AAVV - The Multimodal Analysis of Television Commercials

4.3 DESIGN. “[Design] is the organisation of what is to be articulated into a blueprint for production” (Kress y Van Leeuwen, 2001: 50). Here we are dealing with the conceptual side of commercials, that is, semiotic resources and how they combine to create meaning. In this area there are interesting contributions in my selection. Regarding common points of reference: music, scenery, special atmospheres, etc., we can see that some have special connotations. Regarding music, there is a song played by a Swedish indie group specialized in catchy melodies, ( Lacrosse, Estrella Damm ), or music by a Catalan folk-rock band ( Olivemoon , Vichy Catalán ). In the case of natural settings, we find very special locations, i.e., the Catalan Pyrenees (Veri), or the Serra de Tramuntana ( Estrella Damm ). Special atmospheres are also featured, such as the cafeteria The Sortidor in Barcelona ( Vichy Catalan ), or Camp Nou ( Estrella Damm-Barça ), etc.

4.4 DISCOURSE. According to Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001: 4), discourses are socially constructed knowledge of some aspect of reality. By socially constructed they mean that:

… they have been developed in specific social contexts, and in ways which are appropriate to the interests of social actors in these contexts, whether these are very broad contexts (‘Western Europe’) or not (‘A particular family’), explicitly institutionalised contexts (newspapers) or not (dinner-table conversations), and so on.

In this sense, TV ads are a well-known form of communication in contemporary societies. And as such certain connotations related to the content of the ads match certain decoding parameters. In this respect, we note that “discourse relates to language, or perhaps more strongly, that discourse exists in language” (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2010: 24).

The construction of the discourses created in our selection is fully in compliance with this perspective. Returning to the idea of emotional advertising (Klein, 2000), my stance is that the viewer does not have time to think, to form an opinion. One of the main reasons why advertising discourse relies so much on clichés and stereotypes is that they facilitate an almost involuntary identification processes. We must also remember that each ad must establish emotional relationships between the positive ideas of the corporate identity of the brand and its products. The ultimate aim is to turn the brand itself into a universal cultural experience. Lemke’s words on advertisements seem especially enlightening in this sense (2011: 150):

Today we can say that they sell identities: identities which imply dispositions to buy some kinds of products and services rather than others. Global producers market identities. So when we analyze transmedia franchises, we need to be aware not just of the identities they are selling and the dispositions they appeal to, but also of the larger identity markets to which these belong.

In other words, each ad contains two or three of these ideas to be reconstructed in the collective consciousness: security is found in the safe environment provided by home insurance ( Catalana Occidente ), plurality is seen in the heterogeneous group ( The Tribe ), purity is felt in nature ( Veri ), the Mediterranean spirit is evinced through natural habitats and a permanent party atmosphere ( Estrella Damm ), the feeling of belonging occurs when one is a member of a club “which is more than a club” 16 ( Estrella Damm-Barça ), wellbeing surfaces in a smile ( Vichy Catalán ) fear grips one at night ( Sitges Festival ); individuality is expressed through unconventional attitudes ( Voll Damm ) etc. We must not forget that companies and their products are present in other contexts and have other resources to help the public recognize them. Brands, like the ones above, are organized around certain ideas that are carefully built up over the years through advertising and marketing.

5

Commercials

For the multimodal transcription used in this chapter I have followed the model proposed by Baldry y Thibault 17 (2006: cf. 142). However, I have not carried out a complete transcription of each ad due to space constraints. Instead I have transcribed frames which I deem are representative of the ad; moreover, as Baldry and Thibault (2006) themselves point out, a transcription is necessarily selective per se.

Catalana Occidente (Length: 10 seconds)

This ad highlights the specialized services of the insurance company. The advertising campaign revolves around a long ad and a series of shorter 10-second ads which focus on specific insurance services: life, home, car. This allows the distribution of the ads within the same block of commercials. 18 The advertising agency responsible for this advertising campaign is Catalan, Altraforma . The media plan, deployed by another agency ( MPG ), includes commercials on other major television networks in Spain, radio commercials, print ads in newspapers and magazines and ads on the Internet. Moreover, print material is available at Catalana Occidente’s branch offices. Altraforma has also been involved in other important advertising campaigns in Spain such as Unicef , Abertis or Dewar’s .

Catalana Occidente has spent several years organizing advertising campaigns which centre on the slogan “ Catalana Occidente fixes everything, everything, and everything”. The division of the campaign into different ads of different lengths reinforces the company’s slogan.

The main character in the ad that we’ve selected is a middle-aged father who emphasises that the insurance plan can be personalized to such an extent that things can be done “my way”. Furthermore, we see the clear visual references to the home and family. In the ad I have analyzed we are shown two girls and a woman. By inference we assume that they are the man’s daughters and wife.

The playfulness and the fun, together with the sense of complicity between the family members, help reinforce the viewers’ positive perception of what they see. There is a sensation of tranquillity and, to a certain extent, a disregard for possible problems. The musical score, present throughout the piece, has an upbeat rhythm that reinforces the atmosphere of good will. In the fragment analyzed a solo guitar emphasizes the slogan (my way).

Ultimately, the brand image is associated with the reliability of the term group , which in turn reinforces the meaning of the phrase uttered in the voice-over “many professionals working to do what has been promised” [my translation], i.e., individualized treatment tailored to real consumer needs. The brand, in this case, is also given a more Catalan flavour through the inclusion of the adjective Occident in the name of the company Catalana Occident instead of the Spanish version: Catalana Occidental .

La Tribu de Catalunya Ràdio (Length: 20 seconds)

The self-promotion of the programmes produced by Catalunya Radio has always been a hallmark of this radio station. Among public broadcasters in Spain, the RTVC group has always paid great attention to the quality of their self-promotion.

La Tribu (the Tribe) is an evening magazine programme on Catalunya Radio and one of the most popular radio programmes in Catalan. For this reason, it is the only commercial in our corpus that is not aired in the rest of Spain. The ad projects the positive values of the programme. It relies on a simple but effective voice-over that emphasizes the human component of the members of the show. In-house staff at Tv3 design and produce the ad. The fact that the ad is inexpensive and effective constitutes one of the reasons for the success and popularity of this radio station.