Using Narrative Analysis and Semiotic Analysis in Levi's O Pioneers Commercial

First I want to take a look at the narrative structure of the Levi's O Pioneer's commercial. Even through this commercial doesn't seem to follow a traditional story pattern (a specific hero, a quest etc.) I would argue that there are key narrative elements that represent cultural values like freedom, vitality, and initiation that make it move like a story.

You feel from the beginning that whatever the story is behind these young people, it's moving and at a fast pace. We travel with these wild, free youth through the jungle, the prairie and the "urban jungle." The underlying Whitman poem underscores the action often with snare drum hits punctuating the action (sometimes coinciding ever so briefly with a shot of the jeans themselves, lest we not forget what the real purpose is here...)As we move through the various shots and scenes we can almost feel this momentum which could maybe be interpreted as a movement, a wild free youth movement, a gathering storm. Even through the commercial clocks at about a minute I think we feel like we've been on a journey with these young people glimpsing into their world.

On another level this commercial lends itself to a semiotic analysis. I want to take a look at a couple of specific examples using the idea of denotation and connotation.

Denotation is the first order of signification: the signifier is the image itself and the signified the idea or concept--- what it is a picture of.

Connotation is a second-order signifying system that uses the first sign, (signifier and signified), as its signifier and attaches an additional meaning, another signified, to it.

Image #1
Denotative Level - A male holding a torch

Connotative Level - This image shows a young male staring intensely into the camera, holding a torch on fire and seemingly yelling, but one could argue he looks like a wild animal growling

Image #2
Denotative Level - Two men embracing

Connotative Level - Young men are passionately engaged in intimacy - Levi's could be expressing support of same sex relationships, that this image fits into the worldview of the young person who wears Levis

Image #3
Denotative Level- Blond female turns to camera

Connotative Level- The woman appears almost flushed, her hair wet like she was in a rainstorm and you can almost hear her breathing hard. The background is strikingly green like a jungle and she appears much like the first male, a wild creature

Image #4
Denotative Level - Youth are gathered around a fire

Connotative Level- Most people we can see in this image and the ones leading up to it are taking off everything, but their jeans. You could imagine that Levi's are part of the nakedness, the rawness in being free and wild. As we had only seen one or two people in shots at the beginning of the commercial we now see many running across a field (feeling of a movement) and now in the final shot dancing around a fire together. The jeans are associated with lust, energy, fire (element of life), youth and freedom.

I think there is so much that can be done from a semiotic analysis standpoint in this commercial. I would do a critical media analysis with students and take them through the commercial several different times looking at these questions in particular:

1. What do you notice about the way this message is constructed? –Colors? Shapes? Sound effects? Music? Silence? Dialogue? Narration? Clothing? Sets? Movement? Lighting?

2. Where is the camera? What is the viewpoint?

3. How is the story told? What are people doing?

4. Are there visual symbols? Metaphors?

5. What’s the emotional appeal? Persuasive devices?

6. What makes it seem “real”?