“Capture every moment” – the profane semiotics of surveillance advertisements

Abstract

This article is based on a semiotic interpretation of advertisements marketing surveillance equipment, collected from companies in Helsinki, Finland in 1998 and 2010. By applying “profane semiotics”, the social, political and cultural meanings of these advertisements are opened up in the light of the contemporary security governance. The article concludes that within these 12 years, the emphasis of advertising had changed significantly. The politics of information had changed, descriptions of technological details being replaced by service ensembles, trustful expertise and interaction. Instead of the late 1990s futuristic connotations, the 2010 advertisements highlighted the everydayness of surveillance. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks were in the middle of the period, a surprising finding was that the emphasis in advertising has changed from presenting threats towards presenting human emotions and agency. In marketing rhetoric, politics of fear were replaced by politics of care.

Keywords:

• video surveillance
• marketing
• advertisements
• visual methodologies
• semiotics

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Francisco Klauser and William Webster for their support during the exceptionally long production of this paper. My sincere thanks also go to the editors of Social Semiotics and the two anonymous reviewers chosen by the journal.

Funding

This article relates to my project funded by the Academy of Finland [1120394].

Notes on contributor

Hille Koskela is a professor of geography at the University of Turku, Finland. Her research interests include video surveillance and the politics of control, the emotional experience of being watched, and the responsibilization of the public to contribute in surveillance.

Notes

1. Altogether, the empirical material consists of 46 surveillance brochures which were collected by sending a polite letter to companies selling surveillance equipment. In 1998 I received 25 brochures ranging from 1-page leaflets to 160-page booklets. Eight of these 25 were in Finnish and the rest were in English. In 2010 the amount of the brochures was 21 ranging again from 1-page leaflets to 95-page booklets. Nine of the 21 were in Finnish and the rest were in English.

Additional information

Funding

Funding: This article relates to my project funded by the Academy of Finland [1120394].