Semiotic

Analysis
Print Ad

Submitted by: Bhakti Korgaonkar

(19014)

It never goes away. Help stop child abuse before it begins.

Client: The Center For Protection Of Childrens Rights Foundation
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Bangkok, Thailand

The Signifier
A very powerful message being sent across as a withered old Thai woman is sitting on a bed, mostly
living in an old age home given the sparse surroundings and the dirt gathered on the window sill. Also
she looks like she has an ailment, signified by the medicines kept on the side table and something
mental is bothering her. The hands emerging out of the back, from an invisible body and groping
around shamelessly at the womans breast, is the invisible face of the abuser. For a moment, the hands
look out of place, but the copy, at the bottom saying It never goes away gives away the essence of
the ad. The mood of the ad is very sombre and dark in a way which is depicted by the use of low
lighting. It feels like its the end of the day, due to low light and certainly suits the darker mood of the
ad.

The Signified
The grave problem of child abuse and how it never ceases to impact someone in their grey years is
beautifully portrayed by the use of older people in an ad to actually depict child abuse. The use of low
lights brings out the darker mood as well as signifies the end of days for the elderly. The almost
unemotional detachment in the womans demeanour exemplifies the after effects of child abuse- the
acceptance of ones sorry fate being highlighted the most. The hands sans the body also reflects the
point that it could be anyone, the uncle, the family friend, or even the father. The copy brings out
the point beautifully in just four powerful words. The It being symbolic of the pain, the shame the
sense of being a pariah, as also the actual act of abuse. The scars of physical abuse are never healed.

Connotation
The hands and their positions and the obscene hurriedness apparent in them, are the connotations of
sexual abuse done in the most secretive, forbidden sort of way. The absence of any kind of struggle
on the womans face is the face of the submissive power of the child abuse and also a slap on the face
of the civil society where such topics for discussions are still taboo. It also reflects the inability of
children to be open about such an act happening in their lives. Using the old woman as a denotation
of a small child being the victim of child abuse is what sets this ad apart and more hard hitting.

I believe the expressions or the lack of them on the face of the woman are the most expressive and
powerful denotation of the concept of child abuse. The almost clinical and glaring treatment of the
subject is what defines this ad for me.

Cultural Connotation
According to statistics (the lotus flower foundation.org),

UNICEF estimates that approximately 250,000 children become victims of sex trade each year
in Thailand

1 out of 4 children in Thailand is emotionally, physically or sexually abused.

Only 20% of these children are successfully reintegrated back in to society.

Up to 80% of children who are victims of domestic violence become orphaned as returning to
their families becomes increasingly unsafe.

Abused children are also at a much higher risk of becoming casualties of drug, alcohol and
sexual addictions, feeding continuous patterns of victimization.

In a country like Thailand, fight against child abuse assumes immense proportions, when the country
itself is infamous for sex tourism which involves roughly 9 % of child prostitutes. In such a scenario,
child abuse might not seem like a heinous crime to the authorities as also the wrong doer. The strong
and direct almost in your face tone of the ad, seems almost necessary given the background.