Let me begin by saying that I was a little unsure of doing my assignment on this ad because of the subject matter, but I've seen the ad quite a few times in the past few days and I could not pass up the opportunity to discuss this ad. This assignment presented the perfect opportunity to do so, so I hope I don't offend anyone.
With that said....
This ad uses everything: visuals, symbols and music to get its message across. The most obvious sign used is the pig, which in this ad is used to represent men. Even being a female, I do not understand how Trojan could think that representing the male species by a pig could help their sales! It iss an interesting concept, but is this really how we want our society to be viewed? The idea of evolution coming about on the heels of a condom company is also an thought provoking idea. It seems as though this ad is using their product as a symbol of prosperity, yet this ad supports old stereotypes of men being pigs.
Women are also shown in a very interesting manner in this ad. Though neither characters have speaking roles, it becomes understood that the song used is representing the male's mind set. The woman however, have no say in the entire commercial. Language is taken away from them in this ad, thus giving them literally and figuratively no voice.
While the ending message of this ad "use a condom every time" is extremely important, I think Trojan chose ridiculous signs and symbols to represent what was a well meant idea.
