I have chosen to study various beer advertisements found in magazines. These advertisements are aimed at a target audience of males over the age of eighteen. I have chosen different magazines for each advertisement as well as different brands of beer manufacturers to reflect the diversity of advertisement for this product.
The first product that I have chosen to study its use of advertisements is Boddington's beer. It is a Manchester based brewery that is sold and advertised nationwide through a variety of media. The main products are draught Boddington's Bitter sold in pubs and clubs, and canned and bottled varieties of the same product available in off-licences and supermarkets. The first advertisement that I have studied appeared in a copy of Viz magazine, a humorous publication intended for adult males. This would perhaps suggest that the code of the advertisement may be in the comic genre. To begin my analysis of this text I decided to examine what I would consider each sign to represent in relation to Saussure's dyadic model. The signifier of the male character signifies a number of things. The signifier could be considered to be iconic as it does resemble a male human. The choice of a medium shot, illustrating most of the character's body, could be interpreted as signifying personal relationship with the reader and, therefore, this signifier could also be considered to be symbolic. The text requires the reader to understand that this signifier is signifying a representative of the reader, or the target audience. One could even argue that this signifier is a metonym, one young male representing all young men within society. This associated with the reader is increased by the noticeable fact that this male character is the only character that possesses discernible eyes. All of the other characters only possess dots or lines. Eye contact is a signifier that signifies association with a particular character, like an aside in theatre. The other characters are also marked as being different because of their lack of eyes. This would further associate the reader of this text with the male character.
The signifier of the female character is also interesting. The character presented is obviously supposed to signify an unattractive female (I will examine the signifiers of this below) and this is important in relation to what is signified. The signifier is iconic, the illustration does resemble an unattractive female, yet it is the symbolic aspect that is most important to the message being signified by the advert. The female character also signifies wider negative aspects of life, any unpleasant ordeal faced by a young man. The signifier of the bottle of beer is Also important. Again this signifier is iconic, resembling a bottle of beer, however it is also a metonym, representing larger quantities of beer. Further, it is also symbolic, representing pleasure or reward. The beer is used as an opposite to the female character; beer = good, unattractive girl = had. In simple terms, therefore, this advertisement could be described thus:
- man faces ordeal.
- man gets reward.
The main tag of the advertisement, "Her Dad owns the brewery', is important for the interpretation of the signifiers I have already discussed to be understood correctly. The connotation of the font used for the word "Her' suggests how unattractive the female is supposed to be signified as being. The denotation of the text is the most significant element of the tag, however. The reward, of more Boddington's Beer, is promised by this tag. It could perhaps be argued that the tag alone, because of the obvious message denoted by the tag and the connotation of the font used for the word "Her", suggests, without the need for the illustration, the entire message of the text.
The second tag provides a different inflection upon the advertisement and upon the product. Without this additional heading, "Strong stuff from Manchester", one could really consider the message simply to be :
- man faces ordeal.
- man receives reward.
This second heading, however, makes the meaning slightly more complex. The connotations associated with the city of Manchester will suggest several things. The name of this city would immediately be associated with a very successful football team, several popular bands and a much publicised night club scene. Readers of Viz magazine would be aware of these associations with the city and this may effect the manner in which they interpret the advertisement. Further the denotation of this tag, that Boddington's Beer is "strong stuff', suggests that not only is the beer a good reward for an ordeal but, further, the presence of this brew would make the ordeal far more bearable.
The background characters in the illustration are also important for the interpretation of the text. The signifier is groups of stylishly drawn, attractive looking people. The women are drawn with long hair, pouting lips, slim waists and large breasts, all modern stereotypes of beauty. Also in these background illustrations their is a suggestion of pillars, often association with Classic or stylish surroundings. This signifies that the male character is choosing not to join this stylish, attractive society in order to earn his beer. More is signified, however, by the absence of colour in these background scenes. This signifies that these other people are perhaps less interesting. The colour of the foreground characters makes these background characters marked because of their lack of colour. This makes them different to the foreground characters whom the reader of the text is expected to identify with. Further, the contrast between the smiles of the foreground characters and the absence of smiles of the background characters signifies the satisfaction or happiness of being associated with this product, as opposed to the marked 'non-smiles' of the other characters.
A further issue I wish to examine in relation to this text is what signifiers are used to signify the fact that the foreground female is unattractive or undesirable. The glasses that this character is wearing are important signifiers in this respect. I have already explained the importance of obscuring the eyes in order to make her marked in relation to the foreground male character. The style of her glasses were fashionable in the late 1960's and 1970's and this signifies that the character is unfashionable. I feel that this is a relevant issue as glasses are also used to signify intelligence and no longer always signify unattractiveness. The skin tone of the female, especially with the addition of spots or warts, is also used to signify her unattractiveness as it is also marked in relation to the skin of the male character. Her figure is marked as opposed to the attractive females in the background scene.
