Toys have been a big and growing industry in the business world. Constantly, kids and young-at-heart want more updated and exciting toys that they will enjoy. On the other hand, the producers of these toys advertise their products to make it more appealing to consumers, just like promoting any other product. But really, what is the subliminal message of these advertisements? Do they just really mean ‘Buy me!'?
Let's Have an Example
This image is an advertisement of a Fisher-Price kitchen set toy.
It is a picture to endorse their product, persuading the consumers that the toy is fun to play with by putting two children in the picture happily using the merchandise. Judging from the smiles and the body positions of the children, you can really tell that the kids are enjoying playing with the toy, and it might actually convince you to buy the product for your children. But take another look at the image; is it really just an advertisement? Or is it also a concealed representation of our society?
Let us first take a look at the toy- a Kitchen Center, it says. By studying the toy in the image, we can also study the image then later take a look at the image as a whole because the toy is a major component of this image.
There are more to toys than just plastic mimicry and source of fun for children. As Barthes says in his article Toys, toys always mean something, and this something is always and entirely socialized, constituted by the myths or techniques of modern adult life.
This toy is not an exception to that. The toy kitchen set bears a socialized meaning in it, but in order to fully apprehend this meaning, we have to integrate the other elements constituting this image with the toy.
The two kids in the image contribute a great deal in understanding the myths and ideologies of this image. The two kids in the picture are depicting a situation in a typical kitchen of a normal house. The kids are portraying as husband wife owning the house.
What they are doing with the kitchen set is more than pretense and works of a child's imagination. It is also a hidden depiction of the roles men and women have in our society.
The little girl in this picture is holding the plastic ladle and pot and serving it to the boy. The girl is a representation of women in general. The action of serving and cooking denote that females are for homemaking and for attending and pleasing the male - housewives, in other words. Women are better off left with the house.
Meanwhile, the boy, who is holding a phone to his ear as if busy in some important business call, is representing the men as if saying that the males are the ones who work for the family, the provider, the stronger ones who can handle work better than women can and thus deserve the attention and care from their wives.
So the next time you take a look at an advertisement, scrutinize what it really says behind the cute little children or the excitement that goes along. But the truth is, if the toy is fun to play with, they why not? Go ahead, buy the toy.
