. The meaning is slightly changed, but this shift is important in vision of the reasons of the passion and therefore, the main idea of the whole visual is changed. We have considered such interpretation as one of the most effective changes suitable in this case.
Reference List
Biocca, F 1991, Television and Political Advertising: Signs, codes, and images, Routledge, London.
Fourie, PJ 2004, Media Studies: Institutions, theories, and issues, Juta and Company Ltd, New York.
Johansen, JD & Larsen, SE 2002, Signs in Use: An Introduction to Semiotics, Routledge, London.
Quin, R 2006, Reading the visuals in the middle years, Curriculum Press, New York.
Smith, KL 2005, Handbook of Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media, Routledge, London.
While some people may still focus solely on commercial use when considering advertising, the use of advertising in political and social marketing is also quite extensive. Advertising is a tool to communicate or sell ideas, concepts, and paradigms (Kaid 156). Grier and Bryant stress that social marketing can also help people address various health issues effectively through changing their behaviors (320). Some may think commercial and social or political spheres are too different, making marketing and advertising almost inapplicable across these areas. However, quite the opposite is true as social and political spheres are only one other facet or element within society overall. Therefore, the conventions that exist in the world of commercial advertising can also be used in political advertising and social marketing as well.
One of the major elements of advertising used in the three spheres mentioned above is research. It is essential to understand the peculiarities of the target audience as well as peoples attitudes towards certain ideas or concepts (Grier and Bryant 322). For instance, to make people become more environmentally responsible, it can be helpful to identify the spheres of major concern, the profile of the most and the least environmentally responsible people, and so on. The results from such research can then be used to create successful advertisements and advertising campaigns that will be able to reach the goals that have been set. This type of approach is referred to as consumer-oriented, and is the most widely-used throughout the world.
It is interesting to note that social marketing, and political advertising in particular, perfectly fit into the modern consumer society. Contemporary society is characterized by a high degree of consumerism, with people often pre-occupied with the material part of their existence. It is this focus on goods and services that has made advertising an indispensable part of peoples lives. People are receptive to advertisements as they have become accustomed to being informed in particular ways (Kaid 156). Therefore, it seems only natural that advertisements will attract significantly more attention than other types of formal discussion or mentioning of a concept or idea. People have been taught to react when they see images and short (and well-thought out) texts.
People see social issues and political figures or forces as a certain kind of product that they are either ready, or unwilling, to buy. Obviously, people see issues differently and pay attention to different aspects and outcomes, as well as having different needs (Grier and Bryant 326). Therefore, political advertising and social marketing try to identify and satisfy peoples needs or, at least, make people believe these needs are, or can be, met. Using certain images and texts, political advertising can promote certain political agendas and figures. The promotion of some social issues, in contrast, is potentially less effective as people may be more concerned about their own personal gains, and the issues being promoted can seem too distant from them. As such, the success of the advertisement or advertising campaign depends very much on the talent and skills of advertisers who may use commercial advertising tricks to promote their social or political products.
In conclusion, it is possible to note that social marketing and political advertising are closely associated with such concepts as consumer society and commercial advertising. People have been taught to see advertising as a communication platform that helps them learn about new products available in all spheres of their life. Social issues and political agendas have also become products that can be promoted with the help of conventional commercial practices. However, this trend can still be seen as positive as advertising helps people, potentially, make the world a better place.
Covert Advertising
Covert advertising is a phenomenon that came into existence in the 20th century. Radio was the platform for this phenomenons proliferation (Samuel 52). Covert advertising can be referred to as advertising that is not presented through a separate, bespoke set of images and ideas but rather has a product or message incorporated into different types of entertainment. In simple terms, covert advertising is a mix of advertising and entertainment (Samuel 55). For instance, people participating in shows, or popular film characters, are seen using specific products. The viewer does not have to watch a brief video concerning the product, but the attitude towards a brand or product is developed during that film or program. Viewers can see that their favorite film characters are using certain products, which often then results in the development of a positive image of that specific brand or product.
It is possible to note that covert advertising plays a significant role in modern society. People see others using products and brands and decide to use the same or similar items even though they might not need them. One of the major peculiarities of covert advertising is that it is accepted in a significantly more positive way as compared to conventional types of advertising (Samuel 54). It does not interrupt favorite programs or films as it is integrated into them. In many cases, this type of advertising affects peoples consciousness while traditional advertisements are viewed critically and people can consciously resist their message. In simple terms, people might not trust pure advertisements but, at the same time, they are not always even aware that some products are being promoted while they are watching their favorite TV shows.