The shine evident on the female character's hair is an excellent example of how context can affect interpretation. With this character a reader would understand the signifier of shiny hair to signify greasy hair. Conversely, the background female wearing sunglasses also shares the same signifier, shiny hair. With this female, however, the reader would understand that shiny, healthy, attractive hair is being signified. The same signifier is used in the same illustration, on characters less than 4cm apart, yet opposite meanings are signified; healthy attractive hair and greasy unattractive hair. Finally, the smile of the foreground female is marked in comparison to that of the foreground male. Further, the presence of gum in the smile, the wearing of a brace and the fact that her teeth are green, makes this female character's smile marked in comparison to the smiles of most of the readers, further distancing her from them and making her further the object of the humour.
My interpretation of this advertisement thus far has alluded to syntagmatic analysis. I have suggested on several occasions the sequence I feel is signified by this text.
- man takes woman out.
- man gets free beer.
Or
- man faces ordeal.
- man gets reward.
A paradigmatic analysis, however, could also be used to demonstrate the importance of both what has been said and what has been omitted.
To begin my paradigmatic analysis I wish to examine the main tag of the text. If, for example, the word "Her" was replaced with the word "His" a very different meaning would be signified by the text. To work in the same manner a reader would have to associate themselves with the female character and the male character would have to be considered as the marked character. I feel that there are too many signifiers in the illustration for this to be the case and a far different interpretation would be signified. The advertisement would, in my interpretation, now represent the following signified message. The "Strong stuff' Boddington's is so potent that if one had unlimited supply then one would become happy to go out with unattractive women. (Obviously this is an acceptable thing to do but the entire advertisement is based upon the sexist premise that an unattractive woman has little worth).
The sexist nature of the tag is further illustrated when one considers how incorrect or unusual the tag would sound with the second word changed. "Her Mum owns the brewery."
If one uses paradigmatic analysis upon the characters themselves, further interesting issues arise. If the male foreground character is substituted with a female then, despite any homosexual confusions, the male target audience would have no character to identify with. If the unattractive female was substituted with an attractive female then the importance of the beer is undermined. If the attractive background characters are replaced with unattractive characters then, again, the importance of the beer is undermined. The man would have made little sacrifice to attain the beer if preferable females were not made obvious. This illustrates the importance of every aspect of the text and that the meaning is not simply conveyed by the main tag and the foreground illustrations.
The second advertisement that I have chosen to study appeared in Select magazine in August 1992 as was intended to advertise Carlsberg lager. As with Boddington's beer, this product is available in pubs, clubs, off-licenses and supermarkets. Select magazine is a music based magazine aimed at people from about 14 years old and above, of both sexes. Again, I decided to begin my analysis by examining the advertisement in relation to Saussure's dyadic model. This advertisement appears to have fewer signifiers and consists of an orange hot air balloon in the top right hand corner of an otherwise completely black page. The only tag of this advertisement is printed upon the balloon:
"Carlsberg. Undeniably the best lager in the world."
The signifier of the hot air balloon could be interpreted as signifying a number of different things. If one views it at being iconic then it would provide a dramatic image. Additionally, many hot air balloons are emblazoned with the name of sponsors or carry advertisements upon the balloon section. I do feel, however, that it would perhaps be naive to consider this as the only message that could be signified by this image. If one examines this signifier symbolically, however, two different messages, not necessarily mutually exclusive, could be signified. Firstly the balloon could be thought to signify the product, Carlsberg lager. Hot air balloons rise above the ground and this could easily be construed to signify the superiority of Carlsberg over other products. Conversely, hot air is often used as a metaphor for lies or untrue statements. This could perhaps suggest that the balloon is used, with the tag emblazoned across it, to imply that the information in the tag, the denotation of the tag, is not wholly correct and could be questioned.
The tag within this advertisement illustrates an example of a paradigm being substituted within an advertisement. Most readers of Select magazine would be aware that the usual tag accompanying advertisements for this product is:
"Carlsberg. Probably the best lager in the world."
