media diary week 7 political messaging

Although many media texts deal with a political agenda as there sole perpous for existing, many texts such as film, music video and particularly advertising. In this case the text is the Iceland Christmas 2019 advertisement for the uk food chain Iceland so its intended perpous is to sell product but still uses its influence to appeal to a much greater cause than just the selling of reasonably priced frozen foods. This ad deals with the destruction of the rain forest and the extraction of palm oil. It opens in a typical fashion for an ad like this with an animated setting and celebrity endorsement, this time from actress Emma Thompson. It begins with a lone orangutan entering a girls room. This acts as an enigma code and makes the audience question why such an odd situation is actually transpiring but also luls us into a false sense of security thinking it will just be another silly and meaningless children's advert/ story. The advert shows the monkey innocently destroying the bedroom, paralleling the way humans have tampered with his natural habitat for there own ends. This however does not become apparent until the girl asks the ape to leave and we realise why. This darker turn catches the audience off guard and representing a jarring shift in tone as the animation style suddenly becomes much darker that previous in both its colour tone and subject matter. Although the section begins more vague, by the end the ape has established palm oil extraction is the key factor in rainforest destruction and it is now obvious who Iceland have taken a swing at directly. This overt calling out of such an industry standard practice and product could be a main contributing factor of the ads banning as in the media landscape, its either fall in line with the business practice of the masses or be silenced and shut out to prevent exposure of what really goes on to bring us day to conveniences. The Girl in the ad then becomes more welcoming and understanding of the monkey as she invites him to stay with her representing how the plight of those affected should take an emotional toll on the ads urban audience and subliminally communicates to them that they must also follow the mindset of the young, as it is the younger generation that will inherit the earth and inevitably the ones who will have to carry the burden of fixing whatever mess the older generation's unsavoury habits and practices have left the planet with. This could be the reason why the ad targets children directly in its style.