Denotation & Connotation blog tasks: advert analysis
Create a new blogpost in your GCSE Media blog called 'Denotation and connotation'.
1) Write an analysis of the Water Aid advert above using denotation, connotation and analysis. What can you see? What are the deeper meanings in the advert? What does the advert communicate to the audience? How might an audience react after seeing the advert?
Denotation;
This printed water aid advertisement shows a child in a blue t-shirt(symbolic codes).It also features as the water aid logo(symbolic code) and a slogan(written code)it also shows a village or a underdeveloped house in the background.
Connotation;
The child is deliberately shown like this because they want to show that the child is thirsty and they want the audience to feel the need to donate to charity. The slogan of 'dig toilets not graves' implies that if you don't donate to make toilets you will just dig their grave instead.
Analysis
the deliberate choice of a child who looks malnourished could hint that if the audience doesn't donate the child will die. stereo typically an advert about people not having simple needs would bet talking about people in Africa and water aid may have done this on purpose.
2) Now choose your own choice of advert from Google images. Save it to your documents, insert it into your blog post and write an analysis using denotation and connotation, explaining what the advert is communicating to the audience.
Denotation;
In this advertisement consists of a man getting punched(symbolic codes)a green car on one mans hand (symbolic codes) a red car on another mans cheek (symbolic codes) the logo of the company (symbolic codes) and a slogan(written code).there also is a all black background(technical codes).The (narrative code) is the man is drinking and driving and is suffering the consequences of it.
Connotation;
the slogan is deliberately green because it matches with the car on the mans hand and the company name is eco which is related to green. The connotation of the man getting punched and the cars colliding shows that the car is crashing and the man is getting punched. This implies that you shouldn't do this because it could deal lots of damage. The man that was drinking was drinking and driving which was violent. The use of red in the writing and the car with the man getting punched implies that the colour red is violent and it can cause anger.
Analysis;
The deliberate choice of of the man getting punched could hint that if you drink and drive it could hurt as well and it is dangerous.an advert about drink driving could show that a lot of people are doing it and the company is trying to persuade people to not do it. the slogan choice of 'stop the violence don't drink and drive' shows that it is violent and it could harm others too not just you.
Extension: Print advert research
Read this design blog on some of the best print adverts of all time. Choose one advert that you feel is particularly powerful in terms of its use of connotations and analyse why it is so successful
