Metaphors in Social Advertising_GOG Ads_re Worked Thesis

Metaphors in Social Advertising:

A Government of Gujarat Perspective

Submitted by:Vasant Iyer (2209056A)

PGDM-C (2009- 11)In partial fulfillment of requirements of the

Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Communications)At

Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad

Dissertation GuideProf. Falguni Vasavada Oza

MICA

Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad

March, 2011

Metaphors in Social Advertising: A Government of Gujarat Perspective

Executive Summary

Advertisements in development communications, is still in its nascent stages in India, especially

in the rural areas. This field is extremely crucial to understand for a marketer or an advertiser in

India, especially if he wishes to advertise to the grass-root. Besides the capitalistic approach to

the idea of development communication, the field is a major tool for bringing about social

change.

In the last few years, the Government of Gujarat has been actively pursuing the cause of social

advertising and development communications in the state. I have been employed by the

Government of Gujarat as a Communications officer. Hence, it made most sense for me to

analyze these campaigns before commencing employment to marginalise the scope of ambiguity

when I could be working on similar campaigns in the future.

Social advertising or advertising for the benefit of the less fortunate requires for itself as does

any other form of advertisement, an in depth understanding of the type of audience being

targeted as there are a lot of intricacies involved in choosing the TG. In a state with as much

diversity as Gujarat, understanding the thought processes and the attitudes of the public is often a

laborious yet indispensible chore.

The methodology adopted in the pursuit of this understanding of development communications

and advertising is an analysis of the various advertisement campaigns using Jib Fowles’ method

of advertisement evaluation and summarise the understandings after wards with Katherine

Firth’s model of analysis. At the end of the first stage of this research, an in-depth interview was

conducted in order to understand how members of the Target Group perceive these metaphors

and the impact they left in their minds.

The research and analyses of the findings demonstrated that people tended to look at

advertisements with pre conceived notions on the way characters and objects tended to be

personified and depicted in the advertisements. These insights coupled with the research analysis

in the first stage showed cracks between the way the advertisements were encoded and the way

they were supposed to be decoded.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my guide Prof. Falguni Vasavada Oza, Associate Professor, Mudra Institute

of Communications, Ahmedabad. Prof. Oza has been an inspiration and a guiding force, without

whose help this thesis would not have seen the light of day.

I would like to thank the Government of Gujarat’s Communication officers who had in depth

knowledge of the planning and executions of the advertisements analyzed especially Mr. Mihir

Shah and Mr. Abhay Mehta and would like to take this opportunity to exclaim how indebted I

am to them for their wonderful guidance.

I would also like to thank Prof. Saumya Pant and Prof. Ashok Ranchhod, Director, MICA, for

their support during the submission of this dissertation.

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This effort is dedicated to my mother, the most beautiful woman I’ve known.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2

Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................3

Introduction......................................................................................................................................6

Literature Review............................................................................................................................9

Research Design............................................................................................................................16

Research Objectives...................................................................................................................16

Research Methodology..............................................................................................................17

First Phase..............................................................................................................................18

Second Phase.........................................................................................................................19

Results of Phase 1..........................................................................................................................22

Campaign 1: “Garib Kalyan Mela”( Underprivileged development fair).................................22

Advertisement 1.....................................................................................................................22

Advertisement 2.....................................................................................................................30

Advertisement 3.....................................................................................................................39

Campaign 2: “Kanya kelavni mohotsav 2010”( Girl child education fair, Gujarat, 2010).......48

Advertisement 1.....................................................................................................................48

Advertisement 2.....................................................................................................................56

Results of Phase 2 (Depth Interviews)...........................................................................................65

Campaign 1, Advertisement 1...................................................................................................65





Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................................75

Limitations of the Study................................................................................................................78

Future Scope..................................................................................................................................79

Bibliography:.................................................................................................................................80

Appendix 1: Interview Discussion Guide......................................................................................82

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Introduction

“All slang is metaphor, and all metaphor is poetry.”

-Chesterton, G.K, the Defendant, 'Defense of Slang'.

True poetry is an art for a fortunate few skilled artists. Very few advertisers effectively conceal a

message within an able metaphoric cloak. If inspected closely, in advertisements it would be

very difficult to distinguish a metaphor from one that is not, since most communication is

relative or depictive to or of an original idea or assumption.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a metaphor as “a figure of speech in which a word or

phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable”. Metaphors are the

transcendence of human understanding from the abstract to the real. Cognitive theory, besides

the views on ontological and structural metaphors don’t only aid exploring time metaphors and

brand metaphors, but also metaphors of other intangible concepts by grouping them into the

dimensions of space or the dimensions of human experiences, so that the intangible no longer

remains elusive. For example, an intangible commodity such as time is easily personified by

stating “Time is running out” or when ontological metaphors are used to depict an abstract in

concrete form such as an object or a substance, for example, “I scaled new heights in algebra

today.”

A lot of people believe that there is too much advertising and that it makes us capitalist robots in

trying to milk every last dime off every penny minted and that it takes advantage of children’s

innocence and that it leaves us vulnerable to stereotyping and that it generally disrupts social

order. While most of this may be merely scathing criticism, not all of it is entirely untrue either.

For millions of years, ever since human history has evolved, the world has taken recourse to the

usage of visual or verbal metaphors to convey a myriad of topics such from language to

philosophy. The fact of the matter is that metaphors make life easier. The world thinks

differently but is ultimately bound by a singular thought process-cipher and deciphers

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information within metaphors or analogies. Hence, it really is difficult to draw a line between

“adequate advertising” and “information overflow”.

The central principle guiding campaign communication and most business communication today

is conceptualizing the entire structure of communication. Whether it be routine communication

by the corporate/government entity/person/people or a major communication project no matter

how large or minor, it’s best to conceptualize what works for the campaign most effectively.

The real advantages of conceptualizing communication structure in terms of the metaphor of the

campaign are best demonstrated when an organization or any entity is facing no real challenges

either in terms of survival or thriving. A campaign, hence, in terms of a metaphor can be used for

either or both of the following purposes: 1) Inform 2) Persuade.

An advertisement’s effectiveness and usefulness is hence measured using various parameters of

evaluation such as the number of trials converted, the number of “hits” received on a website,

immediately after a campaign is launched. If an advertisement is measured not in monetary terms

but in terms of creative execution or copy writing, then too it could be deemed as a work or art

but its reach in terms of “effectiveness” becomes debatable.

As mentioned before, most good advertisements carry some form of metaphoric depiction.

For the purpose of this study, I will study and analyze 5 print advertisements designed and

executed by the Gujarat Government. The reason for the choice of these advertisements is my

impending employment as a Communication Officers with the Gujarat Government. The first

batches of communications officer under the direct mentorship of the Commissioner of

Information for the Government of Gujarat were recruited from Mudra Institute of

Communication, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India in 2010.

The Department of Information in the Government is chaired by the Chief Minister and is

reported to directly by the Commissioner of Information. The Chief Minister is the principal

signatory on any communication sent out by the Government of Gujarat and envisages most or

all of the campaign briefs. Under the Commissioner of Information work the Communication

officers who are given the responsibility of planning and executing the campaigns. Some of the

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candidates recruited last year by the government are still involved in the process of designing

and executing advertisement campaigns on behalf of the Government of Gujarat. These people

were kind enough to explain to me about the briefs of the campaigns, the type of people the

campaigns were designed for and the overall objective of each of these campaigns before the

start of the research on this project.

The thought is that having advance information and analysis of the campaigns as a thesis by a

future employer would hold my candidature as an employee in good stead.

The Government of Gujarat, under the leadership of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi has

revolutionized development communications in the state. The government not only actively

engages in innovative schemes for social betterment and awareness, it also does a commendable

job of passing on the information and marketing its activities through advertisements, pamphlets

and various other activities.

As is any state in a diverse demography like India, Gujarat too is an amalgam of different

cultures, castes, religion and behavioral patterns. The dialect of a person speaking Gujarati in a

place such as ‘Kheda’ district will be strikingly different from a person living in ‘Kathiyawad’ or

‘Kutch’. The values, beliefs, ideologies and attitudes also deviate accordingly. In this sort of a

hybrid scenario, effectively communicating to the masses becomes a tricky issue. Especially so,

if it is in the area of developmental communications because it becomes double tough to engage

a person in a conversation or even a secondary glance without the person already having vested

interests in the development of a community or the state at large. In such a scenario, metaphors

become even more relevant.

In this study, I want to explore the different types of metaphors used in the development

communication advertisements designed by the Government of Gujarat and understand the

effectiveness of these in influencing the beliefs and attitudes of their target groups. The research

will be conducted in two phases. In the First Phase, 5 advertisements will be studied and

analyzed using Jib Fowles’ model of Advertising and Popular Culture and Katherine Firth’s

model of Advertisement Analysis. After exploring the various metaphors used in these

advertisements, the Second Phase of the research will be conducted to gauge the effectiveness of

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these metaphors in conveying the desired message. By the end of this research, it would be

possible to comment on the usage and effectiveness of metaphors is development communication

advertisements.

