Questions to consider:
Metaphor = symbol that describes one thing in terms of something else
Juxtaposition - Connection
Consider the ad for Equal, shown in Figure 4. This ad depicts two images, an Equal package with a triangle cut out of it and a triangular piece of cheesecake. The Equal package is substituting for the cheesecake in a smaller part (e.g. ingredient) to larger whole (e.g. entire cake) relationship. The visual message associates the sweetener with the properties of a satisfying dessert. Because both the Equal package and the cheesecake are pictured, this ad uses a figure of connection via juxtaposition. Notice that no similarity comparison is elicited; the figure is not asserting that Equal is likea cheesecake but that ‘EQUAL is an associate of CHEESECAKE’. The possibility of using Equal to bake a sweet dessert is thus made more salient.
Replacement - Connection
The ad in Figure 5 for Silk soy milk creates a figure of connection via replacement by having the cereal in the shape of a smiling face (the present image) stand for a happy user of the product (the absent image). The smiling face in the cereal bowl is a substitute for, and elicits, a larger whole: the satisfied consumer. Through this figure, the soy milk is connected to pleasurable eating experiences generally.
Fusion - Similarity
The Reflex racquet ad asks consumers to find the similarity between a shark and a sports racquet. Both images are partially pictured and fused together. Although normally a shark and a racquet share few surface features, in this ad the shark’s jaw has been superimposed on the racquet head so that they look alike. This surface similarity may help consumers to generate structural similarities between the two images; ‘RACQUET is like SHARK because the racquet will help one become a fierce and aggressive competitor, like a shark.’ Other inferences that have been made in response to this ad include ‘inescapable’ and ‘brings out one’s animal instinct’ so one can ‘chew up’ the competition.
Replacement - Similarity
The Welch’s grape juice ad provides an example of a figure of similarity via replacement in which only one of the two images to be compared is shown in the ad. Some context is given (such as the wine racks and glass) to help consumers construct the missing image (Forceville, 1994). Consumers may understand this ad’s message to be, ‘GRAPE JUICE (present image) is like WINE (absent image) because both provide benefits to one’s heart.’ By replacing bottles of wine with bottles of grape juice, this visual figure stimulates reflection on how grape juice can be similar to wine in other ways, such as in taste and value.
Juxtaposition - Opposition
Consider the Comfort fabric softener ad in Figure 7. Because of the surface similarities between the two images in this ad, one might be tempted to construct the similarity comparison: ‘SOCKS are like CACTI.’ However, the product category of the ad (i.e. fabric softener) informs us that the correct comparison is an opposition; that is, ‘SOCKS are not like CACTI’ because socks washed in this fabric softener are soft and comfortable while cacti are prickly and painful (Phillips, 1997). The surface similarities between the two images highlight the structural differences. Because both images are presented separately in the ad, the figure is one of opposition via juxtaposition.
Fusion - Opposition
In the ad for Kudos granola bars in Figure 8, a wicked stepmother is fused with a fairy godmother. The ad could be interpreted as saying that mothers will be perceived as nice fairy godmothers, not wicked stepmothers, if they provide a good-tasting, yet still nutritious, snack for their children. As with any figure of opposition, the consumer is invited to reflect on both the dimension that unites the opposites (in this case, benevolent vs. malevolent storybook women) and the many ways a mother is not a witch. Most importantly, the Kudos product is presented as a way to identify oneself with the fairy godmother side of the opposition.
Replacement - Opposition
An example of a figure of opposition comparison via replacement appears in the Sunny Delight ad in Figure 10. In this ad, the candy from a gum ball machine has been replaced by vitamins, suggesting that ‘VITAMINS (present term) are not like CANDY (absent term).’ The ad leads to the inference that because vitamins are not loved and sought out by children, parents should serve Sunny Delight to provide child-pleasing vitamins.
