Reading the A explanation of semiotics and case study of two printed fragrance adverts. Semiotics: se-mi-ot-ics Noun The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation
JON STARKEY
E | Jon@SilentDistraction.com W | www.SilentDistraction.com
READING T Right clockwise: Superdry’s logo is embroidered on all of their jackets, Eye catching all-over bus advertisement, London’s west end street advertising.
2
FEATURE
THE SIGNS What is Semiotics? We look at two examples to see how it works... by Jon Paul Starkey As human beings living today, in the early part of the 21st century, we inhabit a world saturated in advertising. Our western society is obsessed with material wealth and consumerism seems to be the masses new secular religion of choice. Adverts have become a ubiquitous part of every day life for most people in the western world. And through these adverts we are (whether we know it or not) all reading signs and receiving coded messages everyday that influence our choices and thoughts.
‘Advertisements are one of the most important cultural factors moulding and reflecting our life today’ [Williamson 1978]
Advertisements, when on a small scale, are generally simple and merely a means of information conveyance. For example: the advert in the local shop window or on the community centre notice board that says: ‘we sell this, at this address for this much, call us on...’. This is more of less simply infomration that the business owner wishes to pass on to the general public. But the more money involved the more complex the message and techniques employed. Advertising is big big business with an every growing army of highly paid, highly motivated and extremely clever advertising executives on an unending crusade to bend you to their will. They do this by means of television adverts, web banners, billboards, flyers, magazine spreads, slogans on t-shits and
Above: Street view of Time Square in New York City. This is a prime example of the staggering amount of advertising now bombarding us everyday.
jackets, specifically targeted text and Email marketing campaigns. The list goes on. We are informed, encouraged and manipulated into buying whatever it is that they want us to. It is therefore important to be able to recognise and interpret these adverts on a deeper level; the level at which they were created. Products and services produced by a company that has the resources and inclination to spend the millions of pounds it costs. Create and deploy nationwide or international advertising campaigns with the upmost care and consideration for every minute detail. Teams of advertising executives, researchers, creatives, psychologist, sociologists and statisticians spend years doing research and development so they can better influence the way we FEATURE
3
think. They consciously devise every aspect of their adverts; any people photographed, sounds heard, colours used and of course words printed. Then have spent many hours already trying to figure out how all the nuances and hidden messages will then be interpreted by a reader on a conscious and subconscious level. This is sometimes in order to direct the readers attention to particular attributes of the product they wish to highlight and all with the goal of making whatever the product might be as alluring and desirable as possible.
‘an attempt to make us then cognitively associate the product with this particular desirable lifestyle’ Another reason for carefully considering not only the presentation of the actual advertised product, but also
We also have narrative paradigms and mythological paradigms. For instance an example of a narrative paradigm is: boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy wins back girl. Or an example of a Myth paradigm is: the young loner, rebel without a cause, James Dean type figure. The advertiser with perhaps as little as one image can tap into either of these. This is a short cut to all the many associations we carry around with us for the given paradigm. The advertiser can then attempt to make their product 4
FEATURE
Below left: Mark Ronson advertises a fragrance. A typical example of a glossy celebrity endorsed advert.
its surrounding, soundtrack or anything else present in the advert, is to change the way we actually thing about the product. This is done by showing elements and signs indicating a commonly accepted desirable lifestyle, be it wealthy, romantic or anything else. These elements are already known to the reader and represent the paradigm of the chosen lifestyle to be used. The advertised product is then added to these already known elements. This is in an attempt to make us then cognitively associate the product with this particular desirable lifestyle paradigm. The use of cultural paradigms in advertising is almost ubiquitous, certainly widely prevalent, and is an attempt to redefine the connotations of the advertised product (we will look at connotations a little later). Of course cultural paradigms not only exist for our concept of what a wealthy lifestyle looks like, but
become part of that paradigm; they try to get us to think, at least on some level of it as, cool, successful, edgy or aspirational. This is a clever technique widely used and once you become aware of it you can see it all around you everyday. So advertising not only tells us factual information about a product but also attempts to make it desirable through association with success. I believe this makes a certain amount of sense from an evolutionary point of view.