Literature Review

“Metaphors and analogies can be thought of as the ants of advertising. Just as the tiny insect

can support many times its own weight, a single metaphor can be worth a hundred words of

copy.”

- Susan E. Morgan and Tom Reichert (1999)

Metaphors imbue our everyday speech and actions. The ‘Linguistics’ literature argues that

different meanings can be conveyed by different metaphors, and also, the meaning content so

conveyed will shape the perceptions of message recipients in very different ways (Philips and

McQuarrie, 2009). Lakoff & Johnson (1980) in their work on Conceptual Metaphors argue that

metaphors shape our way of interpreting the world and are encountered extensively in several of

our languages, thoughts and actions. They reject the objectivist “mythology” and insist that

metaphors are a human capability to comprehend and shape experience “like seeing or touching

or hearing, with metaphors providing the only ways to perceive and experience much of the

world” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980/2003).

The reason for such findings can be attributed to the fact that the human mind cannot distinguish

between what it is directly told and what it has trained itself for cognitively and intuitively

picking out what lies between the lines. It automatically attaches certain qualities it perceives to

be negative with words that it is trained to hear and respond to. For example, Lakoff and Johnson

(1980) argue that because Western culture commonly asserts that argument is war, we believe

that to argue is to “attack” our opponent’s position, to “defend” our own, and to try to “gain

ground.” This conceptual metaphor highlights the goal of “winning” the argument and masks

other beliefs, such as compromise. A competing conceptual metaphor, such as argument is

dance, would make the ideas of cooperation and compromise salient, whereas the ideas of

winning and losing would decrease in salience and be masked.

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Because of such tremendous influence, metaphors are used extensively in different disciplines

and forms of art. The purpose of their use varies from subject to subject. In the literary context,

for example, their role is primarily to entertain. The metaphor ‘Roger is a Lion’, for instance, is

not meant to be taken literally but to provide us with an instant, figurative picture of Roger’s

character (Black, 1962). In academics, metaphors are used to understand different perspectives

and conceptualize theories.

In case of advertising, usage of metaphors can give several advantages. First, they bring about

better cognitive elaboration and understanding than literal messages (Toncar and Munch, 2001),

presumably because individuals need to comprehend the complex message to draw their own

inferences (Mick, 1992). Second, when the receiver decodes the metaphor, according to his/her

own perception, it leads to favorable attitudes (McQuarrie and Mick, 1999). Third, metaphors

bring in novelty, thus increasing motivation to read and understand the advertisement

(Goodstein, 1993). By generating interest and curiosity, metaphors lead to deeper levels of

advertisement processing. Findings suggest that people spend more time looking at and

processing advertisements that contain metaphors (Gray and Snyder, 1989). Fourth, promotional

metaphors, which are usually pertinent, comprehensive, and memorable, are highly successful in

influencing consumer beliefs and attitudes (Ward and Gaidis, 1990). Another benefit of using

metaphors is their centrality to the process of imagination (Goldman, 1986; Oliver, Robertson,

and Mitchell, 1993). According to Zaltman and Coulter (1995), "Without metaphors, we cannot

imagine. They are the engines of imagination." Finally, McQuarrie and Phillips (2005) observed

that when metaphors are used, consumers are more open to multiple, distinct, and positive

inferences about the brand/ cause being advertised. Edward F. McQuarrie and Barbara J. Phillips

(2002) have talked about how people feel an intrinsic need to differentiate the obvious from the

murky. “Consumers will first search for a simple inference that associates the two objects; if no

simple inference can be found, consumers will entertain multiple alternatives.” This

demonstrates how advertising can become highly effective by engaging consumers in an

intelligent manner (Philips and McQuarrie, 2002).

In advertising, metaphors can be depicted pictorially (visuals), or verbally (text). The text can be

the headline and/or the copy. There are different view-points on the relative relevance of

metaphors in text and visuals. Researchers, especially semioticians, suggest that advertisement

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metaphors presented in pictures are more receptive to multiple interpretations than similar

metaphors presented in words because the visual message is entirely implicit (Marchand, 1985).

This tell us that pictorial representations, though could show the importance of the

comprehensive abilities of the readers or the viewers, what it does tell us is that there is still

scope for the copy or the verbal depiction of the advertisement if we were to construct prose in

terms of art. There is also an on-going debate among the scholars regarding the kind of products

for which metaphorical advertising is more relevant. Philips and McQuarrie argue that,

“Metaphors in advertising will be of less relevance to communicating a concrete product fact

(e.g., these chips contain no trans-fats) and of greater relevance when the goal is to communicate

an attitude or perspective (e.g., use x times a day or regular use will aid positively).” Several

other authors however believe that metaphors can and should be used for advertising anything-

from tangible products to social causes.

On the other hand, there is a section of the thinking clan that believes that metaphors are not an

academically evolved science of making conveying information to the destination. It is argued

that all human emotions are not positive. Feelings such as sadness, anger, shame, fear, disgust,

embarrassment, envy, fright, guilt, jealousy, regret and disappointment cannot be metaphorically

expressed. Also, even when metaphors are used by advertisers, whether or not they are correctly

interpreted or even understood by the recipients is questionable. Grafton-Small and Linstead

(1989) have argued that advertisements require creative interpretations by consumers on the

basis of their social experiences and understandings. Similarly, metaphors in advertisements are

interpreted by different people in different ways, depending on their socio-cultural backgrounds.

Philips (1997) has taken this idea forward to suggest that metaphors in advertising may not be

comprehended in the same way as the advertiser intended. Comprehensibility is thus a very

important variable in the study of metaphors."To be effective, a promotional metaphor must be

minimally comprehended by its intended audience" (Ward and Gaidis, 1990). Stem (1998) has

also suggested a similar fact, by stating that a sizable portion of the target audience may not even

get the intended meaning of the metaphor. Thus in spite of all the magic that a metaphor could

bring out in an advertisement, it might not be the most effective tool to be used, eat least not in

all kinds of advertisements. Work by Phillips (1997) emphasizes the importance of metaphor

comprehension in advertising. He found that while strong pictorial implicatures (metaphors in

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which central meaning is manifest and difficult to misinterpret) were interpreted as the

advertising creator intended, weak implicatures (those which require "work" by the viewer to

interpret) were either misinterpreted, or solicited multiple divergent interpretations. Apart from

some of these observations, not much research has been conducted to understand the differences

in consumer comprehension of various metaphors and determining if individual differences

mediate comprehension.

Another gap area identified in research is analysis was analysis of metaphors in different sub-

categories of advertisements. Very little research has been conducted, for example, on the

relevance of metaphors in Social Awareness Advertising. Social awareness campaigns are

“purposive attempts to inform, persuade, or motivate behavior changes in a relatively well-

defined and large audience, generally for non-commercial benfits to the individuals and/or

society at large, typically within a given time period by means of organized communication

activities involving mass media and often complemented by inter-personal support” (adapted

from Rogers and Storey, 1987). According to Akanksha Sinha, Social Awareness advertising, or

Public Service advertising refers to those advertising efforts which are done as a part of social

responsibility by such entities as advertising agencies, Government, NGO's as well as other

business organizations. These are basically promotional messages in the public interest

disseminated through mass media channels to target audiences (Atkin, 1981). The objective is to

raise awareness about different social issues existing in the society and being about positive

change in the attitude of people towards them. Social advertisements can be created in varieties,

they appear for many purposes, are produced through different media and aimed at target

audience. Philip Kotler divides Social Advertising/ Non-profit organization advertising into

following categories: Political advertising, Social cause advertising, Charitable advertising,

Government advertising, Private non-profit advertising and Association advertising. Political

advertising refers to pre-election campaigns launched by political parties. Social cause

advertising can be related to causes such as education of girl child, prohibition of child labour

etc. Charitable advertising is specifically directed to raising donations on a regular or emergency

basis, where the money will be used to help the needy, unfortunate or sick. Government

advertising is targeted at the achievement of a particular task, such as promotion of tourism,

development of industry etc. Private non-profit advertising is undertaken by universities,

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museums, hospitals and religious organizations etc. Association advertising is undertaken by

professional and trade associations to improve their public image and also the public’s

knowledge of their services. (Kotler, 1975)

While social advertising is done by corporations and NGOs also, the one done by Government is

an important part of modern democracies. Government, being the guardian of society is

supposed to make efforts towards dealing with various socio-economic problems prevalent in the

country/ region. Such communication is directed to the taxpayers and the public at large. When a

government designs and executes social awareness advertisement campaigns, the social and

cultural elements make an important element for study. The rationale behind the idea of social

awareness communications is embedded in a social engineering philosophy. It assumes that all

the social engineers (like Government) have noble purposes: the prevention of disasters,

protection of environment, health and education for all, equality, justice etc. These purposes

translate into responsibilities to the public that require these social engineers to educate, inform

and entice members of the public regarding the acceptance and execution of these

responsibilities (Rice and Atkin, 1989). As far as the effectiveness of these advertisements is

concerned, it is argued that public’s own experiences are the biggest barometer. For example, if

an accident takes place and only people wearing seat belts survive, a social awareness

advertisement asking people to buckle up will suddenly become more effective. There are two

factors that play here. One; the actions asked for in campaign messages will be attended to only

if the dangers and /or benefits associated with those actions have taken on some kind of personal

reality or usefulness for the individual exposed to the advertisement. Only then will he be able to

ascribe significance to the message. Second; a connection between the individual and campaign

is made only if the campaign messages are around to be attended to, or have become a part of the

person’s stored memory or understanding of the world (Rice and Atkin, 1989).

