CA2: Semiotic Print Advertisement Analysis.

Advertising Agency: PROVID. Published: Ukraine, 2008.

Upon waking up with a hangover the morning after the night before, the feeling is normally one of a pounding puzzlement as to exactly how and why you ended up in this latest predicament. Washing the dishes is, usually, the last thing a person in this state, thinks about doing. Perhaps an Alka Seltzer tablet or two can solve the problem. This is the image the advertisers for Alka Seltzer are trying to reproduce.

There are various denotations in this ad. The man, the robe and marigold gloves he is wearing. The running tap, the plate, the suds on the counter, and the kitchen environment. The cat, the line of print 'Hangover is dangerous.' and of course the box of Alka Seltzer tablets complete the list.

When we examine the signs that are presented to us, we begin to connect the sequence of events together. The light blue colour of the kitchen suggests a tranquil/calming tone, feelings often associated with the clear blue sky of morning after a stormy night. The fact the man is wearing a robe suggests he is either ready for bed or he has just awoke from a slumber. The indexical sign of the swithced-off lights in the, perceived, kitchen, suggest that it is in fact morning time - early mid day, the realistic timeframe for waking up with a hangover. Further indexical signs such as the running tap and the suds on the counter suggest that the man is neglecting the task in hand of washing the dishes.

The iconic sign of the marigold glove washing the plate is one that historically resembles a myth within our culture that this is a female task. The presence of the cat sandwiched in between glove and plate is a sign of disorientation. Looking at the ca,t it is worried about getting wet and the fact the man doesn't know what he's doing causes further conern. The key paradigm in this advert is the word 'hangover'. It sets the syntadigmatic context of the word dangerous. Usually, this is a word that connotates something may be at risk of harm, but hangover is a word that symbolizes a night of heavy drinking. In this instance, the man is, seemingly, in the safety of his home which suggests that the paradigmatic relationship of the jaded looking man coupled with the word 'hangover' indicates that the word dangerous connotates a wild and crazy night which consequently has resulted in the man assuming the role of homemaker. the grammatically incorrect sentence, 'hangover is dangerous.' is further indication of the disorientation caused by the hangover, the man can't even string a sentence together.

Taking everything we have looked at into consideration so far the signified meanings now become the second signifiers for various different retrospects. Upon further inspection of the man, his hair-style is iconic. Add the scruffy overgrown hair and sideburns to the man's facial features, and we get an image that resembles that of Jack Torrance from the movie 'The Shining'. This in turn signifies the male subject, is perhaps, going slightly crazy. This is backed up by the fact he is using a cat to wash the plate. Not only does it show that he is, perhaps, unfamiliar with this domesticated role, another myth within our culture, but because 'The Shining' is a movie about a man going crazy and seeing ghosts,  it adds a new paradigmatic relationship when considering the image of the startled cat.

In roman mythology a cat was a symbol for the guardian of the home, and a goddess. A cat is also seen in celtic tradition as a guardian of the otherworld. The cat 'gazes with guile upon a world that does not see or understand the depth of their knowledge.' In our own culture, the cat is certainly a creature shrouded in mystery.

In this incident, considering the cat as a guardian of the otherworld, its stare could perhaps indicate a worried look that the man perhaps may be reaching a state worthy of seeing dead people. The vacant stare of the male certainly suggests that he is in a world of his own. The cat is willing the man with his eyes to have an Alka Seltzer tablet. Maybe the cat is controlling the man to look in the direction of the Alka Seltzer box. The light blue colour of the box can also symbolise healing, this maybe a cure to the bewilderment and confusion.

The Cat, through its 'depth of knowledge,' is aware that the man has neglected his work because he has played too much. The cat realises that 'all work and no play make Jack a dull boy', so Jack has to 'play' from time to time.  An Alka Seltzer will not only return the man to his senses ensuring a return to normality, but also ensure that the man can both 'work' and 'play' with the aid of an Alka Seltzer. Because the image of Jack Torrance is so striking to us, we can invoke a particular narrative of a crazy, disillusioned man.