Outlined by Ang and Lim’s journal ‘The influence of metaphors and product type on brand personality perceptions and attitudes’, 2006, metaphors involve portraying one thing in terms of another, usually an unexpected object. This taps into consumers existing knowledge and preconceptions of the product being advertising in order to comprehend the message.
Heinz have used a metaphor to convey their unique
selling proposition (USP) of being that their ketchup contains only natural ingredients.
To communicate this message, Heinz have used a pictorial metaphor supported by
a text metaphor. As summarized by Forceville, 2002 in the book ‘Pictorial
Metaphor in Advertising’, through the pictorial, Heinz creates an awareness of
the two distinctive terms portrayed. Whilst the target domain, or tenor, is
clearly the Heinz ketchup bottle, sliced tomatoes have been stacked to create
the bottle in order to portray its USP. This is the source domain, or vehicle
and is used to emphasize the natural ingredients Heinz use. The bold red colour
used throughout supports the metaphor, mimicking the natural colour of both
tomatoes and ketchup. 
The NHS has also used metaphors in a way to convey
the message of persuading their consumer to quit smoking. Again, like Heinz,
they have used both pictorial and text metaphors. Whilst the advert is about
cigarettes it in fact shows the consequences of smoking instead, using a fishing
hook as the tenor to metaphorically display a vehicle that can’t be seen – an
addiction. The metaphor is very graphic and received many complaints however
due to the severity of the message, the shocking visual metaphor has a powerful
effect.
Both adverts have supported the visual metaphor
with a simple clarification in text beneath. Heinz use the word ‘grow’ instead
of ‘manufacture’ or ‘make’ to emphasize their USP that their ketchup is as
natural as the tomatoes it’s made from. Similarly, the NHS use the word
‘unhooked’ to describe the action of quitting smoking, supporting the hook
shown in the print ad. As both adverts use text to support them, they are less
open to interpretation. Summarized by Lagerwerf and Meijers, 2008, images are
less open to alternative interpretation when combined with a caption or text.
As the source domain cannot be physically seen, the
NHS advert has supported their advert with factual information unlike Heinz,
which relies just on the text and visual metaphors.
Thorntons New Advert
Ang, S. and Lim, E. (2006). The Influence of Metaphors and Product Type
on Brand Personality Perceptions and Attitudes. Journal of Advertising,
35(2), pp.39-53.
Forceville, C. (2002). Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising. 1st ed.
[ebook] London: Routledge, p.163. Available at:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_R6EAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA216&lpg=PA216&dq=Sperber+and+Wilson+1986+metaphors&source=bl&ots=gvJC_UByys&sig=60YXtvgRAeuZzvAxVKM1nF6ltqQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ergJVa-OC8PAOcjigIgD&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=pictorial&f=false
[Accessed 9 Mar. 2015].
Lagerwerf, L. and Meijers, A. (2008). Openness in Metaphorical and
Straightforward Advertisements: Appreciation Effects. Journal of Advertising,
37(2), pp.19-30.