In India, Social advertisements are of a recent origin, as compared to the West. The origin was in

1964, when the government decided to tackle the problem of over-population by launching a

campaign on family planning. In the late sixties, with increasing socio-economic problems and

popularization of television, social advertisements were given increasing attention. Since then,

they have become a part and parcel of life and the Government sanctions crores of rupees every

year for the printing/ broadcast/ telecast of such advertisements. Some of the important issues

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taken by Indian Government for social advertising are- Health care, Family welfare, Child care,

Dowry system, Untouchability, Literacy, Drug abuse, Safety problem, Energy conservation and

Girl child.

One state that has been particularly active in launching social awareness campaigns is Gujarat.

The sixth largest economy of the country, contributing 6.2 per cent to India’s national income

(2007), Gujarat has been a leading state ranking high on growth and most development

parameters (Indian States at a Glance, 2007). The government of Gujarat, under the leadership of

Mr. Narendra Modi is well known for taking initiatives, in the areas of business, physical

infrastructure, education, employment, technology etc. From using Twitter to connect with the

people of Gujarat, to launching the Jyotigram Yojana, this government has used innovative ways

to positively change the society and economy of the state. It continuously creates and executes

social advertisement campaigns for the welfare of women, children and poor, besides

encouraging people to become more responsible towards the environment. The metaphors used

in these advertisements have a strong Gujarati socio-cultural context to them. The literature

review of the topic clearly indicates a lack of research in the field of effectiveness of metaphors

in social advertising. Using the advertisements by Government of Gujarat to conduct this

research will help bridge this research gap.

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Research Design

Research design refers to the framework or blueprint that guides the entire research process. It

lays down the objectives of the research and defines the guidelines and procedures that can be

used to arrive at these objectives. A research design can either be Descriptive, which describes

the characteristics of topic being studied, or Exploratory, which gives ideas and insights into the

nature of problem being studied. A descriptive study provides answers to the questions of who,

what, when, where, and how. An exploratory study answers the question of why.

For the purpose of this research, a Descriptive research design will be used. Following are the

components of the design:

Research Objectives

Development communication is a booming sector in the area of marketing and communications

and one of the best ways to understand the effectiveness of such communication is by analyzing

the different campaigns deployed by social institutions, public sector undertakings, non-

governmental organizations etc. and analyze the effectiveness of such communication with the

intended audience. Most of these advertisements use culturally relevant metaphors to strike a

chord with the target audience. While a lot of research has been done on social advertising and

on metaphors individually, it has not yet been attempted to explore the effectiveness of

metaphors in social advertising. This study seeks to explore and understand the use of metaphors

in print advertisements from various social awareness campaigns launched by the Government of

Gujarat. By using insights from the makers of these advertisements, and understanding their

ideas, relevant ad evaluation models will be applied to these advertisements. This will describe

how and why metaphors have been used in these ads and provide the foundation for further

research. The next step will be to understand whether or not the intended audience perceives the

metaphors in the same way as conceptualized by the makers of the ads. This will help us

elucidate the much debated issue of effectiveness of metaphors in advertising.

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Following are the research questions that I seek to answer:

1. How have different metaphors been used in print advertisements of social awareness campaigns

by Government of Gujarat?

2. Does the target audience correctly perceive these metaphors?

3. How effective is the use of metaphors in these advertisements?

Research Methodology

This research focuses on advertisements’ nuances and viewers’ response to them. As such,

variables such as like/dislike, agree/disagree, respect/contempt will be used in the study. None of

this can be measured or expressed in numbers. The details this study seeks to address need a

relatively unrestricted field. Hence, Qualitative Research Methodology will be used in this study.

“Qualitative Research is multi-method in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach

to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings,

attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to

them" (Denzin and Lincoln, 1998). Qualitative research is thus concerned with the quality or

nature of human experiences and what these phenomena mean to individuals. It tends to start

with ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ type of questions rather than ‘how much’ or ‘how many’

questions. It is also concerned with examining these questions in the context of everyday life and

each individual’s meanings and explanations.

The nature of my research problem is such that it requires a lot of probing and detailing. There

aren’t any pre-defined parameters or factors. Thus, a qualitative study is the most appropriate

option. It will help me explore the topic in great detail, while giving me enough room to bring in

local context and new insights. Qualitative data can help me bring about well-grounded, rich

descriptions and explanations of processes in identifiable local contexts. It will help me go

beyond initial conceptions and lead me to discovering serendipitous findings and develop new

integrations. Finally, the findings from qualitative studies will have the quality of

“understandability”. Words, especially organized into incidents or stories, will have a concrete,

vivid, meaningful flavour which will prove to be far more convincing to the readers, than pages

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of summarized numbers (Miles and Huberman, 1994). Qualitative study involves the use of and

collection of several empirical materials- case study, personal experience, introspective, life

story, interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts- that describe routine

and problematic moments and meanings in individuals’ lives (Denzin and Lincoln, 1998). For

the purpose of this study, Case Studies and Depth Interviews will be used to collect the required

qualitative data.

The research will be conducted in the following 2 phases:

First Phase

In the first phase of the research, a case analysis of a total of 5 advertisements, from 2 campaigns

will be conducted. After taking insights from the makers of the advertisements, usage of

metaphors will be analyzed using ad-evaluation models. Research for phase 1 will thus be

conducted using ‘Case Study Method’. Researcher Robert K. Yin defines the case study research

method as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life

context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in

which multiple sources of evidence are used” (Yin, 1984). A case study is thus an intensive,

detailed analysis of a few chosen cases. A case can refer to an individual, an entity, or a program

etc. For the purpose of this research, two models of metaphorical advertisement evaluation will

be used.

Jib Fowles’ Model

Jib Fowles, Ph.D., Professor of Communication at the University of Houston Clear Lake, is the

author of a new and controversial book, The Case for Television Violence (Sage, 1999), which

discusses the social benefits of violent drama. Fowles' six previous books include Starstruck:

Celebrity Performers and the American Public (Smithsonian Institution Press), Television

Viewers vs. Media Snobs (Stein & Day), and Advertising and Popular Culture (Sage). His

articles have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, TV Guide, Advertising Age,

and many scholarly publications. He has testified at U.S. Senate hearings on the topic of

television violence. Using Fowles’ model of ad evaluation, we shall continue to discuss

metaphors and symbolic references to cultures, archetypes and stereotypes.

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Frith’s model of analysis

Once Fowles’ model of analysis is implemented, a conceptual framework of the existence of

metaphors will be set and we can conduct further analysis using Katherine Frith’s method of

advertisement evaluation (1996). Katherine T. Frith is an associate professor in the College of

Communications, Pennsylvania State University, University Park. She has been the Chairperson

of the Advertising major for five years. Her efforts have appeared in Journalism

Quarterly, Current Issues and Research in Advertising, and Media Asia. She is currently the

editor of Advertising in Asia: Communication Culture and Consumption (Iowa State University

Press, 1996). Katherine Frith is known to emphasize the need to "undress" the ad, to "read" the

culture of advertising. As Brazilian educator Paulo Freire (1997) called for the "reading" of

the world -- analyzing the texts presented within culture, Frith calls for deconstruction and

political reading of promotional propaganda involved in the economic dynamics of the late

twentieth century. Using this model, we shall try narrowing things to a point where we can arrive

at the specific use of metaphors in these advertisements.

Second Phase

Having gained a good perspective from the analysis of the advertisements based on viewers of

the makers of advertisements and parameters provided by communications experts and detailed

application of metaphoric theory, the research will move on to the next level. In the next phase, I

want to look at the analysis of my findings from the viewers’ prism. To understand whether or

not the metaphors described in Phase 1 are perceived correctly by the target audience, Depth

Interviews will be conducted with sample sets from the target groups to collect relevant

qualitative data.

A depth Interview can be defined as a qualitative research technique that involves person-to-

person discussion, which helps the researcher get a vivid picture of the interviewee’s perspective

on the topic of research. It is an open-ended, discovery-oriented method, which usually leads the

researcher into getting interesting insights about the topic.

Since these interviews are conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, the respondents are more likely to

give their honest opinion. They will feel free to talk about their feelings, emotions and

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experiences. Also, this is one of the most appropriate forms of data collection when detailed

information is needed. Since the topic at hand requires exploration and probing, in-depth

interviews in the second phase of the research are the most feasible option.

