Assignment 3 Sarah-Jane Field Student number: 5126661 Assignment 3 Sarah-Jane Field Student number:...
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1 Assignment 3 Sarah-Jane Field Student number: 512666 “In our society the real distinction between people is created by their role in the process of production, as workers, it is the products of their own work that are used in the false categories invoked by advertising, to obscure the real structure of society by replacing class with the distinctions made by the consumption of particular goods. Thus instead of being identified by what people produce, people are made to identify themselves with what they consume.” Judith Williamson, Decoding Advertisements For this assignment, choose a current advertisement or advertising campaign and drawing on the work of Barthes and others, analyse it to show how it derives and conveys meaning to its intended audience.
Transcript of Assignment 3 Sarah-Jane Field Student number: 5126661 Assignment 3 Sarah-Jane Field Student number:...
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Assignment3Sarah-JaneFieldStudentnumber:512666“Inoursocietytherealdistinctionbetweenpeopleiscreatedbytheirroleintheprocessofproduction,asworkers,itistheproductsoftheirownworkthatareusedinthefalsecategoriesinvokedbyadvertising,toobscuretherealstructureofsocietybyreplacingclasswiththedistinctionsmadebytheconsumptionofparticulargoods.Thusinsteadofbeingidentifiedbywhatpeopleproduce,peoplearemadetoidentifythemselveswithwhattheyconsume.”
JudithWilliamson,DecodingAdvertisements
Forthisassignment,chooseacurrentadvertisementoradvertisingcampaignanddrawingontheworkofBarthesandothers,analyseittoshowhowitderivesandconveysmeaningtoitsintendedaudience.
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Index1.Diagrams Page32.Warburtons Page53.Appendix Page84.Bibliography Page95.Self-Assessment Page10
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Figure1.AdvertisementforWarburtonsThinstakenfromWaitroseFoodMagazineinJuly2016
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Figure2.AdvertisementforWarburtonsThinstakenfromcreativematch.comdated2011
Figure3.Barthes’diagramillustrateshowmythoperates1.Sandwich2.Somethingtoconsume3.‘Healthy’foodthatisgoodforyouI.DesirablesnackII.PotentialwishfulfilmentIII.Anemblemofa‘better’lifestyle(thatisn’treallyobtainablesincebasedonfalsehoodsanddoesn’texistasrepresented)
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IhavechosenanadvertforWarburtonsThins(image1),lowcaloriesandwichbuns.Itappealsdirectlyto‘hunger’,andcertainlytoasenseofwant.IarguetheadvertisriddledwithclassdistinctionsandservestomaintaintypicalBritishclassstructure.Theadvertisdifferenttothepreviousincarnation,whichwaslessaspirational.(Image2)Aspirationiscodedintotheaestheticstylingintheneweradvert,asIdescribelater.1.FromOurFamilyToYours-AKeyBrandTruthThewords“FromourFamilytoYours”arelabelledasakeybrandTRUTHontheagencywebsite(seeappendix).Noothercompanyisreferredtointhiswayonthesite.“Fromourfamilytoyours”isamanipulativeandemotivephrasethatplaysspecificallyintoEnglishworkingclasssocialrelations.Ourfamily-nottheirs-toYours.Thecynicalclass-basedideologypromotedbytheadvertisersoperatesatitshighestlevel(perhapsmostperniciously)withintheadvertinthisphrase.Connoted,thephraseisfriendlyandsuggestsapleasantsharingofsomethingbetweentwofamilygroups,harkingbacktokinship-gifttransactions,i.e.awayofestablishingpositivelinksbetweengroupsandreaffirmingandmaintainingaconstructive,non-warfaringrelationship.Althoughitistruethecompanyisstillownedandmanagedbyfamilymembers,andhasdonesinceitwasoriginallystarteditin1876,itisneverthelessthesecondlargestbrandinBritainafterCoke(NeilsonJanuary2015).Theconnotedmessageisaboutonefamilygivingtoanother,whereasthedenotedmessageisaboutincludingcertaintypesofpeoplewhoidentifywiththebrandimageandexcludingthosewhodon’t.Bydoingthis,theadvertfurtherentrenchesseparationbetweengroupsandreinforcesthedividinglinesthatdeterminewhoisconnectedto‘ourfamily’andwhoisn’t.Thepeoplewhoaren’tconnectedaretheoneswhohaveaccesstospecificculturaland/oreconomiccapital,whichenablesthemtomaketheirownbread,orbuyorganic,perhapshavethetimeandenergytoavoide-numbers,orevenavoideatingbreadaltogether,believingwheatisdetrimentaltothem,whoemploychefstomaketheirfoodforthem,thepinksaltbrigade,theorthorexicswhoareliterallyterrifiedofveeringawayfromabsoluteperfectionintermsofhealthyeating,separatefromthosewhowouldn’tbeseendeadeatingThins,fromthepeoplewhocanaffordinavarietyofwaystoeatreally,reallywell.Thedenotedmeaningis“oursorttoyoursort”;i.e.hardworkingpeople,whodotherightthing,followtherules,listentoadvice.Andofcourse,FromourFamilytoYoursuseswordstoblatantlypretendthisisnotatransactionbetweenapowerfulbusinessandadistantshopper,connectedonlyviaeconomicsandwhoispreparedtopay£1.30*forsomeflatbreadthatwilllastlongerthannormalbread.2.TRULYMadlyThinlyThelargestfontonthepage,‘Truly’istellingcustomerstheywillfindithardtobelievejusthowthintheseThinsare.What’smore,itsactuallycrazyandbizarretheThinsaresothinbutcustomersbetterbelieveit;theThinsareinsanelythin.AswellatellingusaboutthesizeoftheThins,byemphasizingTrulyinthewaytheyhavedone,thecompanyisreaffirmingthefacttheyareanhonestcompanyandwouldn’tlietoyou.Theyaretrulysellingsomethingtodowiththinnesstotheircustomers.Honest.
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Additionally,thephraseassociatestheproductwiththefilm,Truly,Madly,Deeply,starringJulietStevensonandthelateAlanRickman,whodiedinJanuarythisyear.Hewasgenerallyawell-likedcelebrity/actor.Ihavenotbeenabletofindoutwhenthisadvertwasmadeasithasnoonlinepresence,(suggestingitmightberelativelynew)butclearlyitcapitalisesonanynotionsweassociatewithRickman,intentionallyornot,sincehisdeathbroughthimtoourminds.JudithWilliamsonsuggestsproductsmustbeconnectedtosomethingorsomeoneinordertogiveitmeaning.CatherineDeneuve’sglamouristransferredbyassociationtotheproduct,ChanelNo.5inoneofherexamples.Williamsonsays,“Theadvertpresentsuswiththistransferenceasafaitaccompli(Williamson1978;25)IsuggestthetransferenceworksonseverallevelsintheWarburtonadvert.Theevidenttastinessofthefillingingredientsistransferredontotheproduct(whichneededanewandimprovedrecipe-thefactitneededoneimpliesitwasinferiorbefore).Butcrucially,itisalsoassociatedwithafilmaboutidealisedlove,withactorswhoaremiddleclassandthereforefulfillaspirationalvalues.Asthisisaphotographofsomethingyoumighteat,thetransferenceisalsoworkingdirectlyonyou,theconsumer,inatwo-wayreflection.Ifyoueatthis,youbecomethisTHIN;andyoutoocanprobablyhaveatruly-madly-deeplyloveaffair.Oratanyratebelikethepeopleinafilmyoumightonlyknowaboutpre-consciously.3.New&ImprovedRecipeAsdiscussedearlierthemeaningofthisphraseisevokedbycomparisoninitsliteralmeaning–theproductnowhasabetterflavourthanithadbefore.However,theconnotedmeaningsuggeststheconsumercanbenewandimprovedtooiftheybuytheproduct.Thishappensastheoveralladvertispresentedasamirrorportrait.Youarethesandwichwhenyoulookattheadvert.i.e.Youarewhatyoueat.