19
ANALYSING REPRESENTATION By Christina O’Connell

Beer Commercials

  • Upload
    cgatt

  • View
    345

  • Download
    1

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Beer Commercials

ANALYSING REPRESENTATION

By Christina O’Connell

Page 2: Beer Commercials

Representation

are constructed depictions of a real subject.

They may be accurate or inaccurate.

They will reflect the values of the producer.

Page 3: Beer Commercials

John Smith’s Magnet Pale AleJose Cuervo

Subject of representation:

ALCOHOL

Page 4: Beer Commercials
Page 5: Beer Commercials

What is the Intention of this representation?The woman from the ad looks exactly like Marilyn

Monroe from the shape of the eyebrows to the curls that sit on the top of her head. Even their smiles are the same!!

‘Few stars of the 1950’s were so compelling, so singular, that they came to define the era in which they lived and in which they created their most enduring work. Marilyn Monroe was one of those stars.’ The ad being analysed was also created in the 1950’s, when Marilyn Monroe was well known. People would have seen this ad, connected the dots and instantly been attracted.

The tagline is ‘A magnet for me,’ which could be talking about the beer as a magnet to the buyers or a love connection. Seeing the tagline and the beautiful woman who resembles the famous and sexy celebrity called Marilyn Monroe could seal the deal for the young and rich men. The woman is also striking a provocative pose that reveals a lot of her leg (this also connects to Marilyn Monroe as she was known as a ‘sex symbol.’) The intention of this ad is to get the men attracted enough to buy the beer (the word ‘Magnet’ stands out) and to make rich and classy women envious of the woman’s expensive look.

It’s all about standing out!

Page 6: Beer Commercials

This woman in the ad is young and beautiful. And , if you look at her dress and the jewellery in her ears and on her neck, you will see that

she looks quite rich and classy, which would appeal to the rich and classy females of that time. The rich and

classy women would be in awe of the beautiful woman in the ad, and would want to be like her . They

would then see the beer in her hand and be convinced that drinking beer is for rich people, and that it is classy

and makes you look good.

The woman in the ad is also showing a lot of leg, which would appeal to young and also perhaps rich men.

The men would also be attracted to the woman’s face as she is drawn to be a look alike of a famous celebrity of that time by the name of Marilyn

Monroe. Both audiences would be attracted, and the women perhaps envious of

the beauty and elegance of the woman in the ad.

Who is the target audience? How would they read this representation and why?

Page 7: Beer Commercials

Is it accurate/truthful? Is it a positive or negative representation?

This representation is positive, as the woman is beautiful and is shown to be rich and classy and ‘proper,’ even with a beer in her hand. And the tagline reads, ‘a magnet for me.’ It suggests that something about this beer could make you attractive.

Is it accurate? Yes and no. You can still keep your skinny form, even if you drink beer. However, you need to work for it by exercising regularly and not drinking excessively. The ad does not mention you should drink regularly, however it does not mention you should drink in moderation either.

The biggest lie in this advertisement is the tag line (seen above.) It is not entirely clear what is meant by this tag line, but my interpretation is that this beer could somehow make you attractive. That is not true. No matter how hard you try, dressing up like this woman complete with the beer in hand will not make you attractive. It will not make you a ‘magnet.’ It is just a drink.

Page 8: Beer Commercials

What values underlie this representation?

The values that underlie this representation are that by being a beautiful woman wearing expensive attire, striking an extremely provocative pose, and holding some of ‘John Smith’s Magnet Pale Ale’ can make you attractive. It tells young women that by purchasing this product, wearing these clothes and exposing a lot of skin, you are attractive.

Page 9: Beer Commercials

Selected They drew the woman in the ad to

look like an attractive celebrity.They show the woman actually

interacting with the product (she is holding the beer.)

The woman is shown to be rich and elegant.

The word ‘magnet,’ is printed in capital, black letters (and the tag line is ‘a magnet for me.’)

‘Pale Ale’ is written in cursive writing. This also gives the impression that beer is a ‘proper’ drink for rick folk.

The background is simple, not taking any attention away from the product being advertised.

The actual product being advertised is nice and big under the title of the product.

Omitted The tag line is ‘a magnet for me,’ and

the title of the product is ‘John Smith’s MAGNET pale ale.’ However, we don’t know what it means by ‘magnet,’ as there is no shown love interest for the women, or nothing remotely magnetic in the ad. We just assume that what they mean by ‘magnet’ is a love interest, but we cannot be sure as we are not shown.

The woman’s provocative pose and stunning looks could take away some of the attention from the actual product being advertised.

Page 10: Beer Commercials

How has this representation been constructed using codes and conventions?

