Signs within an image

After reading excerpts from Roland Barthes "Rhetoric of the Image" I have become more interested in the semiotics of images, the signs within them to signify a meaning. In his book he looks at advertising, images that are purely created to have meaning and connote a message and he talks about the stereotypes of countries and how people subconsciously match up the relationship between the objects and the meaning. I want to look at a separate image and breakdown the meaning and message behind it. I am going to look at a television advert for hovis bread where a little boy goes out to get a loaf of bread for his mum and runs back to get home and takes a journey through Britain's history from Victorian times to present.

Firstly its undeniable that this advert makes you feel good after watching it. Being British, its easy to relate the the scenes shown even though I didn't experience a lot of them as it is taught thoroughly throughout history lessons. The titanic, women's rights, the World Wars, the mining strike. You begin watching the advert with facts and also devastation and it reminds you of when your parents tell you about these events. My Grandad was in World War 2 although he doesn't talk much about it as it upsets him too much, but I have still heard stories from him and other people that served in the war. I have heard many stories about the mining strikes from my parents as they lived through it in the 80's and just with these simple sequences in the film people immediately understand the meaning. Bread is a compulsory product in a household usually and represents this whole heartiness and warmth and family togetherness. All these events have brought us to where we are today. The little boy changes clothes according the era and fashion but he stays the same. This could be a message about how people stay the same but the environment changes. And in correlation to the advertisement its how hovis has stayed with the people throughout the ages and the "tough times" only the environment changes. Its touching and memorable and ends with a glorious firework display signifying the millennium and celebration of a new millennium. The boy smiles quirkily as he gets in understanding his journey and being pleased with himself. Its a successful advert as it is humble and underlies the message of buying a product that has been with us since 1886 and has been present for over a century.