We lightly touched on advertisements and their formula of signifiers + signified =sign during class this week. For example, with Juicy Ads or Haute Couture ads, as Jon so insightfully (shout out to Jon Pace!), pointed out for us, when the viewer buys into that ad and desires the outfit presented, he/she is not just buying into the outward style, but also to the implied and signified lifestyle that the dress wearer exudes. Both the dress and its meaning form the sign.
Similarly, an ad I stumbled upon wasn’t as material as such an example; still, the signifier, signified, and sign are all equally present, though on a more political level. The ad’s signifiers are the dirty water bottles and their lethal “flavors” and the signified is the idea of clean, taken-for-granted water (seemingly ubiquitous by us privileged Americans), not actually being as accessible for millions around the world. This ad is a spoof on a typical water bottle ad with its vending machine, and acts as a sort of commentary on the current water crises throughout the world. This ad exemplifies how ads can manipulate standard images or concepts.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9F9_RUESS2E/SoVSi7PjRqI/AAAAAAAAAk8/SH7UadnwniA/s800/33-Cool-and-Creative-Ambient-Ads-Unicef-Dirty-Water.jpg
Advertising Agency, Casanova Pendrill explains, “We bottled dirty water in 8 lethal varieties, made a vending machine for it, and launched it in Manhattan for 1$. Thirsty? So are millions of people around the world with no access to clean drinking water. 4,200 children die of water-related diseases everyday. Help provide safe drinking water to developing countries. Donate today. tapproject.org”
Advertisements, such as this one, can also comment on gender norms/roles in society. I find this ad a bit disturbing since it seems sexist that a ballerina (a female) can’t kick the soccer ball since she isn’t suited properly to play with the other generically uniformed, male players. Maybe this is just my inner feminist reading too much into this.
Oh, and for giggles…or shocked gasps (Creepiest Ads): http://www.2spare.com/item_92595.aspx
Very disturbing.
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