A Semiotic analysis Of Two Ads-Persil Liquid

'semiotics'

The common umbrella term to describe both the Saussurean as well as the Peircean approach.

Fiske offers the following definition of semiotics as being 'essentially a theoretical approach to communication in that its aim is to establish widely applicable principles' (Fiske, 1982, p I 18). semiotics can be applied to anything in the mass media from television, radio films, photographs, newspapers to posters and adverts in magazines.

Semiotics is one media research technique content analysis is another - in the latter an example would be to count how often a particular item occurs within the media text.

Before giving a semiotic analysis it is first necessary to describe the nature of signs so that a framework is provided on which the analysis is based. Semiotics, also sometimes referred to as 'semiology' is the study of signs - or the 'theory of signs' 'the social production of meaning by sign systems' and the way things gain meaning or significance. Language according to the pioneer in this field Saussure being 'one of many systems of meaning' others including body language, posture facial expressions, clothes worn etc.

Since Saussure, a linguist, dominated the field of semiotics this sort of study still draws heavily on linguistic concepts, so that many of the terms used in semiotics are linguistic ones, for example, references are made to the text.

Saussure's model, the sign is divided into the signifier (the form it takes) and the signified - that is the concept it represents. inseparable as two sides of a piece of paper'. Signs within a semiotic context cannot exist in isolation but are part of a sign system or code, when looking at signs and their meaning it has to be remembered that the assessment of them is in 'relation to their structure and their structural relationships with other signs' - an example of the latter being a genre.

A sign can be anything which 'stands for something else', and it 'not only means in and for itself but also through its place in other signifying systems for instance the individual ad within advertising'

To sum up then, we have the sign itself in the case of the ads chosen that is the complete, individual ad. A sign though can be divided into 'three more subtle types of signs', and these are iconic sign, As one that resembles the signified: a symbolic sign, as one depending on individual connotation; indexical sign, as one having associations and inherent connections.

One must also consider the code used 'that to which the sign refers' and 'the culture within which these codes and signs operate

When looking at signs one also has to be aware of their polysemic nature - that is there is an 'inherent ambiguity or instability of signs

Reasons for Ambiguity

The signs are open to interpretation and that interpretation can depend on culture as well as the individual. The majority of signs we come across - for example, those used in the ads A and B - have numerous elements (images, captions, typography, colours), and each of those elements is 'capable of signifying in multiple ways

Hence the polysemic nature of signs.

Concept of Codes'
Codes are the rules that both the transmitter and the receiver are using when they attach an interpretation of the 'meaning or content to a certain sign Codes are derived from social and culture knowledge and they allow organisation of 'our understanding of the world in terms of 'dominant meaning patterns'

In general ads contain codes that are usually of a broad sort: for example, 'a linguistic code and an iconic code' In general, too, they can be said to 'reflect pretty closely the current trends and values systems of a society' though such patterns can be different depending on the culture. The people behind the making of 'ads' are the transmitters and therefore, are aware of the codes in operation within the culture they are working and living. So advertising uses a 'system of distinct signs'

To take the example of the two ads used the selling of Persil washing up liquid - the makers of these adverts have to somehow make a distinction between their product and others that do a similar job. In the examples used an image has been constructed, so that the product acts as ' a signifier for the signified'

Analysing
A is freedom, escape, romance, fantasy while B too, fulfils fantasy and also, strength.

In other words the product's association with the image created signifies that use of the product will promote a certain freedom - for example, in ad A - while in B what is signified is irresistibility

The advertisers have in their minds exactly who their target audience is. ,for example they choose the image, highlighting, typography, focus, camera angle etc., which will make the image of the product (by means of the connotative associations etc.) the desired one. The team will draw upon their own perceived concepts and ideas of what the product is about and the target audience aimed at.

So 'in effect ads consist of many messages' and though the desired message is usually promoted it still is up to the reader how they interpret the image they see - and this interpretation will be done according to that reader/viewer's cultural codes.

