Journal 1: Conveying Meaning in Advertising

 


This advertisement for Heinz ketchup is a good example of the kinds of visual rhetoric Barthes talks about in this chapter. 

Linguistic

The pieces of linguistic information within the image are: 1) The Heinz brand and label, and 2) the tagline "No one grows Ketchup like Heinz." The operative verb here is very telling as to what the intent of the advertiser is. As we all know, ketchup is not grown. However, tomatoes are. The linguistic equation of the product (ketchup) with fresh tomatoes serves to reinforce a positive, fresh, clean, and healthy view of the product in the consumer. This reinforcement happens by way of Barthes' idea of "anchorage," where linguistic information is used to “fix the floating chain of signifieds in such a way as to counter the terror of uncertain signs.” That is to say, it steers the viewer towards the “correct” interpretation of the image, underscoring and highlighting the positive, ‘euphoric’, desirable qualities of the connoted image.

Connoted

Though nothing constituted by the work 'ketchup' can be said to exist within the denoted image, it certainly does exist within the connoted image. The stack of tomatoes, coupled with the distinctive Heinz label could only be a bottle of ketchup in the eyes of a modern American viewer. It is this simple equation of tomato for ketchup that is reinforced by the linguistic elements of the advertisement. 

Denoted

In some ways, I think the denoted image can be the most difficult to discuss. Partially due to its seeming 'obviousness.' Nevertheless, it is useful to include the denoted image in discussions such as these, as it can reveal things we might take for granted in certain images. For example, I had not considered the fact that the product itself was not, in fact, part of the (denoted) image until I carefully considered each element: The stack of tomatoes, the label, and the red background.

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