Above right: Street advertising of the sort seen on streets throughout the western world.
for sake of the example we will use this one. We all know the visual cues and indicators of a wealthy persons lifestyle, or at least we think we do, and so to the advertisers, that is all that matters. We know the cultural paradigm: An infinity pool, maybe a snooker room, personal cinema, fast car, fancy watch, yacht etc. An advertiser might also add a famous person, usually a goodlooking rich famous person. What the advertiser does is have any or all of these elements in the photo shoot or video, and then add the advertised product as well. If you think about it for a minute I’m sure you can come up with an example. A man or woman by a pool in a hot country looking ‘sexy’. She/ he will reach down and slowly pick up whatever is being advertised, drink, perfume, chocolate, coffee etc. So then next time you see the drink or perfume etc. you associate it with the paradigm the adverts told you to.
For example: if thousands of years ago one particular caveman was vastly better at hunting because he had a better knife or bow than everyone else. Then logic would dictate that the successful hunters equipment, or equipment just like it at least, would be inherently desirable. It could mean the difference between life and death. The desire to emulate the successful has become engrained into our very core, and is now used against us by advertising executives with great success.
The study of the signs and codes used in advertising is known as semiotics. Ferdinand de Saussure is commonly accepted as one of the founders of semiotics and when explaining the nature of the discipline spoke thus: ‘It is possible to conceive of a science which studies the role of signs as part of social life. It would form part of social psychology, and hence of general psychology. We shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeîon, ‘sign’). It would investigate the nature of signs and the laws governing them. Since it does not yet exist, one cannot say for certain that it will exist. But it has a right to exist, a place ready for it in advance. Linguistics is only one branch of this general science. The laws which semiology will discover will be laws applicable in linguistics, and linguistics will thus be assigned to a clearly defined place in the field of human knowledge.’ [Saussure 1983, 1516; Saussure 1974, 16]
As can be inferred from Saussure’s description above, the field semiotics can be taken incredibly seriously, and to an intellectual level of complexity not easily understood by the general public. Particularly when looked at in conjunction with, or as a sub speciality of, linguistics, logic, psychoanalysis or social studies. Indeed semiotics was itself a product of Saussure’s work in linguistics. Though some books and papers on semiotics are almost completely impenetrable to the layman, with their use of niche semantics and extremely complex abstract thinking, the fundamentals can be readily understood by anyone with even a passing interest, and then used to great effect. Saussure’s semiotic theory, in simple terms, is that a given text conveys meaning to the viewer via means of signs -A text in this sense is not necessarily a written word. It can refer to any means of
Top left clockwise: Ferdinand de Saussure, Roland Barthes, Charles Peirce.
communication you are analysing. E.g., a radio or television advert or photograph - A sign is the basic unit of meaning and in Saussure’s proposed dyadic theory is made up of two parts, the signifier and the signified.
•
The signifier is a material thing that signifies something. For example, a group of words, an image or a particular persons expression.
•
The signified is the thing or idea that the signifier refers to. For example the word daffodil is a signifier of the yellow flower we call a daffodil. So the signified is the actual daffodil or the idea you have in your mind of the flower we call a daffodil.
FEATURE
5
This is the most basic example of the relationship of signifier to signified and is called denotation. The word daffodil denotes a type of yellow flower, i.e. it literally signifies a yellow flower. The same would be true if we were to use an image of a daffodil, its literal meaning is a yellow flower.
When things start to get more interesting and complicated is when you start to understand the idea of connotation. Signifiers can have more than just one simple meaning, and usually do. The signifier daffodil denotes the signified idea of a yellow flower, but it has a second signified meaning in our Judeo-Christian socio-political culture, especially when viewed at the end of March or beginning of April (an example of temporal effects). This second signified meaning is a connotation and is Easter. The daffodil does not literally mean Easter, however in our culture they are a symbol of Easter. A third signified idea might be that of Spring.
You can see how this can get complicated, as this connotation only works if you are part of the culture and are aware of the link or connotation. In China daffodils are a symbol of wealth and good fortune not Easter or Spring. There are also differences between people living in the same society. Males and females interpret things differently and are more responsive to certain ways of advertising than others. With products made for and targeted at men advertisers often use images of camaraderie or machismo in their adverts. For instance the boys on a night out or tough loner paradigm. The connotations of these adverts appeal to males of our society in a way they simply wouldn’t to a female. The same is true in reverse, with products targeted at females often advertised using romance or love to appeal to their target demographic. It was during the 1960’s that semiotics started to become much more widely know and used as a means of cultural studies in
What connotations do you think of?