(Awell-knownphraseusedinrhetoricabouthealthyeating).Eatthisandyouarenewandimproved.4.TheImageThebunisfilledwithagreatdealoffood.Theadvertdoesn’ttellusthebunscontainonly100calories,whichsuggestsitisdeliberatelyavoidingsoundinglikeadieteticfood.However,theimplicationinthenameofthefoodisveryclear.TheproductiscalledThins.However,thefillingcontainssomanycaloriesitinstantlybecomeslessofadietfoodintheservingsuggestion.Tobeconservative(eventhoughbythelookofthings,thechefwasanythingbut)Ishallhalvethecaloriecountmakingit50gsforeachingredient,whichamountstoanestimated334.5Kcalforthefilling.Addthe100caloriesofthebunin,andyou’relookingatasnack(describedassuchtheWarburtonssite)ofnearly450calories.(NHScaloriecounter)Inotherwordstheadvertislessthanhonestaboutitsdietingcredentials.Thismakesitastrangesortofmirrorwhichtellsthereaderwhatheorshewantstohear.Thefoodisplacedonawoodenboard.Thereisatropeinpubs,whichcatersforacertainsectionofsocietytoservefoodonbreadboardsandslatetiles,infactanythingotherthanaplate.Thisphotographechoesthetrope.
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Theimageislikeaportrait.Infactitisstyledandcodedinmuchthesameawayapopulistportraitmightbe,withshallowdepthoffield,centralplacing,directvisualconnection.Ifyoueatthistastyobjectyoutoomightalsobeastastyandtastefulastheproduct.5.Signifier,Signification,ChainofSignifiers
Theadvertworksbecauseofthewayinwhichalltherelevantsignifiedworktogether,includinghistoricalnotionsoffood;whoinsocietyeatswhat,aswellasgovernmentadviceregardingfood.Whatlookslikeapictureofsandwichhasbecomeanemblempertainingtoclassstructure.AsBarthessays,“Letusnowlookatthesignified:thishistorywhichdrainsoutoftheformwillbewhollyabsorbedbytheconcept.” Heretheconceptislinkedtoaspiration,presentedinawaywhichappealstopeoplewhohopetoseethemselvesastephigherthantheymightfeelorwanttofeel.(Barthes,1968)Williamsonsays,likealladvertsitcontributestocreating“structuresofmeaning”replacingreligion’sroleinamoresecularsociety(Williamson,1978;12)bysettingup“connectionsbetweencertaintypesofpeopleandcertaintypesofproducts.”(Williamson1978;12)ShegoesontodescribesBarthes’muchreferredtoSignifieddiagram(3)moreaccessiblythanhedoes,statingthatafterconnectionshavebeenestablishedinthemedia,weskipreadingtheinitialsignifiedandinsteadreadthefeelingithasbeenconnectedto.Advertsdothis,Williamsonsays,tocreatefalsedistinctionsandthereforestructures(inthisinstanceveryclearlypertainingtoclass).“Fromthiswearemadetofeelwecanriseandfallinsocietythroughwhatweareabletobuy(andeat/consume)…andthisobscurestheunderlyingclassbasiswhichstillunderliessocialposition”.(Williamson,1978;13)
Tosummarise:• Thinnessisanotonlyadesirableadjectiveevokedbythenoun,the
product’sname,itiskeytohappiness,andacceptabilityandevenidealisedstructuralconceptsoflove–allofwhichareassociatedareThins
• ByeatingThinsyouwillbethinandmayevenmoveupanyperceivedsocialclasssystemyoumayfeelboundby(leadingtosomeelementofantagonisticdefinitionbetweenoneclassandanotherinherentintheadvertwhichmaintainsandholdsBritishsocialdistinctionsfirmlyinplace)
• Everythingyoureadintheadvertcanbetrustedtobetrue,theabsolutetruth,likethebrandimage,downtoearthandreliable–patentlyafalsehood
• Thecompanyisafamilyjustlikeyoursandisthereforetrustworthy(unlikeotherrecognisablefacelesscorporatebrands)(inreality,itisn’t)
• Therecipefortheproductisnewandbetter(bydefinitioncomparedtoapreviousrecipewhichwasergoinferior)
• Theadvertworksasamirrorgivingthereaderaportraitofhowtheywouldliketoseethemselvesbutdoessoinalessthantruthfulway
*Sainsburys10August(onsalefor£1.00)
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Appendix
1. WCRSdescriptionofbrand:“Warburtonshasbeenafamilyownedandrunbusinessfor140years,andourbrandpositioning'FromourFamilytoYours’isakeybrandtruththatreflectsthis.Thisideaisaconsistentthreadthroughoutallourcommunications;itisflexibleenoughtobuildwarmthforthebrandaswellastocommunicatespecificproductbenefits.”(FromWarburtons’creativeagency,WCRS,website)
