by Noleen Wyatt-Jones

Created on: March 23, 2008

Advertisements are one of the most important cultural factors molding and reflecting our life today. They are ubiquitous, an inevitable part of everyone's lives: even if you do not read a newspaper or watch television, the images posted over our surroundings are inescapable' (Judith Williamson: 1983: 11).

The purpose of this paper is to analyze advertisements employing semiological techniques. It was Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, who is first credited with developing the idea of a science of signs. To put his theory into simple terms Saussere's sign is made up of two elements, the signifier, which is the material object, and the signified, which encompasses its broader meaning and is likely to be understood in the same way by the majority of those of the same cultural background, speaking the same language. The signified cannot exist without the signifier but it can be contextualized in different ways by different people. To put this into real terms it is beneficial to apply it to the magazine campaign for Lux Bath Foam as an example. This new product is imbued with a meaning which far exceeds its basic function as a bubble producing bath product by the use of Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City) who herself embodies the values of a glamorous, desirable, star studded New York life. We are presented with an image of an ordinary girl who after bathing in the product transforms into Ms Parker thereby implying that it is possible for anyone who uses this product to be transformed. The basic premise is therefore that the consumer will thereafter automatically associate the product with this lifestyle thereby aspiring to be part of it.

Advertisements are loaded with meaning and every element is there for a specific purpose. How we read them is a different matter and the logic of Saussure's approach combined with Barthes' subsequent approach to denotation and connotation (where denotation means the obvious meaning and connotation the meaning of the sign in a wider context) is invaluable in interpreting what they mean at different levels.

Looking firstly at Bailey's Glide, at its most basic denotative level this is simply an advertisement for a variation of the successful Baileys Irish Cream parent brand. It could be said that at this level it already has certain associations of feminine sexuality implicit from its parent. In addition from a connotative perspective it has further developed its brand positioning with the television sponsorship

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