Here is a man enjoying a cigarette as he takes a break from the hard days work of a cowboy. I guess you can consider him an American icon of sorts. This is the face that represented "cool" in that time period as shown from his leaned posture to the cowboy hat and denim jacket. This is a man who lives outdoors, so no oppressive office enviroment will suffice for him. He has his laso around his knee staring intensely out yonder, one with his thoughts. Relaxation emanates from this photo. If we call be so lucky as this character with our Marlboro cigarettes.
2nd PART OF ASSIGNMENT:
Viewing the photo as a structurualist intepretation, this photo is to used as a persuassion to get people to buy Marlboro cigarettes. All the signs are indicators of cool, which is to say "if you smoke Marlboro than you too will be cool." The signs of cool: cowboy image, posture, and an outdoor enviroment. To help the viewer be aware of the signs of cool the photo focuses on the man in the foreground. All other aspects of the photo is blurred into the background. The color scheme of the ad is red, white, and blue, which symbolizes American as does the American cowboy symbolizes as well. The symbols of cool were important to Marlboro to appeal to men because before this advertisment came out Marlboro was known mainly as a female cigarrette. This is the advertisement that catapulted the brand as the number one cigarrette worldwide. Maybe that wasn't a structuralist interpretation, but more of a historical anaylsis, but as explains why the signs of cool were significant in this advertisement campaign.
