Exercise

Rip out an advertising image from a newspaper supplement and circle and write on as many parts of the image as you can. Comment on what it is, what it says about the product and why you think it’s there. 

For this exercise I took an image from a free magazine available at Aldi Supermarket. The advert is for various products that are due to be available in their store from Thursday 18th June.



Use of colours

There is strong use of red and yellow in the advert. Red is one of the most visible colours of the spectrum to the human eye and it has been used in the advert to attract our attention both to the overall advert and, more importantly, to the most important messaging.(J.L. Morton. Graphics and Text) This includes the price of items where high contrast (white on red) has been used to make the prices and the statements such as “super weekly offer” stand out. Yellow is the most visible colour to the human eye and it has been used here alongside red to draw attention to the most important messaging. The fruit on the righthand side of the image consists of primarily yellow and red fruit which agin draw the eye.

Use of text and symbols

The advert uses multiple symbols to communicate meaning. These symbols are generally perceived in the UK as positive signage pertaining to food quality.

• 100% British Beef (union jack symbol)
• Assured Food Standards (red tractor symbol)
• Minimum 12 Month Reared (gold cow symbol)
• Specially Selected (black/gold square text box)
• Team GB (Lions head and olympic rings symbol)

The use of colours which are suggestive of quality (suggesting British standards recognition) and which also connote national pride, are evident in these signs. specifically black and gold and red white and blue. The national pride connotations only apply to those in the UK who feel British. It is less likely to have a positive impact in, for example, Scotland. And it would not carry such recognition in other countries.

At the top left of the advert the word “like” has been emphasised. The word is in block capitals whilst the words around it are in lower case and the scale has been dramatically increased. Each letter has been spaced further apart than is usual and a multi-coloured shadow has been applied to make the letters stand out from the page. The effect on the viewer is almost an instruction “you will like these products!”

Other regularly used words on the page include:

• Amazing
• Super
• Quality

These words are repeated throughout the advert and other words are kept to a minimum. The repetition of key words helps the advert to convey a defined message and adds to the overall significance to to the intended viewer.

Iconic Signs

On the lefthand side of the page there are five separate images of cooked meat products. The red on yellow labelling acts as an anchor to each image telling the viewer what they are looking at. In each case the meat product looks freshly cooked and  succulent there is a glossiness to the outside of the meat suggesting juices from cooking. Each of the meat products is shown with seasoning applied and an accompaniment of salad or vegetables to suggest that it is being served to the viewer. The use of a dark background and hints of a marble or slate platter and napkins suggest a restaurant setting. The lowermost image includes a fork in the image suggesting that the meat is about to be eaten. With the exception of the images of burgers (which you would expect to bite into) all of the other meat images show the meat partially sliced so that the inside of the product can be seen. The interior surfaces appear moist (glossy) and the red / pink colouration connotes a succulence and tenderness.

On the upper righthand side of the page there are images of eight people, they are young, healthy looking and dressed in matching sportswear which includes a union jack motif. The image strongly suggests that these individuals are part of the British Olympic team. The people are depicted in front of the lower half of a stylised Union Jack symbol with what appears to be exploding pieces of fruit. The Union Jack Connotes national pride and the “fruit explosion” connotes freshness. There is text acting as a relay to this part of the advert stating “it’s amazing what you can achieve when you have a team like this behind you”   Not being interested in sport I am led to wonder if these individuals are olympians or store workers or perhaps olympians who also work in Aldi. The detail in this part of the image is lost on me but the overall addition to the advert is a suggestion that the achievement of health and fitness at the highest level is associated to consuming the fresh fruit and vegetables depicted on the lower half of the page.

In the very small print at the bottom of the page there is a statement “Photography shows serving suggestions”

References

J.L. Morton (n.d.) Color Matters – The meaning of red [online] J.L. Morton.
Graphics and Text (website) Available from: https://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/red. Last Accessed 17/06/2020.