Comparision

primary signifier iA is the well dressed woman B the primary signifier is the black, athletic man. use of colour or lack of it in the ads, the captions etc. the layout, typography, body language, code of address are also signifiers within particular codes. According to Dyer 'the signified does not exist except as a function of a particular signifying system' (Dyer, 1986, p123), so the meanings of both the 'signification and the signified' (Dyer, 1986,p. 123) are to be found in the chains of both and both can 'become signifiers for further chains of signification' (Dyer, 1986, p. 123).

The ads I have chosen are photographic images of a man and a woman. The image is a representation so therefore it is an iconic sign; as Dyer states, 'the signifier - signified relationship is one of resemblance or likeness' In these ads the product resembles the product in reality so the photo of the product as it appears is also iconic. The signs in these ads were also used indexically because they suggest additional meanings. In ad A the clothes worn by the woman indexically underline the social position of the woman - middle class or upper middle class, well-to-do - the presence of the French language denoting sophistication, class and chic.

Ad B: Man naked suggests naturalness as well as strength. So the image denotes the concentrated strength of the product. When really questioning the juxtaposition of the washing-up liquid and the male model -there is a realisation that, as Dyer states, we hardly 'notice the inherent dissimilarity of objects and products placed together' This lack of questioning underlines what Judith Williamson writes - that a 'product and image/emotion become linked in our minds while the process of the linking is unconscious' (cited in Dyer, 1986, p. 126).

In ad A a strong silhouette of a woman is featured in a medium long shot and occupying a central position. The ad at first appears to be black and white but on closer inspection a sepia tone has been used. The main caption is in the left hand Le Parfum Classique - the words citrus burst underneath. In the bottom right-hand corner, suspended as if in mid-air, is the product -Persil; this is predominantly in the colour orange which tones in with the sepia shade of the background.

The product is highlighted :

use of colour the lighting effect

so that one can see the commercial point of the ad the audience has no doubt as to the product or its name - though if the audience were not able to read they would be at a loss as to what the ad was selling. Underneath the product we the words Le Parfum de washing up. The combination of the French and English balances the French in the other corner whilst giving a feeling that this French refiner is made rather tongue-in-cheek.

In the second ad, ad B, the product is centrally placed cradled in the hands of a strongly built black man. The picture is again in black and white but this time with a green overtone. The caption anchoring the product is at the bottom of the page, but, centrally placed - the words Natural extracts appear in a sort of exotic script. Underneath are the following two lines 'A creation impossible to resist' and then the third line, which is exactly the same as that found in ad A, 'Le Parfum de Washing Up.

The medium

Photography. women's magazines - one in Womans Own ad B (March 16th, 1998), the other in Options March issue. Womans Own is a weekly magazine at the cheaper end of the market - 60 pence .

4 million readership In setting the context of these ads the following information is relevant - 'the readership consists of 59% working class, 27 % we lower class and 14 % upper and middle and middle class up to 35 % 'being women in all age groups' . The readership also consists of housewives, who are usually married. Options, the other magazine, which featured ad A, retails at 2.10 pence.

Being a monthly magazine it can be considered a glossy magazine with a readership consisting of a slightly younger age group (18 -35), who are more likely to be single, working and middle-class.

Purpose

My purposes in choosing to analyse these texts are partly because I am a woman and these adverts were found in women's magazines - so I am identifying with the audience. They appealed because though the ads are for the same product a different message is being given as well as a wealth of connotations. From a semiotic point of view I feel that these ads offered a number of different avenues - for example, there are differences in lighting, camera angle, focus, caption, typography to name but a few. I liked the fact that though the ad is selling the same product - a washing-up liquid - washing-up being generally associated with being woman's work - both the male and female form have been used to promote it. In both, there is an element of fantasy presented - the ideals of femininity and masculinity for example. In the ideals portrayed or rather characteristics of such ideals, the product is being promoted as it is being associated with, in one, feminine sophistication, in the other strength but gentleness. The ads were chosen, too. because though the product is one used in a mundane chore of daily life through its