Below left: Daffodils photograph Below right: Possible connotations of daffodils: Wealth, Spring and Easter
Britain. This was in large part due to the work of Roland Barthes another intellectual often cited as being responsible for shaping the field. Saussure the originator of the field was Swiss, and he lived from 1857 - 1913. But it was the work of Barthes 1912 – 1980, that helped bring semiotics to a much greater level of prominence in Britain. When his seminal work Mythologies [Barthes 1957] was translated into English, and followed up by further influential papers, [Writing Degree Zero 1953; Elements of Semiology 1964; S/Z 1973; Image-MusicText 1977; The Fashion System 1985] British intellectuals became much more aware of, and began to use, semiotics in their own work. This was particularly evident in work done at the University of Birmingham and their Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. Barthes’s definition of semiotics is as follows: ‘semiology aims to take in any system of signs, whatever their substance and limits; images, gestures, musical sounds, objects, and the complex associations of all of these, which form the content of ritual, convention or public entertainment: these constitute, if not languages, at least systems of signification’ [Bathes 1964]
Wealth?
Spring?
6
FEATURE
Easter?
This is just one of the definitions of semiotics, and as an academic discipline is used as an umbrella term that covers many different models, definitions, theories and methodological tools. Though Saussure’s position and theory of semiotics of widely accepted, it is by no means the only theory. An alternative to Saussure’s dyadic theory, the triadic theory proposed by Charles Peirce, is also widely respected and used by scholars. This is one reason that although semiotics can be an incredibly useful tool, it is not widely institutionalised. There are just too many theories and models all with there own strengthens, weaknesses and niches where they are particularly useful. Another definition of semiotics, this time by Umberto Eco 1932 - living another influential name in the field of semiotics and also writer of the book ‘The name of the rose’ which was make into a Hollywood film starring Sean Connery in 1986:
‘Semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign’ [Eco 1976] He also said:
‘a sign is anything that can be used to tell a lie’ [Eco 1976]
These thought provoking statements are notably broad and Eco takes a cultural, philosophic and subjective approach to semiotic analysis. This is in contrast to Charles Peirce 1839 – 1914 who took a much more formal approach. He was known as the ‘father of pragmatism’ and as well as being a philosopher he was also a mathematician, scientist and logician. His background and other interests inform us as to why he gravitated toward a more formal logical methodology; indeed he saw logic as a closely related field to that of semiotics. He defined as sign as:
‘a sign is something which stands for somebody to something in some respect or capacity’ [Peirce 1931] Charles Peirce is the man responsible for proposing an alternative to Saussure’s dyadic theory, and approached semiotics in a slightly different way. Saussure was a linguist primarily, unlike Peirce, and as such approached things in a different manner. Rather than Saussure’s two part signifier and signified model, Peirce had a method of analysing signs he called irreducibly triadic. This is a three part definition of a sign, that is then further sub categorised. On the face of it this is a great deal
Above: Marlon Brando in The Wild One. A classic example of the rebel myth.
more complex than Saussure’s model of semiotics. The triadic theory of semiotics splits the sign into three distinct parts: •
The sign: this translates to the signifier from Saussure’s theory. The thing, be it an image, sound or words which represent the denoted object.
•
The object: The thing; object, concept, story, character etc.
•
Interpretant: This is the signs meaning specifically to the receiver of the sign.