Sampling Plan: A sample will be chosen for depth interviews based on the following

guidelines:

Sampling Unit: An individual respondent belonging to the target group

Broad Target Group: Persons who have been living in Gujarat for more than 5 years

Gender: Male and Female

Age: 18 - 55 years

Occupation: Any

Place: Ahmedabad/Nadiad/Vadodara (Based on accessibility)

Target Group 1 (TG1): Literate (who can read and write in any language)

Target Group 2 (TG2): Illiterate (who cannot read or write in any language)

Sample Method: Purposive (Based on diversity)

Sample Size: 20 (10 each from TG1 and TG2)

The characteristics of target group were designed in order to select people from different

backgrounds and occupations. The location was chosen according to the convenience of

researcher. It is believed that a sample size of 20 would be a fair representative of the different

types of people in the target group, with regard to their age groups, family incomes, occupations

etc.

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Information Areas:

Following are the primary areas the research seeks to gain information in:

Demographic information of the respondents

The respondents’ understanding of the advertisements

Inferences drawn from the minutiae of the advertisements

Cultural connotations, pre conceived notions and stereotypes

Attitudes and beliefs towards characters and themes depicted in the advertisements

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Results of Phase 1

The Firth’s model of advertisement analysis is a group of questions on subjects that demands the

decoding of every criterion of advertisement evaluation of a particular ad. In the book titled

“Advertising and popular culture”, Jib Fowles explains the nuances and the intricacies of

decoding an advertisement. His questionnaire template to judge ad effectiveness and quality will

be used once the Frith’s model of analysis is undertaken for each advertisement.

Campaign 1: “Garib Kalyan Mela”( Underprivileged development fair)

Client: Government of Gujarat

Creative and Copy: Department of Information, Government of Gujarat

Advertisement 1

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22


Advertisement analysis based on Jib Fowles’s model of evaluation (1996):

What exactly is being advertised?

The government’s hard working involvement in the welfare of the underprivileged.

Where and when did the ad appear?

Winter of 2009. On billboards in important cities in Gujarat, newspapers and brochures

circulated independently by private players or through the Government.

Why might it have appeared there and then rather than elsewhere?

The places where it appeared had the most chances of being noticed by the intended target

audience.

What appears to be the intended audience?

Educated English knowing people having access to local media, involved or caring about the

development of their state and deeply interested in understanding the initiatives and allocations

of tax funds in the state.

What drives this understanding of the TG?

The use of rich words deep in metaphoric meaning such as “illuminating” for electricity and

“developing” the quality of life and “beneficiaries” etc. suggests the intended TG

23


In what ways does it utilize features of the particular medium used (poster, television, film, radio

or magazine)?

Poster, brochures, pamphlets, Inserts and magazines

What graphic mode(s) is/are used (e.g. still photography, drawing, animation, live action)?

Still photography and copy writing.

Describe the overall design.

The advertisement is a collage of different photographs belonging to a similar sect, consisting of

the perceived difficulties of the underprivileged

The mood or the tone of the main photograph in the middle is dark but the lantern sets a mood of

hope within despair.

Copy is emphasized when talking about figures and is shown in red when explaining the brevity

of the impact of the government’s actions on the “lives” of the common man.

Where is it set in space and time?

Rural, earthen India separated from the might of some of the bigger cities not very far away

where people have very little idea of the advancements of technology and lifestyles present

outside. People struggling to find their feet within cyclic loops of poverty, churning and twisting

to find an escape to greener pastures. It is set in a time and place where a part of India had ceased

to grow beyond the margins.

24


Who are the participants?

Village men, women, workers. The “brand endorsers” of the Government at the time of

publication-the Chief Minister, the leader of the Opposition LK Advani and MoS Anandi Ben

Patel, all from the state ruling party

What do they do?

They’re shown presenting awards and hence, metaphorically, spreading ‘hope’ to the people they

believe to be most deserving of the reward. Hence they’re shown to be indirectly bringing about

a positive change in the lives of the downtrodden.

What key objects are featured?

Money, electricity, family, woman clad in a semi-veil and a saree (metaphor-hope in spite of

oppression) and various schemes deployed by the government.

What part is played by words (choice of words, typography/voiceover)?

The choice of words is elitist, patronizing and heroic. It talks of the help that better placed people

can provide to the under-favored through the government. The narrative is in black and red and

builds an element of climax and purpose.

Which features are fore grounded and which are back grounded?

Figures and facts are emphasized while ongoing work is less highlighted.

25


What significance might all of these features have for the intended viewers/readers/listeners?

Figures states are in lakhs of rupees and is ‘packaged’ to emphazize an impression of the might

of the undertaken campaign.It demonstrates the scale of the project and desires to leave the

audience satisfied of the client’s( Government’s) work.

How else does the ad seek your involvement?

Through the mention of words like “beneficiaries” and “financial assistance”, the advertisement

indirectly tells the user to associate himself with the program.

What does the ad seem to suggest about gender roles, class/status, age, ethnicity or self-identity?

The advertisement shows the awards being bestowed to a female patron, a rarity in rural,

underprivileged India. The woman is shown to be the centrifugal figure in the family , shown to

be keeping the ‘system’ running.

The characters depicted in the advertisement are monetarily reserved but have a strong sense of

self-identity, reflected in the manner in which the family is seated in the awards ceremony as

well as in the way the woman in the last picture , wearing the blue saree is shown brimming with

pride and humility.The age group of all characters is middle aged to old.

What cultural assumptions and values seem to be involved?

Women are still oppressed in parts of the world, especially in the sub-continent.

People still don’t have their own home.

Money is an explicitly demanded commodity.

26


The existence of traditional ‘values’ such as respect and self-identity seen through the recipients

bowing down while receiving the awards.

What use is made of humor, and to what effect?

No humor is used to demonstrate anything.

What scope does there seem to be for alternative interpretations?

The use of words such as illuminating and other such words could be substituted by simpler,

easier words.

“Despair” as such is not clearly visible and there’s no strongly suggested Point of Action for the

audience in the advertisement.

27


28

Frith's Level of

Analysis

Analyses of Camapaign 1, Advertisement 1

The Surface

Meaning

The advertisement consists of 4 distinct sets of pictures, each carrying a story but

all of them have an underlying common thread. That poverty exists but can be

tackled.

The Advertiser's

Intended Meaning

The advertiser is trying to point out the humanitarian activities work of the

government’s poverty eradication and empowerment schemes by highlighting the

three most crucial needs of the poor common man in the village: shelter, electricity

and sanitation. The advertisement intends to capture the essence of the

government’s vision, visually and through extensive copy.

The Cultural or

Ideological

Meaning( metapho

rical meaning)

All figures mentioned are in rupees lakhs red font color and emboldened. This

creates a significant impact of the amount of funds garnered through negotiations

and dealings by the government expressed in the ad through the terms

“beneficiaries” and “financial assistance”

The specific use of the phrase "my own house" connotes a number of ideological

meanings

At one level, the phrase also speaks to the ego of the Indian middle class for whom

owning a house and escaping the “tyranny” of the landlord is a “once in a lifetime”

achievement. At the other, it talks about the status of owning your own home by

depicting a poor family brimming with pride.

The visual composition and poses of the two figures also speaks of the shift in the

dominance of males over a household. In each picture, a female protagonist speaks

of a story either by receiving an award or feeding her child while the man of the

house eats.

The advertiser wishes to also benefit from the association of the female bread

winner of the family when more educated women read the advertisement in papers

or elsewhere.


Campaign 1: “Garib Kalyan Mela” ( Underprivileged development fair)


Creative and Copy: Department of Information, Government of Gujarat, :

Advertisement 2

29


30


Advertisement analysis based on Jib Fowles’s model of evaluation(1996)


The government’s hard working involvement in the welfare of the underprivileged.


In synchronization with the previous advertisement. On billboards in important cities in Gujarat,

newspapers and brochures circulated independently by private players or through the

Government.


The places where it appeared had the most chances of being noticed by the intended target

audience.


Educated English knowing people having access to local media, connected to or desiring to

connect with the activities of the government or voters not traditionally loyalists of the BJP.

Illiterate Gujarati populace who could understand at least part of the story being narrated in the

advertisement through pictures is also part of the TG.

31



The use of words and phrases such as “Making poverty history” and the careful inclusion of

historically sidelined sects of the society.


or magazine)?





The advertisement is a group of different photographs belonging to a similar groups of the

public, consisting of the perceived difficulties in getting access to life-long dreams such as

owning one’s own farm equipment, home or having a bank statement with some savings for the

future.

The mood or the tone of the main photograph is grim, serious and hopeful. The client has

carefully publishes the picture of the “endorser” of the client on the flag, carried by an

underprivileged child.

This could have been done to metaphorically depict the brand “endorser” as being responsible

for fulfilling the aspirations of future generations.

The logo of the campaign also carries cultural weight age as the symbol of a coconut with

‘neem’ leaves symbolizes the start of a journey on a positive note.

32



The advertisement is set in modern times consisting of a rural, disparate India struggling to find

ground with basic necessities such as survival and right to a livelihood. It is set in a time and

place of Gujarat coming to terms with an inherent desire to prosper, given the proper support.

3 of the 4 pictures are of a singular event whereas just one is from a different distribution

program. This is obvious from the appearances of the central characters in the advertisement.


Farmers, children and middle aged to old women. The “brand endorsers” of the Government at

the time of publication-the Chief Minister, and some of the leaders of the ruling party are also

seen presenting the awards.

What do they do?

