After we read about Barthe’s model of images, which is composed of the signifier and the signified, I remembered an extremely controversial Burger King ad I came across online this summer that utilized the signified meaning to enhance its shock value. The ad uses a combination of words and strategically placed pictures to sell its message. In the ad, the signifiers are a new Burger King sandwich and a young, attractive woman, but because of the way the pictures are placed, the signified proposes the concept of a sexual act. The girl is wide eyed and open mouthed directly facing the sandwich, and the slogan “IT’LL BLOW YOUR MIND AWAY” is in large font at the bottom. This sandwich is called the “Super Seven Incher,” and at the top of the add Burger King claims “It just tastes better.”
Despite how provocative and inappropriate this add is, I think it’s a great example of the denotative value in comparison to the connotative value. In a strictly denotative sense, it is a picture of a woman about to eat a sandwich, apparently shocked at how good it is going to taste. In its connotative sense, the intentional irony of both the wording and the placement of the sandwich allow for it to represent oral sex.
Here is a picture of the ad: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3680184045_bb773b19de.jpg
This ad never ran in the United States, but because of the internet, it was a scandal this past June, and most journalists were outraged and had a field day with it. Burger King released a statement stating that the ad is running only in Singapore to promote a limited promotion, and the ad was displayed there with seemingly less criticism than given by Americans.
This is an actual street sign of the ad in Singapore: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shinythings/3660066434/
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