Images of half-naked and scantily clad people have graced advertisements for decades as a way to sell products of absolutely all types. It is no secret, sex sells. It is a topic that stirs controversy, but continues to entice people’s wants and needs. Those who create advertisements understand that people crave more in life, and yearn to be socially accepted. In the world of television, advertising in the form of commercials use sight and sound to attract people’s senses. Neil Postman believes in the power of television by saying, “television … is largely aimed at emotional gratification. Even commercials … are exquisitely crafted” (86). A commercial is not put together blindly; everything is there for a reason.
I will be analyzing and comparing two television commercials selling different chocolate. One advertises Aero chocolate and the other, Kit Kat chocolate. A deeper look into both commercials will reveal embedded signs and codes, and their affect on society. I want to focus on how strategically using sex in both commercials may affect a woman and her self-understanding. These two commercials play on a woman’s insecurities and ever-present fears about her social status, and offer chocolate as a replacement for a man.
In the commercial for Aero, a man talks about chocolate, dressed in only a towel around his waist. He is muscular and good-looking, an image that is usually associated with the “ideal man.” He walks around a large house, which is nicely furnished and up-scale. Aesthetic codes connote a rich and modern setting with a very sexual atmosphere, especially with the use of a nearly nude man. The house is decorated in warm colours including brown, orange, and beige. These colours are normally associated with sensuality and romance. It is apparent that the commercial is trying to exhibit a certain romantic tone.
The meaning of the commercial is largely brought out by the textual codes within it, such as the camerawork. The first shot of the commercial is from the outside of the house. The shot is from the ground, looking up at a window where you can see the man drying himself off with a towel. This is the first time we see the man in the commercial. Daniel Chandler refers to connotations with the vertical compositional axis saying, “up has come to be associated with more and down with less”. The fact that the intended audience of the commercial, which is obviously women, is looking up at the man through the window indicates power or a higher-status for the man. Women are essentially on the outside, looking in at something they cannot have. In reference to the sections of the shots, Chandler also mentions that, “the upper section tends to … show us ‘what might be’; the lower section tends to be more informative and practical, showing us ‘what is’”. The man has a high status, exhibiting a level of importance with where he stands on the vertical axis of the shot. Although the remainder of the commercial is inside the home, this idea of the man being unreachable has already been established. Another shot of importance is during the man’s narration, before he lies down on a couch. He is walking and the camera moves to a close up of a fireplace, with wood burning. The shot connotes the sensuality of the commercial, since fireplaces are connected with warmth and romance. Television and movies are known to use a lighted fireplace in the background of a steamy sexual scene or a passionate date. This pushes the idea of the ideal romantic moment. When the man does lie down on the couch, the camera focuses on his whole body instead of his upper-half like the rest of the commercial. He holds the chocolate in front of his genitals, forcing the audience to look in that general area. This is the shot that exudes the most sexuality in the commercial.
The Kit Kat commercial is for a special type of reduced-calorie chocolate named Singles. The commercial is similar to the Aero commercial, but the chocolate itself acts as a man. The commercial is animated and takes the form of an online personal ad. The ad is for the Singles chocolate, which speaks about itself, metaphorically. Although it is a cartoon chocolate talking about its great qualities, it parallels a man doing the same. The method of using the chocolate to represent a man works because, as Scott McCloud says, “we humans are a self-centered race … we see ourselves in everything” (32). The chocolate has a simple set of cartoon facial features and its “clothes” consist of its wrapper. McCloud believes that, “the more cartoony a face is, for instance, the more people it could be said to describe” (31). Unlike the Aero commercial, where a real person is used, a cartoon version of a man is based more on his meaning rather than his specific look. However, the aesthetic codes are similar to the first commercial. The Singles chocolate is in the foreground and the background consists of a bedroom scene. The furniture is modern and the room consists of brown and warm colour schemes. Once again, the idea of romance and sensuality is suggested. The chocolate is wearing a red wrapper, which is slightly folded back to look like a collar. This sharp colour red connotes a fierce and sexual man, and sets him apart from the rest of the background. Textual codes are not as apparent as the Aero commercial, mainly because there is no camerawork or different scenes. The shot stays the same in the background, with the bedroom surrounded by a fake browser meant to look like an online personal ad. The chocolate is the only thing that moves and talks, and he stays primarily in the center. This is to keep the audience, intended to be women, focused on the chocolate man.
