SEMIOTICS ANALYSIS ESSAY
Advertisements are a smart tool and technique used to promote and sell various products. Using mass media, it aims to persuade potential consumers that there is a correlation between the brand and a lifestyle or identity, which is considered enviable.(John Berger, Ways of Seeing) Semiotics, a concept developed by Ferdinand de Saussaure is a useful tool for analysing advertisements. However, Hodge and Kress (year and page number) recommended that semiotic analysis could also be used as a manner of understanding communication, including media texts. The essence of semiotics is ‘the science of signs, or the study of signs and sign systems’ (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 2009:133). Media images often emphasize hegemonic representations of gender, race and class in the South African context, and in this specific advertisement BIC reinforced an ideology regarding the manner woman should portray themselves. Using semiotics, I will be deconstructing the advertisement and will argue, through drawing on xy’s concept of racial hegemony, that BIC created an advertisement that reinforces gemonic notions of race, class and gender. .

‘The denotative meaning of an advertisement is the most basic component. This is the most obvious meaning of a sign which can be expressed by describing what is directly seen.’ (Gottdiener, 1995:15) In the BIC advertisement, there is a woman that looks approximately 30 years old. Regarding racial classification, this woman is considered black. She is neatly dressed in business/ formal attire consisting of a white-collared shirt and grey blazer. She is looking directly into the camera while smiling broadly. Her body is not facing directly toward the viewer, but rather slightly slanted, drawing more attention to her face. The background is also blurred, which emphasises and places direct attention to her face and body language. She also has long flowing hair which looks neat and glossy. Her arms are folded just below her chest, revealing manicured nails which are red in colour. To the left of the woman is a text which is large and thin, immediately grabbing the attention of the viewer. It states “Look like a girl, Think like a man, Work like a Boss”. In the bottom left corner there are the words which follow a hashtag reading “Happy Women’s day”. The word “women” is black in colour, while the other two words are white. This places emphasis on the message of the advertisement.
After being publicly advertised, this advertisement received extensive criticism from its audience. It was implied that BIC was sexist as the advertisement portrays the idea that in order to attain success in the business world, women need to think like men, thus seeing the world through the lens of a man’s perspective. Gender inequality remains a prominent issue in South African society. Research has shown that in media, there is an intersection between gender and other social constructs such as race and class. Findings suggest that in general, white men were portrayed as powerful; white women as sex objects, domesticated, and romantically successful; black men as aggressive; and black women as inconsequential. These representations are argued to reinforce subtle prejudice against women in general and African Americans in particular. (Luyt, 2011)
In addition to the denotative meaning of an advertisement, there is also a connotative element; that the public consumer perceives. Although one can clearly see what the advertisement denotes, there is some sort of hidden layer that the public consumer needs to decode. ‘The signified meaning is known as the connotation, and it refers to any emotions, ideas or values that are associated with the sign.’ (Gottdiener, 1995: 5) The woman forms part of the central focus of this advertisement. She makes direct contact and the photo is taken at eyeshot. This suggests that she is challenging the viewer. She is portraying power and great significance in the business sector, making the viewer enviable of her success. In celebration of Women’s Day, a woman is used to advertise their product. The message that BIC is carrying is that if you use the BIC pen, you could look like this woman and even attain her success. It is also suggested that you will “Work like a Boss”. However the text to the left of the woman clearly emphasizes that despite your physical appearance that should portray that of a woman, you should only LOOK that way, yet act differently, and, importantly, you should think like a man instead of the celebrated woman that you are.

Due to the westernised knowledge and the current society that we find ourselves in, it is an ideology that women are not to be seen in power or in a position of authority especially women of colour. Thus, the public audience will aspire to be like her and in turn purchase the product. Her attire signifies that she has wealth, and power. This black woman is exuding a great sense of confidence and authority completely opposing the general idea that women should only play motherly roles. Her body language suggests certain assertiveness. Her smile and overall attire create a sense of professionalism. Red is usually associated with being sexy, confident and appealing, her painted nails adds to the idea that you should only “Look like a Girl”. This implies that the exterior should be appealing, but your gender also plays a significant role as you should rather act like a man, than the celebrated woman that you are.
There is a range of signs included in this advertisement. This includes the iconic sign of a cartoon holding an oversized BIC pen. An iconic sign means that the image shown, does in fact resemble the thing in reality. The name of the product, namely BIC is an example of an indexical sign as it is printed in bold which indicates that this product is of great importance and in a sense bold. Despite the indexical sign in the bottom right corner which has a direct correlation to the message of the advertisement, the text doesn’t support it entirely. The BIC Logo, which is an example of an indexical sign as it is referring to something else, is situated in the far right bottom corner of the advertisement. The word BIC is in bold and uppercase text which is eye catching and immediately draws the viewer’s attention to the product being advertised. Indexical signs involve an existential link between the signifier and the referent: the sign relies on their joint presence at some point in time. (Seiter, 1992)

The concept of hegemony is normally understood as emphasizing consent in contrast to the reliance of the use of force. It describes the way in which dominant social groups achieve ruler ship or leadership on the basis of attaining social cohesion and consensus (Joseph, 2002). The target market for this advertisement is clearly women who are aiming to be successful and powerful. The advertiser attempts to capture the attention of the audience by signifying that with this product, you will be inclined to think smarter. In order to sustain these structures of domination, the dominant groups attempt to represent the world in forms that reflect their own interests, the interests of their power’ (Hodge & Kress, 1991: 3). This means that those who are high in power use their privilege to reinforce their own ideology. The ideology of influence that is often communicated in commercial media suggests that owning a certain product will make you look or feel more like these powerful and significant members of society

In conclusion, I have shown that BIC’s advertisement has various connotations, including, power, class and wealth. This attracts the public audience as they try to attain the same level of success as this woman in the image. Using Semiotics, after I had analysed the advertisement, it is evident that various techniques were used to capture the attention of the audience such as the direct eye contact of the woman and the way the picture was taken (a direct shot). This media text challenges society and its ideologies of a woman and it is imperative for the public consumer to have the cultural knowledge that it is not just men who can partake in the business sector. Yet, women are as powerful and influential. Through the various codes and conventions in semiotics, we can easily and effectively catch the attention of the public consumer which is demonstrated on this BIC advertisement.
A few lovely points made, Kelsey. Well done on doing independent research. There are a few things you could improve on (as mentioned in the comments section). However, apart from that, I think you need to work on the flow. Read sentences aloud and consider whether the paragraphs following each other make sense and help to build your argument. Some sentences can be cut. Most importantly, for your final submission, dedicate more space to the discussion on hegemony (and race, class and gender). As it stands, the bulk of your paper is a semiotic analysis, which is only partially tackling the essay question. Since it’s your draft, and since the class was lectured on hegemony quite late, I will grant leeway with that. You’re only on 1 400 words so use the extra 400 or so to discuss the ad in relation to hegemony. There is plenty to say.
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Reference List
Hodge, R, & Kress, G. 1991
Social Semiotics, Polity Press, New York
Luyt, R 2011, ‘Representation of Gender in South African Television Advertising: A Content Analysis’, Springer Science + Business Media,Volume 65, September, Issue 5, pp 356-370 (online EBSCOHost)

Joseph, J 2002, Hegemony, A realist analysis, viewed
09 March 2016,

Seiter, E. 1992, ‘Semiotics, Structuralism, and Television’

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