Advertising Social Semiotic Representation: A Critical Approach

Abstract

The aim of this article was to show the usefulness of a Social Semiotics approach proposed by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) in analyzing advertising discourse to achieve the aim of uncovering the ideology behind choosing different resources (verbal and non verbal). Two examples selected from 'Time' magazine showed that both textual and visual signs are among social semiotic resources which could help advertisers to convey persuasive messages under ideological assumptions. The result of this study revealed that social semiotic reference occupies a pivotal point in the relationship between advertising discourse and ideology. The image, word and color, seen in this way as the product of social practices, are just three of the many semiotic modes through which social meanings of advertisements are coded.