Applying Semiotics as a Technique on Different Advertisement to Endorse their

Products

An Academic Paper presented to

Dr. Claudette A. Baluran

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course

ENGLISH 240- English in the Media

By:

Mary Rose G. Palacio

AB English 4B
 Every field has a set of theoretical perspectives like for the Language in the media, it

states that there are five (5) Theoretical Perspective namely; Linguistic, Discourse Stylistic,

Critical Discourse Analysis, Semiotics, and Pragmatics. These 5 theoretical perspectives are

important in our lives; it helps us to communicate easily to other people, to express ideas,

emotions, desires and all other things that we need to express. Linguistic also play a huge part

in our life; because language is a basic component of human features. According to our lesson

when we are in 3rd year college there is also a part of linguistics that is concerned with the

structure of language and it is divided into a number of subfields. The phonetics, phonology,

morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Discourse stylistics is also important in the field

of English especially in Language. Critical Discourse Analysis, for me it is very critical but also

important when it comes to study the conversations of people who interact to each other. It is

when you will know the meaning of their usage of words, their pauses, their commas and their

periods. If you will be going to study it, you can identify the emotions of the speaker by looking

at their choice of words if you record their conversations. Semiotics, it is very important also in

our life, it is the study of images that we see in our society. It also deals with the signs and

gestures of people. Every gestures and signs of our body has a meaning. Pragmatics, also helps

us to deal with language that we use and the context which it is being used.

Everything in this world is playing important roles in our life. We, people, need to really

appreciate what we have because we are privilege to have this kind of theoretical perspectives.

We need to take action about this, we need to study it well so that we can share it to other

people who know this like our ancestors who develop it. Especially if they are not a Language

majors, so that they can be aware of this Theoretical Perspective and how they play important

tasks in our lives. As a language major, I want also other people to be aware in this theoretical

perspective so that we can communicate well and we easily interact to each other.

Other people in this world dont know how important the theoretical perspective in our

life. They are not giving this an importance; they didnt know the roles of this because they are
not giving any signs of interests from it like the other majors. English majors should treasure it

like a jewels because not all students have given a chance to study this kind of theoretical

perspective, we just need to enhance our skills and we should really understand it, and develop

what we learn from our English major professors.

Semiotics is the saturation of images in our society through the media has been the

cause of much critical comment within philosophy, politics and sociology. This examination of

the image has been ongoing since the early twentieth century, as the consideration of how

images are used has developed into a distinct discipline. Images provide a means of

communication and representation, the study of these messages is labelled semiology. This

subject can perhaps be better described, though far more loosely, as the examination of signs,

the way signs are produced, disseminated and consumed.

'A science that studies the life of signs within society is conceivable...I shall call it semiology (it

will) ...show what constitutes signs, what laws govern them' (Saussure 1974).

The study of signs is particularly important in the consideration of the generation of

'media memories' as it is through the structuring, presence and absence of certain signs that a

perception of the past within the public sphere is generated by and through the media (Bignell

2003). The origins of semiology are located with the work of the French linguistic Ferdinand de

Saussure, his study, Course in General Linguistics (1974), set the agenda for the ways in which

signs are examined. Saussure analyzed the sign into its two basic components: a sound

component which he named the signifier, and a conceptual component, which he called the

signified. This conceptual component, the signified, is not a material object, but the thought,

the idea of an object, it is what is called to mind when an individual hears or uses the

appropriate signifier. Therefore, the idea of a cat is called to mind as a signified when the word

'cat' as a signifier is used. The signifier therefore constitutes the material aspect of language. In

the case of the spoken language a signifier is any meaningful sound which is made, in the case

of the written language a signifier is any meaningful mark written down, in the case of the

media a signifier is any image which is relayed to the audience. Signifiers and signifieds can be

separated in this way by semiologists; in the encounter of signs in everyday life however they

constitute a whole: a single sign.

 The study of semiotics was also greatly advanced by the American philosopher Charles

Pierce, who analysed the notion of signs to reveal underlying components.

'A sign or representamen, is something which stands to somebody for something in some

respect or capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an

equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign. That sign which it creates I call the

interpretant of the first sign. The sign stands for something, its object. It stands for that object,

not in all respects, but in reference to a sort of idea, which I have sometimes called the ground

of representamen' (Pierce 1955). These theories are important because they reveal the way in

which signs communicate ideas, attitudes and beliefs to us. In the context of television, film,

newspapers and other forms of media, semiology explains the way in which images are used to

represent and relay information to the audience. This of course is reliant on the assumption that

the audience possesses the necessary knowledge and appreciation, societal conditioning if you

will, to decipher these signs (Burn and Parker 2003). Therefore, the signs which are viewed in

the media by the public can be constructed to form certain meanings, meanings which appear

perhaps unconnected to the signs themselves. The philosopher Roland Barthes considered this

aspect in his study of the images relayed to the public through the media. Barthes proposed

that the use of signs in society was a means of expressing a particular way of normalising the

world in line with a bourgeoisie perspective. This normalisation was termed a 'myth', an

indication of both the fabricated nature of the message and the seductive power it holds over

others.

