Reception theory

1) What are the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings for the adverts you have studied?

The 50 cent ad's preferred readings are that your past doesn't define you, and encourages the target audience to carve out their identity as they are who they are. An oppositional reading could be that the company is encouraging a life of crime and criminal/gang activity. The fingerprints and use of the celebrity 50 cent, who was involved in criminal activity, may imply that you can't escape a life of crime as it is always linked to "who you are". Furthermore, the preferred reading that everyone has a second chance at life may also be misinterpreted, as 50 cent infamously survived 12 gunshots. This fact may imply the idea that you'll be able to survive a life of gang activity. In summary, the negotiated reading is that your past doesn't define you, and you should take advantage of the opportunities that life gives you. However a past of criminal activity will stay with you for life.



The axe ad's preferred reading is encouraging bonding and fun, and implies that the axe body spray will cause you to be a free person who will be able to find love. An oppositional reading could be that the ad encourages illegal use of fireworks, or perhaps encourages "disturbance of the peace." Therefore, an negotiated reading is that the ad pushes the idea that using axe body spray will open up new opportunities and cause sparks to fly between men and women, however it encourages perhaps illegal or immoral "chaos".

2) Do these adverts provide evidence for the idea that audiences are free to interpret messages in a variety of ways - including rejecting them?

Yes, the advertisements provide evidence that audiences are free to interpret messages in a variety of ways. For example, the 50 cent ad has preferred readings that Reebok tried to convey. They wanted to push the message that your past doesn't define you and encourages carving out your own identity, as explained above. However some may chose to interpret the ad as endorsing gang violence, thus rejecting the preferred reading and proving that audiences are free to interpret the messages that adverts provide.