They’re shown presenting awards in both cash and kind and hence, metaphorically, diffusing an

air of confidence in the people and subsidies to the people they believe to be most deserving of

the reward. Hence they’re shown to be indirectly bringing about a positive change in the lives of

the downtrodden.


Money, tractor, key to a house, a person clearly belonging to the minority committee, each

picture featuring the Chief Minister and the logo of the campaign on each award that is

distributed.

33



The choice of words is hopeful, patronizing and metaphoric. ‘Making poverty history’ creates

instant connect with the vote bank who have seen the state transforming in the past decades. It

talks of the help that better placed people can provide to the unfavoured through the government.

The narrative very hopeful and invokes a sense of ‘security and protection’ under the hands of

the government.


Figures and facts are more emphasized over verbose copy. The picture of the child with the flag

is emphasized amidst the background of women in blur.


The child in the central picture, carrying the flag seems to be suggesting that it shall turn out

better than other less fortunate members of her clan. Figures in bold red letters state the purpose

of the program as assertive and achieving.


Through the mention of words like“beneficiaries” and “financial assistance”, the advertisement

indirectly tells the audience to associate itself with the various program and support the

government in its humanitarian endevaours.And it indirectly also communicates that if the

audience hasn’t voted for the BJP already, they should in the future.

34



An important communication is one of the characters in the pictures is shown to be a beneficiary,

in spite of belonging to a minority sect in the country; something the client has for a long time,

tried to position the new agenda of the government


self-identity, reflected in the manner in which the old lady is dressed in a saree, bowing down to

receive the award from a perceived stalwart of her state and in the way in which farmer is

dressed in neat, crisp, white traditional clothes and a turban- a symbol of humility and pride and

a strong sense of self-identity

The age group of all characters ranges from young, middle aged and old.


Self-identity and the want of the underprivileged to earn a respectable livelihood.

The existence of traditional ‘values’ such as respect and self-identity seen through the recipients

bowing down while receiving the awards.

What use is made of humour, and to what effect?


35



The advertisement might not clearly reach across to people as fulfilling and encouraging the

ambitions of the people as most central characters in the pictures are either too young to use

money or too old to build a new life.

If “Making poverty history” could be replaced by a phrase such as “ending poverty in Gujarat”

the impact in the minds of the people could have been different.

36


Frith's Level of

Analysis

Analyses of the Campaign 1, Advertisement 2

The Surface

Meaning

The advertisement, like the previous ad, consists of 4 carefully chosen and distinct

pictures in which each character is shown receiving a reward from a representative of

the client (BJP, Government of Gujarat) .The characters belong to the deserving and

underprivileged of clan of the society.

The client wishes to promulgate a message of good-will and development in order to

appeal to the vote-bank.

The Advertiser's

Intended Meaning

The advertiser is trying to point out the humanitarian activities work of the

government’s poverty eradication and empowerment schemes by providing stimuli in

the form of subsidies in housing plans and farm equipment for agricultural

development.

The Cultural or

Ideological

Meaning( metaph

orical meaning)

All figures mentioned are in rupees lakhs red font color and emboldened. This creates a

significant impact of the amount of funds garnered through negotiations and dealings

by the government expressed in the ad through the terms “beneficiaries” and “financial

assistance”, “Social security” and “Mother-child”. The client (the Bhartiya Janta Party

headed by CM Narendra Modi, has been in power for most of the last decade) has

known to have a history with race and class discrimination.

The visual composition shows the display of “cheques”, “a key to a house” and a

“tractor replica cut out” as a metaphor for development and growth as well as self-

identity for the agricultural populace. Each picture is specifically designed to have a

subject who has traditionally faced difficulties in getting access to basic amenities such

as a person with a name belonging to the minority and also underprivileged. A farmer,

an aged lady, a central picture of a child amidst the faded background of more

anxiously hopeful looking women etc. are designed to leave an impact of positive

development and optimism for these sects.

The advertisement is designed to be adaptable for publication nationally too as there is

no mention of any particular region and wishes to connect with all potential vote bank.

37


Campaign 1: “Garib Kalyan Mela”( Underprivileged development fair)



Advertisement 3

38


39




The government acting as the guardian angel of the underprivileged and leaving no stones

unturned in granting their wishes.


In synchronization with the previous two advertisements. On billboards in Tier-2,3 ,remote

towns and villages in Gujarat, Gujarati newspapers and brochures circulated independently by

private players or through the Government.


The advertisement was extremely localised and hence the client chose the aforementioned

avenues.


The TG for this advertisement are two distinct set of groups:

Gujarati mass having access to newspapers, inserts and pamphlets interested in the schemes and

seeking information on participation

Attracting potential vote bank by drawing their attention to the government run “by the people”

40



The use of words and phrases conveying metaphoric meaning such as “Kalpvriksh” and the huge

tree made of people and the chief minister himself dressed in local attire to create affinity with

the minds of the audience stems this belief.


or magazine)?



Creative art direction of a collage of different images and copy.


The advertisement is a pictorial metaphor depicting the common man as the root of the “wish—

fulfilling” tree that is the government.

The mood or the tone of the main photograph is poetic, jubilant and describes a sense of

development. The client has carefully publishes the picture of the “endorser” of the client( The

CM) on the main page in local attire stimulating people to join in the work(the wave of the hand

symbolizes this)

41


The picture at the top showing a young man receiving a cheque alongside a ‘Rickshaw’ is that of

a person from the minority committee in Gujarat. The Government has in the past garnered

considerable flak for its inefficient administration during the 2002 riots.

This advertisement could very well be an endeavor to promulgate a shift in positioning of the

government


The advertisement is set in modern times consisting of a rural, optimistic Gujarat riding on the

waves of the schemes and the programs designed by the government for them. The tone of the ad

conveys an inherent desire to prosper, given the proper support.


Everybody. The advertisement wishes to engage every person involved in the process of seeing

the advertisement. Both the vote bank as well as the beneficiaries who could either are or not

could be part of the vote bank.

What do they do?

They’re shown reaping the benefits of the hard labor both they and the government have put in

order to make prosperity possible. The awards are in both cash and kind and hence,

metaphorically, diffusing an air of confidence in the people and subsidies to the people they

believe to be most deserving of the reward. Hence they’re shown to be indirectly bringing about

a positive change in the lives of the downtrodden.

42



Money, Rickshaw( livelihood for a entire family), the brand endorser dressed in local attire, a

person clearly belonging to the minority committee, each picture featuring the Chief Minister

and the logo of the campaign on each award that is distributed.


The choice of words is localized, optimistic, stimulating and patronizing. ‘Kalpvriksh’ creates

instant connect with the vote bank who have seen the state transforming in the past decades. It

talks of the help that better placed people can provide to the unfavoured through the government.

The narrative very hopeful and invokes a sense of ‘security and protection’ under the hands of

the government.


The ‘tree’ is shown very prominently in the foreground and smaller pictures in the form of leaves

make up for most of the tree. Campaigns happening at the helm of all such activities and

propaganda are shown in the background of the CM’s wave of ‘march-on’. The last line of copy

or the “motto” of the advertisement is roughly translated to “Let’s wage a war on poverty” and

the wave of the CM’s hand is symbolic on that front too.


43


The features mentioned might affect the TG in a way as to leave a lasting impact of the

metaphoric ”seeds of progress the people sowed” and later “reap” in the form of fruits from a

government in the form of a tree.


Through the mention of words like“beneficiaries” and “financial assistance”, the advertisement

indirectly tells the audience to associate itself with the various program and support the

government in its humanitarian endevaours.


The advertisement suggests that the government, by providing for a single mode of livelihood in

the form of a rickshaw affords status, dignity and respect for the entire family due to the

government’s initiatives.

An old lady is shown receiving a cheque which could symbolize hope beyond the death of a

male spouse in the family- generally accepted in social circles in remote villages as the end of

the world for the living partner too.


self-identity, reflected in the manner in which the old lady is dressed in a saree, bowing down to

receive the award from a perceived stalwart of her state and in the way in which the child is

neatly dressed in spite of not being affluent like many others, receiving a medal in one of the

smaller thumbnails depicted as one for the leaves on the trees The age group of all characters

ranges from young, middle aged and old.


44


Self-identity and the want of the underprivileged to earn a respectable livelihood.

That rural India and beyond is still ritualistic and superstitious in making deities out of trees.

What use is made of humour, and to what effect?

The CM dressed in local attire could evoke a sense of personal gratification for the poor but

otherwise very little humor is used.


The audience could be too indisposed to decode the metaphor of the tree fulfilling wishes as they

browse or flip through pages in a newspaper or a magazine

The CM dressed in local attire is a gimmick also used by Amitabh Bachchan to promote Gujarat

tourism. So the recall value for the campaign’s designated purpose could stand diluted.

45


46

Frith's Level of

Analysis

Analyses of the Campaign 1, Advertisement 3

The Surface

Meaning

The advertisement has been written in Gujarati copy. The ad is a metaphoric

depiction of the government of Gujarat as a “Kalpvriksh” (Wish-fulfilling tree). It

describes the government as paying heed to the needs of the underprivileged and

providing them with the best of opportunities with the help of resources created

by the very people who made the government.