The substitution of "undeniably" for "probably" would be noticed by the reader and, although the denotation of this tag would suggest that this product is unrivalled for quality, the connotation of this paradigmatic substitution would suggest something different. Like the use of the hot air balloon, I feel that this paradigmatic substitution signifies more than one meaning. It does denote that no one could dispute the superiority of this product yet I do not feel the reader is supposed to accept this irrefutable claim. I feel that although it does signify the quality of the product, there is also some irony or humour in the tag. The fact that the reader would be encouraged to make their own paradigmatic analysis of the tag would ensure that the word "undeniably" would become noticeable or marked. This, in turn, would place doubt in the accuracy of the tag perhaps signifying that the statement is, in truth, deniable.
The black background chosen in this text signifies the emptiness and darkness away from the light and colour of the Carlsberg balloon. The background is marked by its lack of colour and writing. This helps to signify the importance of the balloon. The position of the balloon is also important. Perhaps the most effective manner in which to demonstrate the importance of this positioning of the balloon is to use paradigmatic analysis. If the balloon was in the bottom corner of the text then a different message would be signified. Firstly, the balloon would have obvious space or distance in which to travel upwards. This, if one accepts the balloon to be a metaphor signifying the product, would suggest that the product would be able to achieve more height or quality. This would undermine the claim of the tag to a greater extent. Secondly the darkness, signifying all that is not associated with Carlsberg lager, would be in a position higher than the balloon. This would signify that the product is not of as great a magnitude as the chosen position suggests.
I feel that this is quite a carefully constructed advertisement. Through an apparently very simple design it suggests the quality of the product, yet implies that it is a type of product that cannot be truly judged on such a scale. The tag has indexical meaning and the use of the hot air balloon is essential for the advertisement to be effective. The advertisement manages to signify the paradox that Carlsberg is "undeniably the best lager in the world", yet at the same time signifying that any such claim is deniable.
The final advertisement that I have attempted to analyse appeared in Mixmag in July 1997. This magazine is aimed at club-going males and females, probably between the ages of about 18 and 30. The advertisement is for Beck's bottled lager. It features a large red bar-code in the centre of a green background. A bottle of Beck's lager is shown lower down the page and there are two accompanying tags. The first tag says: "The best bars have a code. Serve authentic German bier." The second tag gives the message: "Serious bier." This advertisement relies heavily upon a pun between the idea of a bar-code and a code of practice for a bar. This means that each signifier represents two different signified messages, its usual meaning, and the signified meaning within the context of the advertisement. Again I wish to attempt to look at each signifier in relation to Saussure's dyadic model. The signifier of the bar-code iconically represents a bar-code. This is important as this is what the humour of the advertisement relies upon. Symbolically, however, the bar-code could also be considered to signify modem society or a scientific representation of the world.
An essential signifier for the humour within this text is the first tag. The first sentence of this tag, "All the best bars have a code" signifies two things. The denoted signified message is "all good drinking establishments have one rule." The connotation of the words chosen, however, also signifies a relation to the bar-code signifier above the tag. This attaches the symbolic signified message of the bar- code to the tag. If one were to paradigmatically substitute any word for either the word "bar" or the word "code" within this tag then this association, and the humour contained within the pun, would be lost.
The second sentence of this tag is also interesting. "Serve authentic German bier." This has been introduced as signifying the rule that bars should follow and the denotation of the sentence appears to be simply a suggested rule. The connotation of the words chosen, however, signify much more. The word "Serve" has very definite connotations perhaps best revealed by paradigmatic analysis. A different, less sophisticated would be given if this word was replaced with "Sell" or "Stock". The word "authentic" is also interesting. If it was replaced with the word "real" or "genuine", again a different connotation would be signified. Finally the use of the word "bier" instead of "lager" or "beer" not only avoids any negative, less sophisticated associations with the word "lager" but also makes the product sound intrinsically German. This word "bier" is later repeated in the second tag: "Serious beer."
The word "serious" also has ambiguous meaning. Obviously it is not claiming any association with being serious and drinking Beck's lager. it is signifying that the lager is made and drunk by people who can think about beer seriously and have knowledge on the subject.
The signifier of the bottle of beer is iconic. It represents the beer, illustrating what it looks like in its bottled form. I feel that through syntagmatic analysis, the signified message of this advertisement appears to be focused upon style. I would claim the advertisement is signifying that Beck's is a stylish beer. The sophistication in the humour and the sophisticated connotation of the tags, alongside a background colour that reflects the product and not contrasts with it, suggest to me that this is what is being signified.
From attempting to semantically analyse these advertisements, through different methods I have been interested by a number of things. None of the advertisements I analysed signified anything about the taste of the beer in question. The Boddington's advert signified that it was a suitable reward for endeavour. The Carlsberg advert signified that it was indeed possibly the best lager in the world and the Beck's advert seemed to attempt to signify a sort of accepted superiority and style.
Bibliography
April 1998
