For your first essay, you will select an advertisement (print/still image or video) or a package and craft a semiotic analysis. You’ll break down the symbols that compose the ad and determine what those signs stand in for, what associations they carry, and what distinctions are made. Look at both images and any text or “copy” the ad includes.
Please include an image of the ad or package or, if it’s a video, the link and key images/frames in your paper. This is helpful both for you as you write and for your readers. You’ll want to find an ad with a clear main picture and specific image or message. Remember that a semiotic analysis is not an opinion paper, though you are aiming to persuade your readers of the plausibility of your analysis. You will decipher what images are in the advertisement, how they are being used, why they might have been chosen, and who the audience for the advertisement is. In a formal semiotic analysis, you’ll break down symbols, what they stand for, what associations they carry, and what distinctions can be made.
Your paper will include:
Denotation – What are the images that the advertisement uses? Be specific and descriptive. Break down the individual signs and analyze them independently and inrelation to the other signs.
Connotation – How are those images used, and how do they associate the product with other desires? Remember to look at the way the ad “commodifies” desires and
associates the product with wants and needs that are not necessarily logically related to
it.
Ideology – Why do these associations work? Consider what cultural values, myths, and beliefs the ad invokes in order to make its point. Also think about what this saysabout our culture and what possible trends it points to.
Demographics – Who is the intended audience, and why were they targeted? What does it tell us about race, gender, sexuality, class, region, nation, ethnicity, or any other socio-political concerns?
Questions to Consider:
• What positive messages does the ad attempt to convey about the product?
• Is this ad part of a campaign? This can provide some additional context for the ad.
• How is this product or the ad similar to or different from other ads for the same kind of products?
• What is the history of the product?
• Has its use, meaning, or social role changed over time?
• Why are the advertisers using this medium for the advertisement?
• You can consider what magazine (or other medium) the ad was found in. Who reads it? Who is the target audience, and why would the advertisers choose this vehicle/medium/location to sell their product?
Deadlines & Requirements:
• 1500 words (not counting the ad)
• MLA formatting
• Paper has intro with thesis, conclusion, and textual analysis
• Three additional sources minimum apart from the ad
• Works Cited
