Roland Barthes’ “Rhetoric of the Image“ essay from Image – Music – Text, Translated by Stephen Heath. Hill and Wang, 1977. (excerpt)

Questions/Prompts

  • How do images hold and convey meaning?
  • What are they trying to say?
  • How do they persuade and influence us?

Response

Observing the breakdown of how well the Panzani Ad works with its promotion is seeing how powerful the use of signs can be used to get the message across. The first sign we noticed is the use of language, the word “Panzani” along with its quote makes you think of connections to Italiancity. the image used is of groceries spilling out of a bag, this is another sign to connect the message that the ingredients are being unpacked to be used for cooking. even the color used from the background to the ingredients itself adds to it and becomes a sign. They mostly consist of yellow, green, and red, which lead to signified, it’s the connections to Italy. this also happens to connect with the language use of the sign, adding more of the theme of Italy the more you observe the ad. it’s clear how they created this promotion was that every choice was done on purpose, to persuade not only observe it but to get more convince in buying the product. the more you look into it, the more you think back to not only where the ingredients came from, but the way they are placed leads to the effect of the consumer wanting to have an Italian dish, leading to the ad being effective and successful.

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