The Representation of Masculine Identity in Birell Egyptian Television Advertisement: A Semiotic Approach

Abstract

The non-alcoholic beer Birell is specified in their advertisements’ campaign to men. The campaign’s slogan repeatedly in all their television advertisements says, “Man Up and Drink Birell,” and they show men before and after they drink Birell to emphasize the strong effect it has on their manhood. This paper chooses one of their television advertisements to analyze the behavior of the male actor before and after he drinks Birell, since the before-behavior is doomed and frowned upon; however, the after-behavior is celebrated and encouraged as a strong macho. This paper aims at examining the represented masculine identity in “Birell at the Barbershop” Egyptian advertisement in the light of current scholarship on gender and masculinity. By presenting the concept of masculinity as defined by Joseph Prud’homme and the concept of gender performativity as defined by Judith Butler in relation to the portrayal of the masculine identity. Unfortunately, the masculine identity has been molded in a misrepresented way and stereotyped for the capital gain of powerful institutions—this results in manipulating the consumers’ desires and motivating them to purchase the product. This paper attempts to reveal the representation of celebrated features of the macho man through the semiotics tools. Applying the semiotic tools of the signs of verbal, nonverbal, and character to the Egyptian television advertisement helps unveil the false representation allotted to masculinity and the dire consequences of such representation on the individual and the society.