Media and Semiotics - Essay Example

?Media and Semiotics – DNAge Advertisement The DNAge advertisement signifies how well the message is being transmitted to the intended audiences. Even though the advertisement does not say much in terms of the layout, the copy actually puts forward quite a few significant pointers. In semiotic terms, which essentially is gained through signs, symbols and signification, one can see that the advertisement actually talks directly to the people for whom it has been developed. The advertisement is targeting the women who believe that they have started to age and now is the time to turn back the clock in their own favor. The product ‘DNAge’ actually represents how easily the intended audience would connect with the advertisement and allow them to try this product once at least. The signs, symbols and other facets – all of which comprise the semiotics of the advertisement remain very pertinent when one tries to comprehend how the advertisement will talk to the correct people – the ageing women and how it is asking them to try the product at least once. The semiotics of this advertisement therefore depict the manner under which women will feel inclined to try it on their own selves once and if they find that the product works in their favor, then they will keep on trying the product again and again. This paper finds a semiotic link with the advertisement that connects with its intended audience. The different metaphors that are being employed and the way in which communication is being done have been highlighted during the length of this paper. First of all, this advertisement needs an analysis and this can only be done when there is an understanding that DNAge is being targeted as a product which will take care of the ageing phenomenon within the women. The claim is such that it starts working when skin begins to age and the concentration lies in the DNA of the human being. Now this is something essential to comprehend because the DNA of the person is particular and cannot be replicated in some other being. The advertisement shows a female who must be in her high 40s. She depicts a very presentable personality and thus her facial expressions represent success in life that she has achieved over a period of time. She is apparently happy that she has been able to turn back time in her favor. The copy within the advertisement is also very crisp and represents the message which DNAge is willing to give to the intended target audiences. The copy has a definitive platform upon which the entire wordings have been devised, thus giving a very direct and appealing message to the audience. The ones who go through this advertisement will find that the copy is very feministic in its approach since it discusses the feminine side of the ageing phenomenon. The copy therefore is a perfect fit for such a kind of an advertisement as it showcases the true spirit of an anti-ageing advertisement (Amujo, 2010). The readers of this copy will find that they are glued to the wordings that have been used and the sub-caption which says “works where skin ageing starts: at the DNA”. The usage of claims like ‘86% firmer skin’ and ‘82% less wrinkles’ is actually seen as a plus point for the copy that is being sent across this advertisement. It gives a sort of scientific approach to this advertisement which is all the more significant. The renewal of cells that are taking place within a human body is similarly a claim that DNAge is making and which is easily comprehensible by the women who would use it once they are able to buy it off the rack (Greenland, 2003). The word ‘New’ on the top of the advertisement and just beneath the caption suggests that DNAge is a product that has either changed itself completely or has come up with a new formula to defeat anti-ageing. The semiotic analysis therefore depends a great deal not only on the visual but also the copy that comes along with it in the advertisement. An argument that can be made here regarding this advertisement is that it creates a very strong message for the intended audiences. Since women will be using this product, it is only natural to think that they should be targeted in the most prompt manner possible. DNAge is one product that is being marketed solely on the basis of the age premise, as this is an aspect which has deemed attention due to the scars and ageing signs which are visible on the face of an adult woman. Therefore there is a ‘connect’ that can seemingly be deciphered by the viewers of this advertisement. In terms of the semiotic meaning that is comprised within this advertisement, one can be sure that the woman used in the artwork justifies her inclusion, as she is able to demonstrate how an adult woman wants to get rid of the ageing factors which come about on her face every now and then. She will be assured that by making use of DNAge, she will be able to address the negativities in terms of the above-mentioned issues on her face, and thus enliven herself once again. It is indeed a rejuvenation of sorts that is taking place within her folds, and for that she must have an aspired value which will be ably achieved by the woman in the advertisement and the body copy that has been made use of here. Thus the semiotic analysis of this