The purpose of this assignment is to analyze a current advertisement or campaign using the work of Barthes and others, and show how it derives and conveys its meanings to its intended audience. Semiotic, structuralist and post structuralist principles are to be utilised.
I selected this advertisement from Patek Philippe ('PP'):
An online version together with images that form part of the campaign may be seen on the PP advertising campaign website.
Only one image was selected partly due to space constraints but also because it typifies the general theme of the campaign. The wider campaign is alluded to where appropriate.
Out of the choices offered in the Assignment, I chose the essay version, in three parts:
- Contextual analysis;
- Semiotic analysis - Barthes;
- Further analysis - post structuralism
CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Allusion
PP is a leading luxury watchmaker, producing about 50,000 watches a year. Like other high quality watch brands, it sees its watches as having high intrinsic and investment value. Smaller than better known rivals (Wikipedia claims Rolex produces 750,000 watches per year, Omega 250,000), PP attempts to distinguish itself by being family owned and engendering a feeling among its customers of being part of an exclusive club (including a free magazine produced twice yearly. There is no hint of irony or acknowledgement of cheesiness in its self-proclaimed values or in its latest advertising campaign. To quote from the latter, which includes the advert above:
"The ladies campaign uses the strap-line: "Something truly precious holds its beauty forever". The campaign draws a parallel between the timeless beauty and value of a Patek Philippe watch with the enduring value and profound beauty of something truly precious. The current executions concentrate on the eternal beauty of relationships. (emphasis added)
This vacuousness is not intended to sell a simple timepiece; it is the selling of a brand, of an exclusive experience in one way of looking; of unadulterated snobbishness in another. In Marxian terms, PP is marketing something beyond mere commodity fetishism; it is not just (or even) the watch that has become commoditised, but the badge exclusivity, the knowledge that few others could afford such an item. This is the theory of conspicuous consumption - using the purchasing of luxury goods so as to display wealth - as forwarded by Thorstein Veblen (1899). Veblen goods typically defy the simplistic inverse price demand relationship of classical economics, such that demand increases as price rises; subtly assisted by the tendency of luxury goods manufacturers to avoid mass production and introduce 'limited editions'.
It is interesting to compare PP's market to that of the much larger and more well-known Rolex. Some simplistic contrasts discussed by CNN are that PP wearers are more discreet about the product they wear; that the watch is more for the 'boardroom' or 'cocktails' (as indicated on the ad) than for 'sport'. In visual culture terms, whereas PP uses subtlety in appealing to the desire to demonstrate wealth discreetly, Rolex advertisements reflect a bolder product based campaign, as in the example below:
The feel-good factor used by PP in its advertising is summarised (satirised, perhaps) by Christy Stewart-Smith thus:
MediumA brand that is well-known, that is apparently dynamic and that seems to be ‘up to stuff’ is always a comforting choice. That’s why even bad ads work quite well. Consider the completely nauseating Patek Philippe campaign running at the moment. Even whilst making you want to spew, it has worked its magic on you. You don’t see the ad and think, “ooh, that’s an excellent reason to buy an obscenely expensive watch. Watches of Switzerland, here I come”. But you have clocked (sorry!) that PP makes gorgeous, crafted timepieces (they do, in fact!) that appear to be desired by super rich over-achievers, world-wide. And your brain has probably subconsciously salted away the “I’m not buying it for me” excuse that said over-achiever can use for treating him or herself. Most importantly, because you’ve probably seen the ads quite a bit – as I have, you have had the idea of PP as a desirable status symbol ‘normalised’ because you recognise that others will have seen the same thing and reacted in more or less the same way. If Patek weren’t successful at selling beautiful watches to rich people they wouldn’t be able to afford their premium position advertising, after all. Only a fool would invest in advertising that didn’t work, right? (Stewart- Smith, 2014)
Our structural analysis incorporates consideration of the medium. Barthes argues that the mere fact of being an advert eludes the signification of a visual image "insofar as the advertising nature of the image is essentially functional". (Barthes, 1964). The fact that the image is an advert on the back page of The Economist April 19th-25th 2014 tells us nothing; it is declaring rather than speaking.
