Davis Zarefsky says visual imagery "stands in for a more complex reality."
Well, Zarefsky, great job in your adaption of "A picture is worth a thousand words" mantra that I've heard about a 57 thousand times since I was ten. Yes, we all agree that this is the case, so why is Sonja Foss quoting this elaborate rewording of a overworked idea?
The truth is, this "thousand words" concept goes deeper than the stereotypical phrase to which it is associated. It's complicated, and yet it is almost... obvious? A thousand words cannot describe one picture, so how can a thousand words describe the concept of a picture describing a thousand words? Instead, what Foss argues in her article is this-
"The cognitive processing of images is less conscious and critical than the processing that occurs with verbal discourse."
That makes sense. Looking at one picture does not only take less time than reading an essay, it also gives pleasure, something that can, ahem, muddle our focus. The above ad for example.
In contemporary culture, the verbal speech is a thing of the past, Foss argues. It's easy to see why. TV, the internet, they all rely on bright colors, and attractive people(take another look at the woman above) and visual stimulation(yes this is purposeful).Possibly because, as humans are primarily visually oriented, as opposed to many other beings, Foss' thinking that "Human experiences that are spatially oriented, nonlinear, multidimensional, and dynamic often can be only communicated only through visual imagery or other non-discursive materials." makes too much sense, just as Zarefsky's adaption makes too much sense to be ignored, even if it is a little overworked. Acknowledging this Foss, breaks visual rhetoric into three requirements:
Symbolic action
Human intervention
Presence of an audience
The article above really exemplifies this.
This next bit may not be for the squeamish....
Symbolic Action:
"Does this NEED to be said? Does this NEED to be said by ME? Does this NEED to be said by ME, NOW?"- Craig Ferguson
Well, I guess I'll just have to own up to the fact that, you all know what I'm getting at, but there's no real getting around it. The Ice Cream Cone.... well. It's supposed to stand in for a cock. The Symbolic action that Foss says needs to be in visual rhetoric is indeed, well... the licking of a penis by a beautiful girl. Guys think about that kind of thing when they see this ad (at least I do-wait for the feminists to stop yelling- ok continue). It's not helped by large amounts of testosterone that cloud our judgement by making us think about sex every fourteen seconds or whatever- I'm not trying to make excuses, ladies, but my brain is wired that way.
This comes to the second requirement of Foss' article, human intervention. The human intervention in this case is the taking of the Ice Cream Cone and replacing it with one's own cock. I mean, it's not that hard to do (pun intended).
The Audience here is at once, simple and complicated. Initially, the audience is guys. They do the first two things and are like "Heh, sweet" and then they see Old Spice and whistle the theme song as they go to the grocery store to pick up a new stick of deodorant because they want a girl to lick thier ice cream cone and Old Spice promises to deliver. But the clever bit is that the discourse plays on the first two stereotypical aspects of Foss' requirements and turns it on it's head. It says, "You're the dicks, not the damn Ice Cream cone for thinking that she enjoys greasing poles rather than frozen milk and sugar on a hot day." Hell, I enjoy Ice cream. I even eat it that way some times, one big ol' lick savoring the cold sweet taste of vanilla cream while the sweat beads on my brow. But I like mine out of the cup rather than the cone. mmmmm.... a double scoop where Let my tongue slip between the two, slowly, relishing every brainfreeze inducing second.
If sex is a weapon then smash-boom-pow! Well, get your mind out of the gutter you goddamned sexist pigs! You womanizers! You maneaters! It's not sexual, it's fucking Ice Cream!
Gee, thanks Tim. Way to tempt me. Now you have my desire running on overdrive. For the ice cream that is. I'm fasting for a blood draw this morning and I can't eat or drink anything until then. Actually, what would have been worse for me is a beautiful woman drinking a cup of coffee. That's what I really want.
ReplyDeleteBut I liked your phallus analysis. Very um...symbolic. I suppose this is doubly symbolic. I wish I knew more about the human intervention component. I suppose that's our interpretation of the visual...is that right?
I definitely think you're on to something though. For men, the visual seems to be particularly important when it comes to sexual desire. I'm not sure it works for every product, but probably for male cologne it's probably a safe bet. Although there's one problem. When I think of Old Spice I think of my dad, who is now in his mid-60's. He used to wear Old Spice. Maybe that's why Old Spice is trying to redefine itself with this provocative ad. It's a distraction. But it's also kind of tongue in cheek (aw geez, sorry) humor as much as raw sexuality.
Apart from a very attractive girl giving an unusual amount of oral attention to the creamy sides of an ice cream cone, I would have to say that one of the key visual elements in this image is that the girl's eyes are closed. If they were open and looking somewhere, I think this image would have been received very differently. For some reason, having closed eyes is a psychological trigger that implies pleasure.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note...
I think this really says something how advertisers view the overall intelligence and gullibility of its audience. This advertisement uses self-reflexivity -- deliberately drawing attention to its own rhetorical methods -- as a method of persuasion in itself. Old Spice is basically admitting that, yeah, we use overt sexual imagery to persuade you into buying our product. But fuck it, you're guys. The quality of the product doesn't even matter. All we have to do is bombard you with hot women and you'll buy anything (think beer commercials). They're making fun of their own methods, the apathy of its target audience, and consumer culture as a whole.
Also interesting is the phrase "Keep it clean." I wonder what noun could possibly be hidden behind the pronoun "it" in this sentence:
"Buy our soap so you can wash your ice cream cone." Yes. That must be it.
Phallus analysis, you made a rhymey! I agree that there is oral sex, but there is hygiene too. Perhaps this is to reinforce good hygiene leading to a sexual encounter. That hygiene requires pit stick. It's all so funny and all so human.
ReplyDelete