advertisement is inherently complete and covers all the aspects that one can think of as far as the advertising philosophy is concerned. In terms of the sign language, the woman represents class, finesse and excellence as she is well groomed and knows how to carry herself. It has a very decisive meaning on the overall layout of the advertisement as an aspired woman will be able to have a better impact than any other woman who is not of that age bracket. There is a dire need to understand that advertising works essentially when all touch points are duly and ably covered. It would mean that the shortcomings need to be resolved because these are the basis of creating chaos within the advertising realms. These shortcomings could arise in the wake of incomprehensiveness of the product, the kind of audience for which the product is being targeted and so on. From a semiotic analysis standpoint, how this advertisement will be deciphered is generally very significant. When the product is talking to a particular class, then the layout, copy and visual must all complement each other. In this case, the DNAge actually signifies how well it connects with the audience and is able to create a niche of its own. The woman used in the advertisement is relying on the product that is offered – DNAge and this is visibly present within her facial expressions. An advertiser would always want that its brand spokespersons and celebrities if used, are genuine enough to create a viable message for the relevant target markets. If this is visibly missing, then the element of sale, which is the eventual mission of advertising, seems to be absent. One can be sure that in this case, this is a reality that has helped the brand more than anything else. Also the woman used is appropriate for such an advertisement because she is a mature adult who would need an anti-ageing cream for herself sooner rather than later. It is also a possibility that she uses this cream presently. Whatever is the intended expression, the gist of the discussion is that the woman is justifying her presence in this advertisement, and is able to create an affect that not many women would be able to fill in. Other than the model (woman) that has been used in this advertisement, there is also a semiotic analysis of the copy that comes about in full circle. This means that the words which have been chosen are aptly driven to invoke a thought process within the women. This is what the manufacturer wants, especially when the message is being sent through the advertising domains (Melewar, 2007). The copy is therefore very succinct, to the point and direct. It actually talks to the women itself. More than that it presents the women the aspect where it would work to good effect, i.e. within the skin – where DNA exists. This is a very genuine claim that the product is coming up, especially with such an advertisement which is directed to look after the skin ageing requirements of the women, as they age. Since semiotics is divided into semantics, syntactics and pragmatics, there is a very definitive role of semiotics within the understanding that will be achieved of this advertisement as far as the three sub-dimensions are concerned. As linguistics and semiotics are closely linked, what is being seen in the advertisement is closely related with what is being conveyed through words and signs. Semantics are linked to the signs and the elements to which they are referred to while syntatics are the relations amongst signs that exist within formal structures. However, the pragmatics are the associations between signs and the effects that these have on the different people who employ them. When one compares the same with this advertisement, the pragmatics are very apparent since women would be using DNAge to make sure that their ageing issues are addressed in a proper manner. This will highlight how well semiotics has been able to shape up the beliefs of the women as linked with this advertisement (Riska, 2008). Hence when the semiotic analysis of this advertisement is done, DNAge comes out as the winner because it touches upon quite a few important points that are needed to be known by the advertisers and marketers. DNAge is a product that knows how to connect with its relevant audiences, and thus the element of wastage within the conveying of the message must be curtailed. In gaining an insight into how things shape up within such boundaries, there is a dire need to know that the message that one can take forward is manifested primarily for the sake of attaining sales of DNAge so that the end result of advertising is achieved, which is indeed to make a sale. If the sale comes about properly, this would mean that the advertisement of DNAge has done well to connect with whom it wanted to have a link in the first place (Valentine, 2003). Since this product is a ‘breakthrough’ within the anti-ageing domains, it would only be natural to think of it as such. The semiotic analysis suggests that DNAge is giving out a meaning that is not very difficult to comprehend for the sake of the audiences that it wants to connect with. DNAge is therefore banking a great deal on the newness of the formula that has come about with the passage of time. It is the ‘breakthrough’ premise which is being