Denotation & Connotation

 Denotation & Connotation blog tasks: advert analysis

1) Write an analysis of the WaterAid 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?

The advertisement has the slogan 'dig toilets, not graves' (verbal code) and uses the word graves which gives a sense of urgency and fear that persuades the person seeing the advert to donate or support the cause, it also has the organisation's name (verbal code) which promotes and attracts the audience. The advert also shows a black child which can be seen as stereotypical because black people are often represented as poor, but using a child that's portrayed as malnourished and depressed (symbolic code) might help the audience sympathise or pity the child and therefore the company gains more attention. Having the boy stand right next to the camera, staring (technical and narrative codes) makes the advert dramatic and important.

2) Now choose your own choice of advert from Google images. Save it to your documents, insert it into your blogpost and write an analysis using denotation and connotation, explaining what the advert is communicating to the audience.

Connotations: a celebrity is in the advert and their name is in bold (written code), many glasses of the product are being shown (symbolic code), the name of the product is also in big, bold letters (written code), plain white background (technical code)

Denotations: The advertisement using a famous individual can interest their target audience, also using a white background draws the viewers attention to the celebrity and writing. Putting the products name promotes the drink to gain more consumers, the quantity of the drink that is being poured symbolises the quality of the product.


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

connotations: an ice cream being represented as an overweight persons stomach (symbolic code).

denotations: using an ice cream cone represents the innocence of unhealthy childhood habits, but showing an overweight persons belly illustrates the impacts of eating unhealthily in later life and the struggles overweight people face due to these habits. Therefore presenting the ice cream like this may help children revert their bad habits and stay away from unhealthy eating.