A Semiotic Analysis of Two Magazine Advertisements - Assignment Example

? SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS by A Semiotic Analysis of Two Magazine Advertisements This essay provides a semiotic analysis of one advertisement found within the context of advertising in the print media. Specifically, the advertised product analyzed within the area of semiotics is Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel. This essay focuses on individual discussion of the advertisement with reference to its particular status as a sign within modern culture. It discusses associative meanings of signs in terms of how they create a favorable impression of what is being sold and act compatible with the contexts they are placed in. In other words, this essay attempts to explore how an advertisement in the printed media can illustrate Umberto Eco’s assertion that the medium as well as the message can be “charged with cultural signification” (Eco, 1976: 267). To add, the analysis of the perfume advert will focus on the photographic imagery that provides iconic representation of the product along with what it is supposed to stand for. It will also center around how the aforementioned imagery produces relevant signified concepts or, in other words, certain emotional overtones that serve to promote the item’s image. First of all, let us define semiotics and discuss concepts related to it. David Chandler, the author of “Semiotics: The Basics”, defines semiotics as “the study of signs” (Chandler, 2002: 1). The definition that is broader in scope was given by Umberto Eco, who assumed that “semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign” (Eco, 1976: 7). Wray (1981: 4) further explained that semiotics is a study of “the way any sign, whether it is a traffic signal, a thermometer reading of 98.6 F, poetic imagery, musical notation, a prose passage, or a wink of the eye, functions in the mind of an interpreter to convey a specific meaning in a given situation”. Sebeok, an American theoretician of semiotics, writes that the subject matter of the field of semiotics is communication. Along with communication, semiotics studies signification (Sebeok, 1986a: 36). Logically, the next concepts to define are sign and signification. Chandler (2002: 2) explains that signs, within the context of semiotics, come in the form of images, words, objects, sounds, and gestures. With reference to signs, two notable theories should be mentioned – that of Ferdinand de Saussure, a famous Swiss linguist, and Charles Pierce, a U.S. philosopher. For Saussure, semiotics was some kind of science that studies signs’ role within social life. For Pierce, semiotics was rather “a formal doctrine of signs”, inseparable from logic. While both approaches are considered essentially important for the modern understanding of semiotics, there is a major difference between them: as Leeds-Hurwitz points out, Pierce studied logics, while Saussure focused on behaviour (Leedz-Hurwitz, 2012: 6). The theory of semiotics posits that making meaning is a complex process within the text, and encompasses both signification and address. Signification is a word used to describe the overall process of signs’ reading. Semiotics understands ‘signs’ as something that denotes the elements of language, for instance, words. All languages are complex sign systems. However, there may be found sign systems that are less complex. These are, for instance, colours. Through the use of specific colours, a message may be transmitted, based on their meanings in various cultures. For instance, the red colour is widely used to signify either a warning or passion in the cultures of the western civilization, while green is believed to be a colour of nature and the colour of harmony. Garments and accessories can serve another language that conveys things about individuals. Therefore, meaning gets formed not just by purely linguistic signifiers, e.g. written words, but also through images as well as different non-linguistic sounds. With reference to this, images function as similar means to language (Marshall & Werndly, 2002: 36). Signification, which is understood as the process of reading signs, involves denotation and connotation. (Marshall & Werndly, 2002: 16). As for denotation, it relates to the comprehension as well as interpretation of the texts via decoders by depending on certain codes. While decoding, the reader gets involved in constructing actively the meaning instead of simply figuring it out of the given text. As for connotation, it concerns a range of socio-cultural associations (for example, ideological) based on the sign, which emerge as the reader keeps decoding the text (Chandler, 2002: 138). In his turn, the French scholar Roland Barnes explains three levels of meaning in the following manner: denotative meaning refers to the literal or, better, descriptive and definitional meaning of an image; connotative meaning depends on the image’s cultural as well as historical contexts, so it is more dependent on specific contexts; mythological or ideological meaning operates as a reflection of those cultural concepts that a sign depicts, which underpin a specific worldview (Chandler, 2002:138). In Chandler’s interpretation, myths are extended metaphors which aid in making sense of people’s experiences of their culture. As for ideology, Bignell provides a valid explanation. According to Bignell (2002: 24), it is the way of individual’s perceiving the surrounding reality as well as society which suggests that certain ideas are true self-evidently, whereas other ideas are not true (biased), also self-evidently. With reference to advertising, it is likely that people fail to interpret signifiers, signs or signified, and get driven by a feeling that once they purchase an advertised product, their lifestyle will undeniably change for better because of this. According to Howells, the implication by advertisers is that “your life will be like this (…) what advertisements really do is sell lifestyles which they imply are available by association with the product” (Howells, 2003: 112). The first advertisement to analyse is Coco Chanel advertisement of the perfume Coco Mademoiselle (Appendix 1). In this image, the signifier, or in other words, the form that a particular sign acquires, exposes a young female who is sitting with her breasts partially nude. As she leans back one of her shoulders, she maintains an open position; the expression of her face is devoid of any definite emotions, yet it is quite intriguing. Obviously, the woman shows herself to bring the pleasure to the audience. By the woman’s taking off her shirt a bit, one gets to know that she is ready to have sex and wishes the viewer to see it. Our response to this photo image, in other words, the signified, is about sexual desire. From men’s perspective, the woman might be perceived as intimidating as well as objecting since she appears to hide a part of her body (namely, her nipple) and leave parts of the body for other people’s imagination. On the other hand, from women’s perspective, the woman may be viewed as sexually attractive since she appears to be controlling. Her confident looks help her seem attractive for the female audience and lead to the fact that they wish to look like her. Yet, the fact that this advert has been designated to sell the perfume obviously makes it mythical. As Bignell (2002: 32-33) explains, ‘The advert has presented us with a sign (the photographed model) which itself signifies a concept (feminine beauty). This concept of feminine beauty is what Barthes would describe as a mythic meaning.’   