"Killer Heels" Advertisement

In this particular add, the Manolo Company displays one of its shoes plunging through the chest of a man.  The man’s body is seen limp and impaled, dangling above a pool of his own blood.  The logo in the ad says “Killer Heels”.  This use of metaphor in advertising is interesting, but also a bit troubling. 

            In today’s culture, when a woman finds a fabulous pair of shoes, they are often referred to as being “killer”.  This term and its use in the Manolo ad remind me of the phrase of “drop dead gorgeous”.  This seems to be the kind of message this particular advertisement is trying to portray, but it is a bit extreme.  When thinking of the phrase “drop dead gorgeous” an image that comes to mind is seeing someone or something that is so beautiful that it makes their heart go into shock—making the person literally drop to the ground dead.  The image in the ad, however, portrays this beautiful accessory killing a man in a gory, violent manor.  What is this ad trying to say?

            In this particular visual, there are words present.  In communication advertisement, the use of words can be helpful, necessary or unnecessary in understanding the metaphor of the visual.  In this case, I believe the text used is helpful and leaning a little towards necessary.  Without the slogan “killer heels” would people understand the message the Manolo Company is trying to portray?  I personally found the text very helpful.  When first looking at this image, I was surprised and a bit confused.  I wondered why on earth I was seeing a dead bloody man in a shoe advertisement.  This use of shock value is often found in advertisements today.  There are so many fashion ads present in our media today, artists must take risks in order to stand out and grab the attention of the audience.  But is this artistic choice a positive one?

            In my opinion, this ad went a little far in its attempt to grab attention.  This seems to be the primary achievement in this visual: to shock.  Seeing a man impaled on a pair of heels and lying in a pool of his own blood does not make me want to run out the door with my wallet to purchase a pair of these shoes.  The ad was noticeable, yes—but at what cost?  This negative imaging does not accentuate the beauty or craftsmanship of these expensive shoes. 

Pentad in the "It Gets Better" Campaign

“Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I'll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that "It Gets Better." (Itgetsbetter.org). 
          This is the pledge taken by millions of Americans across the country that have joined the “It Gets Better” campaign.  This campaign is dedicated to spreading a positive message to the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, and Questioning) community.  The rate of suicides within this community is rising due to bullying and other hate crimes.  Many celebrities have joined this campaign and film their testimonies about their experience with being bullied because of their differences.  They are trying to spread the message that although things may look bleak now, things do get better—so no one should give up one life. 
          Pentadic criticism involves categorizing the aspects of artifacts into specific terms: agent; act; purpose; scene; and agency.  The agent ( “or the “who”) in this message is the community of celebrities and other members of the “It Gets Better” campaign.  Their act is to spread a message of hope and improve morale of the LGBTQ community.  This important message hopes to serve the purpose of decreasing the number of suicides within the homosexual community.  The scene is more difficult to define, because these celebrities are being filmed and working with this campaign all over the world.  One could say the television and radio stations are the “scene” because these are the places where these messages are being presented; however, this method of messaging can also be viewed as the agency, or how the act is being done.  So the categorization in this section is a little tricky.
          The most prominent or powerful element in this campaign is the purpose.  All over the country, people in the LGBTQ community are being bullied and suffering from hate crimes which is causing more and more of them to commit suicide.  Many people want to stop this from continuing, which is why they are joining the campaign.  The purpose provokes the action.  It creates the agents.  It sets the scene all over the world.  The purpose of stopping suicide and sending a positive, hopeful message to the community is the most important force within the pentad because it leads to the creation of everything else in order to achieve this purpose. 
           

The Pentad of "Born Into Brothels"

          

           I recently viewed the documentary “Born into Brothels” in my Cross Cultural Psychology class. Kids-with-cameras.org describes the film as “A tribute to the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art . . . a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York-based photographer, gives each of the children a camera and teaches them to look at the world with new eyes.”

