A Semiological Analysis of an Advertisement by DKNY Fragrances - Essay Example

? A Semiological Analysis Of an Advertisement by DKNY Fragrances of Institute] This paper will seek to analyse an advertisement by the popular brand Donna Karan New York (DKNY) featuring a perfume for women. It will look into the specific ways in which this ad uses textual, connoted and denoted messages to sell its product. The theoretical basis of this analysis is largely drawn from Roland Barthes’s essay ‘Rhetoric of the Image’. The paper will look at specific instances of the use of indexical, iconic and symbolic signs and the ways in which the photography, lighting, and other elements of the mise-en-scene affect the connotative meaning of the advertisement. It will lastly conclude on the ways in which the language of the advertisement serves to sell its product and whether or not this accomplishes its goal effectively. Keywords: semiological analysis; rhetoric of image; semiotics in advertising Semiological Analysis of an Advertisement The image under semiological analysis is an advertisement by DKNY for a perfume for women. This paper will analyse the way in which this advertisement uses symbols, visual cues and other coded ‘language’ to sell its product effectively. The theoretical basis for the analysis will be drawn largely from Roland Barthes’s essay ‘Rhetoric of the Image’, appearing in his 1977 book Image Music Text. Following a quick summary of the ideas from Barthes’s essay that are relevant to this paper, we will look closely at the advertisement itself for the different layers of meaning within it. The aim will be to try and identify elements and see whether they correlate to each other and ultimately join to promote the product as saleable or not. There will also be an attempt to locate this advertisement within the larger context of high-fashion advertising and the imagery deployed therein. In his foundational essay, ‘Rhetoric of the Image’ (1977) Barthes proposes that images have a language of their own that signify many layers of meaning to the viewer that may or may not be apparent right away. Barthes advances his idea of the three layers of meaning through which an advertising image, or any image, conveys its message. He calls the first layer of such meaning as the ‘linguistic’ part of the message (p. 33). By this, Barthes refers to the actual text or words present in the advertisement. In his example of the Panzani ad, this would be the French writing at the bottom of the advertisement. The second and third messages contained in an image, according to Barthes, are the ‘coded iconic message’ and a ‘non-coded iconic message’ (p. 36). The distinction between these two is hard to make and does not happen at first glance. Basically, the first coded message is the ‘connoted’ message of the image while the non-coded message refers to the image as purely ‘denotative.’ The first meaning of the image is derived from the way in which it is presented, its context, the specific audience it targets and so on; while, the second kind of meaning derived from the image is only an act of identifying the object. Applying this style of analysis to the DKNY Advertisement, we find that this too yields itself to different layers of meaning. At the level of the linguistic message, the most prominent text in the ad says: ‘Be Delicious.’ These two words serve firstly, as an injunction, or almost as an order to be desirable that serves to subtly pressurize the audience into feeling inadequate and therefore desirous of buying the product that will make them attractive. They also promote a solution by saying essentially that this product is what one needs to be ‘delicious.’ The text therefore creates the need to be desirable in the audience and simultaneously provides the way in which to fulfil this need. This brings in the ideology and implied narrative of this ad which will be discussed in our conclusion. But the word ‘delicious’ itself also serves a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, it serves the purpose of ‘anchorage’ that Barthes talks about in his essay (1977, p. 38), by fixing the meaning of the apples and removing any possible negative connotations from the many associations that it may evoke, as we will see later. So, any possible associations like ‘wanton’, ‘lurid’ or ‘cheap’ are replaced by the positive reinforcement of ‘delicious’ in the text. ‘Delicious’ also commodifies the woman in the advertisement, and through this, women at large, by depicting her as something to be consumed. This projecting of the perfume as a commodity appeals to the consumerist tendencies of the audience and also of relates to the desire of possessing and being possessed. In this sense, ‘delicious’ also has erotic overtones and sexual connotations subtly implied. The next part of the linguistic message is the phrase ‘the fragrance for women’. While ‘fragrance’ is coded in the popular and familiar language of fashion, ‘women’ again anchors meaning by ensuring that it is clear to the audience that the perfume being advertised is meant for women to use. ‘Fragrance’ therefore serves both denotative and connotative functions, while ‘women’ is primarily denotative in meaning. The addition of the article ‘the’ at the beginning does not serve any real function except to imply that this