Ralph Lauren Ads for Men and Women: A Semiotic Analysis. For the purpose of this essay I have decided to concentrate on four printed advertisements for Ralph Lauren.

Review of essay

Rating: 5 star(s)

Response to the question

This is an exceptionally well written essay, that would undoubtedly receive top marks; the student provides thorough, detailed, and all relevant descriptive information to compare and contrast 4 print adverts from Ralph Lauren. Furthermore to this, a very high level of evaluation is intertwined throughout the essay, clearly discussing the effects of semiotic techniques on these print adverts as well as inputting their own opinions and analysis. One of the strong points of this essay is the extended introduction – the student provides a typical introductory paragraph to set the scene and explain to the reader what will be discussed – but then also goes on to provide some introductory and background information into Ralph Lauren and advertising in general demonstrating thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic.

Level of analysis

The level of analysis is superb, with the student using many useful references to back up their points (e.g. Beasley and Danesi 2002, Bignell 2002), this is good as it shows not only their opinion but provides further academic support for such an opinion. The analysis of the semiotics used in the advertisements is extremely thorough covering topics such as colour, action, connotations, syntagmatic patterns, text, icons, and so on. One reason for the analysis being so good is the level of detail covered, rather than just saying the colours are different, the student takes this further – e.g. “as one compares both one can notice that the male advertisement has much darker tones” and “the colours used are very interesting as pink is an extremely feminine colour but typically golf is a masculine game.” This is an important technique to master, as students should avoid simply describing the adverts, and ensure they are analysing them instead – as demonstrated throughout this essay.

Quality of writing

Structurally, this essay is essentially ‘perfect’, the student has a good introduction (as discussed) and nice conclusion to summarise the points discussed and reach a judgment on the area (e.g. “Semiotics can help us to decode advertisements and be aware of the underlying meaning within the texts.”). The central part of the essay is clearly laid out, with an intertwining body of both description and analysis throughout – where possible this should be used (rather than describing in the first half of an essay and then analysing in the second half), evaluative points can typically be brought in throughout a discussion creating a more logical structure to an essay rather than separating description and analysis. Relevant media terminology is used accurately and effectively, demonstrating a clear understanding of the topic area, e.g. linguistic sign, positive connotations, syntagmatic pattern, iconic, action shot, and so on.