Afro-Beats Headphones (AB-H) Advertisement
Over the course of our quarter together, we have looked at and analyzed many signs as examples of complex systems of signification at work: from individual words and single images to complex assemblages of signs, such as the 1969 advertisement for Pall Mall cigarettes.
For your final project, you are going to show your understanding of how these systems of signification work by developing your own print advertisement for an already existing object (see page 3).
Rather than applying a semiotic analysis to a sign, as you have done in other assignments, you will be building your own advertisement from the ground up in order to demonstrate your understanding of how the mechanics of semiotics can be applied to creating something rather than interpreting something. Your use of semiotic concepts and terms should be drawn largely from the second half of our course—that is, from the material in Chandler’s book after the midterm (i.e. Chapter 4 forward)
Although creating the advertisement is the centerpiece of the project, the goal of the project is also to demonstrate that you understand what a semiotic approach to representation makes possible. In order to do this, you will produce a structured proposal that incorporates five distinct sections:
1) Introduction
2) Final Advertisement
3) Justification
4) Audience
5) Reflection
Here is what each section of the proposal should contain:
1) Introduction (@ 300 words): Provide a detailed textual description and brief assessment of the object that could be used to explain it to anyone. It should be meaningful to someone who is unfamiliar with it, or someone who is visually impaired, or someone who is not from your community or have your cultural background. A good Introduction will set the tone for the sections that follow.
2) Final Advertisement: This section is entirely up to you, but it should incorporate visual and textual information about your object and any other elements yo
believe will demonstrate the semiotic concepts you have chosen to put your advertisement together.
3) Justification (@ 300 words): Provide a solid, thorough discussion of and justification for the semiotic concepts that inform your approach to creating an advertisement for this object. Consider the following questions (these are suggestive and not meant to be proscriptive):
*Which codes are you using to structure your advertisement, and how are you using them?
*What rhetorical devices are you using to create your advertisement, and why? How are you using them? To what end?
*How are you engaging with concepts such as denotation and connotation? Literal and figurative language? Why and how are these important for your advertisement?
4) Audience (@ 300 words): Provide a detailed description of the audience or audiences for which the advertisement is intended and your what you are hoping your advertisement communicates to them. You might also consider: to what degree does your advertisement leave open possibilities of interpretation that you cannot account for or control for?
5) Reflection (@ 300 words): Provide a thoughtful, reflective statement about what you have learned from this course about semiotics, what has been the most useful and why, and how this knowledge has enabled you to put this advertisement together. How, for example, did creating this advertisement take you back to our very first discussions of the problems of representation?
Phase One: Initial Proposal for Final Project
1) Choose of one of the three objects featured on page 3 of this prompt and make this your semiotic object. [You are also freee to choose an object of your own, pending approval of your TA, to make as semiotic object.] You are not creating an advertisement for a familiar or recognizable brand of object (e.g. a pair of Levi’s) but a generic (or iconic) example of this type of object. In other words, if you choose “jeans,” you’re not re-branding for Levi’s, but creating a brand for “some pair of jeans in the world.”
2) A draft (@ 300 words) of your proposed approach that combines the “Introduction” and “Justification” sections of the final proposal.
3) A draft of the advertisement, incorporating visual and textual information (this can be preliminary and basic, with the “finished” version appearing with the final version of the project proposal).
4) You will not need to submit a hard copy, only a PDF to the “Proposal” link Canvas.
Final
Student Full Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Full Title
Instructor Full Name
Due Date
Final
Introduction
The advertisement that forms the centerpiece of this project is a promotion for Afro-Beats Headphones (AB-H). AB-H are specially designed to enhance Afro-beats and Afro-pop listening experience. Both Afro-beats and Afro-pop are predominantly distinct music genres. The former is a mixture of American jazz &soul and African music while the latter is a combination of African and Western music, including Naija beats, soca, Kwaito, dancehall, and juju. Both music genres are jubilant party sounds characterized by propulsive rhythms and hybrid languages in terms of tone and delivery. AB-H is a new brand of headphones that caters to music lovers of the two sounds, which is increasingly gaining popularity in the entertainment scene. The advert combines symbolic and written codes. Symbolic codes include the use of Afro-colors (black, red, yellow, and green) in the advertisement to link the brand with the music genres. The advertisement also uses written codes such as headlines and captions that directly appeal to Afrobeat and Afropop enthusiasts.
Moreover, the advertisement also includes rhetorical devices in promoting AB-H products: the key rhetorical devices employed in the advertisement are hyperbole, comparison, and repetition. The advertisement uses hyperbole to make the advertisement a fun subject to viewers and emphasize the jubilant nature of Afrobeat and Afropop. Moreover, the advertisement also employs repetition to improve brand awareness. Repeating the promotional message will make it stick in viewers’ minds. Conversely, the use of comparison will emphasize the superiority of AB-H products over other brands in terms of providing the best Afrobeat and Afropop listening experience. The symbolic codes, written codes, and rhetorical devices have been selected to create a positive mental representation of the brand’s product. This essay will conduct a semiotic analysis of the advertisement as a sign and demonstrate how the mechanics of semiotics have been applied to create an attractive and convincing mental representation of AB-H among Afrobeat and Afropop enthusiasts.
Final Advertisement
Justification
Signs are often used to explain the link between form and meaning, which is categorized by formal models of the sign into conceptual meaning and referential meaning. The Saussurean model asserts that a language’s sign system is composed of a signifier and a signified. Both the signifier and signified are entirely interdependent and exist in a bidirectional relation (Chandler, 2017). The poster applies these concepts of linguistic signs to create a strong impression among viewers of the superiority of AB-H in providing the best Afrobeat and Afropop listening experience. For instance, the signifiers in the poster are the Afro-colors and headphone. On the other hand, the signified relate to the brand’s Afrocentric personality and the rich variety of Afrobeat and Afropop music styles. Colors play a significant role in influencing viewers’ feelings, attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors. The semiotic concept of signs suggests that color as a signifier has several psychological effects on viewers including brand positioning (the signified). These codes also relate to the advert’s literal and figurative language. In the advertisement, the use of Afro-colors not only differentiates the brand from its competitors but also sustains the product’s proposition of providing the best listening experience for music enthusiasts. Red, black, green, and yellow colors are Afrocentric and have longed been used to symbolize the black identity. For instance, red symbolizes the Black African ancestry, black symbolizes the African nation-state, green symbolizes the natural wealth of Africa, while yellow symbolizes success and quality.
Having these colors on the advertisement creates a strong perception of the brand as distinctly Afrocentric and conveys certain positive psychological properties. The rhetorical devices of hyperbole, comparison, and repetition also reinforce the promotional message. For instance, claiming that only AB-H headphones can give afrobeat music lovers the best listening experience is intended to attract customers and sustain the reputation of the brand as Afrocentric. Moreover, the use of...