signaled to the women that they must apply for their own selves and find out the success. If the women believe that DNAge can solve their problems, then probably they should find reasons themselves, but if the advertisement is genuine enough as to make such a claim, then there is no reason why women should not agree on to such claims (Hackley, 1998). They will definitely try it for their own betterment, and achieve a sense of perfection which is not that easy to comprehend otherwise. The women know that if an anti-ageing product exists in the market and is acclaimed by people around them or through the propagation of word of mouth, then they will definitely acquire such a product and apply it on to their skin. The need is to have an insight into how well their comprehension levels have been developed with the passage of time and the kind of signals (semiotics) they have received from the women around them who use such a product on a regular basis as well (Bettany, 2007). Hence this ‘breakthrough’ premise is one that can actually work for the women since they are the intended audiences and they can believe the genuineness of the claims that have been made in the advertisement itself. It would not be wrong to suggest here that ‘breakthrough’ within anti-ageing is a claim that any product can come up with (Raber, 2003). The need is to understand how well this ‘breakthrough’ factor is being used within the product as per its ingredients and the materials that shape up to bring about success for the sake of the women. If they believe that this ‘breakthrough’ is indeed one of a revelation of its kind, then the sales will definitely rise, and hence the advertisement will work in good measure. But when they believe that this is just a claim that DNAge is trying to make use of, then there are questions that need to be answered. Essentially speaking from a semiotic analysis touch point, the media has a huge role in submitting signals which are taken on by the audiences in varied forms. The requirement therefore is to tailor the messages in such a way that they have the most powerful impact, however with added truthfulness. Since advertising works to good measure when used intelligently, the employment of signals and semiotics is very much dependent on how well the meaning is going to be interpreted by the people, and especially the ones who are going to be the primary target markets (Perinbanayagam, 2011). It should always be understood that advertising is done in such a way that it creates a lasting impression because as research points out that around 80% of the advertising is forgotten within the first 24 hours of its viewing or reading. These are important research bases which must always be taken into consideration before one can deduce the authenticity of the advertisements that are coming up every now and then. In the end, it would be fairly sound to state that within the semiotic terms, this advertisement is playing its part well, and is geared to ‘connect’ with the women in a very subtle yet direct way. They will know that this product talks to them, and hence would make measures which shall encompass harmony for the product – DNAge. What is required is the manner under which DNAge is able to garner success for the women yet have its sales exponentially increased as well. This will play the trick for the product and make it look appealing to the women all the same. All said and done, within the world of semiotics, this DNAge advertisement is actually making the best possible use of copy, visuals and all other elements that have a significant say within the making up of a print advertisement (Halas, 2008). Now the need is to send this advertisement to the relevant media vehicles and outlets so that the maximum possible mileage can be achieved as soon as possible, and with little wastage at the end of the company that manufactures DNAge. Bibliography Amujo, O., 2010. Conceptualizing the notion of corporate brand covenant. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 19(6) Bettany, S., 2007. The Material Semiotics of Consumption or Where (and What) are the Objects in Consumer Culture Theory? Research in Consumer Behavior, 11 Greenland, S., 2003. The Semiology of Changing Brand Image. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 5(1) Hackley, C., 1998. Social constructionism and research in marketing and advertising. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 1(3) Halas, E., 2008. Social symbolism: forms and functions – a pragmatist perspective. Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 30 Melewar, T., 2007. Understanding the meaning of corporate identity: a conceptual and semiological approach. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(4) Perinbanayagam, R., 2011. The Coinage of the Self: Money, Signs, and the Social Self. Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 36 Raber, D., 2003. Information as sign: semiotics and information science. Journal of Documentation, 59(5) Riska, E., 2008. How advertising for psychotropics constructs an enhanced gendered self. Advances in Gender Research, 12 Valentine, V., 2003. Using semiotics to build powerful brands for children. Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, 4(2) DNAge Advertisement Read More