Semiotics and Visual Understanding

Honestly, until a couple of days ago I had no idea what semiotic meant.  Turns out it's the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.  What really spoke to me about Monday's lecture was when we were shown an ad with hands holding vegetables.  It didn't really hit me until that ad that everything has a meaning.  And when I say everything I mean everything...right down to the dirt on someones finger nails.  See in that ad the dirt made it seem like the person holding the veggies had just picked them. Below are more examples of Semiotics

Print Ad:

Above is a picture for Axe body spray but notice this picture has nothing to do with body spray.  The signifier is just two people at the gas station but it is signified by the two obviously being attracted to each other.  They tell you this by having them both facing each other and seemingly forgetting what they are doing.  This also appeals to the younger crowd because they are dressed nice and seem like the life of the party.  Once you see the little can of body spray in the corner you realize they must like each other because they smell good.  It's almost like Axe is creating a fantasy and it draws you in making you want that to, so you go out and but the product.  Even the gas station is important because it's relatable and everyone could see themselves in this situation.

Tv Ad:

Now this ad above uses a lot of semiotics, such as the symbolism of the mouse trap.  When we see the mouse trap we know that the mouse is going to die because of life experiences, it's relatable.  The Denotation is the mouse, trap, cheese, house , and the connotation might be that mice are bad. This also might remind us of the cartoon Tom and Jerry because the the mouse outsmarts Tom.  It's simply the unexpected about this commercial that draws us in.  We also might assume the cheese is worth the risk to the mouse which sends a message that the cheese is good.  More importantly it reminds us to keep fighting while making the seemingly impossible, possible.

Outdoors Ad:

This ad uses lots of visual to draw the audience in.  Because it is a billboard not to many people expect to see 3D effects.  The denotation would be a man eating pizza but the connotation is that it is good because the cheese is stretched out and gooey and it looks like the guy is stealing it from a the ad next to him because it is so good.  The bright orange color makes it pop and reminds you of cheese while the caption reads "hand tossed" to make it seem fresh.  All together the image makes your mouth water just looking at it thanks to semiotics.