The Child as a Signifier of

Family.Responsibility

Children Equate Family

These days it is difficult to define exactly what a family is. In general, most people would agree that a family has a multi-generational component. Adults alone, paired or single, are not usually referred to as a family. When adults acquire children by birth or by adoption, the cohort is labeled as a family. Because a child is essential to the creation of this conception of a family, the child becomes a signifier of the family. If a child is depicted with adults in an advertisement, family is signified. The spectator consequently reads the ad with the assumption that the product is intended for families. Take as an example the following car advertisement.

It would be silly if only the man was being used to sell this vehicle. One would wonder why he drives the wagon instead of a nice flashy car like a Trans Am. It is the children in this ad who provide the meaning. Once this group is defined as a family, there are certain needs that the wagon can fill. They are not out to pick up women or drag race at stop lights. Instead they need room for toting around Legos and Little League players and, they definitely need Scotch Guard seats. The child signifies these needs as well as the parents responsibility to provide for them.

Many advertisements featuring families contain elements of social tableau. Scenes used in ads often show families enjoying a vacation, new car or other luxury not affordable to the average family. Marchand states that ads such as these, "provide consumers with a scene into which they can comfortably and pleasurably place themselves." Readers are placing themselves into a setting that is often above their economic and social circumstances.

Family Equates Responsibility

Children can be thought of as the ultimate responsibility. Parents play a key role in the physical and emotional development of their child. The way parents interact with their children and what they teach them will affect their childs physical health, morals and intelligence. Additionally, one is obligated to care for and teach their child to some extent for the rest of their life. Parents still worry and stay in contact with their child long after he or she has grown and left the home. Joop has created a spoof on the degree of responsibility that children bring.

Advertisers are counting on parents to completely buy into the concept that parental actions shape children. They want you to believe that what you do for your child will have a huge impact on their health and character. Here the Therapeutic Ethos comes into play, but with a twist. Advertisers capitalize on the parent's need to satisfy their child's needs. Companies will attempt to convince parents that without their product the child will somehow be deficient. The product fills the void and facilitates health and or good character in the child. Advertisers would like parents to believe that the purchase of their commodity will help them to fulfill their responsibility to their child. Here is an example of an advertiser appealing to a parents need to provide for their children.