            This film had a surprising effect on me.  There were many moments when the young children would talk to the interviewers and would say things that were very profound.  For instance, Kochi, a young girl in the film, said “One has to accept life as being sad and painful—that is all.”  This struck me as both poetic and heartbreaking.  For children to have such an outlook on life is very disheartening. 

            Pentadic criticism has critics classify portions of artifacts into five terms: agent, act, scene, purpose, and agency.  In this particular film, the scene is the Red District in Calcutta, India.  Zana Briski is a photographer who travels to the Red District to take photographs of the culture.  While traveling here, she meets the children of the sex oracles and develops a close bond with them.  The children are the agent.  Briski sees the children’s longing to do more and be more than what their culture encourages them to be.

This longing is what creates the “act”.  Briski decides to teach the children about the art of photography.  She provides them with cameras and discusses their photographs with them and teaches them about the meaning of art.  This, however, is not the main act in the film.  The central act comes later when Briski decides to try to enroll these children in schools—particularly boarding schools outside of the red district community. 

Briski says in the film that she is not a social worker.  She did not come to this area to save the children—she only came to take photos.  But after getting to know these children and seeing their desire to be valuable members of society, she decides that she cannot walk away without trying to help them.  Her purpose is to show them that they are more than what society tells them they are.  She tries to prove to them that there is more to life than drugs, alcohol, and prostitution.  The agency, or how she goes about doing this, is by going to non-profit organizations and selling the children’s photographs. 

In this film the scene (Red Light District) and the agent (children) are the dominant “terms”.  Briski did not go to India with the intention of teaching and helping young children.  She went for herself.  It is because of the scene and the society that the children are immersed in that she decides to help.  The children are the main focus of this film.  We see each of their families and hear their individual stories.  The interviews and scenes of the children give an audience an understanding of their culture and help them to understand the work the Briski is doing in the film.  The children were not Briski’s reason for coming to India, but they because her reason for everything that she did there. 

This film shows how artifacts in pentadic criticism are not always what they are intended to be.  The acts and purposes of a person often change when they enter a situation.  Things do not always go according to plan, and this film shows that this change of plans works to better the lives of the children and those who work to help them.   

Narrative in Avon Products Mission Statement

“Avon Products is a direct selling company that distributes both cosmetics and other beauty items” (missionstatements.com).  In their mission statement, the Avon Products company states that they are a company which strives to “surpass competitors” in quality and service.  They offer the “convenience of multiple brands and channels” and try to create lasting customer relationships.  The statement includes a number of indications that the company wants their employees to succeed and to see Avon as “the best place to work”.  The Avon company mission statement tries to make it very clear that they hire women in the hopes of giving them a more independence and a sense of empowerment. 

            Is Avon’s mission statement really trying to empower women?  Or, is this tactic of empowerment their way of improving their own economic standing?  Avon is a cosmetics company.  They sell makeup and other “beauty items” to women throughout the world.  However; the mission statement of the company seems to say that Avon is much more than a producer of cosmetics:

“The Largest Women's Foundation: We will be a committed global champion for the health and well-being of women through philanthropic efforts that eliminate breast cancer from the face of the earth, and that empower women to achieve economic independence” (missionstatements.com).

This statement sounds more like a campaign for women’s rights than a statement of purpose for a company.  Rather than saying they participate in “philanthropic efforts” in hopes of eliminating breast cancer, they simply say that they their efforts eliminate breast cancer.  What are these efforts that are so affective?  In what way will selling makeup for Avon decrease the number of women suffering from cancer?  They do not tell the audience how they plan to do this—simply that it is being done. This makes Avon sound like a charity, when in reality they are a company.  They need to make a profit.  They need to sell as many products as they possibly can in order to remain a successful business.  If women think that they are working for a good cause, they will be more motivated to sell more products.  The more products that are sold, the more profit the Avon Company makes. 

