The Three Messages of Panzani Advertisement was deconstructed by Roland Barthes, the messages consisted of the order of illustrating the rhetoric of images, in this case the image on the first page of the reading.

The Three Messages of Panzani Advertisement:

  • Linguistic Message
    • Consists of the caption, typography, and title
    • The denoted message or the meaning behind the design or label for a company or person
    • The attention that it grabs from its viewers though labeling or texts.
      • The linguistic message for the image in the reading is that the ad is for an Italian food company.

  • Iconic non-coded message:
    • There needs to be a visible item, icon, or logo that represent what is being shown and signified to the world.
    • The signifier and signified fall hand in hand with each other which provides the non-coded message.
    • The realism of the image being used is what help to bring it together, creating a more natural look.
      • In the case of the ad we see in the reading, there’s no form of decoding to do since the tomatoes and other products represent just that.

  • Iconic coded message
    • There are 4 main signs when analyzing the entire image as one.
      • The scene can be used to have representation and used as a signified item. In this case the overall meaning is created by various signifiers.
      • The half opened shopping bag/net with the grocery items starting to fall out is the connotation of a signifier. To be able to understand the sign, we need to understand the representation of the shopping bag/net and the cultural meaning of “local shopping.”
      • The colors of red, white, and green are used to represent Italy, which is used to enforce the linguistic connotation of the logo Panzani.
      • The closeness of the item or logo signifies that Pananzi provides a huge variety of culinary services and is a good way to have the opportunity to make a fresh home-made meal.