'Myth does not deny things, on the contrary, its function is to talk about them; simply, it

purified them, it makes them innocent, it gives them a natural and eternal justification, it gives

them a clarity which is not that of explanation but that of a statement of fact...it is natural and

goes without saying: I am reassured' (Barthes 1973).

Signs therefore, as relayed through the media, are able to communicate social and

political messages. Barthes for instance considered the image from a magazine cover of a black

man in French military uniform giving a salute. Barthes examined how the image communicated

to its audience a message of a liberal, understanding France, of inclusiveness and acceptance.

Far from the image of a black Frenchman conveying an image of a black Frenchman, the image

itself relays a variety of messages to its audience. The image acts to defuse any tensions about

inequality in society by emphasising that anyone regardless of ethnicity can be proud of the

nation. In a similar way when images are viewed in newspapers, films or television programmes

the audience consumes and connects images to aspects of society. Signs therefore are a point

of domination as well as definition, as the production, dissemination and consumption of signs

in society acts to shape and inform the structure of understanding. With specific reference to

the media the manner in which signs are presented to the public, i.e. the camera angle, the

lighting, the background is all within the remit of the semiologist (Danesi 1994). The signs

relayed through the media are a very important area of study as they can form the basis of

public perceptions and understanding. Within a television programme for example, the viewer is

exposed to a number of signs which they are required to decipher and recognize (Lacey 1998).

The nature of this recognition is based upon the previous scenes in the programme, the manner

in which that scene is portrayed and the wider understanding of that scene within society.

As what I have understood on my sources, semiotics is the study of the images to

convey or express meanings to other people. It helps us to better understand what is the

message from the pictures that we see everywhere, but not just only in a pictures but also in

advertisements, magazines, newspaper, catalogs, and any other printed materials. It also gives

a meaning of how signs are understood by the media and the people. It helps us to uncover the

hidden message or meaning of the media texts that we see in any printed materials.

Semiotics plays important role in our society, for example in a picture that Maam

Baluran showed us about the DKNY perfume, there is man and woman in the picture and the

girl is holding the fruit that was already bitten symbolizes the perfume and she sweetly smiles

looking at the photographer, while the man is laying his forehead in the head of the woman and

he is closing his eyes, it means that the man is smelling the woman. The meaning also of the

bitten fruit is symbolizes the woman who wants to get bitten by the man. The tagline of the

DKNY perfume is Be Delicious it means that the woman should use the DKNY perfume so that

she will be delicious for the man. That was the message that the DKNY perfumes want to

convey to the buyers or to the people who is interested to buy the given product.
 The next media text was taken from the Nike shoes, stated that SO NOW WHATS

YOUR EXCUSE?. It was showed there the Nike air shoes, it looks like it can be for men and

women, it simply means that its unisex. The media text is encouraging the people to buy it

without excuse, they push people to buy their products without second thoughts. As you read

the media text by Nike, you will easily get swayed by tagline. So the tendency is many will buy

the shoes because the choice of their words are persuasive. Especially if it is popular nowadays.

The third is a media text from the popular lipstick brand, the MAC lipsticks. Their tagline

is all ages, all races, all sexes. The image shows a two (2) women who is white and black

colors. The white woman is clinging her arms to the shoulder of the black woman and their

facial expressions seems to be serious, and they are so close to each other. The white woman

is looking at the photographer and the black woman is looking at the side view of the white

woman. The media texts of the MAC lipstick try to convey the message to the media that even

if you are young or old, if you are black, white and brown, if you are a man or woman you can

still buy it. They are not being unfair to everyone, you can buy it if you have a beautiful face or
not, if you are rich or poor, if you are a celebrity or not, and there are still many classifications,

but they are assuring the media that they can still buy this whoever you are. They treat each of

the people equally. Other women said that they cant live without lipstick on. According to the

article that we read on Maam Pidos class that lipstick can put confidence in us, especially if you

dont have really much confident in yourself or you dont have a guts. Lipstick is also important

in us, even if you are working, still a student and it is also really important for those who are

finding a job. It put so much confidence in you, you will feel like you are the most important

and beautiful in this world.

The fourth is from the Victorias Secret underwear, there are ten (10) Victorias angel

model who stands and pose in different poses, modelling the underwear. Their tagline is A

BODY FOR EVERYBODY. Just like in the MAC lipstick they treat peoples equally, you will see in

the picture that there is also a brown women and white women. They want to convey the

message that even if you are fat you can wear those kinds of underwear not only the slim

people can wear it; it means also that it is not just only for the Victorias Secret angels who can

also wear those but also the ordinary people.

 The last was taken from the Katy Perry perfume or the Killer Queen perfume. The

tagline is OWN THE THRONE. The model is Katy Perry, she is sitting at the chair who fell, and

she is holding wand with a perfume on top; the Killer Queen perfume. She also has a crown on

her head, and she is wearing a red dress. It conveys a message that we, women, should be the

one who rules the world. We should not get become a slaves to the men, and we should not be

dependent to them. We should rule the world and we should also stand on our own feet to

achieve what we really desired, because Katy Perry was divorced by his husband, he left her

during the ups of Katy Perry in her career but she is struggling in her marriage life. Katy Perry

had a hard time when she was left by his husband.