Copious signs, signifiers, and signified may be found in the picture. As found in Bignell (2002: 32), words (in other words, linguistic signs) and visual portrayals (in other words, iconic signs) tend to be placed in advertisements along with a few signs of non-representational nature, for example graphics. In this picture, one of such signs is a French phrase Coco Mademoiselle. Apparently, it signifies a kind of exquisite feel in relation to the image. To support this idea, let us refer to Howells (2003: 111) who observes that phrases related to products may be written in French. This conveys a sophisticated feeling even to those audiences who do not speak the French language. The style of France is also connoted in the way the French wording is written – as if it were inscribed with a fountain pen. One of the effective devices of creating impression on the viewer is the use of juxtapositions in this advertisement. Namely, the figure of a charming young woman wearing jewellery is represented clothed in men’s garments. This may be perceived as sexy, but quite threatening by the opposite sex, since the model, actually a woman, looks powerful, but that is not the prevailing societal ideology. Further, the model’s black and white garments may be perceived as binary oppositions. Specifically, black clothes may imply submission to males, but can also mean that the woman is overpowering; in its turn, white reflects innocence and chastity. The very fact that the woman is dressed in a contrasting way (as a male while she is a female) looks threatening. At the same time, it is implied that the women in the picture remains sexually attractive by her use of the advertised perfume. This idea has been developed by Bignell who says, “The perfume became a sign of feminine beauty, so that buying the product for ourselves seems to offer the wearer of the perfume a share in its meaning of feminine beauty for herself” (Bignell, 2002: 34). This advertisement comprises lots of sexual signs combined with the air of mystery. The mystery is conveyed through the model’s hooded eyes, which also imply her accessibility. Besides, the woman’s facial expression is quite intriguing with her eyebrow raised, which implies she is questioning the male audience whether they are men fit for what she suggests. As for openly sexual signifiers, these are: the woman’s finger being close to her open lips (this means being sexually available as to the ideology of the mass culture); the exposed breasts in a combination with a brace-covered nipple is evidently erotic: it is suggested that the woman openly projects her sexual desire. At the same time, the audience is being teased since one of her nipples is covered by a black brace. Additionally, the model is portrayed with crossed legs, which shuts her body’s lower part, so the viewer may only focus on the upper torso. Another signifier – that of a female model in a see-through loose shirt – is widely exemplified across the mass culture, namely when a woman is portrayed dressed in a man’s shirt the morning the sexual intercourse has occurred. The see-through fabric is used to convey sexuality of the woman. The overall sign implies that she has had sex with the man as well as that she can reach his personal things after the encounter. This may mean that the woman is a reward for the man. Just because the woman has no wedding ring on her finger, she appears sexually available and tempting. The perfume advertised may be seen in the bottom right hand corner of the picture. According to Visual Culture Blog, this has a clear practical reason: “When flipping through a magazine, the right hand side of the page is, from an advertising perspective, more desirable” (Visual Culture Blog, 2011). By placing the bottle in that position, the designers made so that the reader will encounter the product last of all, just as she or he will turn this page. It means that the initial, the strongest encounter is with the model herself. The fact that the advertised perfume in the foreground is in a square bottle is an implication of masculinity. Interestingly, the angular bottle is full of pink perfume. This colour corresponds to the colour of the model’s half-nude body (or to be more accurate, a part of it). Referring to Pierce, semiotic interpretation of this is that of an iconic sign, in other words, “a sign that represents its objects mainly by its similarity (to what they signify)’ (Chandler, 2002: 39)   To conclude, the joint effect of all identified signs in their relationship to one another allow to see a cultural myth referring to the female model’s personality, lifestyle, orientation, desires, and income. Besides, there is a clear relationship between the woman and the perfume, which is achieved by the fact that she is photographed close to the advertised product. The photographed woman, which is an iconic sign, stands next to the perfume’s name, which is a linguistic sign. This is how the powerful combined meaning of the advertisement is created (Bignell, 2002: 30). The effect of the advertisement is based on its creation of mythical feminine beauty. In summary, the semiotic analysis of this advertisement has helped us to realize how the signs encoded with it affect the audience’s perception by creating the impression if an ideal life, and hence help sell the product. Reference List Bignell, J 2002, Media semiotics: An introduction. 2nd ed. Manchester, University Press. Chandler, D 2002, Semiotics: The basics, Routledge, New York. Eco, U 1976, A theory of semiotics, London: Macmillan. Howells, R 2003, Visual culture, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers. Leedz-Hurwitz, W 2012, Semiotics and communication: Signs, codes, cultures, Routledge, USA. Marshall, J & Werndly, A 2002, The language of the television, Routledge, New York. Sebeok, T 1986a, The doctrine of sign, In J.Deely et al (Eds.) Frontiers in semiotics, (pp. 35-42), Bloomington, Indiana University Press. Visual Culture Blog 2011, The perfume ad formula, viewed 10 Mar 2013 at < http://visualcultureblog.com/tag/perfume-ad-analysis/>. Wray, H 1981, Semiotics: Fad or revolution? The study of signs is attracting students and controversy. Humanities Report, 3, 4-9. Appendix 1 Read More