Summary Of Roland Barthes Rhetoric Of The Image

The use of the three components of the advertisement listed by Roland Barthes in his essay “Rhetoric of the Image” are linguistics, uncoded message, and coded message. All three of these are used to entice the target audience of women to drink this beverage because of the overlapping message that tall and skinny is desirable based on our society’s culture. Through the use of many aspects, such as color choice and syntax, this advertisement can change the way the product is received and how well its sales will go. The text used in this Pepsi advertisement, though minimal, is extremely influential. The zero calorie Diet Pepsi advertisement’s slogan is ‘the new skinny can,’ this makes it apparent how this beverage is being marketed towards women. Not only are women the target audience but women who are on a diet or who …show more content…
One of these coded messages is the overwhelming use of the color blue thought the advertisement, a color which has been in multiple studies that show blue creates a positive opinion and is linked to competence. Blue can be seen used on the background, as an accent on the straw, on Sofia Vergara’s clothing, as well as on her hat. The addition of blue makes the idea of skinny as desirable more convincing because of the connotation the color has. Accenting the ad with red, as lipstick and on the straw, creates an increased feeling of excitement since the color has been linked to intrigue by multiple studies. The combination of both of these colors creates an overall, positive product reputation and an increase in excitement.
The culmination of all aspects of linguistics, uncoded, and coded messages in this advertisement create the overall perception of the advertisement. Everything from the amount of blue, accents of red, appearance of Sofia Vergara, shape of can, and word choice all effect the success of the advertisement in selling this newly packaged Diet