In the ad, the woman’s whole body is shown. This means that you are able to see the leg that the woman’s dress reveals. The ad mainly consists of the colours yellow (the word’s ‘pale ale’), orange (the woman’s skin, ‘a magnet for me’ and the pale ale), cream (the woman’s dress and the froth of the ale), black (‘MAGNET’) and white (the background and the woman’s shoes). The colours:Yellow- associated with joy, happiness, optimism and energy. Black- powerful, elegant, depressing and heavy but when used positively, may be sophisticated. White- simplicity, cleanliness, purity, youth and innocence. Orange- warm and calm. Cream- elegance, purity, softness, warm and richer than pure white.

Page 11: Beer Commercials
Page 12: Beer Commercials

What is the Intention of this representation?

The main image of this ad is the man and woman embracing each other.

The intention of this representation is to get people who want this kind of love, and who want to be held this way to notice the couple, and then the tagline and finally the product.

‘Pursue your daydreams’ is the tagline for this product and it can

appeal to everyone, as everyone has daydreams or even just dreams they

want to see happen. For example, some people daydream of the kind of

love shown between the man and woman in the ad. The man and

woman’s embrace can also be seen as sexual. The woman is only dressed in a bikini, and her thighs are in full view. The man’s head rests on the woman’s almost bare chest and his

hands are wrapped around her bottom. Alcohol and sex have been used together before, so perhaps the people advertising this product are

using sex to sell it.

Page 13: Beer Commercials

Who is the target audience? How would they read this representation and why?

This ad easily appeals to single young men and women who are looking for love or are looking to pursue their ‘daydreams.’ The ad tells them that they can have what they dream of if only they pursue it. It is telling them that they can have the kind of love that the people in the ad have if only they pursue it. They imply that the first step to pursuing and eventually getting what they really want is buying the alcohol.

The lonely men and women who see this ad would look at how happy the couple in the picture are and how they are both smiling happily and the woman is tightly clinging onto the one she loves. They would start to think about how much they want a love like that in their lives, and what would they do? Pursue that daydream.

Page 14: Beer Commercials

Is it accurate/truthful? Is it a positive or negative representation?

It is an extremely positive representation. It tells people that anyone can get what they want by pursuing it. They are almost telling people to pursue the product, not what they actually want, which could be love and a sexual relationship as represented by the couple on the screen. It is both accurate and inaccurate. You can pursue your daydreams, but, depending on how you read it, the ad is either telling the audience that their daydream is the product or that they can reach their daydream by purchasing and consuming the product. And, at the bottom of the ad, in tiny writing it says ‘drink responsibly,’ which is telling you (if you manage to catch the phrase) that you are drinking responsibly if you are drinking Jose Cuervo.

Page 15: Beer Commercials

What values underlie this representation?

The values that underlie this representation is that people should pursue whatever their heart desires and by doing that, they will eventually get it. Also, as explained before, they are using sex to make their product more desirable for the intended audience. This is telling people that sex is a good thing that they can have whenever they want, and sex may be a good thing but, you should not take it for granted.

Page 16: Beer Commercials

Selected

Tagline ‘Pursue your daydreams’ is in nice, big and black letters so they are easy to see and read. The man and woman in the background are black and white, and the actual product is in colour which could make it easier to see.

OmittedNo one in this ad is actually shown to be using the product. The product itself is a small picture in the right hand corner, making it hard for people to actually see what is being advertised. The picture of the couple is too big and takes the attention away from the product.

Page 17: Beer Commercials

How has this ad been constructed using codes and conventions?

The product itself is a yellow colour and, as explained before, yellow is the colour of joy, happiness, energy and sunshine. This fits well with the tagline of the ad, ‘Pursue your daydreams.’ The rest of the ad is in black and white, which could be so the product stands out.

Page 18: Beer Commercials

…Comparing the two…

Page 19: Beer Commercials

Comparison

The two ads are about alcohol, and they both use sex (or a sex symbol) to make their product more attractive. The woman in the 1950’s ad is striking a provocative pose that reveals a lot of her leg, and the woman in the other ad is wearing a bikini that reveals even more. However, in the 1950’s ad, they use a celebrity look alike of Marilyn Monroe to attract people to the ad and in the newer ad, they do not. Instead, in the newer ad, they use people’s desires to persuade them to buy the product. In the 1950’s ad, they show the product under the title, and it stands out because it is quite big. In the newer ad, the product is small (it is placed in the right hand corner) and therefore easy to miss. Both ads have similarities and differences, good points and bad points, but on the whole, the ad that is better is ‘John Smith’s Pale Ale.’