1-second Commercial

I decided to analyze the Miller High Life one second commercial that was advertised during the Superbowl. I will state that most of these signs i picked out by pausing it, so the average watcher may not see them at first, but they are there.

1)The guy yells "High Life" with excitement and enthusiasm. As a viewer this could either get you pumped up and make you want the beer, or laugh at him and not want to waste your money.
2)The commercial is shot in a beer warehouse and there is floor to ceiling, wall to wall high life. This could communicate to the viewer that there is plenty of it and they want you to indulge in it.
3)In the background there is a football helmet sitting on a stack of beer cases. This was an appriote thing to put in there since it was during the Superbowl. I felt that this communicated that when you are watching football you need a high life.
4)Also in the background there were a couple trophies setting on beer cases. This could mean that high life is award winning, or that winners drink high life.
5)There is a couch off to the side. This could be a sign that high life is perfect to kick back with.

These were just a few signs that I noticed in the really short advertisement. Even though it only lasted one second, there were many messages being conveyed within the set and the acting.

AT&T and Lowes

Recently I watched a Lowe's commercial that reminded me of the AT&T commercials. The ones that use buildings and people and a bunch of other stuff that resemble full service to advertise their "more bars, more places" line. In the Lowe's commercial it showed objects in the shape of a T placed at the end of the huge Lowe's sign. This made it say Lowest. They were promoting that they had the lowest prices and that no one can beat them. This message is similar to the message that AT&T is trying to convey. They are saying that they have service everywhere and no one can beat that.
I found it both neat and smart to advertise your company this way. First, after seeing the commercial it makes you start to look for the "service bars," and the "extra letters." I am constantly looking for these signs. Whenever I pick one out I gain a sense of accomplishment. This is a good trick on the part of the companies because they are being brought up in people's minds whenever they see these signs. Secondly, this way of advertising puts their company not only on the t.v. but also out in the real world.
I feel like this was good way of advertising these companies because the viewer become a part of it when they find these signs in their everyday lives.

Signs in a movie...

Recently, when I was home for a weekend, I was sitting on the couch bored out of my mind. I picked up the remote and began surfing the boob tube. Nothing worth watching was on, so i picked a channel at random and watched whatever was on it. "You, Me, and Dupree" was playing. I have never seen this movie, and I always thought that it was a chick flick, but it wasn't that bad. Besides any movie that has Seth Rogan in it is fine in my book. I will try t0 sum the movie up real quick. Two best friends get separated by the one getting married. The other one, Owen Wilson, then becomes homeless so they the newlyweds take him in. He begins to ruin their lives a day at time. The final straw was when he burnt half the living room down. Meanwhile the friend who was married was becoming stressed out with work because his father-in-law, who is his boss, is changing his project into something that he had intended it to be. I noticed one sign towards the end of the movie that I feel was an important part. Owen Wilson was helping his friend get his job back by distracting the secruity guard at his workplace. Matt Dillion, played Carl, was sneaking into try and speak his mind to his father-in-law. Owen Wilson was climbing through the ventalation system when he fell through into the office Carl was yelling at his father-in-law in. He lands right on the 3-D plans for Carl's project that his father-in-law had totally jacked, causing him to stress and freak out. He destroys it. I see this as a sign that a best friend is always there and will always stick up for you. I did kind of enjoy this movie, mainly for the fact that I laughed at Owen Wilson's ridiculous nose the whole time.

Sigur Ros "Hoppipolla"

I decided that for this entry I was going to look at the many signs that can be found within Sigur Ros' music video for "Hoppipolla." This is a great video accompanied by a great song. The title, "Hoppipolla," simply means, jumping into puddles.
Starting from the opening seconds to the last note of the song, there is non-stop semotics. For the first few seconds the camera is focused on feet and then slowly pans up to a group of four older people walking in an authoritative manner. This pan up, along with the music kicking in, gave me a sense that they were on a mission. Soon after this happens we see an old lady graffiting a building. She is painting birds in black paint. After watching the video, the birds i think were a symbol for the characters living free as a bird. Throughout the entire video you follow around this group of elderly people doing things that teenagers would do. For example, the grafitti, throwing firecrackers at people, knocking on people's doors and then leaving, and fighting with wooden swords in a graveyard. A scene that occurs a few times in the video is the elderly jumping into puddles, which just happens to be the title of the song. I see this scene as meaning young and free. They have not a care in the world. They end up having a battle in a graveyard with wooden swords. A sign that comes out in the battle is the enemy is wearing all black. I think that this is a color that media often associates with the enemy.
Like a stated already, this video is chalked full of semiotics, so check it out it is a great video!