Sample Deconstruction
by Andrea Quijada, NMMLP

VISA "Signature"

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			This media example is one of many on NMMLP's new DVD-ROM Challenging the Debt Industry more info
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1.  Who created this media message?  Why?

Visa paid for the ad to distinguish its Signature credit card from other Visa cards.

 2.  Who is the target audience?  What text, images or sounds suggest this?  

White middle-class English-speaking American male and female Baby Boomers are being targeted because white women are visible in the ad, the suggestion of travel to resorts is specific to middle-class American culture, English is the only language utilized, and the use of Frank Sinatra and the classic Chevrolet both reference the era in which the target age group lived.

4.  What is the text (literal meaning) of the message?

Pieces of the text include black and white footage of Frank Sinatra singing (audio and visual), color footage of a Classic Chevy, an audio narrator, images of the Visa Signature card, shots of a resort swimming pool, and images of women in swimsuits.

5.  What is the subtext (unstated or hidden message)?

Various subtexts could be that anyone who has the Visa Signature card is part of an American legacy, using the Visa Signature card means you will have a resort vacation, Frank Sinatra uses a Visa Signature card, people who use the Visa Signature card drive cool cars, or if you can remember Frank Sinatra and classic cars you are important.

6.  What kind of lifestyle is presented?  Is it glamorized?  How?

A lifestyle of happiness, consumption and leisure. Yes, it is glamorized through images of cars, swimming pools, and people.

7.  What values are expressed?

Using a credit card instead of actual money, control of our world (“…world on a string”), living outside our means, and the normalization of middle-class American culture.

8.  What tools or techniques of persuasion are being used?

Nostalgia, Repetition, Symbols, Diversion, Hyperbole, Flattery, Celebrities, and Simple Solutions.

9.  What healthy messages are communicated? What unhealthy messages are communicated?

It is healthy that we see people outside swimming and having a good time. An unhealthy message is that credit cards often lead people into long-term debt.

10.  What part of the story is not being told?

Travel to resorts does not permit tourists to truly experience the place they are visiting. Resorts do not support local economies and often serve to benefit primarily American-owned hotel chains.

Another story is that the majority of bankruptcy filings are non-business filings and in 2005, they totaled 2,039,214, which was a 30 percent increase in non-business filings from the 1,563,145 bankruptcy petitions filed in 2004.

A classic Chevy gets between 9-12 miles per gallon.

Frank Sinatra’s look and sound was appropriated from black American culture to make it palatable to white audiences.

Frank Sinatra is no longer living and did not actually endorse the Visa Signature card.

More info on Challenging the Debt Industry (DVD-ROM)

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