United Colors of Benetton Advertisements and Semiotics

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/asianbaby.jpg



In this advertisement for The United Colors of Benetton there is an out of the ordinary compilation of people seemingly as a family. It may be sad that this group of people seems unusual together since one would hope in today's world diversity such as this would be common, however, clearly it is not since this company used these three people to catch the attention of the viewer. The audience would probably assume that this picture consisted of a lesbian couple with an Asian child. Using a black female, a white female, and an Asian baby makes this photograph even more "diverse". United Colors of Benetton have tested the limits by creating these unique advertisements to provoke discussion in society about social boundaries and diversity. Obviously when a person walking down the street sees this advertisement on a large billboard in front of them they will probably have a reaction and may point it out to the person next to them and go on to discuss the photo. This picture also is a strong example of the advertising industry using semiotics. The denotative sign would be three people. One is a black female, one is a white female and one is an Asian baby. These obvious characteristics of the photo, however, bring about the denotative sign. This sign is the general idea, concept, or stereotype the audience generates based on the actual physical parts of the picture. This ad for example may bring about diversity, political or social change, future realities, and so on. This company is smart in their advertising, because the unique ads they produce definitely bring about conversation amongst viewers which is the point. Another interesting part to these advertisements, is that the company is trying to sell clothing and shoes. Simply viewing this ad, however, consumers may not be able to know this off the bat. In this ad the women are wearing shawls and seemingly not much else. This way of dressing for a clothing company advertisement is somewhat confusing since clothing does not seem to be the main focus of the advertisement; this I am sure is the goal.
The ideologies in this ad are apparent. The company is trying to convey that perhaps one day this photo will portray the ideologies in the world or at least what will be accepted in society. The culmination of these three people in one picture in current times, however, is arguably not an ideology today. Perhaps this company is hinting at this family being an accepted ideology in the future?