The development of modern advertisements as we know them is an important topic, considering the fact that they are present (for the most of us) in our everyday lives. Basing myself upon the methodology developed by Machin (2007), that is a semiotical approach that focuses on particular representations of social actors. I shall apply this method to analyze a television ad from the 1960’s that was aired in the United States and was produced by the automobile giant, Ford.
To briefly summarize this commercial involves a suburban housewife explaining to us (the viewer) everything she could not do before, when she did not have a car. She relates to the situation of many housewives at the time and then contrasts this with her new status. Interestingly enough, while this commercial focuses on a new type of Ford automobile, the outcome of the ad promotes the use of a second car. The idea of this commercial is to manipulate woman into convincing their husbands that he needs a new car. Through this purchase, the housewife would be able to take-up the older, used car for her own wifely needs.
Before beginning my semiotical analysis , an explanation of Machin’s approach is in order. Since the shift of marketing strategies of advertisement in the 1920’s ad 30s, the presentation of mass cultural objects to consumers has changed. Companies started approaching their users by presenting their products not as mere objects good for their function, but as selling all the experiences that come with it. Machin (2007) focuses on social interactions and visual communication present in television commercials. In his work, he points out multiple important aspects that one must pay attention to when analyzing these types of marketing strategies.
I will proceed this post by a) defining and explaining the key aspects of Machin’s methodology and b) relating these aspects to my chosen commercial:
The first aspect worth paying attention to is the gaze. By this Machin refers to interactions between the viewer of the commercial, and the subjects present within. Who is looking at who? Are you, the viewer, part of the interaction? Many hidden meanings can be uncovered by studying the role of the viewer in a commercial. For instance, in the above linked commercial, the gaze of the subject in to commercial is directly looking at the viewer, suggesting a warm encounter, much like a conversation. Additionally, the camera zooms closer to the subject, hinting a feeling of empathy for to viewer, who unassumingly do not have the same opportunities as the woman in the commercial. Coinciding Marchand’s theory, it is clear in this commercial that what Ford is selling is not simply a car, but the possibility for suburban housewives to have a life of their own, free to do as they please. The gaze submerses the viewer into a one on one interaction (that was meant specifically for housewives), empathizing with woman who don’t have the same possibilities as her.
The second aspect in T.V. commercials than manipulate consumer reactions is that of the angle of interaction. This consist of how the actors engage with the audience and through what angle. What is the status of the viewer in relation to the actors? In the case of this commercial, it seems as though we move with the actor, suggesting little power relations at play. Also we are presented with a frontal view of the actor which further indicates that this is a simple conversation. In terms of the distance of the angle, the viewer is close to the actor which increases the feeling of intimacy.
Proceeding, Machin (2007) notes that the nature of the participants can influence consumers. Whether for instance those depicted in ads are part of social group, or are they alone? Who is the participant representing? In this case, as you can see it is a woman appealing to other suburban housewives. This is noticeable through multiple factors such as the way she is dressed, the house she is in and she also mentions that “like many people these days, we live in the suburbs”. This tells a lot about who the industry is targeting through is ad. This woman characterizes the up and coming middle class of America who need a car to get to places. As she mentioned, she used to be a prisoner in her own home.
Finally, Machin (2007) interests himself in Agency and Action and refers to the meaning behind what is taking place and through which actions are these meaning conveyed? Here it is clear that the actor is first of all relating to all suburban housewives who don’t own a car and are unable to perform truly autonomous tasks outside the house (at least not until the husband comes home with the car). She proceeds by telling us how her life had changed thanks to her husbands purchase of a new car. She is now completely autonomous and this message is conveyed through the actors actions, notable one minute into the commercial, where she grabs her coat, signifying that she is preparing to go out.
To conclude, Machin (2007) provides us with a simple methodology to analyze visual and verbal content within T.V. commercials. His distinction between the above stated aspects present in T.V commercials offers much room for semiotical analysis, mainly due to the high content of symbols and meaning that can be extracted through this approach and that are present in advertising techniques.
Marchand, R. (1985). Advertising the American Dream. Making Way for Modernity, 1920 –1940. Berkeley etc.: University of California Press
Machin, D. (2007). Introduction to multimodal analysis. London: Hodder Arnold