The Irish Independent’s ‘we are defined by the choices we make’ telly ad.
Is there something they’re trying to tell us?
From Critical Media Review
The advertisement gives a sense of faux radicalism with images such as a bishop juxtaposed with a red condom, but in reality all the images remain safely within ideological boundaries…It was however the above two images that really caught my eye, two images that flash by in the television advertisement but which contain a wealth of semiotic ideology.
The first shows two pregnant women, both headless and faceless. Yet even faceless we can tell immediately the polyester-clad woman on the right is clearly working class, most likely single, living on benefit and smoking and bereft of pregnant glow surrounding her linen-clad counterpart.
And as the tagline tells us ‘her choices’ made her this way.
The second image is another one of class: here, we see juxtaposed those who ‘choose’ to be unemployed compared to those who ‘choose’ to emigrate. The migrants we can see (even in the rough cartoon image) are young, strong and struggling to make the best of things and making the obviously correct decision to leave the country.On the other hand the mainly fat (and yes they are mainly fat) people who ‘choose’ to remain in Ireland as feckless doleys are seen literally dancing out of the dole office throwing their money in the air. It doesn’t take a genius to pull out the underlying message there.
Watch here.
Then CHOOSE.
We are defined by the choices they make (CriticalMediaReview)
Previously: Before You Make Up Your Mind