These three parts are then further categorised giving a more formalised complexity to an analysis using this method. To my mind this is a way of giving structure to Saussure’s connotations, and I can see there definitely could be a benefit to formalising as much as possible something as ephemeral and insubstantial as the thought processes of the human mind. However, for the layman, Saussure’s approach is a great deal easier to understand, at least initially. Peirce’s technique does deserve further investigation and a more in depth explanation than I have been able to give it here, so please FEATURE
7
do follow it up if you find yourself with the time to do so. It is still just as widely respected as that of Saussure, however for this particular essay I will be using a dyadic methodology. As we touched on before, semiotic analysis - as it applies to adverts, words and images (all known as texts) created in modern times and for the consumption of members of our society (Britain circa 2013) relies on us knowing a great deal about the society in which it was created. We must be aware of social conventions, trends, sayings, what colours, people and different aesthetics represent: Red = Danger? Lady Gaga = Crazy? Ornate golden filigree = Posh? By knowing the many social cues and memes that may have an influence we try to decode the messages sent in the text, and
We will now turn to an actual analysis of two different advertisements. I have chosen printed images as they carry enough detail to make an interesting subject and I believe they make for more of an interesting analysis than solely printed words. A radio or television advert could have been chosen, however these would be much more difficult for you, the reader of this essay, to understand as you will not have ready access to the source material. The specific print adverts I have chosen have well funded international cross platform advertising campaigns. This means they will undoubtedly have been crafted with the upmost care and we can be certain that every nuance of expression, angle colour has been thought about. A team of advertising experts will have considered almost every pixel. Perfume, aftershave; Fragrance, is the product I have chosen. Fragrance advertising is notorious for it’s indulgent, sometimes narcissistic; opulent over the top advertising so should make for an interesting area of investigation. When it gets it right it can be 8
FEATURE
in doing so are able to infer the receivers interpretation and the senders intention.
Opposite page: Case study fragrance adverts: Top: Hugo Boss Bottom: Girlfriend
Influences vary though from one social group to another, and there are a myriad of different groups. People from different age ranges are influenced by different styles, hold different people and ideas in high regard, and have different levels of disposable cash. For example you wouldn’t advertise the latest, lightest and best BMX to a female retired member of the local book club, it would not be relevant. And the messages they receive from such an advert would be very different to that of a 14-year-old extreme sports fan. You can see then that there is only so much logic and scientific process that can be applied when analysing these texts. We have to apply a certain amount of
Above: Three typical examples of recent fragrance adverts.
inspiring, evocative and sensual. When it gets it wrong it can be excruciatingly embarrassing, or even laugh out loud funny. This does tend to be with the television adverts rather than print, but the same applies in print to a lesser extent. I believe this apparent lack of judgement, despite the obvious money spent on the adverts, is because fragrance is very much part of the fashion world. And the fashion world is a particularly insular and inward looking selfindulgent pretentious industry. A great many of the fashion industries leaders really do think they are better than the rest of us, and that we will crumble in awe before their latest stunningly clever visual metaphor, or aspirational nonsensical dream sequence. The stereotype of the out of touch
subjective thought and decision making while at the same time trying to be as objective as possible. It would just not be possible for me to perform the sort of analysis the second part of this essay will undertake in China for example. I do not have sufficient knowledge of the culture in China to draw accurate conclusions. Perhaps if I went and lived in China long enough to understand the social norms and conventions to a reasonable level then it would be possible, but I could not now. The same is true on a temporal level. Accurate analysis of 200-yearold advertisements would be impossible unless you were an historian. I hope you understand then that semiotic analysis of any given text can be a complex proposition, fraught with taxing and challenging multifaceted dilemmas at every turn.
pretentious fashion executive (see TV’s absolutely fabulous) cannot, and should not, be assumed to be true of all fashion types, but it was not based on nothing either. Another reason fragrance advertising makes a good choice for semiotic analysis is that by definition it has to be an advert full of metaphor, connotation and visual signs. This is because they are essentially selling a smell. A smell that they have no way of actually getting you to experience (I realise there a few exceptions to this with magazine inserts, but it is nearly always true, and certainly always true of television adverts). They therefore have to make you want this product in other ways, by linking it to a desirable lifestyle, a desirable person etc.
Case study advertisement
The two adverts, though they advertise fragrances for different genders, are similar in that they both use famous male icons, and musicians of a sort, to promote the product. In the case of Mr Bieber’s fragrance he is the very reason the product exists at all. The entire enterprise is clearly a money making exercise predicated on the fact that a significant percentage of teenage girls will desire anything that carries the latest teen idol’s name. A fact born out by decades of empirical data and statistical evidence. A fact well known by advertising and music executives alike. This is not to say that the reason for Hugo Boss’s product is not to make money. But the model (Jarod Leto) is a hired gun in this case, and should he not have said yes to their offer then they would surely have found someone else to hawk their smelly wares.
