Semiotic analysis of advertisements : How meaning is propagated in society

In this post we try to analyse the effect and meaning conveyed in the society by any particular content. While analysing this point we frequently come across the term 'semiotics'. So what is semiotics and how is it useful in this context?

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, or anything which 'stands' for something else. So how does studying symbols and signs help us in understanding media? The meaning that is conveyed by any content can not be analysed without considering the implied meanings associated with the multiple symbols included in the content.

The interpretation of symbolic meanings is a complicated process which includes many sociological, psychological, economical and many other factors as the questions to be answered are very open-ended.However to analyse any sign we first need to know what exactly can be called a sign.

A few models do exist for analysing and defining signs and symbols, The Saussurean model states that any sign includes two parts, the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the image, sound or other stimulus observed by the user through the senses and the signified is the meaning obtained after the conscious or unconscious processing of this perception.
 The sign however does not exist in isolation but with many other signs and symbols which influence it's meaning.

 In the first image the tree stands as a symbol for nature-friendliness or the wild and raw nature of the of the product while in the second image it stands as a symbol for nature to be conserved.

Another view is the three-pronged approach of Peirce, which identifies three components of a sign, the representamen(the form taken by the sign), the interpretant(the inference obtained by the viewer) and the object(the greater meaning carried by the sign).
In the second image above the form of the tree is the representamen ,the concept of the tree is the interpretant and the concept of a nature or planet is the object.

However the interpretant in this scenario can be taken as a representamen in another cycle of interpretation thus leading to a infinite series of interpretations

Given these definitions for what signs are we can classify them into three categories

	Symbol/symbolic: a mode in which the signifier does not resemble the signified but which is fundamentally arbitrary or purely conventional - so that the relationship must be learnt: e.g. language in general (plus specific languages, alphabetical letters, punctuation marks, words, phrases and sentences), numbers, Morse code, traffic lights, national flags;
	Icon/iconic: a mode in which the signifier is perceived as resembling or imitating the signified (recognizably looking, sounding, feeling, tasting or smelling like it) - being similar in possessing some of its qualities: e.g. a portrait, a cartoon, a scale-model, onomatopoeia, metaphors, 'realistic' sounds in 'programme music', sound effects in radio drama, a dubbed film soundtrack, imitative gestures;
	Index/indexical: a mode in which the signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected in some way (physically or causally) to the signified - this link can be observed or inferred: e.g. 'natural signs' (smoke, thunder, footprints, echoes, non-synthetic odours and flavours), medical symptoms (pain, a rash, pulse-rate), measuring instruments (weathercock, thermometer, clock, spirit-level), 'signals' (a knock on a door, a phone ringing), pointers (a pointing 'index' finger, a directional signpost), recordings (a photograph, a film, video or television shot, an audio-recorded voice), personal 'trademarks' (handwriting, catchphrase) and indexical words ('that', 'this', 'here', 'there').  however the exact type of a sign would depend on the context in which it is used. For example a woman's image can be symbolic if it depicts a class of women or iconic if it depicts the particular woman depending upon the context of use.  Now if we move to the semiotic analysis of advertisements we see some patterns, which arise from the fact that all advertisements have a similar motive : to persuade the society towards their cause i.e. advertisements basically try to represent a idea, a brand or a product in a way that people are convinced to buy the product or associate themselves with the idea or brand. This logic suggests that understanding the basics of persuasion will help in understanding the thought and meaning behind the advertisements.  The approaches to persuasion in advertisements are basically Central route which relies on logic and facts  Peripheral route which involves pleasant stimuli to suggest that the object is desirable   All advertisements have some central themes or cognitions which they try to build upon some of which are listed below, it is however to be noted that they are not mutually exclusive.   Fear based which presents the viewer with a fear inducing stimulus and a direction to avoid such condition  Authority or mythology-inducing figures This point has very interesting implications and will be discussed in detail later   Scarcity or Uniqueness is the concept that the service or product is unique such advertisements generally highlight the unique features of the product. Consensus is showing that similar people do something in a subjective way or through a statistic  Keeping these points in mind we can analyse an advertisement for the meaning it wants to convey. The meanings conveyed however are also largely affected by the social factors in the question and companies change their advertisement strategies as dictated by social perceptions. Not only social perceptions but the intended functions also change the meanings implied in the advertisements. Now what remains in our discussion is how advertisements make use of uninformed social perception or 'myths' existing in the society. Every society has some perceptions associated with abstract concepts like masculinity, femininity etc. The use of figures exhibiting such physical properties makes viewers associate the abstract concepts with the product hence making the product more memorable and persuasive. A picture of a beautiful female supermodel 'Cindy Crawford' in this ad is not simply a sign denoting a particular person who has been photographed. The picture of the supermodel is also a sign which has connotations like Youth, slimness etc. According to Bignell (2002) because the sign has these positive connotations, it can work as the signifier for the mythic signified 'feminine beauty'. This concept belongs to our society's stock of positive myths concerning the attributes of sexually desirable woman. The ad has presented us with a sign (the photographed model) which itself signifies a concept 'feminine beauty'. It doesn't matter who the model is, who the photographer was, where the picture was taken, etc. The only significant attribute of the photographed model is that she exhibits the physical qualities which enable her to function as a signifier for the mythic meaning 'feminine beauty'.