Semiotics and You: Advertising Food for Thought

Understanding semiotics and how they play a role in advertising can make or break your success in the industry. Being able to convey your message through the use of signs and symbols so that they're understood by the general audience is instrumental when planning an advertising campaign.

One of the most frequently used symbols in advertising is the visual image of the product being sold or promoted. Sometimes all it takes is a symbol that is commonly associated with what it is presenting to get the message across. For example, a skull and crossbones next to a pack of cigarettes symbolizes the harsh and harmful nature of cigarettes.

Take this print advertisement for example. The signifier in this advertisement is the Marlboro cowboy smoking a cigarette looking off into the horizon. However, the signified aspects of the advertisement that we associate with the image is that if you smoke Marlboro cigarettes, that you can also be adventurous, rugged, and very masculine.

The next time you are in charge of creating an advertisement, think about how your use of semiotics can evoke emotion out of your audience. How can you get your target audience to emotionally connect and subscribe to the ideology that you are trying to portray through your use of semiotics.

What are examples of semiotics that you see everyday?