Case study advertisement
‘should he not have said yes to their offer then they would surely have found someone else to hawk their smelly wares’ FEATURE
9
Using Saussure’s theory of semiotics let’s take a look at the two adverts. Starting with what the signifiers are and what they denote. The signifiers are photographic and written words in both adverts. Hugo Boss – Just Different. The denotations of the image are: In a landscape image a young man stands, visible from just above the waist, wearing a black suit with the black tie (thin tie) loosened looking strait at the camera. The white shirt he wears has the collar undone, however both the cuffs of the shirt and the suit are done up. He takes up almost the entire left side of the advert; his left arm just crosses the center line of the image. The man is lit predominantly from the viewers right, but with enough additional light from a source on the left to highlight the right side of the mans body and that of the object in his hand. His left hand is at his side and his right holds a black object by a small silver bit that sits at the bottom. This is almost at head height but slightly to his right so we can see his face. Red text is visible on the object ‘HUGO’ and something illegible above, the text is upside down. The object itself is opaque, has a matt finish, and
is almost rectangular but tapering slightly toward the top and curving sharply to meet the silver piece at the other end. There is a small strap from top to bottom of the silver piece.
Right: Hugo Boss ‘Just different’ fragrance. Below: Justin Bieber’s ‘Girlfriend’ fragrance.
His head is pointing slightly down and his mouth is slightly open. His left shoulder is slightly behind him, putting his whole body at a slight angle to the camera. He has short but not very closely cropped brown hair, he is white skinned, blue eyes, no rings, visible tattoos or other jewellery. He shows no sign of deformity or abnormality. Stubble is visible on the mans face, he is not clean shaven. The background contains tall dark buildings with several windows lit from the inside. They are set at incongruous and improbable angles to the man in the forground. The perspective of the buildings is arranged so that from the camera that taking the photo appears to be looking up from near the bottom. They are extremely tall buildings of the sort found in large cities, and are aligned roughly so they form two sides of a square. It is unclear if the backdrop to both the man and the buildings is sky or not, either way there are no stars or other indicators to support the fact that is a sky. It is predominately grey fading from black to light grey, bottom to top.
Justin Bieber – Girlfriend. The image is portrait. A pink keyline surrounds the entire image while across the bottom third of the advert, at a slight angle, are three stripes of colour. Each strip is a different colour and all have words in capitals on them. The middle strip is at least four times the width of the others and is the only one that is translucent. The colours from top to bottom of the stripes are: white, purple and pink. There is a small gap between the bottom two strips and they are not perfectly parallel. The gap between the bottom two strips is around half that of the width of the smaller bottom strip, and the two get closer toward the left of the image until 10
FEATURE
There are three areas of text, excluding the text on the bottle; all text is in a sans serif font. Barley legible white righting in a small point size, but capitalised (as is all the text on the advert), is aligned to left vertical edge. An area of red text is in the top right corner. One large word with two smaller underneath, justified to the same width as that of the top word. Lastly there is an area of white text in the bottom right corner. This contains the largest point size accompanied by additional smaller words. This area of text contains two distinct sub divisions; one area uses a bold font and is larger than the other. The larger and bolder of the two sub areas has three words within it. One of these words is the commonly accepted correct way up, another has been rotated 90º clockwise and is a much smaller point size, and the last is upside down. All are aligned to the left edge of the image.
the gap is half what it is on the right of the image. The bottom pink stripe almost completely disappears out of the advert frame when is reaches the left hand side of the image. This means the text on this stripe, though legible, is starting to disappear out of frame too. The text is white other than on the top strip where it is the same purple as the middle strip. The text is a mixture of bold and regular sans serif capitals. The majority of the advert is a close up headshot of two children, or perhaps young adults, of opposite sexes. The image is split roughly down the middle with the
boy on the right taking up slightly more of the shot. The female on the left of the image is in profile, looking to our right – toward the boy, she is partially hidden by the boy as he is in front of her relative to the camera’s vantage point. As the subjects of the photo are so close to the camera we can only see the front part of the females head, we can just see she has a stud earring, and through the translucent purple stripe at the bottom of the advert we can see she is wearing a white vest. The female has brown hair, brown eyelashes and eyebrows. We cannot see much regarding her hair, though it flows in uncut strands out of shot so it is at least roughly ten centimetres long. There is perhaps the suggestion of hair in the background, however it is indistinct and out of focus so
The first thing we notice about both adverts is the colour. Mr Bieber’s Girlfriend advert is bright and light with pink and purple highlights and brightly light photography. It is very much like the cover of any of the teenage girls magazine like Shout or Seventeen, which unsurprisingly is exactly the same demographic that it’s being marketed to. If you compare the girlfriend advert against these examples below of
impossible to be sure of. Other than the earring she wears no other jewellery, and does not appear to be wearing any makeup, only minimal makeup anyway.
