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Semiotic and Discursive Analysis

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A semiotic and discursive analysis of Givenchy’s Gentlemen Only advertisement

Advertisements are common within society and we are constantly subjected to them in our everyday lives. On the surface, it is simply the way businesses market products. However some argue it also advertises lifestyles and social identities (Dyer, 1982). Semiotic analysis is the study of “signs” to understand the underlying rules of messages we receive, and looks at the sign itself, the codes which organise it and the cultural context in which the code and sign make sense (Fiske, 1990). Discursive analysis on the other hand focuses more on the “discourses” that give meaning to representations such as advertisements, and how representations produce social knowledge (Hall 1997). Both approaches have significant differences, yet when combined can help achieve a thorough analysis of advertisements in relation to the influence it has on social identity and society.
Ferdinand de Saussure contributed greatly to semiotic study. He prophesised a study of “signs within a society” and labelled it “semiology” (Hall 1997). Saussure took a structural look at how signs constructed meaning by presenting a signifier which signifies certain ideas within a cultural context. These signifiers are understood through various codes which are embedded within specific cultures (Fiske, 1990). In the context of advertising, this model allows us to decipher the signifiers and what they signify, and in essence understand the “true” but relative meaning of the particular advert.

Fig 1.
In Givenchy’s “Gentlemen Only” advertisement the signifiers could be the body language, clothing, the celebrity, and the words. The idea of a man giving up his umbrella in such conditions signifies self-sacrifice and kindness and the clothing represents his eloquence and class. The words themselves may trigger off conceptions of

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