Discuss and apply the theory of semiotics-'the science of the sign', to three advertisements independently chosen.

Authors Avatar

        011264392

INTRODUCTION

This report will discuss and apply the theory of semiotics-‘the science of the sign’, to three advertisements independently chosen.

The advertisements are part of a campaign called the ‘White Ribbon campaign’ formed by the ‘Womankind Worldwide’ charity whose aim is to put a stop to the violence against women.

The advertisements were placed in a magazine called ‘B’, which is aimed at women between the ages of 18-25 with an average income, looking at the retail price of the magazine. The magazine is a fashion, beauty and gossip magazine.

‘Textual analysis was used to analyse the advertisements and their meanings. Various theories from respected semiologists are used and applied to the advertisements.

The advertisements were also analysed in terms of their effects on society and whether or not they reinforce ideological views. The aim is to answer the question as to whether advertising reflects society or does society reflect advertising?

CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERTISEMENTS

The advertisements can be classified under Hall and Whannels’s categories of advertisements as being ‘sophisticated’ advertisements. Sophisticated advertisements ‘usually explore hidden or subconscious feelings; subtle associations are made between product and situation, and dreamlike fantasies are acted out. Sexuality may be exaggerated and sexual symbolism exploited. Self-indulgence and violence lurk beneath the surface. Women become the imagined fetishes of men, passive, narcissistic, exhibitionist-inviting male voyeurism’ (Dyer, G. Advertising as Communication. Pp 91-92).

The advertisements bear a close resemblance to perfume, body/face cream and shampoo advertisements found already in magazines, therefore they are iconic signs. An example of an advertisement similar to advertisement number 1 can be found in appendix 3.

WHAT IS THE PRODUCT?

The advertisements are not trying to sell a physical product as many advertisements do. The objectives of each of the campaigns include:

  • To create awareness of the charity to women who suffer with violence so they know where to get help.
  • To create awareness of the charity to people who know women who suffer with violence so they can inform them where they can get help.
  • To encourage people to donate to the charity.
  • To make people aware and inform them of real-life issues affecting women.
  • To show that many advertisements do not reflect reality. “Advertisements obscure and avoid the real issues of society” (Williamson, J. Decoding Advertisements, Ideology and Meaning in Advertising).

ICONOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

Panofsky studied the iconography (imagery and symbols) of paintings, and proposed a simple model for the analysis of the subject matter of visual communication. He suggests that there are three levels of meaning in an image. By unpeeling the first and the second you can get a third. Each level will now be discussed in relation to the three advertisements.

LEVEL 1 (List contents)

ADVERTISEMENT NUMBER 1

This is a photograph of an attractive man and woman in their mid twenties. The woman is thin, has long hair, her eyes are facing downwards, the corners of her mouth are lowered and she is wearing little. Her hands are behind her back. The man is taller than the woman and he is looking down, straight at her. He is very muscular and is also wearing very little. He is holding her, his one hand on her hip and the other on her arm. He has a serious expression on his face. They are stood very close to each other although he is facing directly towards her while she is turned away slightly from him. The photograph is black and white. It is not clear what is in the background because it appears to be hazy. There is a larger than life size bottle of perfume in the right hand corner of the picture which is in colour. The photograph is taken close up.

ADVERTISEMENT NUMBER 2

This is a photograph of an attractive woman in her mid twenties showing her from her chest and above. She has long, blonde hair which is partly covering up her face. She appears to be wearing little although this is not clear. She has clear, flawless skin. Her mouth is closed showing no expression, her eyes are closed. The background is plain white and there is a bottle in the corner which appears to represent a bottle of shampoo. The bottle is fairly life sized and is blue and white. The photo is taken close up.

Join now!

ADVERTISEMENT NUMBER 3

This is a photograph of an attractive woman, in her mid twenties, lying across a light grey sofa which takes up the whole background of the photograph. The woman is slim and wearing make-up. She is wearing a dress which reveals a large proportion of her chest and her thigh is also revealed indicating that her dress is either very short or pulled up. Her dress has a distinctive pattern on it, very similar to the famous ‘Liberty’ design, a well-known store in London. She has long brown hair. Her eyes appear to be staring ...

This is a preview of the whole essay