Below: Typical examples of teenage girls magazine.
of the boys face, we cannot see his ear, but we can see from his jaw forward. The top most strip of colour crosses the image just below his chin.
Her mouth is slightly open and her eyes shut. She has her head in very close proximity to the boys, and appears to actually be touching his face with her nose. She is white and has no freckles.
His mouth is closed and his hair is clearly styled, and not very closely cropped. It is hard to draw any further information from the image regarding the male’s hair due to the cropping.
The back ground between the two people is indistinct and unfocused. A mixture of whites, blacks and browns, it could be a lot of things.
We can see very little of the male’s clothes other than the fact is dark. We can make out what appears to be the females hand on the male’s right shoulder through the translucent purple stripe.
The male, who takes up the most space on the advert, is looking directly at the camera. He has light brown eyes and hair. He faces at roughly a 45º angle away from the female and toward the camera. Due to the tight cropping of the shot we can only see the front
current teenage girls magazines you can see obvious similarity in the colours, poses and typography. In the case of Top of the Pops magazine it even has the same person on the cover! It has a childlike, innocent quality and bubble gum pop feel to the colour pallet chosen. The Hugo Boss advert in contrast is very dark, all shades of grey and black with only the Hugo Boss
This concludes my analysis of the denotations present in the chosen images. Remember these are the things that are literally signified by the texts. What makes semiotics interesting are the connotations. It is these we will now look at.
name in the top right adding any colour at all. It has a sophisticated, film noir aesthetic and is instantly exciting, intriguing and a little dangerous. The font used is a clean, simple and sans serif so it looks modern and professional. The text in the bottom right of the image has two of the words rotated, and is an obvious visual metaphor for the name of the product that it also signifies as words: just different. FEATURE
11
The model further enhances the dangerous yet sophisticated feel. He stands filling nearly half the frame in a smart dark suit looking slim, athletic and handsome. It is a city street scene, but unlike anything we are used to. The perspective makes no sense, but it’s definitely a large city with large skyscrapers. It’s dark, night time in the city, the time when things go down, when people who mean business do business. The sort of time you don’t want to be around... unless you’re the kind of person who knows how stuff works on the street. Our star stands, unconcerned about the unfeasible physical nature of the city he dwells within. He knows all about crazy perspective and it bothers him nought. In fact he prefers it like this, it means he can be in a city while at the same time being alone, alone so he can better hear his deep profound thoughts, and better make his earth shakingly important, incredibly complex plans. His clean white shirt is not buttoned at the collar, and he has loosened his tie, he’s not an unapproachable upper-class toff then. He’s easy going, fun, but also exciting, dangerous and street wise. He’s suave and sophisticated, knows what he 12
FEATURE
wants, and how to get it. There’s clearly something special about this guy, you couldn’t say he was the same as all the rest, there’s something about him. He’s... just different. But also better, cooler, harder, more hansom, richer, funnier... and he must smell absolutely bleeding marvellous!
