Nescafe ad – “Wake up to life"
The CODE-X series catalogs a vast codex of source codes (aka “signs”) extracted from past audits.
The object of study in semiotics is not the signs but rather a general theory of signification; the goal of each “audit” is to build a model demonstrating how meaning is produced and received within a category or cultural territory. Signs on their own, therefore, only become truly revelatory and useful once we’ve sorted them into thematic complexes, and the complexes into codes, and the codes into a meaning map. We call this process “thick description”; the Code-X series is thin description.
“WAKE UP” NORM: Coffee is a crucial means to get me going when I first wake up.
“WAKE UP” FORMS: : Coffee product juxtaposed with signifiers of “waking up.” Alarm clocks. Sun rising, peeking over the horizon. Tired, bleary-eyed people grateful for the day’s first coffee. Motivational: “Wake up to life.” ”Start your day right.” “Say good morning to a good day.” “Rise and grind.” “The early bird gets the first cup of coffee.” Empathetic. ”Monday mornings can be rough.” “The grind before your grind.”