I selected an image which advertises a body wash produced by Dove. This image is an advertisement for Dove’s body wash on Facebook. In this image, there is a black woman and a white woman. Dove used a commercial image showing that the black woman takes off her top then changes into the white woman after using the product. This expression caused controversy among the followers of Dove’s social media. They criticized the company with hashtags, such as #DonewithDove, and called for a boycott of its products. After receiving furious reactions from the followers, Dove decided to remove the advertisement and apologize for the inappropriate expression.
I will discuss this advertisement from the perspective of denotation and connotation. In terms of the denotation, there is a black woman and a white woman in the image. Besides, we can find another denotation that a black woman turns into a white woman after taking off her top. On the other hand, in terms of the connotation, we can see that Dove, a company that sells the product advertised by this image, might have an intent of racism. Arguably, Dove was trying to highlight the quality of its product by demonstrating a shift from black to white woman after using the product. Such a concept indicates that the company might be guilty of racial discrimination in that they think that white is cleaner than black. People who expressed anger towards this advertisement probably perceived such negative connotations.
However, if we change our perspective, it can be interpreted more positively. The black woman who appeared in the commercial says that she was excited to express herself. Moreover, she mentions that she was not sure why it receives criticism out of its context. Besides, she explained that it conveys a message that each of us looks different, but everyone can use this product regardless of the difference. As she mentions, there is also a positive way to interpret the image. It has not only negative connotations but also positive connotations. Thus, the audience who has a negative perspective should recognize these points. Although some people interpreted the image negatively, other audiences might think that it has positive connotations.
Eventually, it depends on each audience as to how they interpret the meaning of Dove’s controversial advertisement. Moreover, the interpretation will be different because all who view the advertisement do not belong to the same culture. Hall (1997, p. 61) states that “there is no guarantee that every object in one culture will have an equivalent meaning in another, precisely because cultures differ from one another in their codes.” I think that there is no absolute answer to what the meaning of the advertisement is. Whatever the intent of the company is, it is clear that the interpretation will vary depending on the audience.
Reference
Hall, S 1997 ‘The work of representations’, Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices, Sage, in association with the Open University, London, pp. 13-74.
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