A Semiotic Analysis of Diesel Commercial

Rebellion, Power and Strength Diesel is a contemporary, luxury nouveau genre Italian design clothing company whose clientele is the young adult market. Throughout the years Diesel has established its name partly through an array of shocking controversial advertising campaigns, such as Be Stupid, Misopolis, which promotes women’s right to abortion, and finally, Fuel for Life Women Only designed to advertise their latest fragrance for women. The latter has launched a series of commercials and banners which feature young gorgeous females only. If one considers other typical fragrance commercials such as Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana to name a few, one may notice that there is a constant overtly sexual male-female relationship portrayed throughout their campaign to sell their product, however Diesel has opted for a different approach. While Fuel for Life Women Only flirts with provocative issues such as rebellion against patriarchy and the idea that women are uncontrollable beings, female independence, and female sexualisation, it does so in such a beautiful classy way that the issues promoted seem barely shocking at all. In this semiotic analysis I will argue and explain how the women show that they are rebelling against patriarchy through signs of female sexualisation, rebellion against gender roles and female independence. Finally I will analyse what this reveals about our culture. As a starting point of analysis, it is mandatory to focus on the advertisement itself. The viewer is presented with what seems to be a scenario taking place in modern South West Europe because of the aesthetic look of the house where they are and because of the architectural nature of the streets shown throughout the video. It appears to be of modern times because of the city lights and the cars perceived behind the balcony outside. At first sight the decor of the house seem quite austere and typical of the 1930’s, however it is arguable that this style of house is still very

Cited: Tong, Rosemarie, 2009. Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction (Third Edition). Boulder: Westview Press. pp. 284–285, 289. ISBN 978-0-8133-4375-4. [ 6 ]. Tong, Rosemarie. 2009. Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction (Third Edition). Pages 284–285, 289.