‘...all we know for definite is that he’s as cool as hell and we want to be him, or at least as like him as is humanly possible’ He’s stood slightly side on to the camera too and has his mouth open, ready for action? He’s definitely just been involved in some sort of action, or about to be? He points his head down slightly so he’s looking up into our eyes, brooding? Threatening? He looks directly into the camera and holds the upside down bottle up to us, is he telling us something? Giving us something? Why is the bottle upside down? Who knows, all we know for definite is that he’s as cool as hell and we want to be him, or at least as like him as is humanly possible. All these things are what the manufacturers want us to think anyway. The paradigm’s we are
Above left: 30 Seconds to Mars publicity photograph. Above right: Poster from the recent Sci-fi film ‘Inception’.
using in associating all these things are many and will vary from person to person. Some examples of paradigms I find my selfassociating this image with, and where I got all of the descriptive things I wrote in the previous paragraphs, are film noir, science fiction, cyberpunk and the rebel myth. Look at the image, it could be a shot from one of the new crop of ultra cool, confusing sci-fi films like Inception or the Matrix, maybe even one of the Bourne films. The buildings in the background and their non-sensical horizontal attitude, the upside down bottle, the open collar and the rotated type all conveys the same message. The concept of being; just different. They will not conform to the norm - again the rebel myth - they are just too damn cool to comply to silly social conventions like having the writing the correct way up, holding a bottle with the cap at the top, or even respecting the laws of gravity! I’ve got this far into the analysis of connotations without even mentioning who the star of the advert is: Jarod Leto. He is also a very important part of the advert and has not been chosen just for his appearance.
Jarod Leto makes the perfect choice as the chosen face of Hugo Boss for a number of reasons. He is an international famous, good-looking actor and rock star. Front man for 30 Seconds to Mars and star of the films such as Requiem for a Dream, Fight Club and Alexander to name but a few. He has even been named twice as People magazines 50 most beautiful people. His public persona fits perfectly into the brand message Hugo Boss are clearly trying to project. He’s known for his acting and pushing the boundaries of what is possible with music and music videos. With 30 seconds to Mars he has made four studio albums, his most widely known musical works have been radio friendly epic rock anthems, many of which have had significant mainstream and critical success. Jarod is also known to care about the environment and has done work in support of amnesty international, not that relevant in this case but it makes him a likeable person in the publics perception. Respected by his peers as both a musician and an actor he has received numerous awards and public accolades. He seems to sweat success and you can understand why Hugo Boss would want him to be associated with their products. His presence in the advert adds a certain sense of authenticity that would not be present if this was just a
good looking guy. We know for a fact that this man is successful, talented and beautiful. He really is just different. Mr Bieber on the other hand is not being asked to endorse Hugo Boss, or indeed any other fragrance. He and his management team have produced his scent all by themselves. I believe it to be a cynical money making scheme. A scheme that is a widespread and commonplace among famous artists (I use the word artist in the loosest possible sense of the word). I should explain at this point who Justin Bieber is for the few who may not already know. 19 years old at the time of writing, he is one of the latest crop of trans Atlantic teen idols, and has an army of fans around the world, teen girls for the large part. With huge, and near instant, success in America, Britain and Europe he has become the latest in a long line of poster printing, teen bedroom adorning, singing sensations.
Below and below right: Some of the many products also available from Mr Bieber.
fan base, but this is made up in the vast majority of cases by members of the same demographic, the teenage girl. If pop history has taught us anything then it’s the fact that todays teen idol pop stars are tomorrows van drivers, fitness instructors or reality TV z-list participants. They do not in the main have the staying power or widespread adult respect to make them a viable prospect to any company promoting an adult oriented product. The only people likely to be impressed by Mr Bieber’s smouldering, sultry eyes staring out at them from the box in which his smell arrived, are the exact same people who downloaded his latest audio offering.
Though like Jarod Leto he is also a singer this is where the similarity ends. Whereas Jarod has received widespread critical acclaim and respect, Bieber is popular with only a very narrow demographic, and just as unpopular with many others. You only have to watch any topical comedy show for ten minutes before someone will lampoon Mr Bieber for something. He does have a large worldwide
FEATURE
13
‘Girlfriend’ then is targeted at teenage girls. As I have already pointed out the advert is exactly what we would expect in this case. Bright and colourful with Mr Bieber himself taking up the majority of the visual real estate. The scent itself is per ml almost exactly the same as the Hugo Boss fragrance. Roughly £32 per 100ml. Girlfriend however comes in much smaller quantities making it more easily affordable to the average teenage girl on the street.
he stands for. He and his face are then the only thing of any real importance in this advert, and as such he is the biggest thing in it.
‘Maybe we have a chance... to be... his... girlfriend? We swoon at the very thought!’
