Ideology, myth and discourse in Moet & Chandon advertisement

In the advertisement, Hollywood famous star Scarlett Johansson is holding a bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne and spraying it everywhere. The big text of ‘MOET’ is placed on the right hand side of the advertisement, and it is painted with graduated gold colour.

Ideology is a commonly held belief structure. It is a term that refers to coherent set of beliefs and values that dominate in a culture and that are particularly held by those who have power. Ideology is concerned with social and power relationships, and with the means by which they are made apparent (Bennett at el., 2008). The ideology presented in the advertisement is feminism. Famous star Scarlett is such a good example of a beautiful and successful woman, also she is the only person showing in the image, which implies the woman today can also live independently, although there is no man, they can still celebrate and have great fun by themselves.

Myth is defined as a shared way of talking about something that masks the value system that can be found within it. Another definition for myths is an interpellation of the ways thing are, or justification, a unifying message (Luckman, 2007). An example for myth, drinking usually makes people feel more at ease in social situations, they feel more relax and enjoyable or can even enlarge their happiness after having alcohols. The audience of this advertisement would like to have the same satisfaction, honor and gladness as Scarlett Johansson does.

Discourse, in terms of advertisement, is defined as the techniques an advertiser uses to attract the viewer’s attention. This includes text, lighting, setting, costume and make up (O’Shaughnessy, 1999). For example, the grooming and the spotlights on Scarlett; the professional shoot; the actual image of the product; the background in black; the big text and the color used of the brand name in the advertisement, they all help to express the image and to promote the product.

Image source: http://images.tuxboard.com/d/29907-2/Scarlett+Johansson+publicite+champagne+Moet+et+Chandon+2.jpg

References:

Bennett. J, Hall. K & Holmes. P, 2008, Ideology, ‘Media Studies AS & A2’, Pearson Education Limited, England, pp. 38-39.

Luckman. S, 2007, ‘Media Power’, Lecture notes, University of South Australia, South Australia., Slides 1-18.

O’Shaughnessy. M, 1999, Defining discourse and ideology, ‘Media and society: an introduction’, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Chapter 12, pp. 157-162.