Uses Of Semiotics In Advertising

Semiotics is the science of symbols. They are widely used in the advertising field to signify and/ or represent a specific message through the use of symbols and signs. Semiotics can be tracked back to the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure as well as the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. But it really started to gain importance and became a major way to look at cultural studies in late 1960 after the work of Roland Barthes.

People tend to put meaning behind almost everything unconsciously, as a way to try and familiarize with it more. These meanings depend on the person’s own interpretation which is influenced by his or her background, upbringing, surroundings, ethnicity, etc. Signs come in many forms, such as pictures, text,

By successful branding and repetition the sign will eventually signify and be associated with the brand/ product you are selling. So to have strong signification, advertisers combine images, text, sound and symbols together as well as consideration of the colors, the setting and the fonts to form a strong meaningful

For instance, if a sandwich shop just had the word “fresh” on its billboard, it is enough to signify to the passerby that the sandwiches are healthy and hence it is inviting. That same effect can also be achieved with maybe the words “ natural”. Similarly, instead of the use of the fire image in the previous example about the gas bottle, sometimes its just written “flammable” in a bold clear way to signify the flammability and danger of the box.
Sound:
As mentioned before, symbols come in many forms not only visually but it can be audible. Music is used in advertisement to set the mood of a product or a place. For example, a certain place will play the same track or the same record over all of its locations, so when you hear it, it will signify the store. Another example can be a jingle that advertise a product, the jingle is made to be catchy so you find yourself singing it even when it is not on, and the advertisers would usually put the phone number or an important information in there so that you remember it