- a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. (Oxford)
- archaic the science of ideas; the study of their origin and nature. (Oxford)
- a scientific knowledge that is constructed in such a way to legitimate unequal social power relations.
It can be seen that ideology is reflecting the interest of power in political or economic field. However, Judith Williamson (1978) is contrasting her use of 'imaginary' social position produced by ideology with the actual social relations produced by capitalism as revealed by scientific knowledge. Semiotic is then mainly concerned with the social effects of meaning.
Why did I explain so much about ideology? Of course, it does make connection with semiotic and advertising. Williamson argues that one of the most influential ideological form in contemporary capitalist societies is advertising, means advertising is playing a huge role in economic. So, how about the exposure of advertising nowadays? How many ads people see per day? Yankelovich, a market research firm, estimates that a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day, compared with up to 5,000 today. About half the 4,110 people surveyed last spring by Yankelovich said they thought marketing and advertising today was out of control. (New York Times, 2007)
Besides that, Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive at the Kaplan Thaler Group, a New York agency claims that consumer is going to be at any point in time, so what companies do is to find a way to be everywhere. In a few words, ubiquity is the new exclusivity. Williamson (1978:11) also says that advertisements are ubiquitous, so they have 'a sort of independent reality that links them to our own lives'. Now, I associate with Jean Baudrillard's simulation theory, human being is embedded in the world which is full of SIGNsss.
Back to advertisement of AirAsia (the final two are still uncertain), the two chosen ads above is pretty similar, but they are in English (left) and Mandarin (right). The ads are creating the ideology of being attractive to opposite sex, also getting all-rounded and great service from AirAsia. The target audience will try to imagine themselves as the main character in the print ads (I has somewhat imaginative thinking on that as well! Laugh!). This is the 'imaginary' which appears in Williamson's theory as I have mentioned before. Who doesn't like it?? Being impressive and attractive to opposite sex!
Comparing both of them, the nerdy look of the man, the hair gel style and the thick frame of glasses is the sign to reflect nerd. Furthermore, his face expression makes him look proud of himself like a peacock, but a bit unexpected in the moment. However, the power of ideology is mainly come from the RED sea. The exact emperor level of service as what kings got in the past, but just lack of spoon feeding. In contrast, the main object in the left print ad is the pretty girl. Those handsome men stand around her, obviously they are not steward, but why do they come to the girl? There are a few possibilities:
- she is pretty, they want to know her.
- she is rich, because she is in the grand seat of airasia. So, they want to know her.
- AirAsia has a lot of handsome boys.
- A lot of professional persons, such as business men choose AirAsia. So girls have the chance to know them.
Well, I am not sure which one of them is the inner meaning of this ad. Overall, I can say that AirAsia is a cheap but luxury flight you have ever takan, you will have memorable moment in the flight, just as the imaginary scene in the print ad.
Additionally, the another point I would like to run through is the method of depicting the message. Comparing to Chinese version ad, the English one is much more audacious, but mandarin one looks a bit conservative. I will talk more about this in the following post.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Resource:
Louise (2007) Anywhere the Eye Can See, It's Likely to See an Ad
[Online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/business/media/15everywhere.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 [Accessed: 20th July, 2013].Oxford Dictionaries (n.d.) The Definition of Ideology in English. [Online]Available at: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ideology [Accessed: 20th July, 2013].
Rose, G (2007) Visual Methodologies: An introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials, 2nd edition, Great Britain: MPG Books Group.
Williamson, J (2005) Decoding Advertisement: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, Great Britain and United States: Marion Boyars Publishers LTD.
Interesting pair of ads!
ReplyDeleteRelated to the concept of ideology is myth.
If you are more cynical or critical of the ads, you will try to expose the myth behind the ad.
Ideology can have more neutral perspectives.
For example, you have identified that the spectacles, goofy grin, and awkward pose are signs that the male customer is a nerd.
On one level, the nerd connotes the 'anybody' of AA's corporation's democratic ideology. You can then consider how this would be in contrast to the usual image of the confident and aged business man featured in traditional airline ads. On another level, the nerd may also represent the ideology of contemporary society where smart nerds top the ranks of an economy driven by tech and science.
In contrast, the myth approach would probably move it towards the gender issues you mentioned. Here you might consider how the sexual connotations and how the word play adds to such reading. 'They' refers to the ladies or the food? Does the chinese ad have such subtle word play?
Since you mentioned that the man is treated like an emperor/king, would you consider that for the lady, she is presented like a princess with handsome prince wooing her?
Be sure to pinpoint the source where the two ads appear.
hi was just seeing if you minded a comment. i like your website and the thme you picked is super. I will be back. online advertising
ReplyDelete