Thats how my mini-analysis went on, studying the meaning of the media text in a given

picture was not that easy, it will take time to understand what the meaning of text trying to

convey to the people and the media. As I said, semiotics plays a huge part in our lives, so it is

better to know the function and the importance of the semiotics. Even me dont know at this

first, but while doing this academic paper which serves as our midterm exam I am totally

enjoying it and I learn a lot from it while reading some articles in the internet about semiotics.

It tells me how important the text in the pictures that we see everywhere in our surroundings.

Semiotics is not that easy at all when you try to study at first but while studying

semiotics, you will really understand whats behind of it. Its like uncovering their hidden

feelings, emotions, and expressions into a real one. In the five (5) theoretical perspectives, I

like the most is Semiotics. Even if our research study is all about Pragmatics, but when I am
doing this research paper all I can see is the beauty of Semiotics even though I am not that

very particular when I analyzed the media analysis. I dont know what have gotten to me, I am

already familiar with Pragmatics but still, I choose Semiotics.

I already learned in some printed materials especially in the advertisement section, its

not just only a picture. But in that picture there is a message that they want to convey in the

mass media that there are hidden messages in each picture. The different companies use

different strategies, the media text and pictures to catch the attention of the one who is

interested to buy their products. So that, they can really pursue their buyers without second

thoughts. I also think that media text has a really big impact to the sales of the company, if

they are really conveying the message correctly, precisely, and clearly.

Analyzing a media text is not that easy, you need to carefully study the given picture

and whats behind it. You cant just look at the what you see and interpret it just like that

easily, because there is a hidden treasure in each media text that we can see at the internet,

advertising companies, printed materials like magazine, newspaper, comic books, and etc.

It is not just simple text that we can read but in every choice of words, there are some

certain meaning that they want to relay through the media text especially in business or

corporate world. Especially if they are going to endorse a new product, because buyers will not

able to buy a product if he/she is not familiar with it, he/she havent see a product, and if/she is

not introduced to the product. So the business tycoon uses the strategy or technique to

promote and endorse their product, they are using media text to pursue the buyers to buy the

product. Even me will not going to buy the product if I am not familiar with it, if I havent see it,

and if someone has not introduced it to me, I am not that easily swayed if they just talk to me

about the product but I am easily swayed when I see an advertisement, commercials and

media text. Especially if the popular artist who is your favorite endorse the given product, the

tendency of that you will buy it.

Thats the beauty of Semiotics, it is very useful in our daily lives. Not just only to

business tycoons but also for the ordinary people. It is not just only essential to the business

world but also in ordinary world and Semiotics become useful in our daily lives. But many
people dont know the value of Semiotics in our life, they just tend to ignore it but they didnt

know that it is very helpful to us when it comes to decision making, whether to buy the product

or not.

In the business world, the business tycoons use different strategies to endorse their

products. The best way to promote or endorse their product is to use the power of Semiotics. It

is not easily to endorse a product, if they didnt really know it at first. So, semiotics helps them

to introduce their products well it is not easy to explain it through semiotics but if they will be

going to study Semiotics it will easy for the business tycoons. Semiotics also plays an important

role in business communications and advertisement to determine if the product is a success for

the company or not.

Business world also use a taglines or logos to show their identity. When you buy a

product, you will look first at the details about the product and their company and it also

attracts the buyer to buy the product. For example, you will be going to buy a coffee in the

coffee shop and you always buy it in the Starbucks coffee and then beside of Starbucks coffee

there is a newly opened coffee shop the Redbucks coffee, so the tendency is that you will still

buy the coffee from the Starbucks because it is already introduced to you, you also tried it, you

are used to it, and you are very familiar with it. While in the Redbucks coffee if they are poor in

taglines, no one will be going to recognize their products because people are easily swayed by

the taglines and advertisement.

Semiotics are frequently used by the business corporate in advertising a product, to

relay or convey the message of the advertisers message. One of the most used in semiotics is

the visual image, like the ones that I used on the media texts that I analyzed above on the

body part of this academic paper. Text is also important in an advertising.

References:

http://www.history.ac.uk/1807commemorated/media/methods/semiotics.html

Barthes, R. (1973) Mythologies. London. Paladin.

Bignell, J. (2003) Media Semiotics: an introduction. Manchester. Manchester University Press.

Burn, A. and Parker, R. (2003) Analysing Media Texts. London. Paladin.

Danesi, M. (1994) Messages and Meanings: an introduction to semiotics. Toronto. Canadian

Scholars Press.

Lacey, N. (1998) Image and Representation: key concepts in media studies. Houndmills.

Macmillan.

Peirce, C.S. (1955) Philosophical Writings of Pierce. Editor by J. Bachler. New York. Dover

Publications

Saussure, F. de (1974) General Course in Linguistics. New York. Philosophical Library.