Clearly, this covert effect is an influential tool of brand promotion. The story of the brand is constructed while celebrities, as well as fictional characters, use them. Interestingly, people are also involved in the process of brand development and promotion since they, too, also become promoters of products, brands, ideas, and so on when they start to use them. Samuel notes that popular culture and consumer culture are becoming indistinguishable (55). Social networks often become the platform for brand promotion implemented by consumers. This is the platform where popular culture and consumer culture merge. People focus on material things and such social networks as Instagram and Facebook help in the promotion of brands. It is possible to describe a brands cultural lifecycle in the following way: covert advertising introduces the brand into the culture; people get interested and start using the brand and showing it off via social networks; the popularity of a brand makes celebrities and people involved in show business interested, and celebrities, as well as filmmakers, start using the products and brands.
In conclusion, it is possible to see that covert advertising has become one of the most potent constituent parts of the modern consumer culture. People do not pay attention to it and take it for granted. Products, brands, and ideas are promoted through conventional advertising campaigns as well as through covert advertising. So, Batman can start driving a Porsche, and Ironman will wear Breguet exclusively. No one will be surprised when these (and hundreds of other brands) become hits of social networks where people like to show off popular items. Conventional advertising tools will still be used, of course, but covert advertising is becoming a new norm in the business world and in modern consumer and popular culture. People involved in brand management should, therefore, understand that and use the most advanced tools of promotion available.
Works Cited
Grier, Sonya, and Carol A. Bryant. Social Marketing in Public Health. Annual Review of Public Health, vol. 26, no. 1, 2005, pp. 319-339.
Kaid, Lynda Lee. Political Advertising. Handbook of Political Communication Research, edited by Lynda Lee Kaid, Mahwah, 2004, pp. 155-203.
Samuel, Lawrence R. Advertising Distinguished as Entertainment. Television Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 2, 2004, pp. 51-55.
Racism is one of the most controversial topics in America and other places around the world. For many decades, the issue has been widely discussed in the fields of politics, religion, and education. However, the situation has worsened with more covert misrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in films, television shows, books, music, and advertisements. A 2017 advertisement released by Dove through Facebook promoted racism through its misrepresentation of African American women as lacking in beauty. It featured three women removing their shirts sequentially to reveal the results of using the companys body lotion.
Image1: Doves controversial advert.
As seen above, the black woman turns into a white woman after using the Dove body lotion. The image has two main sources of dissatisfaction. First, it shows that being white is the ultimate yardstick for defining beauty: white skin is preferable to dark skin. Second, the transformation of the African American lady into a white woman after using the product is disconcerting. The message passed along by the image is that people are judged by the color of their skin, and a light skin tone is better than a dark one. The product helps the dark-skinned woman to cleanse herself and become white, thus downplaying the fact that beauty is diverse. It also shows that there is something wrong with African Americans that needs fixing through the use of the product. On the surface, it shows that users of the product enjoy its transforming benefits. However, it has a deeper racial message that expresses the inferiority of African Americans and the superiority of whites. It secretly urges the supposedly inferior group to use the product so that it can gain a superior status.
The creators of the advertisement were insensitive and disregarded the probability that the content would aggravate some people. They were more concerned about promoting and selling their product rather than showing the diversity of beauty and how it can be promoted using their product. The creator of the advertisement should have refrained from showing the transition of the black lady into a white woman. Rather, she should have been shown to attain smoother, shinier, and healthier skin after using the product. The contrast should have been minimal and within the boundaries of respectful advertising that is directed toward racially diverse audiences. The creator could also have shown how dark skin becomes a shade lighter after using the product. The transformation from dark skin to white skin is unbelievable and offensive.
The message was chosen for this project because racism is a serious issue in the United States that has far-reaching social, psychological, and political consequences if handled recklessly. Diversity is a challenge in schools, communities, and workplaces. Advertisers and creators of content for the media should strive to promote the diversity of beauty through their work and avoid depicting the superiority or inferiority of racial groups. Sensitivity and fairness are needed in the representation of minority groups.
