A semiotic analysis of a Diesel Advertising campaign by Charlene Channon
www.charlenechannonphotography.com
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Contents Description Introduction, Summary of Renzo Rosso Background information on the Diesel company Background information on global warming, and Diesel’s Global Warming Ready campaign Four brief image analysis from the same campaign Inventory of each component in my chosen advertisement Discussion regarding the lighting and use of eye contact How the visual cues of colour, form, depth and movement convey the message in the advertisement. Gestalt and semiotics The personal, historical, technical, ethical and cultural aspects impact on the visual communication. Conclusion
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Page Nr 3 4 5 6-7 8 9 10 10 - 11 11 - 12 13
In this essay I will analyse a single image from the Global Warming Ready campaign, created by Diesel. I shall provide some background information regarding Renzo Rosso as well as Diesel the company. I will then mention key points about global warming and then Diesel’s campaign. I have selected four additional images which I will briefly analyse. I chose to include them so that the underlying theme of Diesel could be illustrated. An in-depth analysis will explain the advertisement which has the Great Wall of China disappearing into sand. I shall list all the components which create the image, and then discuss the following key factors: lighting, eye contact, colour, form, depth, movement, gestalt, semiotics as well as the personal, historical, technical, ethical and cultural aspects which affect the visual communication. Most image analysis is based purely on the components which make up the image, and there is no historical content of the brand or company. However I would like the viewer to gain maximum understanding and shall therefore give a brief history behind the Diesel company.
Renzo Rosso, the founder and owner of the Diesel company was born on the 15th September 1955 in Brugine, Padova, Italy. He studied industrial textile manufacturing and after he graduated in 1975 he started making his own clothing. In 1978 he linked up with other manufacturers and created the Genius Group, which resulted in the creation of many famous brands. In 1985 Rosso had sole ownership of Diesel. In 1991 Diesel went international and only 12 years later the companies worldwide revenue rose above $760 million. Rosso set out with determination to create a line of clothing suited to people who strive for an
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independent path in life. Rosso helped take Diesel to new heights and it quickly became the leading pioneer in the clothing industry. It is characterized by moving outside and ahead of trends in its industry. It is an innovative international design company, manufacturing denim jeans, casual clothing as well as accessories. Diesel’s design team ignored style dictators and instead followed their own tastes, which resulted in them becoming a leader in developing style as well as ensuring an outstanding quality product. Diesel has high artistic standards and edgy creativity which strengthen the “For Successful Living” byline.
Understandably the main element which makes Diesel stand out against its competitors is the way it advertisers its clothes. Its target market consists mainly of fashionable young adults between the ages of 16 and 35. The advertisements are extremely successful as they are imaginative, colourful, bold, ironic, culture aware and they continually push the boundaries. The core aspects included in their advertisements include youth, vitality, happiness, hedonism, sex and a stress free fashionable lifestyle. During an interview with Businessweek, Renzo Rosso said the following, “Q: What’s the philosophy behind your provocative advertisements, which sometimes seem absurd or pointless? A: We try to do things that are right for the moment we are living in. Whatever is happening in the world changes the politics and strategy of Diesel’s communication. Our advertising is ironic or humorous -- it’s not product advertising. It’s the message that’s
important
--
a
(www.businessweek.com).
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common,
shared
way
of
seeing
things.”
Diesel launches a new campaign every six months. Countless hours have been spent creating a perfect communication strategy for the new campaign. Understandably this would include the clothing, campaign, advertisements, website and store decoration. Diesel is clearly an innovative brand and I shall now analyze one of their campaigns titled Global Warming Ready.
The first use of the term “global warming” was in 1975, the same year Renzo Rosso graduated. Wallace Broecker, a geochemist wrote a science article titled “Climatic Change: Are we on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?” Global warming is a current issue which people know about, but as many problems in the world, they tend to want to forget about it. It can be simply described as the continual rise in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans.
The main factors which have attributed to this problem include the
increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Global warming will cause heat waves, droughts, devastating storms as well as glaciers melting which will cause sea levels to rise. Diesel chose to use global warming as the subject for a campaign.