Also, the company seems to be saying that by selling their products, employees will have a deeper sense of self-worth.  They claim that women will feel more empowered with every cosmetics sale that they make.  The company is speaking to the audience of women who feel that they need more purpose in life.  They are speaking to those who have low self esteem.  They are saying, “Come work for us; sell our products.  It will make you feel better.” 

The Avon Company gives the impression that their objective is to empower women.  They are saying that they are a company which needs women to help other women.  Working for them will improve the female population in multiple ways.  Although some of their efforts may be amicable, these apparent statements of purpose mask the true objective of the mission statement, which is to get more employees so that they can sell more products.  To put it simply, the Avon company has the same objective that every business has: to make money. 

The company’s mission statement makes employees feel good about the work that they are doing.  Avon believes that if employees feel good about what they are doing, they will happily do more work—which benefits both parties.  The Avon Products statement makes the company appear to be something other than what they are.  They are not a feminist organization traveling around speaking to women about their rights and to know that they are worthy members of society.  They are a business.  They need workers.  They need profits.  Giving audiences the impression that they are a company simply created to empower women is not an appropriate or honest message. 

Metaphor in Fauchon Advertisement

In 1886, Auguste Fauchon started the Fauchon Company which sells high quality packaged food goods.  Fauchon imposes itself as the top luxury gourmet store in France.  For more than a century, Fauchon served the regal, the rich, and the famous. The Paris-based provider of luxury goods sold tea to royalty, pastry to politicians, and caviar to movie stars. 

In this ad, the Fauchon Company promotes its products by presenting a pair of lush lips wrapped in a festive bow.  The brand name, Fauchon, is “tattooed” all over the lips, which are brightly colored and prominent in comparison to the dull, grey chin in the photo.  The small print in the corner shows the slogan: “Fauchon, Paris on your lips”.  What is this advertisement trying to say about the company and its products? 

Metaphoric criticism would define the products of the Fauchon company as the tenor, or subject, of the advertisement.  The use of vibrant color and the “gift wrapping” of the mouth are the vehicles, or mechanisms used to evoke meaning in the viewing of this advertisement.  The creators of this ad wanted the mouth to be the most prominent feature, which is most likely why the rest of the chin is a dull, grey hue and the lips are a bright pink. 

The color pink is representative of many different things.  Pink is associated with good health and life—which could be relevant to the Fauchon company as they try to advertise the fine quality of their food products.  The French are meticulous and very particular about their food, and the Fauchon brand wants consumers to know that their products are of high quality and that eating their food would be a public display of a good life and great taste.  The color pink is also connected to love and sexuality.  The image of full, lush, pink lips is a very sensual one.  The use of sexual appeal in advertisements is not uncommon today, especially in Europe.  People are drawn to the beautiful, kissable lips portrayed in this add, and the bow makes it seem as though the lips are a gift, waiting to be taken by viewers—which draws them in. 

The gift wrapping around the lips is somewhat perplexing.  My first impression was that the Fauchon company was trying to say that their product is like a gift, from their factory to our lips.  Although this may be what the company is trying to say, the fact that the bow is on the pair of lips rather than an image of their product makes it seems as though the lips themselves are the gift.  This may be the Fauchon company’s way of telling non-French consumers  that if they eat Fauchon products, they too will have the pallet and taste of those in France.

The slogan “Paris on your lips” is represented by the use of the brand name being printed repeatedly on the pair of lips.  This is the company’s way of saying that “Fauchon is Paris”.  To eat their brand is to partake from French culture.  In this ad, Fauchon makes it clear that their food will be a divine experience for those who taste it. 

MAC AIDS Fund

                The MAC Aids Fund is a campaign by the MAC cosmetics company which donates money to Africans with AIDS when people but their VIVA GLAM lipstick products.  Their mission statement is as follows:                        

“The MAC AIDS fund’s mission is to serve people of all ages, all races, and all sexes affected by HIV and AIDS.  To partner with the bold, the visionary, and the brave who confront the epidemic in countries and communities where people are most neglected, off the radar and at highest risk.  Responsive, agile and alert, MAF funds innovative programs that deal directly with the most marginalized, stigmatized, and under-heard victims.  MAF celebrates humanity, life, creativity and individuality.  Making a difference one VIVA GLAM Lipstick at a time.”

