Angela Simmons-PETA
The first example appeared in a recent advertising campaign launched by PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Angela Simmons, the co-founder of Pastry shoes, was featured posing nude as Eve to urge people not “sin” by eating meat. The ads feature Simmons strategically covered by her hair, holding an apple, and/ or adorned by ivy leaves. With the campaign, Simmons grapples with several of the dualistic biblical constructions by pointing out the hypocrisy of the human race’s treatment of animals, appearing in the nude as a self-proclaimed Christian, and representing Eve as African-American. The first of the dualistic representations is also addressed by the text on the ads “Angela Simmons for PETA. Eating meat is a sin. Go Vegetarian” (PETA). The first level of signification contains the image of celebrity and coupled with the text it signifies her endorsement of the organization. The second level of signification submits that this woman is a vegetarian, and being closely associated with the third order of signification, the codes through which this could be read add several layers of meaning.
The apple and the leaves of the ivy as well as the figure’s nudity represent biblical code of Eve. In most of the ads, she holds the apple as if offering it to the viewer and tempting the viewer to sin, and in doing so, the seductive position and the gaze of the figure cast the viewer as Adam. The message of the image is therefore in direct contradiction to the goal of the ad; the image urges the viewer to sin while the text urges the opposite. This is a confusing paradigm for the viewer because if read within the biblical code “sinning” is a negative act, but read within the code of advertising, the sexualized nature of the image and the apple tell the viewer that by giving into the temptation presented by the figure they will gain something positive.
The apple and the leaves of the ivy as well as the figure’s nudity represent biblical code of Eve. In most of the ads, she holds the apple as if offering it to the viewer and tempting the viewer to sin, and in doing so, the seductive position and the gaze of the figure cast the viewer as Adam. The message of the image is therefore in direct contradiction to the goal of the ad; the image urges the viewer to sin while the text urges the opposite. This is a confusing paradigm for the viewer because if read within the biblical code “sinning” is a negative act, but read within the code of advertising, the sexualized nature of the image and the apple tell the viewer that by giving into the temptation presented by the figure they will gain something positive.