The meaning of the “McVities Digestive Biscuits – Kittens” advert is that the product; in this case that the biscuits will be as sweet as kittens as the packet is opened, kittens appear.
The kittens are a denotation of the advert as they are featured as well as the biscuits. The product; biscuits is a denotation as it is what is being advertised. The nurses’ faces are a denotation as they are in the advert.
The connotation is of the kittens escaping from the biscuit packet would be that the biscuits are as sweet as the chocolate. The meaning of the biscuits would be that you taste the chocolate and people feel freedom when eating chocolate. The face from the nurses’ that are looking at the kittens is a connotation as they convey how they feel when the ‘sweet’ kittens appear from the packet and their expressions show how people would feel when they eat the biscuits.
The metaphor of the advert is that when you eat the biscuit, you are feeling a sense of freedom as the kittens represent the biscuits. An example of this would be; that when you are with animals, you feel a sense of freedom and that your stresses would not be present.
The symbol in the advertisement would be the kittens as they make you feel the biscuit will be as “sweet” as the kittens. And the sight of the kittens would make the nurses oblivious to what is around them as they are showing a happy facial expression.
The indexical sign in the advertisement would be the facial expressions of the nurses when they open the biscuit packet and see the kittens.
The icon in the advertisement would be the biscuit packet as it shows the product featured in the advertisement.
The message that the advert is trying to communicate is that when you eat the biscuits and you will be oblivious to what is around you and that you will feel happy when eating the biscuit. The kittens in the advert are a myth as they are sweet which links inwith the product being advertised; chocolate biscuits. To back this thought up, Roland Barthes states that ‘semiology has taught us that myth has the task of giving a historical intention a natural justification’ (Barthes, R 1973).
References:
Evans, J / Hall, S (1999) Visual Culture: the Reader, London: Sage
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