Each photograph comprises of models dressed in diesel clothing placed in typically unfavorable ironic and complicated situations taken place in a post global warming world. Diesel has successfully made these scenarios appear desirable by using models whose attire and body language make them look sexy. The scenarios have been exaggerated to try and convey the effect which global
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warming will have on earth. They have carefully chosen destinations which are recognized worldwide. The message which is been conveyed to the viewer is not to worry about the fact that the world around us is been destroyed, just relax, be happy and fashionable in our clothing. This campaign got a lot of attention due to the fact that it is addressing serious world issues with a tongue in cheek approach. In each image gender representation roles have been used, although the average viewer will not realize it. I have included a few of the campaigns advertisements and shall give a short analysis of each.
In this advertisement there are two women seated on a bench and a man standing in what appears to be a tropical park in Paris. The three people are engaging in conversation, and the man is trying to make the woman laugh, perhaps flirting with them. The pathway leads your eye to the Eiffel Tower in the background. The
Figure 1. Tropical plants in Paris. 2007.
woman’s body language shows that they are open and approachable and this man is showing his importance by standing with arms open and muscles revealing.
In this advert the female is pushing her body right against his, yet the male is pulling away from her. The position of her hands indicates that she is trying to convince him to be more interested. The message which is conveyed to the viewer through the couple’s
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Figure 2. Summer holidays with the penguins in Antarctica. 2007
body language suggests that men are independent and it also illustrates the woman’s need for a man.
At first glance the viewer will not notice Mount Rushmore in the background. This is an extremely provocative image and Diesel’s underlying theme that sex sells is evident. They could possibly be preparing to tan on the beach, and are not bothered by the fact that Mount Rushmore is disappearing into the ocean. The gender role which is conveyed through this message is
Figure 3. Beach scene at Mount Rushmore. 2007
the need for the man to be in charge.
The models in this image are beautiful, extremely thin and have long flowing hair which represents the idealized image of the female form. The background colours are desaturated which causes the clothing and birds to stand out boldly. The tropical parrots have replaced the pigeons which would normally be in
Figure 4. Tropical birds in St Marks Square, Venice. 2007
St Marks Square.
There are two very different meanings of interpretation which the public can obtain through these advertisements. The first been that the Diesel company is trying to create awareness about global warming and trying to create a positive change to a negative societal issue. The second meaning is that they are saying
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that global warming should not affect your lifestyle and that no matter how the environment changes you must still look fashionable and have a carefree attitude.
The image which I will be analyzing, by using the six perspectives for photographic analysis is of the Great Wall of China. In this photograph is a man in the background leaning against the Great Wall of China. In the foreground is a woman seated on the Wall and she has taken her right shoe off to empty out the sand which has collected in it. Her
Figure 5. Sandy desert covering the Great Wall of China. 2007
handbag has been placed in front of her and it almost appears as if the sand is falling on top of it. The models both have white tops on and the man is wearing long pants, yet the female is wearing shorts. The sandy desert makes up a third of the picture and is mostly predominant in the background. Only a part of the Wall is sticking out of the sand as it disappears into the distance. The sky has no clouds in it, and the horizon line is curved due to the desert. There is a slight bit of lens flare in the photograph. The man seems to be waiting for the woman as he is leaning against the wall and gazing straight at her. His body language conveys a feeling of been impatient and full of attitude. The story which could be told is that they are making their way along the Great Wall of China to reach their destination.
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Having listed an inventory above which explains the contents of Figure 1, I shall now go into depth discussing the lighting, use of eye contact, visual cues of color, form, depth and movement. I shall also mention how the gestalt laws have been applied to the advertisement and its composition, and whether any semiotic signs have been included in the content of this advertisement.
The lighting is very strong in this image and I would
presume
that
it
was
probably
photographed around sunset. The reason for this is that the shadow of the Great Wall on the left hand side of the image is quite long; therefore the sun would have to be lower to the ground and on the right hand side. The textures in the patterns of the desert are subtle, and only slightly evident. Understandably if the texture had been more visible it would perhaps make the image to busy. The man, placed on the left has butterfly lighting on her face, whereas the woman face, pictured on the right, is completely in shade. This could reinforce the gender representation whereby the man feels that he is more important than a woman. Another interpretation could be that he is able to handle the heat as he is facing the sun. The female is not handling the heat too well as she has a hood over her head and is faced away from the sun. The light shapes both the models bodies well, as it creates a three dimensional aspect due to the fact that the body has been shaded from light to dark.
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The two models are making eye contact with each other, which does not allow the viewers eye to rest on either of the models. Due to this fact the viewer’s eye is led around the image, and follows the Great Wall as it curves into the background and at the same time disappears into the desert. The viewer has a third person view, which entails us noticing the scene yet not been apart of it.
