Part 1. Preferred Reading
This is an advertisement for the diet coke. In this image, there are nineteen females wearing red dresses and standing in two rows in a way like a tip of an arrow. The color of dresses, which are red, implies an association with the great taste of the original coke, which is filled in a red can or bottle. Even though this ad is advertising the diet version of the coke, it tells the audiences that this diet version does not lost its original taste, and that people who purchase this product can not only consume few calories, but also enjoy the great taste of the original coke. All the nineteen women in this image are all slim and attractive, especially the blonde white lady standing in the middle, reinforcing the idea that this diet coke does make women slim and attractive. This affects both male and female audience. When men drink diet coke, it will remind them of the beautiful ladies in the picture; while when women drink diet coke, it will remind them that they are becoming as slim and attractive as the women in the picture. Since there are one elder, several mid-age women, and some young models, it connotes that no matter how old the female drinker is, she will get the slender body that she wants. Besides the main color red on the dresses, another prime color in this picture is white. White makes the audience fell free, feel light and feel refreshed. It emphasizing on how the diet coke can provide when drinking it. On the other hand, the words in the middle, “GOOD TASTE IS ABOUT MAKING A STATEMENT”, suggests that both the diet coke and the ladies are considered as good taste, and they should be honored by the white and light background.
Part 2. Negotiated Reading
Despite the fact that there is no clear background to identify the culture of the group of women, the clothes that the models wear are of high fashion. Even though we know that a bottle of coke or diet coke is really cheap in the market, the dresses which the ladies are wearing shows that drinking the diet coke itself is a luxurious act which is similar to the enjoyment of the beauty of a woman. In this ad, we can see that all the women are standing in a form that can show off their feminine side to the audience, especially the blonde lady standing the middle front of the picture. Comparing the posture of that blonde lady to other women, it is clear that she is a professional model with a sexy smile while the rest standing beside her with genuine smiles. That makes the blonde lady the rose while the other women are the leaves which amplify the beauty of the blonde lady. Because the blonde lady is not only in middle of the group, but also in front of the rest of the group, she is the main focus for the audience to analyze or portray. Female audiences who see this ad will certainly want to purchase diet coke because it provides an illusion that they will become as attractive as the blonde lady in the middle after having the diet coke. Since the blonde lady fits in the description of a sexy and attractive woman in today’s society, it proves what Ouellete’s idea of “offering a temporary ‘window to a future self’ rooted in male visions of idealized femininity and consumer solution” (367). She argues that commercial magazines, or in my case, an ad, offer female audience a solution to deal with female insecurity. In this ad, it implies that diet coke can not only provide good taste, but also prevent gaining weight, and become unattractive.
Part 3. Oppositional Reading
The ad narrows the definition of beauty. Even though the women are diverse in age, hair color and race, it is obvious that the darkest skin tone is just light brown, and there is no Asian woman, fat woman, etc. As a result, it is what Wilson argues: “advertising images, rather than showing people of color as they really were, portrayed them as filtered though Anglo eyes for the mass audience” (144). They have the ideology that beautiful and attractive woman must be slim, good looking and light skin color. Yet the truth is that the society is more diverse with different race and skin color than what that picture shows. On the other hand, the showcase of beautiful women with the first words, “GOOD TASTE” implies that man’s ideology of that a “good taste” woman should look like. This ad is not only sailing that diet coke does not give many calories, but also “[take] over the culture role of instructing women about femininity” (Ouellete 365) is. In order to impress everyone, including men and women, the lady must try to be slim, attractive, and also, fair-skinned as the model in the middle of the poster.
Clint C. Wilson, Felix Gutierrez, and Lena M. Chao, “Advertising: The Media’s Not-So Silent Partner,” from Racism, Sexism, and the Media: The Rise of Class Communication in Multicultural America (Sage, 003): 137-167.
Laurie Ouelette. "Inventing the Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dreams." Media, Culture & Society. 21.3 (1999): 359-383. Print.
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