Multimodal Analysis to an English Advertisement

卢杨夏蒙

【Abstract】In the context of globalization and with the development of modern multimedia technology， people receive messages not only through singular text mode but also via multimodal approaches. For example， images， sounds， videos and other modes which are more interactive have become mainstream ways of transmission， because they are more likely to attract and resonate with participants. The present study begins with this mainstream paradigm by outlining and demonstrating a multimodal text analysis that starts from the unit of social situation， to that of interactive type and the participants behavior of talking and doing. This paper is aim to make a concrete analysis of one of Pepsis advertisements called “Mirror” in its relation to the analytical approach multimodal analysis. Multimodal texts involve using different modes such as visual and verbal designs to present， to realize， and at times to contextualize social positions and relations.

【Key words】multimodal text； Pepsi； discourse analysis； denotative； connotative

1. Introduction

Pepsi， as one of enormous soft drink corporations， has launched its campaign “live for now” from 2012 to address the global market effectively by inspiring the next generation. With respect to this marketing strategy， this essay will make a concrete analysis of one of Pepsis advertisements called “Mirror” in its relation to the analytical approach multimodal analysis. Multimodal texts involve using different modes such as visual and verbal designs to present， to realize， and at times to contextualize social positions and relations （Gunther， 2010）. This advertisement is encoded with multiple modes， such as， images and sounds， making multimodal analysis the appropriate approach to explore its cultural implications and association. The essay is divided into four sections， it will firstly explain the layer of multimodal text， and then illustrate the representations of image mode， and next will focus on the auditory mode， finally the discourse.

2. Multimedia text layer

The term ‘multimodal text will be used to refer to a series of multimedia moving images， sounds， and videos. And the term ‘multimodal content means what the essence of the series is about. So a multimodal text can be divided into two general layers： the content tier and the medium tier. The content tier consists of participants， events and behavior. The interacting participants that involves in the content are the authors， that is to say， of the multimodal text. The person who produces images， sounds and videos is a technical person. This technical person is not the ‘author of a multimodal text， because he has no control at the multimodal content. What this person does is to select shooting angles or close-up shots. Having made a contrast in these two biases and lose sight of them， the multimodal content of a multimodal text is genuinely accurate. The medium tier， on the other hand， comprises （a） image frames sampled at a regular time interval， The content tier is materialized in the linear streams of flowing image frames with synchronous sounds coded with time information. Against this backdrop， discourse analysis of a multimodal text consists of analyzing the content tier with reference to the medium tier. The essential objective of the present study is to show how it can methodologically worked.

3. Images analysis

Images， which are frequently used in this commercial， are the first mode to be addressed. The pop diva Beyoncé is seen in a dance studio surrounded by mirror with her brand new song “Grown Woman” playing as its soundtrack， each of the mirrors are reflections of her various images dressed in costumes from her memorable music videos. According to David Machin （2007）， in multimodal approach， visual elements are not only to be encoded with denotative particular meanings， but to serve as a way of communication （connotative meanings）. For example， images can express moods， attitudes and can convey ideas. Denotation is a way to analyze the first layer of meaning. In this ad， Beyoncés dynamic images are constantly shown to denote her emotions. For example， a panning scene of her wiping out sweat signifies the exhaustion and frustration. This effect is also accomplished with Beyoncés images in mirrors which are classical and successful personas from her past music videos. For instance， the one from Single Ladies in Sasha Fierce album， in which she appears in a close-up shot of her metal glove， is one of the most powerful previous incarnations.

While the first level of meaning denotes， the fact that it is also represented as social and cultural associations. Barthes （1972）， in Mythologies， called connotative meanings “myths”. Myths are the ideas that can be derived from discourses， they are used to convey dense associations about culture and society in an image. Specifically， a look with furrowed brows can be used to signify adolescent confusion， embarrassing situation， surging desire， and helpless survival of the young. And the close-up scene of her drinking bears a hidden meaning of refreshment. Besides， in the case of several personas， it is thought that the leading lady should be encouraged to meet the challenge by showing her past glories. Therefore， those images can carry forward the positive connotations and meanings of the confidence and past success. As suggested above， images themselves act as a role to represent basic and symbolic meaning in a context.

4. Auditory analysis

Auditory effect is another mode to be analyzed in this advertisement. Rhythm patterns are a feature set for analyzing audio documents including psychoacoustic transformations in them. At the beginning of the commercial， the prelude of Grown Woman is presented with the scene Beyoncé struggling with her dance move. It stops at the moment when she drinks and then renews with an uptempo marching beat track when various personas showing up. Apparently， the song is split into different segments with the feature of fade-in and fade-out， hence illustrating Beyoncés deep psychological changes within music signals. In addition to the variation in rhythm， lyrics are semantically rich and expressive for human perception （Omar， 2006）. The soundtrack “Grown Woman” sings

They love the way I walk， Cause I walk with a vengeance. Now I understand

just where I'm going. Now I'm growing into who I am...

It conveys the meaning of struggling out of confusion and identifying ones own present strength， which corresponds to the mantra of the Pepsi TV spot “live for now”.

5. Discourse analysis

Discourse analysis in the multimodal strategy is the last section in this essay. Graeme Burton （2005） argues that discourses are associated with social ideology and representations. They can use different verbal， visual or other codes in a subject to produce particular meaning about the subject. For example， the discourse of reflection is recognizable through the image “mirror” in Pepsi ad. This selective sign represents meaning about how the actress thinks about herself and about how she is thought about by others. At the same time， the mirror is given another special meaning of boundary from the scene of its cracking with a strong auditory effect “booming”. This discourse is viewed as a social way of speaking， namely， breaking with ones past to create a new look. It is also mentioned that the slogan “Embrace your past， live for now” as a discourse of a pop-cultural life concept. This Pepsi campaign （including Beyoncés TV spot） attempts to clearly define Pepsi as youthful， exciting， and synonymous brand through a wide range of global pop-culture platforms， including relationships with global entertainment icons ， digital innovations and etc.. As a result， the company considers the slogan “live for now” a strong factor for capturing the youngs gaze. Besides， Beyoncé， featuring as a global pop singer-celebrity， collaborates with Pepsi to build an international marketing strategy for Pepsi products. Due to the discussion above， these are recognition of discourses within the context of the “mirror” commercial.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion， this essay has explored a preliminary multimodal approach to the Pepsi “mirror” advertisement. Firstly， image mode is discussed to explain the denotative and connotative meanings of the ad. Additionally， it has described the auditory effects including music and lyrics embedded and how they help to convey emotional expressions. The discourse analysis is presented at last to recognize the ads social and cultural implications. It is acknowledged that multimodal analysis is defined as an effective and distinctive method to analyze media texts with multiple modes in combination. However， it has not been possible to cover all the aspects and latest research， so further exploration of multimodal approach will need to be conducted in future.

References：

[1]Pepsi TV commercial “mirror”： http：//www.youtube.com/watch？v=_2smYVl0zrk Gunther，K.Multimodality： A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication，1st ed.London： Routledge，2009.

[2]Omar，A.Songs and emotions： are lyrics and melodies equal partners.Psychology of Music，34（4），2006.