The Advertiser's

Intended Meaning

The advertiser is emphasizing on the government’s conscious effort to pay heed

to the commoner’s voice. He wishes to achieve this by highlighting the various

humanitarian activities of the government’s poverty eradication and

empowerment schemes by depicting itself as a banyan tree whose leaves are

metaphorically depicted as the “fruits of hard labor” and the main branch or the

stem is built of the citizens. The advertisement intends to capture the essence of

the government’s vision through a marvelous metaphor.

The Cultural or

Ideological

Meaning( metaphor

ical meaning)

Traditionally, Gujaratis have been known to pray around banyan trees praying for

their wishes to be fulfilled as they a red-string around the main branch as a ritual

of respect. The advertiser has captured this insight in a purely metaphoric form

and has depicted himself as the banyan tree around which the common man prays.


Campaign 2: “Kanya kelavni mohotsav 2010”( Girl child education fair, Gujarat, 2010)



Advertisement 1

47


48




The government’s initiative in wanting to bring a about a positive change in the area of female

child education


Fall of 2007. On billboards in important cities in Gujarat, newspapers and brochures circulated

independently by private players or through the Government.


The fairs held in the urban areas and the rural were on different set of dates. The campaign was

accordingly propagated in local and traditional media the designated areas as and when such

necessity stemmed.


Educated, established and English knowing people having access to local media , involved or

caring about the development of their state and deeply interested in understanding the initiatives

of the government in the areas of education.

49



The use of the phrase” your child” is designed to drive home a feeling of personal ownership and

responsibility towards those not having the same set of circumstances as some other luckier ones

would. This point is emphasized by mentioning “ Is it fair that only your child goes to school?”


or magazine)?

Poster, brochures, pamphlets, Inserts and magazines, stalls and banners.




The advertisement has the image of a female child laborer carrying a stack of wood and shown to

be working instead of going to school.

The area picture where the ‘brand endorser’ is shown teaching the alphabet to a girl child, is

symbolic of the government’s intention to help these children get the support required to learn

and grow.

The black and white picture of the girl with the stack of wood is to invoke nostalgia, sadness and

a sense of personal responsibility for the happenings.

50



The advertisement depicts both sides of the coin.

Downtrodden, underdeveloped rural Gujarat where issues such as female feticides are prevalent,

in a time that has ceased to grow.

The same rural areas where there are still people willing to send their girl children to school and

are hopeful of a better future- depicted by the girl learning to write on a scale.


The central participant is the disadvantaged girl child. The ‘pitch’ here is made by the

government to willing participants and philanthropists to aid in this initiative of the Government.

What do they do?

As described earlier, one girl child is shown suffering the tragedy of child labor instead of being

in school and the other girl child is shown taking the first step to a “brighter future”


Slate( a metaphor for the canvas of life), a disparate looking girl with a stack of wood( a

metaphor for the burden of life at an unnecessary phase of life)

51



The choice of words is designed in order to invoke guilt and shame. It talks of the help that better

placed people can provide to the unfavoured through the government. The narrative is in black

and white and is built on a theme of a united, resurgent people-led government.


The child with the stack of wood is the most prominent picture in the advertisement. This could

be due to the need of catching the audience’s attention. The hapless surroundings and the

environment of the child is blurred but the idea is conveyed.


The sight of despair on the face of the young girl child is to invoke a sense of guilt and hope for

an action from the audience’s point of view. Either action or at least recall of the initiatives of the

government could be of significance to the audience.


Through the mention of words like “your child” and “let’s” the advertisement indirectly tells the

user to associate himself with the program.

52



The advertisement wishes to serve as a stark reminder of the widespread prevalence of gender

discrimination by pointing out the angle of “What if this was your child?”

The financial status of the protagonist(the child with the wood) is poor and is socially,

automatically allocated to the underprivileged class of the society.

The age group of all characters is young. Only the ‘endorser’, the CM is of a different age group.


Women are still oppressed in parts of the world, especially in the sub-continent.

Most people desire education. A lot many of them just don’t know where to start.

The male child is favored over the female and comprehensively so.




The message is mostly clear. The only area of confusion for the audience could stem from the

question of “what do I need to do about this” or “ how can I really involve myself with this

campaign?”

53


Frith's Level of

Analysis

Analyses of the Specific Ad

The Surface

Meaning

The advertisement aims to promote female child education in Gujarat

The Advertiser's

Intended

Meaning

The advertiser is trying to draw the attention of the reader and calls for

introspection on whether it’s fair to only allow one’s own child good education.

Through the picture of the girl carrying a stack of wood is intended to capture the

wide spread prevelance of child labor, especially the oppression of the girl child.

The Cultural or

Ideological

Meaning( metap

horical meaning)

Culturally, rural as well as some parts of urban India, including the educated clan,

has had a proven track record of being biased towards the male child. The

prevalence of this has also resulted in the complete prohibition of gender

determination prior to delivery.

The girl child has also been allowed little leverage in access to basic rights such

as education and a means to earn a dignified livelihood.

Also, the mention of “a child’s world” in the end is a metaphor analogizing a

normal child’s life with that of the struggles of the underprivileged

54


Campaign 2: “Kanya kelavni mohotsav 2010” ( Girl child education fair, Gujarat, 2010)



Advertisement 2

55


Advertisement analysis based on Jib Fowles’s model of evaluation (1996)

56



The government’s open invitation to everyone to ensure education for their wards or society at

large.


In continuation with the previous advertisement in 2007. On billboards in Tier-2 and 3 cities,

towns and villages in and around cities in Gujarat, Gujarati newspapers and brochures circulated

independently by private players or through the Government.


The campaign was propagated in local and traditional media a month before the launch of the

program in order to build excitement and a sense of hype around the fair.


Local Gujarati residents, especially the under-privileged, apprehensive of the expenses and the

other perceived hassles of education. The other segment that could also be educated Gujarati

knowing people having access to local media, involved or caring about the development of their

state and concerned about the state of education in the state.


57


The copy of the advertisement which implicitly and explicitly depicts the benefits and features of

education for the girl child. Since the text focuses on an attempt to thwart the various

apprehensions held by parents and their children about education.

Since the description of the campaign involves detailed statistics of the various programs in the

field of girl child education, the other TG explained above can be accounted for.


or magazine)?

Poster, brochures, pamphlets, Inserts and magazines, stalls and banners.




The advertisement has the central image of a group of children running back after school, feeling

liberated. The metaphoric mention hint here is the feeling of liberation that an education brings

with it. The other picture is that of the “brand endorser” of the client-The CM of the Govt.of

Gujarat, encouraging and prodding on a child.

The tone of the central picture is nostalgic and heavy and evokes a sense of happiness and

empathy.

The copy below the central picture is vibrant and cherubic and conveys a sense of education

amid frolic.

58


The final picture is patronizing and conveys a sense of security and support from the advertiser.


The advertisement is set in rural India where people have limited resources yet aspire for the

same things that a person from an urban upbringing aspires for. The mood is jovial, relaxed and

communicates a logic of easy access to education and hence metaphorically—the future.


The younger aspiring generation in rural India-the children, their parents and everyone

associated with the process of the dispersion of knowledge through the various channels

The ruling party at the time of printing- The BJP and the CM of the state.

What do they do?

The participants are shown to be either at the receiving or the facilitating end of education.


A group of children running ( a metaphor for liberation from education), the discernable font and

the colors used in the copy are symbolic of the colors of life resulting from a bright future due to

education.

The picture of the “brand endorser” placing his hand on the head of the small child is metaphoric

for a guardian angel, a custodian or a responsible governor.

59



The choice , font, design and flow of words and cherubic and energetic. The narrative is

encouraging and hopeful. This is so in order to encourage more people to join in and encourage

the purpose of education in the state.


The image of the female child leading the group of children out of school is striking. The image

is chosen in order to depict the “liberated spirit” of the educated girl child in the crowd of many

others


The features explained above are in order to make the audience empathize and relate with the life

of the children “freed” from ignorance and “leaping” into life with knowledge.


60


The encircled portion of the text translates to “ Please invest a little bit of your time in this

humble endeavor of ours” along with the timings and date of the fair to be conducted in both

urban and rural areas individually.


The advertisement takes special interest in promoting education through peer pressure. By

showing a group of children “liberated” as a result of education, parents whose wards aren’t

already in school would start feeling the pressure of raising an illiterate child in the society.

An uneducated child is accorded a lower status of class in normal parlance whereas an educated

one could go on to live a life of self respect and dignity.

The age group of all characters is juvenile. Only the ‘endorser’, the CM is of a different age

group.


Awareness on education of women is more important than that of men.

People are apprehensive about the initiation of a child’s educational sojourn, because of their

own limitations with having received education.


61


The fonts of the main copy are bright, endearing and juvenile. They perform the job of being

appealing and informing , simultaneously and with considerable ease.


The message of the advertisement is lucid and inspiring. There is very little scope of

interpretation falling outside of the stated boundaries.

