Semiotics (Advertisement Analysis – WK3)

Student Name: Jess Vandersande

Date of post: 27/08/15

Topic + Lecture Week: Semiotics (Advertisement Analysis) WK3

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Image One – Contextual Information:

Artist  – unknown (Amnesty International)

Type – Awareness Campaign ad

Title – He Has His Mother’s Eyes (Report Abuse)

Year of Creation – 2015
Collection/source – Amnesty International 
Medium/Technique – Digitally altered photograph

Content – A young boy with bruises on his face is pictured behind the text ‘he has his mother’s eyes’. The image is extremely dark, with only the boy’s face and the overlaying text visible against the black surroundings.

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Semiotic Analysis:

In this campaign advertisement, the predominance of the dark background creates a focal point on the image of the youthful boy in the centre. The viewer’s eye is drawn immediately to the boy’s black eye. The predominance of the bruising is a signifier to violence and abuse, a conclusion which is further unpacked as the focal lines draw the viewer’s gaze across the image via the overlaying text. The phrase ‘he has his mother’s eyes’ provides anchorage to the signified abuse, and presents a further symbolic interpretation of the bruising. It is an index of his own abuse, and a symbol that of his mother’s. The text used is a phrase that culturally is used to describe families that share characteristics, usually in a positive light. However, the direct interaction between the two elements changes the meaning of both the text and the image. The relationship between the text and the image is now symbolic, as two completely different signifiers have been combined to present a culturally-specific meaning.

The dark, shadow-like background can also be seen as a signifier with many possible signified elements, such as the boy almost fading unseen into the shadows, or simply symbolising the seriousness of the situation presented.

At the bottom of the image, there is the tagline ‘stop abuse‘ next to the Amnesty International logo. This text is not an anchor, but rather a transfer of meaning to a ‘call for action’ to stop the cycle.

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Image Two – Contextual Information:

Artist  – unknown (Nobody’s Children)

Type – Awareness Campaign ad

Title – You Can Lose More Than Your Patience

Year of Creation – 2015
Collection/source – Nobody’s Children Foundation Campaign
Medium/Technique – Digitally altered photograph

Content – A young girl rests her head on the table, expressionless, almost as if she was dead. Her head has been cracked into pieces, as if she was made of china or porcelain. The room around her is clean and brightly lit, and the image itself is, at first glance, deceptive in its nature. The text ‘you may lose more than your patience’ is placed above the girl.

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Semiotic Analysis:

The light backgrounds of these images is a different representation of abuse, as upon first glance, the image itself is bright and welcoming until the eye is drawn to the image of the little girl at the table. Her head is cracked against the glass, almost as if her skin was made of porcelain. The injury itself is a index of the violence (or perhaps extreme neglect) that has been committed against the child. The signified abuse is layered with another level of meaning in the way in which her skin has been depicted; shattered porcelain, representative of the fragility of a child in the way that just as porcelain will crack or shatter if handled with too much force, so might the life of a child.

The tonality of the image is bright and inviting, with the deceptive use of warm tones and the clean realism of the image. The child herself is dressed neatly. This in itself is a symbol of how abuse cannot always been seen at first glance, and once realised, is often too late.

The phrase ‘You may lose more than your patience’ is an anchorage to the signified violence and symbolised fragility of a child. It relays the meaning of the image, confirming that this was definitely an act of violence, and not an accident.

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Comparative Study:

In comparison, both advertisements have taken a difference route in portraying the same message (a call for action to stop child abuse). The first image utilises dark, serious tones, and the brutality of the child’s injury is the first thing that is seen. This image makes use of the cultural understanding of ‘he has his mother’s eyes’ and extends it to include the cycle of abuse within families. In comparison, the second advertisement is a more subtle relay of information, with the bright, unsuspecting image that surrounds the broken child insisting upon a more hidden form of abuse, one that stems from a parent’s neglect or misplaced frustration. The first image focuses on the brutality of the abuse itself, whilst the second image re-enforces the fragility of a child.