Semiotics in Advertising

Semiotics serve as the meanings behind the ad we are trying to decipher. They give purpose to the ads that we see everyday. The "signifier" is the physical advertisement while the "signified" is the concept that the advertisement is trying to convey. Symbolisms and things that we connect to the particular product help ads get their point across.

Denotation: We see a photo of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's next to a photo of a watch.
Connotation: Wearing this watch will make you as elegant as Audrey Hepburn.

Semiotics come in many forms including visuals, sounds, and text.

Not only is it a creative way to convey a message, but just through a simple image it might convince someone to chose Heinz ketchup over another brand of ketchup due to the assumption that it is packed full of real tomatoes. The use of semiotics is a clever strategy that we don't always notice in the ads we see everyday or notice that they do in fact impact our views on these products as consumers.