The Frith Analysis is quite a handy tool in the evaluation of different advertisements. It has three basic branches: The first is the surface meaning, in which the student just names whatever he/she sees in the ad. The second is what the advertiser's selling pitch is. Basically, what does the advertiser want the viewer to see? Lastly, the third branch is the under-meaning of the ad itself. They're the things the viewer was or was not intended to see. Because everyone has different backgrounds and cultures, everyone may see something different. Hidden messages are scattered everywhere within advertisements, and it is our job to point them out. In this blog, I will attempt to dissect the Dos Equis commercial seen below.
The surface meaning of this ad are the following: A man is doing crazy adventures, like finding treasure (in black and white), playing a piano sent by a helicopter, and saving a fox from men on horseback. There's a narrator describing him. He has a pet owl. He's sitting at a table with friends recommending Dos Equis beer.
The advertiser's intended meaning is "If you want to be as interesting and adventuresome as this man, you have to drink Dos Equis." Or, their intended meaning could be "You can never be as interesting or adventuresome as this man, but at least you can drink the same beer he drinks." Either way, I think they get the point across.
The cultural or ideological meaning is always the toughest to grasp, but I'll take a stab at it: The first scene in which he finds treasure and hands it to the beach natives shows that this man is not only interesting, but generous as well. The fact that it is in black and white also signifies that this happened a while back, and that this man is fairly old now. The second scene shows that this man has power because not many people can summon a piano via helicopter into a field or desert. It also tells the audience that the man is wealthy as well as educated and artistic due to this power, plus the white piano has always been a sign of wealth and artistic ability. The third scene signifies his compassionate side as he saves a fox from "snobby" hunters on horseback. The ad then cuts to this man pinning another place on his map where he has gone to. If the viewer looks closely, it can be seen that almost the entire map is full of pins, telling the viewer that one reason why he's so interesting is because he has travelled all over the world. Also, the pet owl signifies wealth, which seems to be an important topic in this ad. The final scene is this man sitting at a table surrounded by "friends" at a party. It can be argued that the people he is surrounded by are his friends because nowhere in the ad does he acknowledge that they are there. They just sit there and listen to him speak. In fact, the only person he speaks to in the ad is the viewer. This shows that he is too "high up" to associate himself with them, but he's comfortable with us. This is very important because it makes the audience member fell like he/she is getting to hear an important secret spoken by this man, which is correct. He gives the audience member a tip about himself that will hopefully benefit the listener, and that tip is "Drink Dos Equis." Finally, the fancy-shmancy party and the suit he wears are the final signs of how wealthy this man is.
Well, I think I have dissected enough of this advertisement. I think I've learned a lot through the unit of the Frith Analysis. Hopefully you've learned something as well. I'm going to conclude with a witty "stay thirsty, my friends" line.
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