perfume in particular is ‘the’ perfume for women, thereby removing any competition. The implication is that women need not look anywhere else to find ‘their fragrance’. The prominent brand name ‘DKNY’ is also part of the linguistic message and simultaneously capitalizes on its existing reputation while also adding to it with this advertisement. The evocation of the brand name not only signifies the brand itself but also the lifestyle associated with models and high-fashion at large. The idea is to lure the viewer into buying the perfume in a bid to buying a part of the glamorous world that it represents. The linguistic message only reinforces what can be seen visually: for instance, by anchoring the various meanings that the image of the apples can signify to a positive one. The mise-en-scene itself can now be analyzed for further clues to how this happens. In the poster, there can be seen one young woman in the centre, holding an apple to her mouth that appears to be bitten at one end. The green apple in her hand is identical to the other apples at the bottom of the image. The bottle of perfume itself is shaped like an apple and is placed between the real apples. The woman wears a brown cardigan that is barely on her shoulders. The entire image is set in tones of browns and greens, recalling colours of autumn. Visually, the apple acts as a correlate between the model and the perfume because of its rich connotative significance. The apple in the Bible, for instance, represents something forbidden. It is symbolic of knowledge, temptation, and sin. This idea of ‘forbidden treasure’ serves to associate the perfume with something difficult to obtain and therefore, desirable. The apple is complemented by the body language of the model in developing this idea of ‘sin’ or ‘temptation’. The model’s half-open mouth and inviting gaze, her revealing clothes and tousled hair are all ‘symbolic’ signs designed to give the advertisement an erotic tone (Chandler, 2009). The camera angle reveals just enough to keep the audience curious while the mild lighting allows shadows to fall on the model’s face, giving the image a soft look that complements the autumn theme. Here, ‘sin’ is evoked in the sense of the word ‘sinful’ as being something exceedingly good. The apple also has several mythological associations. For instance, collecting the ‘Apples of the Hesperides’ is the eleventh of Hercules’s twelve tasks (‘Apples of Hesperides’, n.d.). Hercules is asked to pick the golden apples from a tree that belongs to Zeus, defeating and slaying monsters along the way. From this myth, the apple again has associations of something desirable and difficult to get. The myth of the golden apples in the story of Atalanta is another association that these gold-green apples recall. According to the story, Hippomenes won the hand of Atalanta by slowing her down in a race by throwing the golden apples in her way. In this myth too, the golden apples serve as an object of temptation and desire, so strong that it overcomes Atalanta’s natural instinct to win and makes her stumble and lose the race (Parks & Corbett, n.d.). But this stumbling is not representative of defeat; instead, in the story, the apples may have lost Atalanta the race but they help her find a husband in turn. This association of the apple with the gain of a sexual partner is also a possible aspect of the ‘connotative message’ of this advertisement. The ‘Judgement of Paris’ is yet another myth that is evoked with the golden apples and in this story too, the apple is symbolically linked to the most beautiful and desirable woman/ goddess (Atsma, n.d.). These mythical stories not only associate the apple with beauty and desirability, they also lend the symbol a legendary quality. The women in the stories are not mere mortals; usually they are extraordinary humans or even goddesses. This subtle connotation appeals to the target audience also, luring them into equating buying the product with gaining this godlike stature. The use of the symbolic sign of the apple then, is rich with connotative meaning. As the perfume bottle is itself shaped as an apple, and is even visually placed among the other apples, thus extending these associations of ‘forbidden treasure’, desirability, goddess-like, allure, power and so on, directly to the perfume itself. In case the more negative meanings of the apple come to the audience’s mind, as we have seen previously, the linguistic message ‘anchors’ the viewer’s attention to the more positive associations. The colour scheme chosen also has deep connotative significance. The prominent greens in the image – in the apple, in the model’s eyes, the backdrop – bring up associations of luxuriant growth like in rich vegetation or a good harvest. It also evokes emotional responses like envy, based on popular sayings like ‘green with envy’ ‘jealousy, the green-eyed monster’ and so on. The product is projected as an ideal object worthy of being envied. The browns complement the green in setting the autumnal tone and also evoke a serious, more mature aura. It is as if the ‘sinful knowledge’ of the apples – and by extension, the perfume – can only be acquired by those who have achieved a certain degree of maturity. There are no prominent ‘young’ colours in the image, signifying that the target audience is the urban