A Semiotic Approach to Determining the Sins and Virtues Portrayed in Advertising

Abstract

The meaning of an ad, according to semiotic or sign analysis, is based upon the interpretation of the person seeing or hearing the ad. Analysts selected for their pre-determined point of view narrated in depth interpretations of 12 randomly selected ads. The analysts told the researchers their interpretation of the sins and/or virtues content of the ads. The three analysts provided widely ranging comments and thoughts on the ads. Interestingly, the person from an advertising agency was much less likely to see values portrayed in the ads. This difference based on the exploratory research suggests agency personnel may not be able to rely on their own interpretations or other audiences' perceptions of advertising.