In this post, we will take a look at TV -commercials, especially in the 1960s. I will analyse the 1960s Lego-commercial, but first providing some historical background and presenting the Semiotic method by Machin (2007).
In the 1940s and 1950s, TV-commercials became a significant strategy in American modern time advertising. As more people started to have a TV in their homes, it developed an interesting market for companies to sell their products. Not only because they could reach a large amount of people, but also as they really could show what the product is and how it works. Marchand (1985) explains the rise of this new advertising strategy in the 1920s and 1930s. The goal of the commercial was to win the consumer over with a life experience what the product is part of, or sometimes even not. Like this, they tried to adapt new social and technological changes and reflect peoples’ needs and anxieties. The attention shifted from the product more to the customer (p. xxi). After the Second World War, economies improved providing more luxurious products, which became popular in the Western world. The famous Lego Systems TV-commercial by the American Samsonite in the 1960s is introduced as a part of modern and good life. Significant was the usage of a playful TV-commercial to especially reach the kids but also appeal to the whole family showing the function of the toy in a visual way.
The following analysis is based on the Semiotic method of Machin (2007) to explore how the meanings are formed in the video, which especially focuses on the representation of social actors. It explains how the viewer can relate the situation of the commercial into real life. Moreover, Machin introduces three aspects of alignment (p. 110). These tools used for exploring the positioning of the viewer in relation to the participants in the commercial are first, the use of ‘gaze’ showing the interaction between the viewer and the people in the commercial. Second, the ‘distance’ gives a sense of intimacy or ignorance. Finally, also the angle of the shots effect on the confrontation of the people in the commercial. Therefore, the essential focus is on the agents and their actions to see what are the aims and circumstances. Machin emphasis the agency and action in the advertisements: Who does what and what is being done (p. 123). This tells what kind of people are represented (p. 118): Individuals or groups, how they are categorised but also non-representation creating anonymity.
According to this method, there can be explored how the 1960s black and white Lego commercial is structured. It starts with saying “Lego is here! Hey kids, look! A whole new world to build…because Lego is here!” while the product and the logo clearly stand out. ‘Distance’ is used to create intimacy with the close-ups as the three children stare straight to the viewer with their excited faces on the screen. ‘The agencies’, protagonists, are the children who are actively playing and introducing the function of Legos, which gathers girls and boys playing together. Also, the ‘gaze’ creates an interaction between the children and the viewer as they look straight into the camera. It invites the viewers, targeted for the children, to share the joy and happiness of playing and be involved with the products. After these shots, it provides an overview of the Legos and what you can build from them. This aims to attract the children to make it look simple and fun with this ‘angle’ zooming in the creations on the table. While the participants are building different kinds of figures, the focus of the camera is on the product from different angles so the three-dimensional usage of Legos gets clear. Overall, at the end it shows multiple possibilities for building and the offered packages.
The participants are presented in a group but the commercial also has shots where they appear individually. This illustrates how Legos can be played together but also just by themselves. Moreover, the participants are divided showing the difference between the boys and girls but still uniting them: The both genres equally enjoy playing with Legos and build for example houses. Lego is a toy for everyone, which is also emphasised with the own simple but catchy songs for a boy and girl about how much they like Legos. This equality between boys and girls show the beginning of the change in the 1960s society. What highlights this point as well is that this commercial is meant for the modern Western society, but also the ‘biological categorization’ of typical Western children, like the way they are dressed and who are wealthy enough. Crucially, the ‘non-representation’ (p. 118) of parents emphasis to make the connection to the children who are watching the commercial, showing that it is popular to play with your age-mates. The selling of Legos is based on the enthusiasm of the children. The only information for parents is the slogan of Samsonite who makes Legos “long lasting fun”, showing the prices and guaranteeing good quality. The thoughtful set-up of the Lego commercial found a way to influence the sales through children’s minds but also convincing parents of the good product with an aspect of educational playing.
References
Gallen, H, I. (2008, August 6). LEGO SYSTEMS 1960. [Video file & image]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdRPyN_TGLA.
Machin, D. (2007). Introduction to Multimodal Analysis. London: Hodder Arnold. (chapter 6: “Representation of social actors in the image”).
Marchand, R. (1985). Advertising the American Dream. Making Way for Modernity, 1920 –1940. Berkeley etc.: University of California Press.
Marling, K. A. (1996). As Seen on TV the Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press.