2. Thewordtaste:Rousseau,wearetoldbyDerridainOfGrammatology,condemnsgreedastheworstofallvices,saying,”Gluttonyisthemainviceofthosewhohavenosenseoftaste.”(Rousseau,1992;947)PerhapstherearethosewhowouldfinditeasytocondemnpotentialconsumersofThinsforhavingnotaste–afterall,thebunispresentedinsuchaswayastotellusitisvirtuallytasteless.Itrequiredanewandimprovedrecipe,ergothepreviousrecipewasinferior.Thefactitneedstobeassociatedwithsomuchothertastyfoodinordertoappealtoanyoneisanotherclueofitspotentialtastelessness.Cruciallythough,whenconsideringtheword“taste’,itisusefultokeepinmindwaysinwhichthephrase“taste”isused,i.e.ofteninrelationtoclassandeducationrelatingtostyle.Tohavenoorpoortasteisconsideredgauche.ThisadvertmanagestoreflectandmaintainaveryBritishclassstructure,separatingoutthosewithandwithoutthe‘right’senseof‘taste’,andappealingtopeople’sdesireto‘improve’theirtasteoraccessto‘good’taste.
3. Caloriecount:Theseroughcalculationsrevealhowdishonesttheadvertinfactis;Avocado100gs160Kcal,Bacon100gs,287Kcal,Roastchickenwithskinstillon,165Kcal,mayonnaise1tablespoon57calories.Ishan’tincludethetomatoandlettucecountsincethatisnegligible.
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Bibliography&References
Ruddick,G,2015“HowtheFirmWarburtonsbecametheSecondlargestGroceryBrandinBritain”InTheTelegraph(online)At:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11733606/How-family-firm-Warburtons-became-the-second-largest-grocery-brand-in-Britain.html(Accessedon10August2016)WCRS,2016http://www.wcrs.com/clients/(Accessedon10August,2016)Warburtons,2016http://www.warburtons.co.uk/corporate/our-history(Accessed10August2016)Warburtons,2016http://www.warburtons.co.uk/corporate/our-operations(Accessed11August2016)Orthorexia,2016http://www.orthorexia.com(Accessed11August2016)Barthes,R,1968http://faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/Barthes-Mythologies-MythToday.pdf(Accessed10August2016)NHS,2016http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss-guide/Pages/calorie-counting.aspx(Accessed11August2016) Williamson,J.(1978).Decodingadvertisements.London:Boyars.Evans,J.andHall,S.(1999).Visualculture.London:SAGEPublicationsinassociationwiththeOpenUniversity.Images1.WarburtonsThins(July2016)(AdvertisementinWaitroseMagazine)2.WarburtonsThins(2011)Advertisementonline)At:http://www.creativematch.com/news/liquid-gets-warburtons-sandwich-revolution/100053/(Accessed11August2016)3.Barthes,R,1968Barthes,R,1968http://faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/Barthes-Mythologies-MythToday.pdf(Accessed10August2016)
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AssessmentCriteria–Self-AssessmentNotes
• DemonstrationofsubjectbasedknowledgeandunderstandingIhaveverymuchenjoyedlearningaboutsemioticsandDeconstruction,anddevelopingalanguagetothinkanddiscussthesubjects.IamdeeplyinterestedinAnthropologyanyway(Iwantedtostudyitafewyearsago)andthissectionofthecourseisanaturalprogressionfromthat.IdogetfrustratedbymyinabilitytocommandlanguageasIwouldlikewhichmakesexplainingmythoughtsclearlychallenging.Sometimesthewayinwhichpeoplewroteaboutthesubjectseemsarchaicandopaquewhichisfrustratingtoo.Andofcoursethereareaspectstoitall,whichdoreallytestmybrain’sabilitytocomprehendquitewhatisbeingsaid,i.e.itcanbeconfusing.However,I’mneversurewhetherit’sthelanguageortheconceptthatisopaque.Therearesomanysubtlesemanticvariationsintheliteratureandmovingbeyondageneralunderstandingtoamorenuancedoneisthechallenge,Iwouldthink.