treatment the connotations of that treatment present this product in a very desirable way. For example, in both ads the silhouette of the male and female form both 'prop up the product in a fictional situation' (Dyer, 1986, p.79); both forms are faceless so that they offer in the case of ad A the signified concept of freedom and escape as the woman reader can be the female in the picture. This version offers romantic cliches and images so in this ad an association is made between romance and femininity while in ad B there is irresistibility and maleness; both however, could be described as slightly over the top, so there is a sort of tongue-in-cheek feel about them, especially with the use of the English and French mix in the phrase Le Parfum de washing up. The text relates to my own values because I belong to the target audience, because of my age and gender. It appeals in part because ad A uses the generally familiar code - the use of French and the mysterious woman in a hat that is generally used for selling perfume, so such an image will have connotations - this will be dealt with more fully later in the essay. So my familiarity with this genre means I can appreciate the intertextuality - I am in on the joke. In fact, the same shaped hat has been used on the model for selling 5th Avenue Fragrance, but in that ad the woman's face is in full view.

In both the ad texts the male and female represent real people. However, such a statement should be qualified the general assumption that the camera cannot lie has to be scrutinised. Usually, photographs - visual images - are assumed not to involve a construction of reality because they refer to conditions in the 'real' world. However, in semiotic terms, as Sontag has pointed out, 'photographs are as much an interpretation of the world as paintings and drawings are' (Sontag, 1979, p.7): that is because they involve a certain selection and framing of content by the person taking the photograph.

In both of the ads being analysed positive images are being promoted: one being of classy femininity; the other of gentle but reassuringly strong black maleness. When carrying out a semiotic analysis it is necessary to look at representation too. This is defined as the way an image 'actively constructs meanings according to sets of conventions shared by and familiar to makers and audiences' (Swanson, 1991, p. 123). We construct these meanings from such things as our experience, culture, and general knowledge. Representation can be said to both combine what the readers see, the meanings they derive, from their familiarity with the way conventions are used in the genre of advertising, as well as the cultural context. The latter helps to produce the accepted meanings as well as the individual's construction. Such constructions of meanings can alter over time so it is interesting to see in ad A - an out-of-date idea of femininity - an image that conjures up old Hollywood films where all the women regardless of background or class spoke in perfect standard English. The use of black and white with sepia overtones points to that preferred interpretation since sepia is associated with nostalgia, and romance - the silhouette and '40s clothes adding to this picture. In ad A I have succumbed, as will the majority of the magazines readers, to what Myra MacDonald terms 'an out of date myth of femininity' (Macdonald, 1995, p. 14) for they, like me, will have been brought up with feminist ideas. In this ad 'a play on stereotypes' (M. MacDonald, 1995, p. 14) has been made and this is becoming more and more common in the media. Ad B shares this play on stereotypes in some ways though it depicts a male who represents the 'sensitive and nurturing new man' (MacDonald, p. 148) of the 1980s. When addressing reality claims it is obvious that a great deal has gone into the construction of the image in the ads.

In ad A and B a construction of reality has occurred though use is made of stereotypical characteristics of male and femaleness, the images are not assigned the usual cultural gender roles. For example, the woman in ad A is not portrayed as a housewife in a domestic setting but instead is shown in glamorous clothes and photographed in a 'cinema' style. This might indicate to the women readers that they too deserve special or Hollywood treatment.

In this representation the 'effects appeal', the most common type of appeal used in advertising, has been utilised: in such appeals the claim is that the use of the product can have spectacular results - by using the product it is implied that women who do are special or will be - and that such a product will allow them to experience both freedom and a glamorous life.

In these still photographs the use of stereotypes has provided 'instant recognisability' the lighting, the focus, the setting and the choice of that particular sort of man and woman with those sorts of bodies - all have been deliberately selected for a purpose so that we associate the signifier and the signified with the product. The representation in these ads is aimed to appeal to a particular audience.

So the theme in the choice of model in ad A is her class, age and gender: her identity is used to mirror that of the reader. In both these ads the lighting or the hat is used to mask the model's individual facial features, making it easier for the reader to imagine themselves in the place of the model in ad A, whilst in ad B the facelessness of the male figure allows the largely female readership of the magazine to substitute their ideal male.

The analysis would continueafter we discuss structural analysis.