This seems too narrow, and a function of Barthes' tendency to identify signification from only what is in the text or the image. He eschews context but thereby omits important connotative elements: the relations and practices within which discourses are formed and operated (Slater, 1983). As one discussion of PP's advertising succinctly puts it:
"These ads can be seen in whatever rich people use to relax on Sunday afternoons, e.g. The Economist." (Machiavelli, 2011)
The mere reading of the magazine sends the message that the reader is well educated, financially savvy and probably high income/wealth - there is no need to buy the product, just read the magazine.
But there is more to consider here. This is not just an advert of a product but, as explained above, a brand, a message of exclusivity. Moreover, it features two women in an advertisement in a magazine whose readership is 87% male (Hess, 2011) and which makes little attempt to appeal to women. Hess (ibid) quotes directly from The Economist:
The women are photographed looking left to right. Chae & Hoegg (2013) are among those who claim that consumers from cultures that read left to right possess a spatial representation of time whereby the past is visualized on the left and the future is visualized on the right. We can assume The Economist's 'accomplished, influential' audience will be forward-looking.
The images of the watch and the ring are placed in the bottom right, in line with theory that consumers have more favourable views of images on right side of a page (e.g. Williams, 2013).
SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS
This section applies the theory of Roland Barthes as set out in his essays Rhetoric of the Image and Myth Today. His ideas and terminology are discussed in those links.
Commentators (e.g Ramamurthy, 2004 p210) frequently discuss Barthes' theory in terms of the dialectic between the denoted (literal) and connoted (symbolic) message. These messages refer, however, only to the pictorial elements of an image. Barthes adds a third: the linguistic message that he argues is a single message because it has only language as the sign.
In our PP advert, we have four texts:
"The magazine is for "accomplished, influential people. If an overwhelming majority of those people happen to be men, perhaps it is because they have simply accomplished more."So why an advert ostensibly aimed at women on the back page of a magazine that arrogantly dismisses them? Three reasons may be alluded:
- It is a mistake, or what Hall (1993) would term a 'negotiated' reading, one that conforms only partially to the intended or 'dominant' reading. Perhaps the advertising agency is unaware of the gender imbalance in the readership and includes this advert as part of the series, the other adverts of which are male based;
- It is a deliberate attempt to appeal to the 'accomplished, influential' female readership, however limited that might be. Hess was writing four years ago; trends change rapidly and perhaps this is something of a statement by the agency to appeal to economically successful and independent women, though this motive would be contrarian to the general message we have elicited from PP;
- It is actually aimed at the magazine's known male dominated audience. It fits a stereotype: men are 'accomplished and influential', women are to be 'gazed at', having some fun. The ad epitomises the scoptophilic instinct as described by Fenichel (1954), the devouring gaze induced by sexual desire. The advert's message to the male audience may be read thus: it is OK to buy PP products as there is a clear implied differentiation between those products designed for women and those for men, but you might be interested in buying a present...(note 1)
The women are photographed looking left to right. Chae & Hoegg (2013) are among those who claim that consumers from cultures that read left to right possess a spatial representation of time whereby the past is visualized on the left and the future is visualized on the right. We can assume The Economist's 'accomplished, influential' audience will be forward-looking.
The images of the watch and the ring are placed in the bottom right, in line with theory that consumers have more favourable views of images on right side of a page (e.g. Williams, 2013).
SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS
This section applies the theory of Roland Barthes as set out in his essays Rhetoric of the Image and Myth Today. His ideas and terminology are discussed in those links.
Commentators (e.g Ramamurthy, 2004 p210) frequently discuss Barthes' theory in terms of the dialectic between the denoted (literal) and connoted (symbolic) message. These messages refer, however, only to the pictorial elements of an image. Barthes adds a third: the linguistic message that he argues is a single message because it has only language as the sign.
