‘Meanings are created in part when, where, and by whom images are consumed, and not

only when, where and by whom they are produced’ (Cartwright and Sturken 46). Today

viewers are faced with many advertisements, to which they respond in different ways. Media

theorists have generated several theories on media reception, and this essay will compare two

theories, the hypodermic needle theory and the uses and gratifications theory, alongside

Hall’s encoding and decoding model to illustrate Sturken and Cartwright’s argument. The

encoding and decoding theory is the most relatable as to how advertisements are viewed.

Meanings are produced by the receiver as well as the creator and the creation and

interpretation of meanings are affected by social, cultural, and economic context.

The hypodermic needle theory, also known as the magic bullet theory, proposes that the

media has influence by having a passive audience (Perse 24). ‘Hypodermic’ literally means

under the skin, and this gives a visual representation of the way the viewer receives the

meaning and message from the creator (“Hypodermic”). Theoretically, this means whatever

message the producer creates is the only message that the viewer will receive and that they

will all respond the way the producer intended them to (Perse 24). The audience does not

create any meaning for themselves, rather the meaning is given to them and they receive it

consistently the same. In advertising, the message that the creator has produced might be

something such as ‘buy this product and it will make your life better’. The receiver, while

viewing the ad, will involuntarily interpret this same message and believe it, regardless of

their background. One criticism of this theory is that it is “virtually futile” (Danesi 210) as

viewers have selective perception; that is to say, viewers have predisposed interpretation of

meanings (210). It does not consider that audiences are usually not passive, and that they

think about the messages they are receiving and create their own meanings from their

individual backgrounds rather than the advertiser being the only meaning-creator.
Although advertisers want us to interpret the message of the ad with their preferred reading,

each individual’s background means many varying messages are interpreted by the viewer

rather than a single consistent message. A theory that places more power into the hands of the

viewer is the uses and gratifications theory. This theory makes assumptions about how and

why audiences view media and focuses on what people do with media as opposed to what

media does to people (O’Donohoe 52). Viewers use the media to satisfy their needs. In terms

of advertising, various theorists have specified reasons why people use advertising to satisfy

needs, and Stephanie O’Donohoe expounds on several points. One of the key needs people

have is to receive information on products or services they are interested in (58). By watching

an advertisement for a new product, the audience can see its features, the price and where it is

available for purchase. This would satisfy the viewers needs for that information. Some other

needs or reasons listed by O’Donohoe include to help consumers choose between brands, to

allow vicarious consumption, to stimulate consumption, and to use as diversion and

entertainment (59-70). There are criticisms of this theory however, including its assumption

of an active audience. According to Ruggiero, there are different levels of audience

involvement and activity and the audience’s surroundings affects it (Ruggiero 8). An example

is someone listening to the radio as they drive. Their purpose was specifically to listen to the

music, so when an ad break comes on they will mentally tune out and wait for the next song

to play. Not every viewer of an ad is creating their own meaning to satisfy a need.
Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding model takes into account not only the viewer’s situation

but also the meanings produced by the creator. Relating it to advertising, the advertiser will

encode meaning by creating an ad with a message such as encouraging purchase of a product

or service on offer. The audience will then decode the ad by viewing and interpreting

messages from that ad (Cartwright and Sturken 56). However, these messages will be

affected by cultural, social, and economic factors of the individual viewer or the audience.

The message the advertiser is trying to send, their preferred reading, may not necessarily be

the meaning decoded by the audience. There are three types of meanings or readings, the

dominant-hegemonic, negotiated and oppositional reading. The dominant reading is when the

meaning is decoded as the encoder has intended (Hall 124). A negotiated reading may

acknowledge the dominant reading but make its own interpretation according to the

individuals background (Cartwright and Sturken 57). An oppositional reading would reject

the dominant message (Cartwright and Sturken 57). An

example of this is in an ad for Lipton Iced Tea featuring a

bottle of the drink, a cut mango and a knife. The

advertisers preferred reading of Fig. 1 would be that the

tea is fresh and fruity, as indicated by the cut fruit and

juice. The dominant-hegemonic reading by an adult

audience would be similar to the preferred reading.

A negotiated reading from the viewpoint of a child could

be that this drink relates to the app ‘Fruit Ninja’, and so Fig. 1. Lipton Ice Tea Advertisement

the drink is fun and exciting as is the game. As most children are familiar with the game

‘Fruit Ninja’, the meaning they derive from the ad is different to that of an adult as the

context they are viewing it in is different.

In reality, while advertisers focus their efforts on creating meanings that encourage spending,

the messages will filter through the audiences social, economic and cultural backgrounds and

they will derive their own meaning from the advertisements. Although the hypodermic needle

theory and the uses and gratifications theory are sometimes applicable, they do not offer a

balanced view of how meanings are created and received. The encoding and decoding theory

effectively illustrates how meanings are created by not only the producer of an advertisement,

but the viewer as well.

 Works Cited

Albin, Tomek. “Lipton Ice Tea.” Behance, 27 Jan. 2012,

www.behance.net/gallery/2986369/Lipton-Ice-Tea.

Danesi, Marcel. Understanding Media Semiotics. Arnold Publishers, 2002.

O′Donohoe, Stephanie. “Advertising Uses and Gratifications.” European Journal of

Marketing, vol. 28, no. 8/9, 1994, pp. 52–75.

"Hypodermic" The Oxford English Dictionary. OED Online.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hypodermic. Accessed 16 September
2017.

Potter, W. James. Media Effects. Sage Publishers, 2012.

Ruggiero, Thomas E. “Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century.” Mass
Communication & Society, vol. 3, no. 1, 2000, pp. 3–37. Taylor & Francis Online,
doi:10.1207/S15327825MCS0301_02.

Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual

Culture. Oxford University Press, 2009.