Persuasive signs: The semiotics of advertising

In this article, the author presents many examples of how advertisements contain hidden meanings. One of these examples is the way peach products are marketed to consumers. The author points out that in ads for peach perfume, peach wine, and lipstick, the ads all include hidden meanings of sexuality and scandal. The language and visuals for these ads included references to Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit, and seductive language such as succulent and sizzling to describe a shade of lipstick. This article also references a men’s cologne ad with a handsome man in dark shadows, wearing an undone suit collar. The author points out how the darkness, the undone clothes, and the stoic, strong man, all point to hidden meanings of forbidden pleasures and primal urges. The passage concludes with commentary on how the language used in most advertisements also contain subliminal messaging and that semiotics in advertising is strongly related to consumers connotations.

This add for the Chambord Martini is a good example of subliminal messaging within advertising. This ad is similar to the Verses cologne ad because it is marketed as a drink for distinguished men and women and hints towards the same messages of seduction, and forbidden pleasures. One thing that stands out to me in this advertisement is the fact that the woman is the focus of the photo with her man or “lover” caressing her and protecting her. His suit blends in with the dark background, making the woman’s white dress and the bright purple martini pop. The shadow of the bottle of the liquor also points directily to the woman’s breasts. The shadows that are cast in this picture and the positioning of the product, both contain subliminal messaging of sex and the transition from day to night.

This advertisement shows semiotics within advertising and how symbols are used for subliminal communication. On page 103 under creating textuality the author explains, “from a psychological standpoint, the human mind seems predisposed to link meanings together in some way that has its own culture-specific logic” (Beasely, Danesi, p103). This applies to the cologne and martini ad because the models, clothing, and lighting are all liked to certain cultural norms. These two ads in specific, use the culturally accepted stereotype of the strong, working man, and the feminine, sexy woman. Both ads perpetuate the logic that a woman needs a strong man with a black suit, expensive cologne, and high-end alcohol.