Semiotics in advertising Flashcards
Who is the founder of Semiotics and who developed his theory?
- Saussure (signifier, signified - sign e.g. cat/dog) = founder.
- C.S Peirce (iconic, symbolic, indexical e.g. red) developed it.
- Barthes developed it further.
What is Semiology?
Study of signs.
What is a signifier?
Words (denotations).
What is a signified?
What came to mind when word is said (connotations).
What is a sign?
Signified + signifier.
What is an Arbitrary relationship?
No resemblance.
What does Polysemic mean?
Multiple meanings e.g. red.
What are the three different types of signifier in Saussure’s theory of semiotics and what do they mean?
- Iconic sign = looks like what it represents e.g. heart (human heart).
- Symbolic sign = does not look like what it represents and its meaning must be e.g. heart (shape).
- Indexical sign = a clue that links meaning. Its association with this meaning is not arbitrary but is physically or causally connected e.g. fire alarm → fire.
What are Roland Barthes’ 5 groupings of codes?
- Symbolic.
- Semantic.
- Cultural.
- Hermeneutic (Enigma).
- Proairetic (Action).
What does symbolic mean in Barthes’ 5 groupings of codes?
Looks like what it represents e.g. heart = love.
What does semantic mean in Barthes’ 5 groupings of codes?
Commonly used words/colours/ imagery that have hidden meaning that audiences understand e.g. bright red lipstick = confident, promiscuity.
What does Cultural mean in Barthes’ 5 groupings of codes?
Codes specific to culture (this could be age/gender) e.g. LOL = lots of love and laugh out loud = cultural misunderstanding.
What does Hermeneutic (Enigma)
mean in Barthes’ 5 groupings of codes?
Enigma - mystery. Where are ‘cliffhangers’ or rhetorical questions used?
Codes that create mystery.
Clues.
What does Proairetic (Action)
mean in Barthes’ 5 groupings of codes?
More commonly used in moving image - but an action will be involved as an indicator of future action.