working woman who need not be youthful to still be desirable and experience sin and temptation. Other than the connotative message of the advertisement that is developed primarily around the image of the apples, there is also a noticeable denotative message. The use of indexical signs, for instance, helps both denote and connote meanings. The model’s parted lips act as an indexical sign to indicate that she has bitten the apple and thereby partaken of knowledge, given in to sin or any of the other connotations that we have discussed. But the image of the parted lips also acts as a symbolic sign signifying eroticism: parted lips are widely recognized as a body language indicator of sexual invitation. The model’s finger on her mouth emphasizes the mouth and draws the viewer’s attention to this act of biting into the apple, a subtle invitation to the audience to do the same by buying the object of temptation, the perfume. The autumn scene is also denotative in the sense that it indicates the season for which the perfume is designed. There is a silent and unobtrusive way in which the advertisement ‘relays’ this meaning to the audience (Barthes, 1977, p. 38). The reflection on the bottle of perfume shows the New York skyline with the Empire State Building prominently visible on it. This again denotes that the target audience is the urban, professional woman. The evocation of New York also visually reinforces the value attached to the brand DKNY. To turn to the mise-en-scene again for more denotative messages, we find that the model – Louise Pederson (‘Images de Parfums’, n.d.) – wears a brown sweater casually, revealing her shoulders and neck. The casual air with which the clothes are worn, along with the model’s unkempt hair denote a sense of freedom and assertiveness. The woman is free to wear clothes as she likes, quite literally ‘let her hair down’ if she wants to, and reveal or hide any part of herself that she wants. This self-assertive image of the woman is intended to prove to the audience that by buying this perfume, they will be buying into this lifestyle also: of a successful New York professional who still has the liberty to let go of her responsibilities once in a while. Alan Rhodes and Rodrigo Zuloago (2003), in their analysis of high fashion advertising make a revealing observation that can be used to place our example in context: Though High Fashion brands are motivated to compete with each other in advertisement of similar products, they are unified in the goal of promoting the set of values and life-style connected with High Fashion. In this way, analyzing High Fashion advertising as a whole, one can deconstruct an identity spectrum that is being promoted. W magazine is a print manifestation of this unified promotional effort. Within the boundaries of its pages, there is a consistency to the imagery and products that outlines an alter-reality of beautiful young women, expensive things, and art (p. 10). This ‘identity’ then, of the successfully, sexually-empowered, urban professional is what DKNY is also selling in this advertisement, along with their fragrance. It is this that serves as the ideological basis of the advertisement which then allows the visual and linguistic clues to develop from it and also to hark back to this identity. The implied narrative of this advertisement is a sum of all these visual cues, denoted and connoted messages, linguistic messages, imagery, camera-work and ideology. The advertisement in totality projects the desirability of the product by visually associating it with Biblical temptation, god-like desirability, mythical beauty, feelings of envy and jealousy, the desire to consume or possess something beautiful, eroticism and sexual invitation. Linguistically, it reinforces this desirability by first ‘anchoring’ the meanings to something positive, by exhibiting and capitalizing on its brand value, by implying that it is the only product for the target audience, and by first creating the desire to be ‘delicious’ in the audience and then supplying them with the solution to fulfil this desire. The advertisement also uses the denotative power of the model, the setting, the colour-scheme, as well as the text itself to signify important, functional aspects of the product – who it is meant for, when it is meant to be used and so on. All in all, the idea is to sell the perfume to the target audience by exploiting and using every aspect of visual and linguistic language as well as the context of fashion advertising itself. References: ‘Apples of Hesperides.’ Retrieved from: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/apples.html Atsma, A. Judgement of Paris. Retrieved from: http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ JudgementParis.html Barthes, R. (1977). Image Music Text. London: Harper Collins. Chandler, D. (2009). Signs. Semiotics for Beginners. Retrieved from: http://www.aber.ac.uk/ media/Documents/S4B/sem02.html ‘Images de Parfums.’ Retrieved from: http://www.imagesdeparfums.fr/ Karan_Donna/Be_Delicious.php# Parks, J. and Corbett, S. Atalanta. Retrieved from: http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/ mythology/atalanta.html Rhodes, A. and Zuloago, R. (2003). A semiotic analysis of high fashion advertising. Retrieved from: http://www.garhodes.com/ Semiotics_of_Fashion.pdf Read More