In the image Bieber looks out at us and away from the loving attention of the girl. His girlfriend? Maybe, but maybe not, his interest in the viewer and his wistful expression seems to say that he isn’t really that into the girl currently throwing herself at him. Maybe we have a chance... to be... his... girlfriend? We swoon at the very thought! He stares out at us with just enough of a hint sexuality in his expression to excite the teen girls, while at the same time trying to keep his squeaky clean and innocent public image intact. This is a hard balance to strike.
Mr Bieber then, as we have already established, is himself the most important message in this advert. We don’t really care about any subtle look and feel of the visuals. The paradigm is crystal clear, single minded and myopic... it’s 100% Bieber. The people who are interested in this product already know all they need to about Mr Bieber and everything
I don’t think the narrative between the girl and Bieber makes 100% sense because the girl is really present to represent the consumer, and the intimate proximity to Mr Bieber that the consumer wishes for themselves. I believe the girl is as a close to an everygirl that the Bieber management could find for just this reason. I would not be surprised to find they had made a
14
FEATURE
Below: Mr Bieber and some of his adoring fans.
study of Bieberites (or whatever he chooses to call his fans) to determine their average ethnicity and hair colour, and then chosen the model accordingly. This would only be sensible in a cynical sort of way. There is no discernible background to consider as the subjects of the photograph and text take up all but a few square millimetres. The text on the advert is quite nondescript, a plain sans serif font that conveys the name of the fragrance, explains that it is a fragrance and not in fact his actual girlfriend, and provides a heart warming tag line: ‘never let you go’. The name girlfriend is by far the most obvious word on the page, at least twice the size of Mr Bieber’s name even. It is printed in a bold variant of the font. It is like the headline of a magazine or newspaper, and indeed Bieber’s girlfriend would be headline news, at least to the teenage girls this is aimed at. This is perhaps on purpose; an attempt to trick a reader of the magazine into thinking Mr Bieber really does have a new girlfriend, and therefore making them look at the advert again?
In conclusion; I think we have discovered that advertising can be a clever, complicated and slippery beast. Always trying to burrow through your skull and tinker with your brain levers. I think we have also discovered that adult fragrance advertisements are quite a bit more interesting and involved than ones targeted at teenage girls. My personal perception however is perhaps merely a symptom of my advanced age and the reproductive organs I was assigned at birth. And lastly I hope you can see now the considerable power of semiotics, and perhaps feel able to give the adverts we see as part of our every day life a bit more consideration.
THE END
N.B. In the interests of full disclosure I must admit that I have now spent some of my own precious money on the exact Hugo Boss fragrance I analysed in the essay above. I am just as vulnerable to the whims of the advertising execs as the next man. Advertising really does work! FEATURE
15
Bibliography:
JON STARKEY
E | Jon@SilentDistraction.com W | www.SilentDistraction.com
Barthes, Roland ([1957] 1987): Mythologies. New York: Hill & Wang Barthes, Roland ([1953] 1967): Writing Degree Zero (trans. Annette Lavers & Colin Smith). London: Cape Barthes, Roland ([1964] 1967). Elements of Semiology (trans. Annette Lavers & Colin Smith). London: Jonathan Cape Barthes, Roland ([1973] 1974): S/Z. London: Cape Barthes, Roland (1977): Image-Music-Text. London: Fontana Barthes, Roland (1985): The Fashion System (trans. Matthew Ward & Richard Howard). London: Jonathan Cape Peirce, Charles Sanders (1931-58): Collected Writings (8 Vols.). (Ed. Charles Hartshorne, Paul Weiss & Arthur W Burks). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Saussure, Ferdinand de ([1916] 1974): Course in General Linguistics (trans. Wade Baskin). London: Fontana/Collins Saussure, Ferdinand de ([1916] 1983): Course in General Linguistics (trans. Roy Harris). London: Duckworth Thwaites, Tony, Lloyd Davis & Warwick Mules (1994): Tools for Cultural Studies: An Introduction. South Melbourne: Macmillan Umberto Eco, (1976): A Theory of Semiotics, Indiana University Press Williamson, Judith (1978): Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, Marion Boyars
Websites: http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=149424 http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/awc9401.html http://www.nftu.co.uk/2012/12/22/there-you-are-10-of-the-best-and-worst-perfume-ads/ http://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/