The visual cues inform the viewer and help to carry across the message of the advertisement. The use of colour, form, depth and movement all play a vital role. The colour palette consists of a cold and warm aspect. The cold aspect would be the blue - green colour in the sky, and the warm part would be the rest of the image which has a beige overtone. Depth is a strong feature in this composition as the Great Wall becomes smaller the further away it is in the image, which creates the illusion of perspective. This helps to illustrate how massive this desert actually is in comparison to the Great Wall. The curving line of the Great Wall leads the viewer’s eye to the horizon. The only visual element of movement in the advertisement is the sand that is falling out of her shoe. The fact that her arm creates a diagonal line reinforces this sense of
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movement.
The two strong diagonal lines created by the sand dune could
illustrate the movement of sand when the wind blows.
Gestalt is often used in advertising. The wall is quite predominant in the foreground on the right and left hand side of the composition. The wall has been cropped off on both sides which leads the viewer to believe that the wall continues out of the picture frame. The semiotics in this image conveys the surreal image of a post global warming world. The viewer could have two responses to this campaign. Firstly, that the irony within the image has been pushed too far, to the fact where these models are not bothered by the fact that global warming is destroying the earth. The second response is to create some awareness of global warming without having a completely negative aspect to it. Diesel believes that their adverts would create more discussion about global warming than a news clip would. Instead of the models been fashionable and carefree, unaffected by the global warming they could have come up with a different angle. The models could be positively affecting the environment which would help to solve global warming.
I shall now briefly discuss how the personal, historical, technical, ethical and cultural aspects have an impact on the visual communication. My initial reaction was that they approached this topic with an over the top, tongue in cheek irony, which makes it difficult to believe. Understandably I am aware that they have created some awareness about global warming, but I feel that it is not going to be
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very effective. Global warming is a key societal issue and is definitely a topic of discussion constantly in the news. If this campaign had been launched twenty years ago it would not have been as relevant as it is now in a historical context.
This image appears extremely real because the technical aspects of the editing are correct. The advertisement appears realistic despite its surreal, exaggerated content. The image quality is good as there are no over or under exposed areas. Hedonism is a clear part of this campaign, as the consumers are been encouraged to live for the moment, remain fashionable and do not worry about global warming as it must not affect our lives. This is the wrong message to be sending out, even though some people will argue that anything that brings attention to the issue helps. I can’t seem to believe that buying a pair of jeans or merely seen the Great Wall of China covered in sand will help to address the issue. The overall image is aesthetically pleasing, yet it is the content that I am concerned about. Companies should not be glorifying a topic of gloom as it will affect how seriously the issue is regarded. In my opinion I feel that this campaign is not successful and that it has merely mislead consumers to believe that even amidst a climatic disaster we should continue to buy fashionable clothing. On the Diesel website a link was placed to purchase The Inconvenient Truth DVD, as well as a link to a website dedicated to stop global warming. However many people are not convinced that their main focus was to create awareness about global warming. It could be an after thought or an attempt to make the brand appear to help combat global warming.
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As technology advances more businesses are created, which results in more competition. Advertising plays a vital role in the success of a product or campaign. The clothing industry has to continually be aware of current trends and how its competitors are marketing their products. The global warming ready campaign might have caused plenty of controversy but did it really help the current issue. The main message evident from their campaign is that style goes before everything, despite the obvious consequences of this behavior. This campaign helps to illustrate the worst aspects of human nature, selfishness and greed, which is predominant in today’s society. Diesel is however known for its controversial adverts from the beginning so to most Diesel fans this would be a successful campaign. This campaign will be an insult to the public who believe that global warming is a bigger problem than looking fashionable. This essay contains a discussion regarding the Global Warming Ready campaign, as well as an analysis of the advertisement which contains the Great Wall of China using the six perspectives for photographic image analysis. It gave an introduction and brief history about Renzo Rosso as well as the Diesel company itself. The reason for that is to provide the viewer with a bit more background insight before analysis on the campaign and image was explained. I explained how the visual communication was achieved through the use of lighting, eye contact, colour, form, depth, movement, gestalt, semiotics as well as personal, historical, ethical and cultural aspects affect the visual communication.
