Semiotics in Advertising

A detailed Summary of Semiotics in Advertising

Very important to a successful advertisement is the use of semiotics. Semiotics, among other things, plays a major role in catching the attention of the intended target market such as men, women, adults or teens. The placement of certain images, text, colors, aand other signs is a key part of the overall successfulness of the ad.

I have also learned that the use of semiotics varies with the kind of product being advertised, however between similar products, the overall theme of the ads seems to stay the same with few exceptions. For example, many automobile ads stress a feeling of freedom or excitement from driving a certain kind of automobile. They do this by using images that make the vehicle especially more rugged or versatile than other vehicles. Alcoholic beverage ads, another example, insinuate that you will be more popular at the party scene and will have more fun if you drink a certain kind of rum, vodka, or beer.

The example that I have chosen follows the same pattern as the other examples I have explained. I looked through magazines aimed and men, and then did the same for women's magazines. I found all the advertisements for perfume or cologne that I could find. I looked for a good u

These are just my views and opinions on the true intent and meanings of these ads. Others may see something completely different or take something a completely different way. However, looking at the placement of the ads in certain magazines, which are in themselves advertisements, and seeing how the strategies and uses of a variety of

se of semiotics in each as to whom it was intended for. I also looked for differences and similarities between what makes an ad more geared toward men, women, or in a few cases both.

The other magazine I chose to look for my ads was a Glamour magazine. It is also a monthly magazine that has articles that appeal more to women such as men, fashion, and nutrition. I was interested by the greater variety of uses of semiotics to gain the attention of, and make product appeal to women more than to men using the Maxim ads.

and like that kind of relaxing environments to make them feel better more than men. That makes this, along with being in a magazine that automatically attracts more woman than men, makes it clear that this ad is primarily aimed at females and how it is effective. Another approach, but still using the same stereotypical strategy as the last ad, is utilized in ad number 10. The ad indicates that the product it is intended for either men or women, but semiotics are not used to aim at men in this particular ad. There are two pictures in the ad, one over the other. The placement of the pictures this way lends us to look at the pictures in a particular order, the top one first, then the bottom (as we normally read from left to right and from top to bottom). The top picture shows an attractive man and woman next to each other. Then you see the couple in the second picture. The second picture has several young children playing and dancing around the couple in a way that leads you to believe that it is a party of some kind. The second picture is the part that I believe appeals more to women. It shows a presumably happy family. Women are typically seen as more family geared and oriented than males. This, I believe, would make this ad much more appealing to women than to men. Again, as in ad number 9, use of semiotics in the ad give the woman a different way of seeing something positive about the product whether they really have anything remotely to do with each other.

Advertisement 1 is an ad for a Ralph Lauren fragrance. The ad jumped out at me because in most magazin

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tommy Girl, Ralph Lauren, Semiotics Ads, Tommy Hilfiger, advertisement 1, appeal women, product advertised, semiotics gain, manly magazine, attractive female, gain attention, ads attractive, ads found, women ad,

Approximate Word count = 1639
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

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