Ahmed Al-Khalili
Ms. Tonya Tienter
English 250
1 October 2014
Visual Rhetorical Analysis: Keys Are Hard to Find
Indian company Active Total Security Systems, or ATSS, boldly introduces their most recent advertisement to the marketing battlefield. They target a modern, sophisticated audience with values of complexity, mystery and distinct character using depth, color and image choice.
The first thing noticed is how complicated the advertisement is. The hand can be seen in the endless abyss that represents someone’s pocket. There are many things obstructing the hand; glasses, money, poker chips, a whiskey flask and many more. The hand never grasps that which it reaches for; the keys.
Secondly, the choice of color and levels of depth give this advertisement a new dimension in terms of complexity. The bright color of the trinkets in the advertisement seems to form a foreground, making them seem to float above of the poster. The hand is a stale, pale white color, creating a second layer. Similarly bleak is the background, which is the third layer in this poster. Other than the choice of color, the reflective finish also seems to create small variations in depth within the second layer of the advertisement. This multilayered setting really adds to the depth of this advertisement, exponentially exaggerating the level of complexity.
The third thing to note about the advertisement is the mystery; no context is provided outside of the illustration. While the brightly colored trinkets form landmarks across the advertisement, they contribute very little in terms of context, leaving the story behind the hand open-ended. The depth and dimensionality of the poster also contributes to the mystery, leaving us asking questions like ‘what is behind the hand?’ or ‘what does the depth of the trinkets mean?’ The choice of images might give us a small idea about the context, but it is by no means conclusive. The whiskey flask, dice and poker chips hint at a night out gambling and drinking, the phone, tablet and pen argue that this is at a workplace, and then there is a revolver pistol with bullets, a safe and a ‘vote for’ polaroid. The audience cannot confidently say what the advertisement is about.
The last value taken from this ad is distinct character and how that is implemented through strategies that the makers used. Starting from the top, the audience see the glasses. This image choice reflects sophistication and intelligence. The second trinket from the top is the pen, which is a stark representation of professionalism and financial success. After that, the audience see the pipe. If pipes don’t reflect class, then the word needs to be redefined! The watch and the ring are next; clearly this represents wealth and a sense of fashion. Under the pipe, a safe is present, and where there is a safe, there is bound to be money. The golden teeth below the safe are just that, golden teeth. Bling-bling, indeed! Below the safe the audience can see many things, the cards, all of them aces, are a trademark of winning risk takers, the phone reflects keeping up with technology, and so does the tablet. The floating money represents wealth. The gun represents risks, while the card with “top secret” written on it has a key with a naked woman keychain. That is a clear –and naughty- representation of rebelliousness. The poker chips, the dice and the ace up the hand’s sleeve all represent gambling, with a hint of cheating. The last substantial detail of this poster is the upside down playboy magazine. This also solidifies our assumption of rebelliousness in the advertisement. After that breakdown, the audience can see that the poster goes from professional and sophisticated to naughty and rebellious. This shows that the poster doesn’t have a very specific audience, but trying to relate to as many people as possible.
After analyzing all the components of the advertisement, the audience can tie the knot. The creators of this advertisement utilized three strategies to propagate three main values to their customers. The remarkable thing about this advertisement is the fact that it uses all the strategies to emphasize all the values simultaneously. Depth brings complexity and mystery. It adds to the complexity of the advertisement by adding layers, and mystery is not knowing what is in between these layers. Depth also brings distinct character by accentuating the trinkets and putting them on the spotlight in the foreground. Color choice and finish add to the complexity by making layers distinct, and the mystery lies in the color’s absence. The hand and the background give little meaning to the advertisement. The color gold is the pinnacle of class, and all the knickknacks are golden, completely or partially, making the customers drawn to the distinct character that each one represents. As for image choice, it is a great boon to the mystery of this advertisement. The trinkets provide no context when seen together, and the hand seems to go on forever. The difference in the trinkets creates complexity, and they each stand for a specific quality. The symbiotic relationship that the creators managed to create between the strategies proves successful! The values they set out to create have not only been met, but exceeded.