Image one is an advertisement campaign which features a male who is shown, lying down in a poor and rural area. The idea promoted is that the items we buy are a luxury, which can be spent on necessities which could potentially benefit others in a substantial way rather than being self-regarding. This is emphasized by the techniques which are used in the image such as the text, composition and connotations.
First, the male is in the center of the image and occupies a substantial amount of the composition size, thus making the viewer, I, focus my attention on the man. We notice the male is very thin and lean which suggests he is poor and starving. At the centre of the image we see in bold capitals, “AFTERSHAVE” with a price tag as 35 Euros. Underneath we see “Basics for a new home” which only costs 6.50 Euro. The obvious underlying message is below the the main bolded text stating “AFTERSHAVE”. This creates an analogy which could suggest that people think that aftershave, a luxury is more important than ‘basics for a new home’ which is a necessity. This is shown by the underlying message being in lower case and smaller text rather than big bolded capitals symbolizing dominance. This advertisement image is also a parody of the stereotypical aftershave campaigns you see on television or billboards. Which generally features a young model lying down in a relaxed position holding the product with a price tag underneath. Well Image one is almost exactly like a stereotypical aftershave ad but the fact they have added an underlying message or hidden agenda further promotes a certain attitude towards the image, guilt. We are positioned and promoted to feel guilt, that we are spending our easily earned money on luxuries such as aftershave rather than helping others buying necessities such as basics for a new house which is only a fraction of the cost of aftershave.

“Discuss how the codes and conventions of at least one visual text you have studied present an issue.”
Image one is an advertisement campaign with a purpose to promote charitable causes. The image features an African man in a self-indulgent position holding a bottle of aftershave in a rural and poor area. The man is also very thin which could symbolize starvation and poverty. The creator of the advertisement, Cordaid uses visual conventions such as composition to emphasize the issues of poverty in the image.
The image uses the visual convention specifically; composition to emphasize the real underlying issue and purpose for the ad. The image uses a mid-shot to highlight the importance of the male and background. An African male is seen to be lying in a luxurious position while holding a bottle of Aftershave. The background is quite important as it shows the man in a poor, rural and isolated setting. The camera angle is quite symbolic to the advertisement as it is neither tilted high nor low so we can assume that we, the viewers are neither positioned as dominant nor subordinate but in fact equal. The male is juxtaposed with the bottle of aftershave which is quite ironic but complements the issue being presented as the advertisement is a parody of the MasterCard ‘Priceless’ ads. The fact that it is a “MasterCard” parody could suggest many vague ideas. I believe the reason is because even though they are underprivileged they do not have credit cards like us to simply purchase items to pay back in a set time despite us not all being rich.
At the center of the image we see in bold capitals, “AFTERSHAVE” with a price tag of 35 Euros. Underneath we see “Basics for a new home” which only costs 6.50 Euro. The fact that the text “Aftershave” is bolded and capitalized over “Basics for a new home” suggests that people would find Aftershave more important than providing people basics for a new home. The campaign aims at making people aware about the misery of poor people in Africa while comparing it with the luxurious spending elsewhere in the world. The image shows unprivileged people with their problems holding a luxury, which further emphasizes they are deprived of their essential needs.
Visual conventions used on the male are also quite evident with the body structure of the man and facial expression. He seems very thin, poor and miserable. This coupled with the background makes for a very convincing advertisement. Though the context of the image is very poignant with the miserable, thin man. Was it necessary that the creators of the ad use actual poor people or ‘beg’ for donations by positioning the viewer to feel guilt? “Big spenders alone are not responsible for the sorry state of the world. This disparity won’t be removed even if rich were to donate all their money to charity. We live a far messed up complicated world and this ad gives the most simplistic solution. (Extract from trendsupdate.com)”.

Introduction:
Introduce the image and answer the question * Type of campaign
Advertisement campaign to promote charitable causes * Briefly describe the campaign
Male laying down, thin, holding aftershave * Answer the question
Cordaid uses visual conventions to emphasize issue of poverty

Paragraphs:
Technical codes * Camera angle
Neither high nor low to show we are all equal not dominant or subordinate * Composition
Mid shot showing background and face, importance of both. * Background
Rural and poor area, isolatiom

Symbolism * Body language
Man is thin, laying in luxurious position * Expression
Looks miserable * Lighting / other
Gloomy, parodies * Objects
Holding the aftershave, clothes etc.

Written codes * Text
Bolded capitalized = dominant, smaller writing = less important.