Social codes are important in the understanding of both commercials as well. In the Aero commercial, the man displays very sexually suggestive body language. He also speaks with a tone that is very flirtatious. He begins by mentioning how chocolate melts uncontrollably at body temperature. There is a close-up shot of him as he delivers the word “uncontrollably,” where he grins into the camera. When he is lying on the couch, he directly refers to the audience by saying “ladies” before mentioning how the pleasure is more intense with Aero chocolate melting in your mouth. At the end of the sentence he eats some chocolate and raises his eyebrows at the camera. His body actions and words are so sexual that the focus on the chocolate is nearly non-existent.
The same sort of sexual implications can be found in the social codes within the Kit Kat Singles commercial as well. The chocolate man states from the beginning that he is single and available. He raises his eyebrows and leans forward when he mentions having a nibble on a break, which has various connotations. For the purpose of this commercial, it is a play on words with Kit Kat’s slogan “have a break”. It also connotes a sexual mood, which is obvious with the raised eyebrows and passionate voice used while speaking. Similar to the Aero commercial, using sex is a strategy that both commercials use to gain attention from their female audiences.
There is much more to be said about both commercials from a social point of view. It has been established that women are the intended audience of these commercials, especially by the man in the Aero commercial speaking to women directly. Even the font of Aero is curvy and round, which connotes femininity. Other audiences would not gain much from both commercials. Most men would find them to be either humorous or just unappealing, and a child would not understand the sexual implications. It is also safe to assume that the commercials are intended for single women. The use of an online personal ad in the Kit Kat commercial takes on a modern form of dating, and the chocolate man is single. The lure of romance and lavish taste in the Aero commercial would appeal to a single woman who is looking for a relationship. Women in relationships may be looking for the same type of things as well, but the idea of chocolate being the substitute for an absent man does not apply to them if they are already in a relationship. Both commercials are constructing a reality that women should look for muscular and aggressive men, as well as luxurious romance.
There is a cultural assumption that women eat more chocolate than men, so it is not surprising that both commercials appeal to the same sort of audience. Chocolate has been called an aphrodisiac, and can be viewed as pleasurable to consume. These commercials are trying to send out the message that chocolate can provide the same sort of pleasure that a man can, especially to single females. The inability to find a man, let alone the ideal man, makes single women feel insecure. Chocolate advertisements use this fear and insecurity to sell their products. These commercials are basically demeaning single woman by using a muscular man in a rich house and showing he has power. Even though the man is being put on display for his appearance, which usually happens to females, he is not being degraded. He still holds a power that seems unattainable by a woman. The commercial is putting out the idea that since women cannot find this “ideal” man, they can at least have the chocolate.
Older single women would be very affected by these commercials, such as those who have been struggling with relationships for a long time. Or, those who fear they will be unaccepted by society because they are not already married in their 30s or 40s. These women may have possibly tried online dating or made a personal ad, which has the connotations of being the last attempt at finding someone. The Kit Kat commercial is literally making the chocolate a man in a personal ad. This further proves the idea that chocolate can be the replacement for a woman who is without a significant other. It is also interesting to notice that the man in the Aero commercial is actor Jason Lewis. His other prominent roles include acting in the television series Sex and The City. This show is known for its honest portrayal of four older, single women and their troubles with love and relationships. It is no surprise that those behind the Aero commercial chose an actor who is related to a show with a similar audience that they intended to make the commercial for.
Advertising can tell people how to improve their lives, or what they are missing out on. The Aero and Kit Kat commercials succeed in doing both. As John Berger says, “the purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of life. It suggests that if he buys what it is offering, his life will become better. It offers him an improved alternative to what he is” (142). This holds true to both commercials, which make women feel insecure at the prospect of life without a gorgeous man and a life full of romance. The suggestion of chocolate as an alternative for some type of satisfaction or pleasure makes the impression that women cannot be happy in their lives, whether they are single or with an “average looking” man. There must always be some sort of alternative or better standard, whether it is chocolate in the place of a man, or even “the perfect” man as illustrated in the Aero commercial. Addiction to chocolate has stemmed from advertisements that promise false realities and have led women to believe that chocolate can actually fill a void in their lives.
Works Cited
"Aero Bubbles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972.
Chandler, Daniel. "Syntagmatic Analysis." Semiotics for Beginners. 29 Oct. 2007
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.
"Nestle Kit Kat Singles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Penguin, 1986.
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