Building on this week’s reading, in our Lectorial we put these concepts into practice by analysing a Brooks Brothers advertisement from GQ magazine. We identified as many individual components as possible and noted their denotative and connotative meanings.
Denotative meaning (first order): a universal, literal interpretation/description of what is depicted
Connotative meaning (second order): a more associative meaning based on personal context and wider social/cultural conventions
A reading of the advertisement might identify the following denotative components, along with their more associative connotative meanings:
| Denotative | Connotative |
| Bearded, mid-30s man | Affluence Hipster/fashionable style |
| Flowing, blue shirt with rolled up sleeves, patterned shorts, bare feet | Comfort Holidays/recreation |
| Boy being thrown into the air, smiling | Happy, fun-loving father/son relationship Adventure |
| Pool | Summer, heat, holidays/recreation Angle draws focus to the main figures |
| Resort lounge area with blue/white colour scheme | Colour coordination, fashion awareness, aesthetic sensibility |
| Palm trees | Exotic or tropical location Holidays/recreation |
When you look at this scene, very little of our understanding of the situation comes from denotation – there is nothing inherent in the image that definitively states the relationship between the man and boy, why they are in that location, etc. (In fact, they are likely both models with no previous relationship, and are only in that location for the photo shoot.) But through connotation the entire scene is built up in our own minds, as well as all the associations that come with that scene – and, the advertisers probably hope, an aspiration to achieve the same in our own lives by purchasing the product being advertised.
In the advertisement, to the right of the above image sits a panel with four levels of hierarchical copy including a cursive Brooks Brothers logo, a slogan (“the difference you can feel”, with emphasis on the “you”), and product branding. A connotative reading of this panel would identify the cursive logo as a signifier of luxury, trustworthiness and tradition, and the slogan as a signifier of quality, accessibility and affordability.