In our PP advert, we have four texts:
- the Patek Phillipe name (top right) and the descriptive reference to the watch model and web address (bottom left) may be viewed as factual;
- the slogans: Begin your own tradition, and Something truly precious holds its beauty forever
The slogans add meaning to the advert. The double entendre of the second was explained by PP themselves in the tautological statement above. The beauty and the preciousness allude of course to both the watch and the women (albeit PP draw the line at this degree of explicitness). This intended meaning is an example of what Barthes terms relay, the text and image working together.
There is little in this advert that is truly denotational; perhaps only the watch and the ear-rings are, in Barthesian terms, 'literal messages without a code', there is no transformation. The visual message may be viewed as the mirror image of the textual anchorage: ensuring the viewer is clear that we are actually advertising jewellery.
The remainder of the image is connotational. We can adduce several signs that together create the rhetoric of the image:
- the women as signifiers of preciousness and beauty;
- the inclusion of two items of jewellery signifies complementarity ('Begin your own tradition')
- the women's laughing carefree looks signify contentment;
- the carefully constructed table - white cloth, flower, wine glass - signifies an upmarket location
In his theory of myths, Barthes takes the analysis a further step: the signs from the first level semiotic analysis become the signifiers (or forms) in a second. The forms signify a concept, together a signification. In our advertisement, the four signs themselves relate to several concepts that PP wish to promote: the signification that their jewellery is, like the women, 'precious and beautiful'; that it is a mark of success and contentment; and is exclusive and expensive. The myth is equating everything that is deemed positive in the image of two women with the jewellery they wear.
This myth is subversive and iniquitous. Human relations, by being equated with a product, are commoditised. Barthes uses the term 'alibi' to reflect that the advertising agency covers up the symbolism. The fact that viewers take the signification for granted is exactly what the agency intends; it has consciously constructed (or fabricated) the myth. The readers are unaware of the construction, to them the myth is natural, the way of the world; the women are beautiful and glamorous, so must their jewellery be. The advert is on the back of a magazine for 'accomplished, influential' people, the watch therefore must reflect that.
FURTHER ANALYSIS - POST STRUCTURALISM
Three further factors that have adduced commentary from academics post Barthes are discussed briefly here.
The context of production
As well as concealing social relations, several commentators (e.g. Williamson, 1979; Stein 1992) note that advertisements conceal labour relations. It is an extension of Marx's commodity fetishism into the medium that promotes goods. From this advert, we know nothing of how this jewellery is made, the conditions for the workers in the manufacturing location, whether they could afford to buy the goods they produce. The advert is carefully orchestrated to make it appear natural to desire the jewellery without even considering how it gets there. We consider only the desirability of the output, unconsciously ignoring the input.
Genderised representation
Discussion has focussed in several places above on how this advert promotes gender stereotypicality in a scoptophilic way. The women are passive objects of sexual desire to be viewed voyeuristically. But beyond this 'high level' sexism there is more subtle genderisation afoot. Winship (1987) notes how advertisers commonly portray women's hands as caressing and decorative, and men's as active and controlling. In our advert, note how the woman on the left gently holds the left hand of the other woman, as an example of Winship's thesis.
The subjects
As well as genderisation in general in this advertisement, we can consider the two women who are photographed. How do they feel about it? Are they part of the voyeuristic, commoditised advertising plot, or bit players who are manipulated as much as the audience? This plays on our mixed prejudices. On the one hand, we have shown how the advertisement enforces a certain preconceived viewpoint in the interests of exploiting the perceived desires of a wealthy audience, on the other hand we may think "Well, why not, bet they were paid well to look glamorous." Therein lies the rub: to what extent do we simply accept the naturalness, the inevitability, the timelessness of the message. At the very least, the above analysis helps question our motives and understanding of the advertising messages that surround us.
note 1: An advertisement for women's jewellery in a magazine principally read by men is an example of what is analyzed by paradigmatic analysis - analyzing the significance of signifiers that are used (women) with those that could be, termed absent signifiers (as stated above this is one of a series of adverts principally featuring men). Space does not allow detailed discussion on this topic.
