GHD advert analysis     

 Denotations Connotations Anchorage

A denotation is a literal meaning of a word it is quite simply a dictionary definition.

A connotation is what the word can mean; it’s an underlining meaning an understanding/assumption that comes from a word  

Anchorage is linking a section of text to a picture. 

 

The first denotation I noticed when looking at this magazine advert for GHD’s is a Women in a red dress. The Women in a red dress connotes many things, firstly I believe the red dress connotes that she is promiscuous as the colour red is provocative and sensual as it can also be seen to be the colour of mischief and love. The way the dress has been made to be low cut and exposing connotes that she is strong and almost alluring in what she is wearing, this can also connote that if you buy GHD’s you may achieve a level of elegance and pride in your appearance which you have never normally had before. As the lady in the photo appears to be flat chested, you could also connote that your insecurities can become a vital part of your appearance when you buy GHD’s, almost like you can gain confidence from buying the product; this is also explained in relation to the scenery later in the essay.

The Mise en Scene in the magazine advert is very important. The urban setting connotes that no matter where you are you can stand out, the lighting helps the article achieve this affect because the whole of the background is pretty much dull and dark apart from the women. You could also suggest that the skateboarders around her connote that if you buy the GHD hair products you will attract “bad boys”, I can connote this from the clothing and the props the males have for example a skate board and the bracelets/balaclava the men are wearing. Whilst I am talking about the mise en scene I thought that the GHD advert promotes confidence, as a dressed up women wouldn’t be found in a urban setting in the dark. I believe the designers at GHD have tried to connote that if you buy GHD’s a level of confidence to do new things and go new places will be found from within, this is an add on to the information that has been mention above in the first paragraph.

Furthermore another denotation of the women in the red dress is that she is above everybody else, this can connote that she is a on a level of her own almost like the men in the background are inferior to her and do not deserve to be on the same level as her. Carrying on focusing on the women, another denotation I have noticed is she has knee length socks and bronzing skin this connotes that she looks like a Greek goddess. The cherubs above her head also connote that her hair is almost heavenly and that it is been protected, a further connotation for this would be that by using GHD’S your hair will be protected but at the same time give off this Heavenly look this magazine advert is trying to secretly portray. On the other hand you could also argue that in fact the women in the advert can in fact be detonated as the devil, you could say this by the back ground scenery connoting hell. You can justify this by the darkness of the scenery and lighting the background not only this but the men in the magazine advert have devils on their t-shirts which could also be another connotation for hell. A underlining meaning of this could be that by buying GHD’s you can distinguish yourself as somebody you are not and you could almost cover up the person you are because your hair has a personality of its own I could connote this because even though the women can be seen to be a angel she could also be seen to be a devil.

Aother thing which I noticed about the GHD advert is that anchorage has been used in the magazine spread in the phrase at the top it says “And there she was an urban angel. made not born” the main bit of Anchorage that I have picked out is the ending of the phrase “made not born” this can connote that she has been made to be this urban angel and that in fact the GHD’s have perfected her and made her into this “urban angel” that she now is, so the connotation is that if you buy the GHD’s you can be made into the women on the magazine spread.

Lastly another denotation in this advert is the relation in the glowing ring around the photo of the hair products and the glowing of the women’s hair. The glowing of the hair products has been used to drag the reader’s attention, this is because a reader of this magazine may not have simply the time to read the whole magazine or perhaps they could be just flicking through the magazine whilst waiting for a hair or dental appointment or whilst browsing in the shop. The glowing around the products has been created to stand out and grab the attention of the reader. The connotation in the glowing around the products and the glowing around the women’s hair is quite simply if you buy the hair products you will achieve a glowing perfection like the women hair.