Semiotic breakdown of Capital One television commercial advertisment

• Viewed on youtube

• 30 seconds

• Visuals: 16 shots

• Audio

- Voice of exterminator

- Voice over

• Text: On van

On card

on screen

shot one

White van drives into scene and stops: Index/symbol/icon

White van: icon/index

Van signage:A—z pest control: symbol

Rat : icon with target

symbol

Signifies

Service vehicle

white

good

•Signifies that the van belongs to a

company that exterminates all kinds of vermin

Treed neighborho

od: icon

Rat

The rat will be target

(agrees with text)

Signifies: Dirt

germsFilth

Signifies residential

area

Signifies class

Together these signs means that an exterminator is coming to a single family home to exterminate some kind of pest

Service man enters hall of clean home, with red walls, followed by woman with black hair, followed by man with

black hair.

Large clean well furnished

home.FASHION COLOR PAINT

ICON/INDEX

Large round hole in bottom of wall. ICON:

INDEX

Text: You guys see this:

SYMBOL

Means look at this holeSIGNI

SIGNIFIES INFESTATION OF LARGE VERMN

SIGNIFIES MIDDLE CLASS

COUPLEWOMAN IN

FRONT, MAN FOLLOWS

ICON

WHITE MAN IN CAP, ROLLED UP

SLEEVES, POINTS TO HOLE

INDEX/ICON

SIGNIFIES MATRIACHAL

DOMINANCE, OR EQUALITY

CAP SIGNIFIES SERVICE PERSON

ROLLED UP SLEEVES MEANS

READY TO DO HARD WORK

POINTING SIGNIFIES LOOK

IN THIS DIREDTON

SHOWS TASTE AND VALUES OF

RESIDENTSConnotes you

Connotes person who will help

couple

SHOT TWO: SIGNS

Shot 5 Shot of hole in wall with money in front, with two men reaching through hole revealing heads and shoulders and five hands. Men are wearing dark

grey suits, grabbing ten dollar bills :Index, icon

Hole indicates rodents

Large size indicates large

rodents

Men in hole detonates that the men are rats, or

rat-like.

Grey suits, white shirts, older mails connotes through stereotypes, bank

managers

All signs together denote that the bankers have access to your home and can destroy your house

and take your money.

Grabbing money denotes

destruction of home caused by

men/rodents

Extra hand denotes there are

more men/rats

Men crawling around house

connote robbery, vulnerability,

invasion, destruction

• Who is the intended audience?

• How will text’s meaning change over time?

• What cultural assumptions are called on to read this text?

• What background info is important to be able to read this text?

• How far does the text reflect dominant cultural values

• Does the text depart from dominant cultural values

• What is the intended message

• Are there alternative readings?

• How does this relate to your own values