The company has two well-known celebrities as the spokeswomen for the campaign: Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga.  These moguls, as well as the products being sold, particularly attract a female audience.  Lady Gaga is especially well-known and influential to young women today.  She is seen as someone who is not afraid to be eccentric, different, or criticized.  She has her opinions and is not afraid to put them out there.  Many women idolize those characteristic about her, which is why they would want get on board with a cause that she is supporting. 

                The MAC AIDS Fund says that they reach out to people with AIDS in countries where others “may not go”.  They claim that there are many people with AIDS who are neglected and denied the help that others are receiving.  MAC uses many words to make their cause in particular seem worthwhile.  They describe the victims they are helping as “neglected” “off the radar” “stigmatized” “under-heard” and “at highest risk”.  Their view is clearly that there are some people with AIDS who need more help than others, based one where they live. 

                My question is, is this a legitimate argument?  Are there some AIDS victims who “deserve” help more than others?  Are these victims really in greater need of help than other AIDS victims, or is the MAC corporation simply trying to make their campaign seem more worth-while than other AIDS campaigns?  There are many funds and charities out there whose goal is to help Africans with AIDs.  Does the MAC company feel the need to label their recipients as more deserving in order to beat the competition?  Are they labeling and shaming their recipients more than is necessary in order to push their product? 

Ideology within the Trojan "Evolve" Campaign

The Trojan company produced a commercial in which there is a bar full of beautiful women and large pigs.  These pigs are clearly flirting with women, and the women are clearly not interested in them.  With every passing glance, the women in the bar look at the pigs as if they are just that—fat, disgusting pigs.  Noticing their disgust, one pig ventures to the restroom where he buys a Trojan condom from a machine.  As soon as the condom lands in his hand, he is no longer a pig but rather a young, handsome man.  He exits the restroom and returns to the bar where the girl that he was talking to before notices him and is clearly impressed with and intrigued by him.  The commercial closes with this slogan: “Evolve.  Use a condom every time.”

                The use of pigs is not a random choice in this commercial.  When a man does something that is considered rude or repulsive, he is referred to as a pig.  This ad pushes the important lesson of “safe sex”.  The Trojan company is abiding with a worldview that believes unprotected sex is dangerous and unwise—which is true.

 However, this commercial also makes it very clear that the “pigs” and the women they are pursuing are meeting for the first time.  It is clear that they are not seeking a relationship, but a companion for the night.  This reminds me of Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World” in which sex has evolved into nothing more than an animal act between a man and a woman.  There are no emotional attachments, no monogamous relationships—just a physical act in order to achieve pleasure for the night.  This worldview is one that many people possess today, and it has clearly had economic benefits for the Trojan company.  The question is, is this a good thing?

Although the act of promoting safe sex is admirable, there is another, less admirable, message that is implied in this commercial—that for a man to go out into a social situation without a condom in his possession is “piggish”.  Within the worldview of the Trojan company, this statement is one that they would agree with.  Many would say that it’s best to be prepared—just in case.

 I, however, am speaking from a Reformed worldview in which sex is more than just an animal, pleasurable act.  Sex is about an emotional commitment, an act that should be shared monogamously—between one man and one woman.  Many women who share this worldview would most likely be offended to discover that a man they were on a first date with was carrying a Trojan in his wallet—“just in case”.  In this worldview, there shouldn’t be any “just in case” because it is believed that a man and a woman should not have sex until after marriage—let alone after the first date! 
This commercial from the Trojan company encourages the worldview that “sex is just sex”.  No one can deny that their promotion of “safe sex” for those who are sexually active is commendable, but as for the message of what sex means—not so much.