As well as genderisation in general in this advertisement, we can consider the two women who are photographed. How do they feel about it? Are they part of the voyeuristic, commoditised advertising plot, or bit players who are manipulated as much as the audience? This plays on our mixed prejudices. On the one hand, we have shown how the advertisement enforces a certain preconceived viewpoint in the interests of exploiting the perceived desires of a wealthy audience, on the other hand we may think "Well, why not, bet they were paid well to look glamorous." Therein lies the rub: to what extent do we simply accept the naturalness, the inevitability, the timelessness of the message. At the very least, the above analysis helps question our motives and understanding of the advertising messages that surround us.
note 1: An advertisement for women's jewellery in a magazine principally read by men is an example of what is analyzed by paradigmatic analysis - analyzing the significance of signifiers that are used (women) with those that could be, termed absent signifiers (as stated above this is one of a series of adverts principally featuring men). Space does not allow detailed discussion on this topic.
References:
Barthes (1964) Rhetoric of the Image taken from Visual Culture:the reader Evans and Hall, (eds) (1999) SAGE Publications. London
Barthes (1973) Myth Today taken from Visual Culture:the reader Evans and Hall, (eds) (1999) SAGE Publications. London
Chae and Hoegg (2013) The Future Looks “Right”: Effects of the Horizontal Location of Advertising Images on Product Attitude Journal of Consumer Research Available from www.sauder.ubc.ca/Faculty/People/Faculty_Members/~/media/Files/Faculty%20Research/Marketing%20Division/Marketing%20Publications/Hoegg/Chae%20and%20Hoegg%202013.ashx Accessed on 15 May 2014
Fenichel (1954) The scoptophilic instinct and identification taken from Visual Culture:the reader Evans and Hall, (eds) (1999) SAGE Publications. London
Hall (1993) Encoding/Decoding in S. Durring (ed.) The Cultural Studies Reader quoted in Ramamurthy (2004) in Photography: A Critical Introduction Third edition Wells (ed.) Routledge. Oxford.
Hess (2011) Why Should Women Read The Economist? Available from http://magazine.good.is/articles/why-should-women-read-the-economist Accessed on 14 May 2014
Machiavelli (2011) Luxury Branding the Future Leaders of the World Available from http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/11/luxury_branding_the_future_lea.html Accessed on 14 May 2014
Ramamurthy (2004) Spectacles and Illusions: Photography and Commodity Culture in Photography: A Critical Introduction Third edition Wells (ed.) Routledge. Oxford.
Slater (1983) Marketing Mass Photography reproduced in Visual Culture:the reader Evans and Hall, (eds) (1999) SAGE Publications. London
Stein (1981) The Composite Photographic Image and the Composition of Consumer Ideology Art Journal, Spring quoted in Ramamurthy (2004, ibid)
Stewart Smith (2014) The Mad Men Are Gone. But Advertising is Still the Daddy Available from http://xristyblah.com/category/advertising/. Accessed on 14 May 2014
Veblen (1899) The Theory of the Leisure Class quoted in www.conspicuousconsumption.org/. Accessed on 14 May 2014
Williams (2013) Should the image be on the left or right? Available from http://www.smartcompany.com.au/people/education/32984-should-the-image-be-on-the-left-or-right.html# Accessed on 15 May 2014
Williamson (1979) Great History that Photographs Mislaid in Photography Workshop (ed.) Photography/Politics One. London, quoted in Ramamurthy (2004, ibid)
Winship (1987) Handling Sex in Betterton (ed.) Looking On:Images of Femininity in the Visual Arts and Media London
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