Final Semiotics PPt

Free Powerpoint TemplatesPage 1

Free Powerpoint Templates



Unlike most major fashion brands, steers away from glamorous images of models in brandwear

Print advertising nor just means of communication but expression of times, characterizing universal themes

Often resorts to “shock adverstising” by violating norms for social values and personal ideals

All aimed at subverting dominant ideologies and establishing new codes of identity- whether racial, political, religious, moral or ethical

Have used themes of AIDS, racial stereotypes, multiculturalism, war and violence, religious taboos as themes in print



“Actual consumption is repositioned within the overall context of life. By entering the universe of values, the brand frees the product from the world of merchandise and manufacturing and makes it a social being of its own. By addressing an individual rather than a customer, the brand can identify its target on the basis not of age or income, but of a shared vision of what is important, starting from a set of common values.”





The langue of “difference” stemming from racial, sexual, political, moral and religious conflict

The various parole include nun kissing priest, black woman breastfeeding white baby, white and black children hugging each other, etc.

While in the real world this “difference” creates tension and conflict, they come together in the Benetton world in a false sense of harmony

Benetton tried to portray an “objective view” of the world by challenging the impossibility of the co-existence of these differences





“Black Woman Breastfeeding White Baby”:

The torso of a black woman shown breastfeeding a white baby, wearing a crimson cardigan rolled down to reveal her breasts. Her hands bear scar tissues and her nails are trimmed short.



Harking back to an era of slavery when black women were forced to feed the white babies of their mistresses while their own went hungry

The red cardigan- symbolic of the violent history of black women

The breastfeeding can be understood in the political and racial context as signifying black “mother” nurturing the white child and rearing him up for white domination

Other than the Benetton logo, no other signifiers rupture the inherent imperialist coding, allowing the non-semiotician to be comfortable with the apparently innocent and utopian picture

Instead of capturing a sense of social Utopia, reinforces racial and class stereotypes, and reduces the legacy of white imperialism to representation of mere equality

A paradigmatic representation of the ad with a white woman and a black baby would be more subversive



“Angel And Devil”:

A white and a black child are portrayed against a white background, their arms embraced around each other. The white child, significantly more well-fed than his black counterpart, is presented with the traditional signifiers of an angel- blond curls and blue eyes, while the black child’s hair is styled into devilish horns



The principle of “Notness” applied here-juxtaposition of opposites

The very title of the ad : “Angel and Devil”- why is the white child the “angel” and the black child the “devil”?

The white child holds the black one, while the latter clings more tightly to the former : reinforcing “the white man’s burden” and co-opting the black into the white man’s world

The white child smiles into the camera, while the black one is more somber and forlorn : the ultimate victory of the white dominant male

The white background interestingly brings out a sharp contrast in the subject matter

Is this then the white man’s idea of equality, equality in his world on his terms?



Used the langue of “reality”- real-life situations and sprinkling of “reality” into the world of advertising

Parole manifested in various forms as photograph of a newborn child just out of the womb, a dying man being grieved for by his family, a soldier holding a human thigh bone, a burning car in a riot, etc.

Real, high-drama situations placed within the frame of an apparel company’s branding communication: hyperventilating realism to create shock and capture attention

Benetton intended to use these images from the real world which have social and universal relevance, in order to break through the barrier of indifference which often surrounds these issues.





“AIDS: Pieta”:

The image of a man dying of AIDS, surrounded by his family, shows the terrifying sight of a body devastated by the HIV virus



Using death, a taboo in advertising

Ad has been re-painted from its origin as a black and white photograph and added colour to so that it becomes more shocking

The colours however add a touch of unreality to the scene : photo looks more like a painting

Intrudes upon the private act of dying, a family’s unity in grief coming under the Benetton unity of “colours”

By naming the ad “Pieta” carries connotations with the “La Pieta” statue by Michaelangelo which depicts Jesus in Mary’s lap after the Crucifixion

Utilizing the dominant Christian ideology of Western Civilization to portray the inevitable reality of death



Re-enacts the crucifixion scene of Christ: made more grotesque by the immediate context of AIDS and the suffering it causes

David Kirby Messiah like-figure: representing and sacrificing for all AIDS patients in the world

Reinforces dominant portrayal of AIDS patients: weak, ravaged and disfigured

Suppresses the various lifestyles, struggles and realities of people in different stages of living with AIDS AIDS portrayed as de facto death sentence: no attempt to challenge dominant ideology of AIDS=helpless victims

Image reduced to a spectacle of horror and fascination rather than confronting dominant representations of the disease – This is what AIDS does to you



“ Newborn Baby”:

The image of a bloodied, unwashed newborn baby with the umbilical cord still attached, being held by the midwife



The creative director chose this image as he wanted to portray the beauty of new life : baby- most permanent form of love

The colours are what make the ad so shocking: black and white would have cushioned the impact of “reality”

Crying baby denotes the cycle of reality that the ads are trying to communicate . While the ad is in direct contrast to the AIDS ad which is talking about death, the gruesome depiction of birth is detracting from the life-affirming impact the ad could have had

A paradigmatic representation of the ad with a cleaned up baby in its mother’s arms is visibly absent and signifies the clutter breaking impact that the ad tries to achieve



Langue : Men in accusing poses, Parole: Men of different ages and races

Portrayed men on death row in the Missouri State Prison

Aimed at generating sympathy for the men and as an appeal against capital punishment





The ads depict a very stereotypical image of the American criminal, either black or with a mafia like appearance as portrayed in the media and popular culture

All the men in the ads gaze directly at the camera, giving the appearance of an accusing/questioning glare at society

All the men appear to be well dressed in what could very well be Benetton attire, perhaps giving the impression that it is on the side of everyone who is misunderstood by society.

The ad’s hyperbole can be seen as highly effective if placed within the context of a harmless magazine page or street billboard



However, the ads failed to be successful due to the communication being derailed by a controversy started by the families of the victims of the inmates on death row.

While the campaign spoke about the overarching themes of unity and brotherhood, in reality it failed to take into account the sensitivities of all parties involved, regardless of the communication necessities of political incorrectness.



Has steered away from conventional portrayals of “pretty girls in pretty clothes”, but at what cost?

Social problems have been “packaged” in order to sell corporate merchandise

All ads depend upon a double movement of what Henry Giroux calls “decontextualization” and then “recontextualization”

The former is accomplished by denying specificity of the ads, hence ideology rendered innocent and a false sense of Utopian harmony is attempted at

The photographs are then recontextualized using the UCB logo

Critical engagement is rendered useless by the juxtaposition of a faulty attempt at social harmony with capitalist values represented by a fashion label



Fails to take into account the prevalence of the Reader Reception Theory, which basically postulates that meanings are derived by the reader of a text, and not just received

Isolated from historical and social contexts, Benetton's images are stripped of their political possibilities and reduced to a spectacle of fascination, horror, and terror that appears to merely shock the reader, all ultimately aimed at directing attention to brand UCB

Semiotically, the brand communication is not consistent therefore with the aim of subverting conventional ideologies

Rather, it is a more mercenary attempt at capturing attention and interest via exploitation of social causes for the brand



Documents

Final Semiotics PPt