62


63

Frith's Level of

Analysis

Analysis of Campaign 2, Advertisement 1

The Surface

Meaning

The advertisement aims to promote female child education in Gujarat

The

Advertiser's

Intended

Meaning

Education for the girl child is easily accessible. Education for the girl child is

inexpensive and readily available. Educating oneself under the programs of the

Government could become an exciting, fulfilling experience.

The Cultural or

Ideological

Meaning( meta

phorical

meaning)

The above main copy in Gujarati is roughly translated as “It’s fun studying, it’s also

fun playing, The school is like your friend, The school is our mother.”

The metaphoric analogy of the school to a friend and a mother has several cultural

connotations.

Indians associate learning with Goddess “Saraswati” –the goddess of knowledge.

She is also referred to as “Saraswati maa”(Mother Saraswati) or “Saraswati Devi”

(Saraswati goddess).This insight has been brought to the fore by the advertiser by

comparing a school to a deity.

There is another important connotation brought out by the comparison of the school

to that of a “girl-friend” as in a ‘soul-sister’. This is important considering the

apprehensions of the disadvantaged over sending their children to school.\

The use of the colors-red, blue, yellow and green are colors of the ritualistic ‘rangoli’

(color painting on canvas or ground) etching a vibrant, festive tone to the entire

communication.


Results of Phase 2 (Depth Interviews)

The second phase of research is about looking at the findings of the first phase from the viewers’

prism. In the first phase, a self analysis of the advertisements using detailed models was made.

Having arrived at the cultural connotations and references of the metaphors in these

advertisements, we shall now try and examine their resonance with the viewers.

Following are the primary themes that emerged out of 15 in-depth interviews that were

conducted within the TG.

Campaign 1, Advertisement 1

Detachment from public welfare

One of the strongest insights obtained from the in depth interviews were an apparent

nonchalance of the people towards welfare activities developed by the government for the state.

Some members from the TG tended to inspect the advertisements with much scrutiny only to be

left completely undaunted by the statistics and the happenings of the state. It seemed to the

interviewer that these interviewees were not motivated or driven to work for the overall

betterment of a community.

“All this is a gimmick for votes”

Another interesting insight that emerged out of the interviews was the palpable cynicism with

which these advertisements were received. Respondents viewed the advertisements as a

government gimmick to promote the party in charge as the pictures and the flags used in the

advertisements were clearly plastered with photographs and thumbnails of the CM. Some

members of the TG also had problems clearly understanding who stood to be the beneficiaries of

these programs as there is no clear mention of who qualifies to be a “Garib”.

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Gender identification

As a stark reminder of the cultural values that people come to believe and trust in, respondents

could not understand how a wife could not be “serving” the needs of the husband as he eats

alone. The arrival of electricity is perceived to absolve the woman of the house-hold of all

responsibilities towards her family as her conditions are changing.

“The woman is sitting idly while the husband eats?”

Most respondents believed that the central character of the story is the poor woman who labors

all day with her children and is still waiting for her husband to eat so she could eat her food.

Some respondents also thought that the presence of some of these “brand endorsers” actually

nullified the effect of work done as they thought that this exercise was nothing but a campaign to

entice in the vote bank. People generally did not understand the linkage of poverty and electricity

and how it could directly or indirectly affect the lives of people.

Tone of the advertisement plays an intricate role

The tone of the picture was described by respondents with adjectives such as “gloomy”,

“depressing”, “poor” and “hopeless”. The lighting of the room, with light from just the small

lantern was not identified as the arrival of electricity and hence metaphorically “a brighter

future”.

The minute detail of the photograph of the ‘deity’ hanging in the backdrop of the dining man was

noticed by one respondent as he tried in vain to decipher the caste of the family.

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Wordplay could be dangerous

The “making poverty history” quote was understood only by 2 respondents as most had trouble

pausing at the right place while browsing through the copy because of lack of a punctuation

mark. This is a precarious dilemma for the advertiser as he has to tread a fine line between fonts

and style effects and effective copy writing.

“This line just doesn’t make sense”

- A respondent quirking at the main copy line of the advertisement.

The child shown in the photograph got expressions and gestures of “pity” as most respondents

looked at the child as still waiting for the elusive opportunity.

Pictures could be misleading

The image of the child with the flag was disturbing for most as no one was able to associate

prosperity with that of the child shown in the advertisement. Ideally, the picture should have

been interpreted by the viewer as a symbol of “hope” or a depiction of “patiently waiting for the

nicer things in life”. Instead, nobody could sense any “transition” or prosperity from outright

poverty.

“The child is quite healthy. Not poor by any chance”

Free rewards are always enticing

One of the first things to capture the eye of the respondents was the distribution of “gifts”,

“coupons” and “vouchers” to all beneficiaries. The size of the gift wrapping used to show the

gift/reward being distributed to each beneficiary is amply justified. Although people found the

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process of linking these images together and seeing them as one story cumbersome, the fact that

people stood to gain free rewards was exciting for the respondents.

The pictures shown of the respondents receiving money emboldened in huge fonts had a positive

impact on the minds of the audience. The previous advertisement found them to be like the

system of free rewards but seeing people receive real money from the government directly, lit up

the eyes of the respondents.

“4500 crores? Oh my god!”

Identification with the characters in the pictures

People in Gujarat constantly nurture the dream of owning a house of their own or having a

balance worth showing off to families and neighbors. The pictures of sizeable remuneration

being distributed amongst the mass made some of the audience members wish they were

receiving the award. Respondents viewing the advertisement chose to patronize themselves as

the child in the picture. Strong reservations were also observed in the tone of the respondents

when some of them imagined themselves as being the flag bearing poor child.

“I would never carry that flag. It’s cheap”

A sense of achievement

Since a sizeable sample of the respondent group comprised of quite a few local residents, there

seemed to be a sense of pride with the way people perceived the pictures with public getting

rewards. These rewards were assumed by the audience as a sort of ‘souvenir’ given to one of

their own for some distinguished service they might have provided. This sense of achievement

could also emerge from the possibility of the audience living the character’s life for that

particular movement.

“I think these people receiving gifts are respected in their villages”

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The child bearing the flag having the picture of the Chief Minister was thought to be

authoritative and influencing the minds of the people in a forceful manner.

Who is this about?

A strong negative connotation that emerged out of this exercise was that quite a few respondents

not only brushed aside the advertisement as nothing but propaganda, they explained that the

picture is threatening on the counts that the CM is almost forcing people to vote for him or stay

in poverty. The Child or the metaphorical “future” of the state was not identified as the central

theme of the picture but the fact that the government is “enforcing” its existence on people.

“Why should the future of the child lie in the hands of the CM?”

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A picture speaks a thousand words

Both types of TG for this advertisement- educated, upper class people as well as the limitedly

educated under privileged people were shown pictures and both were met with reactions having

common threads. The tree was the first ‘object’ to be noticed and was easily decoded by the

former audience as symbolizing “unity”. The leaves of the tree were recognized as symbolizing

each individual of the state coming together to create a ‘unified’ community. A respondent from

the latter group could not identify the concealed meaning of the tree and remarked that all he

could see was a big, green tree made up of different people.

Sub consciously; what this could have meant was that the person(s) was, in his mind,

deciphering the picture tree as a “people tree” .The phrase “Kalpvruksh” in the main copy was

identified by both groups of people as a wish fulfilling tree.

The greenery around the tree was understood by the audience as symbolizing a “flourishing

state”. The picture of the CM waving his hands was realized as being ‘confident’, ‘inspiring’ and

weirdly enough, ‘funny’. To see the CM of the state dressed in local attire made most

respondents smile and wonder aloud of the purpose of the ‘gimmick’.

Different people perceive similar events differently

Interestingly enough, people found this advertisement to be the best amongst the lot as it clearly

depicted the message of the story. Even respondents not familiar with the language could clearly

understand and establish the metaphor verbatim. The leaves appeared to some as ‘water droplets’

and hence symbolized ‘freshness’ for them.

The key words emerging out of the entire exercise were “green”, “prosperity” and “unity”. The

drawback of the advertisement appeared to be that with the objective to understand the central

picture and appreciate it, the smaller thumbnails inserted within the main picture was ignored by

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most and hence the “poverty abolition” objective of the advertisement might not have completely

seeped into the minds of the respondents.

One Gujarati speaking respondent understood the “Kalpvruksh” phrase but could not clearly

identify with the “unity” part of the advertisement and remarked that the advertisement looked

like a “huge conference” of people gathered to listen to the CM delivering a speech.

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Absence of gender role

In spite of the advertisement was made to promote female literacy in the state, most respondents

believed by only looking at the picture as being depicting child labor. The advertisement was

perceived as a campaign by the government to eradicate child labor and the original message of

the advertisement which was a continuous story from the child in the main picture to the one

receiving gifts from the CM was never followed through the end and the message of the

advertisement seemed to be lost on the respondents.

The child in the main picture was not identified by all respondents as “female” but the

comprehension of the image made very little difference to the body language of the respondents

besides expressions of ‘confusion’ and ‘scrutiny’. No positive associations were noticed either

with the way people perceived the advertisement or in the way they believed the government was

working for the benefit of the intended cause.

