Kristina Brown
Professor Paul Miers
Cultural Studies 201
The Semiotics of Gender Based Advertising
The advertisements that I chose to examine are all examples of Daniel
Chandler’s semiotic theory of Denotation, Connotation, and Myth. The idea
behind this theory is that all advertisements can be broken down to represent
more than just what they are selling. “Denotation” refers to the literal meaning of
a sign, (what the advertisement is selling you.) Where as the term “connotation”
refers to the interpretation of the sign in a different perspective, such as what
results the advertisement is promising. These interpretations typically vary due to
the interpreter’s age, gender, ethnicity, and so on, but there is most always a
clear hidden message behind the Denotation. The third aspect to this theory is
the idea of Myth, or the ideological concept behind the advertisement. This
concept targets a different interpretation focused more on “a particular worldview
- such as masculinity, femininity, freedom, individualism” (“Semiotics for
Beginners”).
Not only do companies use this theory to sell their products, but they also
target specific audiences based on their class, gender and age (etc) in order to
sell their products. In my research, I found common themes in gender based
advertising where certain connotations are pushed towards men and others
towards women. More specifically, I found that the idea of sex and dominance
over women is typically seen more in advertisements for men than for women. In
return, women’s advertisements lean more towards romance or independence
and self-gratification when using a specific product. Although it not necessarily
“wrong” to push products towards a specific audience, it is more the specific
ways that companies go about this process in which the problem lies. Certain
methods of advertising, such as the examples I provide, touch on specific
stereotypes and clichés which then leads towards controversy and can continue
on to be insulting.
First off, I wish to discuss the topic of male oriented advertisements along
side with Chandler’s theory. As mentioned earlier, I found a common theme
revolving around sex and women. In advertisements that are targeted towards
the males in society, the advertisements tend to concentrate on the ideals of
power and sexual fun. This idea is portrayed in the advertisement in ways such
as body language, text and subject matter.
The first example is an advertisement for SKYY Vodka. The Denotation of
this advertisement is all about the vodka. On the surface this idea is shown
because he is holding the vodka and martini glasses in his hands. But further
more, the Connotation behind this advertisement portrays the man in a very
dominant position, where as the woman is more passive. First off he is wearing a
suit, providing information that he is of importance, but not only does he appear
to have caught her off guard, the man is also standing directly over the woman,
(her head is parallel to his crotch,) leaving her vulnerable while his body is stiff
and in control. The mythical/ideological concept can also in turn depict a
worldview of masculinity. This advertisement can suggest to a man that when
drinking SKYY Vodka there is a good chance he will run into a beautiful woman
on a beautiful beach and enjoy his beautiful life.
In relation to this example is the Axe Effect advertisement. This is a
controversial advertisement because it blatantly sells sex. The denotation behind
this advertisement is it is trying to sell Axe cologne to men. Although it is a clever
advertisement and catches the eyes of the reader (as it is supposed to), it
demeans women by creating a connotative rumor that women are seducible
enough to sexually please a man based purely on the cologne he wears.
The third example is an advertisement featuring the company Under
Armour. Except, this example focuses on connotation of both text and imaging.
Their denotation is to sell Under Armour to average men who play sports. But the
subconscious signs focus on, the model’s stance for one. He is dominant and he
is in the foreground, the object of attention. He is also attractive and in very good
physical condition, selling the idea that if an average man wears their Under
Armour during his performance athletics, he will in turn look like that. To push this
connotative idea further, the text at the bottom reads that a man should also buy
this product “For the Benefit of Mankind”, because “it keeps you cool and dry
where you need it most.” Implying that the average man will in turn be able to
seduce the beautiful naked woman in the background, the object of desire. This
advertisement pushes the idea of masculinity as well, the wearer will be a “man’s
man.”
In advertisements that are targeted towards woman, the idea is to
concentrate more on relationships and commitment, or female independence
rather than [casual] sex. In the advertisement by Venus Razors, the
advertisement denotes that after using a Venus razor, a woman’s leg will be so
smooth her bridal garter will not stay on her thigh. This method of advertising
sells the product in a much more straightforward way (smooth legs), although it
sends connotative messages to a woman’s brain of romance and marriage. The
idea behind women’s production sales is to sell perfection. Women’s
advertisements tend to center around beauty products and weight loss products,
forcing women to believe that if they use a specific product they will be perfect
and will in turn get the perfect guy.
Another way to target women is to promote independence. Victoria’s
Secret is a very well known lingerie store for women of all shapes, sizes and
ages. The denotation in this advertisement is the bra itself, but by using text and
imaging, a more connotative message slips through. Although all of the Victoria’s
Secret models tend to be “Bombshells”, as stated by the example advertisement,
and by no means look like average women, you will never find a male figure in
their ads. Victoria’s Secret uses the concept that, “if you wear this, you will look
like her!” Rather than the concept, “if you wear this, he will love you!” The
advertisement uses a slender, attractive, big-busted woman to sell their new
push-up bra. The text in the image personally targets the stereotypical image of
what women want to be, “very sexy”, “bombshell”, “miraculous”, “the perfect
accessory for any little black dress…”, it uses a very persuasive form of
advertising, but the myth/ideological concept still promotes women’s
independence.
The Dove self esteem campaign, on the other hand, promotes a more
natural, average appeal towards women. That “real” beauty is found on the inside
rather than the out. They use different women of different ethnicities with different
personalities and different body types to sell their product worldwide. Their
denotation intent is to sell Dove products, because Dove accepts who you are
regardless of what you look like. But the connotation behind this campaign is, if
you buy dove, you will be all smiles and everyone will see your inner beauty.
All advertisers wish to sell their products, it is their main goal and they will
go about advertising in clever ways that will stick in the reader’s mind. Whether
the sales pitch represent humor, sex or independence and beauty, there is
always a specific denotation and connotation to each advertisement.