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Reading list: A Closer Look at Diesel Brand Clothing. No Author. No date. (Online) Available: http://www.crocandco.co.uk/fashion-trends/diesel-clothing-closer-look.htm A Semiotic Analysis of Diesel Print Ads. Merris Griffiths. April 1996. (Online) Available: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/lmg9302.html Boycott Diesel — Again. James. 29th January 2007. (Online) Available: http://culturatti.com/2007/01/29/boycott-diesel-again/ Diesel. Diesel Worldwide Team. (Online) Available: http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/partners/diesel/ Diesel Analysis. Benita Page. 2007. (Online) Available: http://tutor.nmmu.ac.za/art/websites/photo_2007/benita/page16/files/page16_3.p df Diesel. Fueled by fashion. Abram. D. Sauer. 31st December 2001. (Online) Available: http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=49 Diesel is Smokin’. Gail Edmonson. 2003. (Online) Available: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_03/b3816133.htm Diesel launches "Global Warming Ready" campaign. 31st January. No Authour. (Online) Available: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2007/31/c3096.html Diesel's New Ad Global Warming Ad Campaign. Joel. 19th January 2007. (Online) Available: http://dethroner.com/2007/01/19/diesels-new-ad-global-warming-ad-campaign/ No Author. No date. (Online) Available: http://www.afterthesemessages.com/obe/review/85 un-ADbitious Sex, Death and Nudity: “Be Stupid” by Diesel. 8th Feb 2011. Sasha Halima. (Online) Available: http://sashahalima.com/blog/2010/02/un-adbitioussex-death-and-nudity-be-stupid-by-diesel/#more-7141 WWF – we are all together. Alex. 7th October 2010. (Online) Available: http://creativeadvertisingworld.com/category/global-warming-protection-ofanimals-environment/
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Reference list: Diesel Biography. No Author. No date. (Online) Available: http://www.couturecandy.com/diesel/designer.html Diesel case study. “Branded Hedonism.� Enric Gili Fort. 2005. (Online) Available: http://trex.id.iit.edu/~enricg/portfolio/brand_analysis/Diesel_final_report.pdf Renzo Rosso. No Author. No date. (Online) Available: http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2005-Pu-Z/Rosso-Renzo.html Renzo Rosso. 22nd November 2000. (Online) Available: http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/rosso.html The Driving Force behind Diesel , January 20, 2003. (Online) Available: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_03/b3816135.htm What's in a Name? Global Warming vs. Climate Change. Erik Conway. 12th May 2008. (Online) Available: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/climate_by_any_other_name.html What we do. No author. 2010. (Online) Available: http://www.otbfoundation.org/what_we_do
Image reference list: Figure 1. Tropical plants in Paris. Advertisement for Diesel, Global Warming Ready. 2007. (Online) Available: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/dieselglobal-warming-ready/ Figure 2. Summer holidays with the penguins in Antarctica. 2007. Advertisement for Diesel, Global Warming Ready. 2007. (Online) Available: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/diesel-global-warming-ready/ Figure 3. Beach scene at Mount Rushmore. 2007. Advertisement for Diesel, Global Warming Ready. 2007. (Online) Available: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/diesel-global-warming-ready/ Figure 4. Tropical birds in St Marks Square, Venice. 2007. Advertisement for Diesel, Global Warming Ready. 2007. (Online) Available: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/diesel-global-warming-ready/ Figure 5. Sandy desert covering the Great Wall of China. 2007. Advertisement for Diesel, Global Warming Ready. 2007. (Online) Available: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/diesel-global-warming-ready/
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Video reference list: DIESEL - BE AUTHENTIC - VIRAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN. 20th Jan 2011. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QLtmOZugdo [Date cited - 10th July 2011] Diesel Global Warming. 7th Feb 2007. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ojQBKWks0 [Date cited – 14 th July 2011] Diesel "Humans after all" ad campaign spot (better version). 6th April 2008. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V30t38JIVKs [Date cited – 10 th July 2011] DIESEL S/S 2008 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN"LIVE FAST. 14th March 2008. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8kQ8EDd65I [Date cited – 10th July 2011] Fred Singer "The Denial Machine" Clip. 25th October 2007. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hINSwCueXY [Date cited - 15th July 2011] How the Diesel Island Constitution was written, the Musical. 13th July 2011. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/user/DieselPlanet [Date cited – 19 th July 2011] Only The Brave Foundation Manifesto: only for those. 11th July 2011. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWY0pNS—ac [Date cited – 10th July 2011] The Official Be Stupid Philosophy. 14th Jan 2010. (Online) Available: http://www.youtube.com/user/DieselPlanet#p/u/1/Y4h8uOUConE [Date cited – 15th July 2011]
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www.charlenechannonphotography.com
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