• DemonstrationofresearchskillsMylifeisnotquietorasorderedandcalmasitmightbesoensuringIgetachancetoreadasmuchasIwouldistricky,butIhavebranchedoutandreadaroundthesubjectasmuchasIwasableto.I’venotquitefinishedChandler’sbook,whichisexcellent.IwasalsogladtoberecommendedtheWilliamsonbookbyanotherstudentasit’smoreaccessiblethanBarthes,whoseuseoflanguagemakesithardtograbhardofconcretemeaningacrossthewhole.InsteadItendtorecognisesnippetsandthenhavetotryandpiecethingstogetherwithhim.AsIreadthroughthesupportingtextsIamconstantlytriggeredtothinkaboutotherbooksIhavereadorownbuthaven’tgotroundto.IthinkIcouldspendalotmoretimeresearchingandexpandingmyknowledgeifIhaditavailable,aswellastheenergy,resourcesandaveryquietroomwithoutchildrenbargingineveryfewminutes.Sayingthat,myinterestinrelatedsubjectsprobablymeansIhaveaccesstoideasandfactsthatareveryhelpfulanyway–itwouldbegreattohavethechancetoexpandonitall.
• DemonstrationofcriticalandevaluationskillsI’mnotafraidtoquestionsomeoftheideaspositedby‘names’.IfIdon’tunderstandsomethingandthinkitmightbeexplainedinanotherwayIwillsayso.Ideas(outthereandmyown)areconstantlychangingandIamhappytopresentmyknowledgeandthoughtsaboutrelatedsubjectsalongsidesomeoftheideaswe’relookingathere,andusethoseideastoquestiontheassertionsbeingmade.IthinkifmybrainwereabitlessfuzzyIcouldmakeabetterjobofit.It’sfrustratingtofeelhinderedbytiredness,aslow-movingthoughtprocess,andahaphazardcommandofwrittenEnglishbutthereyougo…Icouldn’tstringasentencetogetheratschoolatall,soit’sworkinprogress.
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• CommunicationsI’vealwaysbeenabletocommunicatemoreeffectivelyverballyratherthaninmywrittenwork.WhenIwasatschoolIwasconstantlyaskedbyteachers,whycan’tyouwriteaswellasyouspeak?(Surely,discoveringtheanswershouldhavebeenoneoftheiraimsbutitfeltmorelikea‘blaming’questionatthetime.)IworkedhardafterIfinishedschooltotryandlearnhowtowritebecauseIenjoyeditasaveryyoungchildandstilldo.IhopeIhavemanagedtotakeonboardsomeofthesuggestionsIwasgiveninmylastfeedback,usingheadingsandstructuringtheargumentsoitcanbefollowed.Iwouldhavelikedtoincludemorereferencestobackupsomeofmystatementsbutwantedtostaywithinthewordcount.Icutlotsof‘bloggy’writingalthoughI’msureit’sstillevidentinmanyplaces.I’dhatetodeletemyentirepersonality–althoughthetypos,Icouldreallylivewithout.