“I am sure this is propaganda but hopefully this will at least benefit 10% of the people”

Root metaphors not understood clearly

Every individual is bred and trained to look at the world around him as he wishes to perceive. He

desires to understand the world around him and looks about for a clue to comprehend it. He

stumbles upon some fact of common sense and tries to make sense of it through basic analogies.

These types of metaphors are defined as a root metaphor (Stephen C. Pepper, World Hypotheses:

A Study in Evidence. Univ. of California Press, 1942)

The mention of the line ‘A child’s world’ was spotted by very few respondents and understood

by fewer. The insight of people wanting to live their childhood was not perceived to be executed

properly as the message of the line was lost on most. Very few people could identify with their

child hood in either the main picture or in the picture of the child with the CM.

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“Child hood is always given by parents”

Some respondents also took objection to the fact that a child’s upbringing is dictated by the way

parents choose to and there wasn’t much anyone else could do about it. Respondents also

understood the picture of the CM with the child as being patronizing and that the CM was trying

to pretend to be the “messiah” of the future in order to entice voters.

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The joy of education

The advertisement was perceived to be depicted without any error of sorts as per the respondents.

All but a few understood that the ‘propaganda’ on part of the government was to communicate

that education is “liberating” and that education can be fun filled experience. This insight was

realized by the respondents by looking at the style of the fonts.

People understanding Gujarati could easily understand the comparison of a school with that of a

mother. The female child running ahead of the pack was identified as the protagonist of the

entire story, leading a group of other such children.

“The fonts are vibrant and playful”

-a non Gujarati speaking respondent still grasps the objective of the font styling.

Does every advertisement need an endorser?

A Gujarati speaking respondent believed that the advertisement would have worked better had

the CM’s portrait not figured in the picture. She inferred that the children were running towards

the Chief Minister from school to meet an important personality who was visiting their village.

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Conclusion and Recommendations

At the end of both phases of research, the data was collated and analyzed. When facts, briefs,

objectives and opinions given by the planners of the advertisement campaigns were matched and

corroborated with those of the respondents and when the insights obtained from these phases

were matched with the analysis done based on Jib Fowles’ and K. Firth’s models, a fair

understanding of the thought process of both the advertisers and the audiences could be

established.

The audience is in a state of dormancy when first viewing an advertisement and the audience

might not want to decode the metaphors voluntarily. Words have to be carefully chosen while

depicting a metaphor as there is a threat of losing balance on the fine line between creative

expression and effective reach. When choosing words, careful consideration must be made of the

audience’s patience threshold as not everyone will find time to browse through each

advertisement carefully and wish to decipher the connotations within the ad with the same zeal

and zest as a researcher having ulterior motives in analyzing and trying to make a living out of

reading between the lines. As explained in the book called ‘Metaphor in Discourse’, the author

argues that ‘a proper understanding of the phenomenon of metaphor in general requires both a

consideration of its manifestations; it’s relevance in language, images, etc. and a consideration of

its general role as a cognitive tool’. She suggests that the disparity in the creative use of

metaphors may affect the way people tend to perceive these metaphors (Semino, E. , 2008)

It is due to this reason that a substantial portion of the focus of the campaign design phase should

include the opportunity to include subliminal advertising. Also, it would appear to hold one in

good stead if efforts are made in ensuring that the reader is excused of having to make hard work

of interpreting the advertisement. If only a single image, phrase, word or element of the

advertisement contributes more towards communicating the same message rather than a whole

different collage or craft work of images, font styling and copy-writing, it becomes easier for the

audience to comprehend and respond appropriately.

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No respondent felt a need to willingly participate in any of the programs. There was still no real

cause for action on part of any of the respondents. A stronger emphasis on the procedure for

enrolment or such similar thoughts could enable more trials than mere recalls. One of the most

obvious insights that emerged out of the analyses was that metaphoric analogies and depictions

have a stronger recall than placid advertisements. Hence even participatory details of the

program in the advertisement campaign should be clearly captured in the advertisement in order

to create effective recall. A great metaphoric depiction could be decoded by the audience

member but unless the understanding of the purpose of the advertisement is not established in the

minds of the audience, the advertisement obviously loses its relevance.

An important learning from the exercise was that metaphor propels the grasp of the intangible by

complementing and compartmentalizing abstract concepts with material truth like for example,

the school being compared to a girl’s best friend in the second advertisement of the second

campaign. This would have been extremely difficult to achieve without the aid of metaphors.

Hence it is safe to conclude that metaphors, when presented in an aesthetic form, result in an

active and collaborative ‘fear’ of knowledge. Such knowledge is made up of more than facts and

information; it is an affective state that simultaneously invokes cognition and produces a crucial

sensory response. Thus, metaphors induce a state of unknown knowledge- an understanding of

one’s world in one’s own terms.

The role of the endorser of the communication campaign is in the grey. Analysis of the responses

obtained from some of the respondents showed a palpable dislike of the CM in every campaign.

Research outcomes show that though the communication managed to engage the audience, very

few appreciated the presence of the ‘endorser’ in the campaign, believing it to be ‘authoritative’

and ‘intrusive’. Al though the whim of the client could very well have been the insistence of the

presence of the endorser in the brand, the campaign lost it’s ‘connect’ with a lot many because of

this very reason. The learning from the exercise was that better scrutiny of the perception of

people towards the brand endorser and the values he represents must be made before making the

endorser represent the objective of the communication.

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One of the crucial areas for development of a nation is the social front. Committed efforts

towards social causes can contribute a great deal towards the overall development of a nation.

There are already a lot of problems on the social scene such as Health, Family Welfare, Child

Care, Untouchability, Literacy, Safety etc. These problems are further complicated by changing

social norms, rising expectations of people, evolution of a new rich class and lots of unforeseen

factors.

Certain burning problems need to be probed into at a micro level. For example- AIDS, Drugs,

Family Planning, Girl Child, Women’s education etc. Superstition and taboo’s need to be

highlighted and pre conceived notions need to be understood in order to create apt metaphoric

references.

With increasing mobile phone and broad band penetration and with the arrival of 3g technology,

investing in advertising over such technology intensive avenues might prove to be both cost and

reach effective. The possibilities of people receiving information on social workshops, camps

and other social empowerment activities either on their mobile phones and tablets with full color

pictures are stimulating. Whether and if a state governing body will adapt to such forms of

unconventional advertising is a matter of debate.

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Limitations of the Study

A critique of the Jib Fowles’ method of ad- evaluation is that it tends to lean more on the

analysis of the advertisement in an overall fashion and leaves very little margin for error while

researching for specificities in an advertisement such as only metaphors. It also demands that the

researcher to read in between the lines more than he normally would as a result of a

comprehensive set of questions to be answered at the end of each advertisement.

The communications of the Gujarat Government are based on promises of no particular product

or service except ‘governance’. Hence, there are more intricate details to consider while

analyzing the advertisement such as the political motives of the advertiser, in this case the ruling

party or it’s ‘endorser’ –The CM. Due to these reasons, defining a TG clearly and properly

becomes a subjective issue as the potential TG could be a state with a population of almost 50

million.

The analysis done was for a total of 5 advertisements from 2 different campaigns. The reasons

for picking only these advertisements were due to a combination of reasons such as complexities

of characters, possible influence of gender, class, caste and social stereotypes. Other such similar

advertisements from the same campaigns were already launched by the time work on this

research project had started. A comprehensive analysis of these advertisements could add to list

of insights and perspectives from which to analyze metaphors and their impacts on people’s

mind.

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Future Scope

From the view point of development communications in the state, once such communications

activities by the government become a part of everyday life and parlance, making people aware

about these activities of the government will not be as tough to achieve as it might be currently.

Also, respondents belonging to the different sections of the TG were chosen from a belt of 100

kilometers ranging from ‘Vadodara’ to ‘Ahmedabad’ in Gujarat. Moving on to other parts of the

state such as ‘Kutch’, ’Kathiyawad’ could lead to discoveries of more insights and hence could

provide us with a different perspective.

Comparing metaphorical and non metaphorical advertisements and finding out the impact of

those advertisements put in contrast against the other could also yield a different perspective of

looking at these metaphors depicted in advertisements. Analysis of the advertisements from other

similar public organizations and researching the metaphors present within them could help in

obtaining more insights about how different categories of people decode advertisements in the

domain of development or social communications.

The scope of the project could be expanded to include analysis of more figures of speeches in the

pictures and text. This will give us a better understanding of how different figures of speech

combine to impact the minds of the audience. A detailed semiotic analysis of the advertisements

would provide the researcher with an opportunity to understand the importance of each element,

object and subject present either as a picture or text in the advertisement.

Metaphors can also be looked for and analyzed in other advertisements besides just public

interest or awareness campaigns.

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Appendix 1: Interview Discussion Guide

1) Please observe the picture(s) for a moment and think about it.

2) What do you think the advertisement was about?

3) Which advertisement did you like the most? Why?

4) Quote any line from the advertisements that you may recall

5) Think of any photograph from the advertisement you saw.

6) What did you find the most striking about the picture?

7) Opinions on gender roles/class etc. depicted

8) Did it provoke you to want to take any action on any cause?

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