Blog Post #5- Media Ecology, Semiotics, and Cultural Studies

 March 3rd, 2022 

                                             Media Ecology, Semiotics, and Cultural Studies  

Today, I'll be discussing with you three different theories to describe and break apart the advertisement shown below. I chose to do this particular ad because I myself am a fan of Nike Jordan collaboration sneakers and have some of my own. For the sake of this blog post, I decided to throw it back Vintage style and take a trip down memory lane. 

    Vintage Nike sneaker Ad 

1. The words "Smoke Em" are shown in bold letters along with a combination of six different silhouettes. The first thing we're going to discuss is the concept of Media Ecology. Media Ecology derived from Comm Scholar, Marshall McLuhan is one that takes the route of focusing on the concept that "the medium is the message"( Griffin et. al, 2019) . In this case, the format (i.e print, TV, video, etc) affects the way a message is received. Now normally, an ad like this would primarily be seen in magazine's, or even blown up to be put on walls of Subway's (as often seen in NYC) mimicking small billboard Ads. From first glance, taking in the idea that the medium is the message, the medium which in this case is print ad affects the overall meaning and my perception of the ad itself. From seeing this medium , I automatically know that this is a NIKE ad without having to look twice because of the premiant swoosh on the sneakers. In addition, the words, "SMOKE EM" stand out to me because it cues an inkling in my brain that thinks that in some way, these sneakers are either made for style or perhaps for racing. The downfall with this medium however is just that. I don't know whether or not these shoes are made for pleasure or running purposes . If the medium had been a commercial Ad, my initial overview of the ad would remain similar but slightly different in terms of the commercial format being able to be more interactive and notifiable in the fact that it is indeed either for leisure wear or racing purposes. 

Because of this , I do feel that producers of persuasive messages follow a certain course of action to accomplish persuasion in different mediums. For example, the context of the print Ad shown above would best suffice in a setting for on the go purposes or a quick flip of the page in a magazine. The large texts and the variety of sneakers and colors are there to heighten your interest and draw you in to finding out more information on what you see whereas with persuasion tactics for TV rely on graphics, credibility or attractiveness of an influencer wearing the brand product and more alike to get you to want to buy the product based off of mutual interest. While the medium of the message plays an integral role in persuasion, I want to move us along further into another form of deciphering images known as semiotics. 

2. Semiotics derived by Roland Barthes is the study of signs and symbols in attempts to form interpretations and meaning (Griffen, 2019). Along with this notion, we also have two components of this idea which are known as the signifier and the signified. The signified refers to the meaning we associate with the sign or symbol while the signifier refers to the physical form the symbol takes (Griffen et., al 2019). Looking back on the advertisement, the signifier is the sneakers and in contrast, the signified is the swoosh design across the side of the sneaker that indicates to me that this symbol belongs to NIKE and their products. The swoosh design is universally known to sneaker heads, athletes, and just about anyone who doesn't live under a rock (no offense to you if you do though haha). This is why when we see a sneaker designed with a check mark logo, our first notion is to think NIKE because for so long, that is what we have conditioned ourselves (as well as the brand through trademarking etc) recognize it as. See example down below of another sneaker 

3. Finally, we're going to evaluate our advertisement a bit more by decoding the print Ad through dominant code, negotiable code, and oppositional code introduced by Start Hall. (Refer back to the print Ad if necessary). Beginning with dominant code, we are referring to the overarching message being portrayed here. That message happens to be that buying these NIKE sneakers will suit your racing needs. A negotiable code in the ad would in some way shape or form can be perhaps which shoe color suites the everyday person the best. This would be negotiable because one, you are given options as to which shoe in the collection you'd want to buy but you'd also be in the midst of negotiating color with either yourself or someone next to you. Lastly, oppositional code isn't necessarily shown but can be implied as one might think a) the sneakers in this collection are not that pleasing to the eye, or perhaps they might be thinking about the potential pricing point of these sneakers. Knowing that it is a name brand sneaker, they may be less inclined to the price and show their opposition to buying the brand. 

The next time you are out and about or are skimming through a magazine or even listening over radio or on TV, I want you to think about the medium the message is being displayed upon and try to see if you can figure out if the medium either interferes with the overall message or if it coincides with it. Also try to think more openly about the symbols and the codes you see within the image. Think of the way in which it is identified with you and then try to think about ways in which it can be perceived by others in given circumstances of oppositional, negotiable, and dominant codes . 

As always, if you've gotten this far in the reading, thank you so much for giving my thoughts a read. I really appreciate it and hope you take something from this week's blog post! Until next time,

Yani Lewis out !