The semiotic theory is the relationship between a sign, an object, and a meaning. The sign represents the object, or referent, in the mind of an interpreter. “Interpretant” refers to a sign that serves as the representation of an object. There are to major traditions in European semiotics these are F. de saussure – Semiology and C.S. Peirce – Semiotics.

I have looked into what connotation means and denotation as I wanted to see how this could be applied in advertising. Knowing about meaning and symbolism through the theory, connotation means a feeling or idea that is suggested by a particular word although it need not be a part of the word’s meaning, or something suggested by an object or situation. Denotation means a translation of a sign to its meaning, precisely to its literal meaning, more or less like dictionaries try to define it. Denotation is sometimes contrasted to connotation, which includes associated meanings.

I have been looking into this book to find out more about the semiotics theory and how it is linked to my idea

 

This is the book that I have used to find out about the semiotics theory – The next extract that discusses how ads represent society and the product itself again is extremely important, and an element of theory which can be applied in my idea. The aim of ads is to engage us to participate by decoding their linguistics and visual signs and to enjoy this decoding activity is an extract that really resonates with my idea. For example. The aim of advertisement is to engage use and get us to buy or make us feel something about the product, they do that by using advertising techniques an example of this is if they are advertising a shoe and it says if you buy these you can run 100x faster people will believe this and buy the product however some people will think thats a lie and see it and read it differently to everyone else. A lot of advertisements want to be memorable this is another advertising technique an example of this is the Go Compare advert this was known for being really annoying however it stuck with people and still can be remembered by most people now  this is a really good way of trying to engage your audience. Another way of engaging the audience is using linguistics is colours, fonts, tagline and slogans I will be applying these in my productions such as my posters by using pink and purple colours as these are feminine  colours and represent my audience, fonts will also be something that I will have and I will go for a more serif font as this is a feminine font and represents women too. Although I will use these people may see this differently and think its no feminine and too childish this would be an opposite reading to what I was portraying. Another way to engage my audience is visuals this is done by using designs, product and imagery this would be in a print advertising and this is what I am doing, I will be using this in my products too such as my product itself I want this to appeal to my audience with the designs and colour, I will be having something that is memorable and engages my audience to look and buy my product. Another way I will represent visuals in my production is with my posters my using designs that are feminine such as ripples, swirls or curls I feel that my audience would like this and it would help appeal to them more and engage them more. I want my audience to feel like I am talking to them by using visuals and linguistic therefore this is what I intend to do in my productions.

 

BIGNELL, J.

Media Semiotics

The media uses language to manipulate us into buying something and example of this is focusing on positive words and different things while not saying anything about the negatives of something. Giving good information a twist through language, hiding important information in sentences that audiences don’t usually pay attention too. Language is very good at manipulation and many metaphors can be used in this way.

An example of language manipulation is if something said “99% fat free” or “1% fat” you would most likely buy the 99% fat free one because we dislike the notion of fat, we want to avoid the truth. Although both of these mean the exact same thing most markets would use the 99% fat free because it looks better and makes us think we are buying the better option.

So the choice of information provided on most products is provided to make others pick a certain option. So instead of choosing the negative point and aide of things they show all the positives which is a really good technique to entice your audience.

Most advertisers use the manipulation of language to create claims that suggest something about there product without actually claiming it to be true. Because of this method audiences become attracted to the product because they know good and certain things about the product from what it says on there claim however those things are not often true in or of the product itself. Many companies use slogans, tagline and jingles on there advertisements to make more profit and most of the language used have a big impact on there consumer.

Here is the well known tagline for McDonalds which has a huge impact on there company –

There are many words used in advertising to also manipulate you, even some single words attract the audiences attention such as better and best these are the most common words used in advertising because you want something that is better than other products therefore using these words manipulate you into buying the product even though it might not be the ‘Best’ of the rest. Some other words that are very common in advertising are amazing, Excellent, Quality, Delicious, Special and many many more, all these words are able to manipulate you into buying something as they stand out from other words.

As I am doing a product aimed at 16+ I have done some small research into why are teenagers more venerable to manipulation and I found that as a teenager they become more socially adept and can detect the more subtle methods in which they are being tricked.

Here are some ads that I found on the internet that manipulate and audience into buying something, although these may not represent my product these are just examples as to how print adverts make you buy something –

 

Some other manipulative advertising I looked into was make-up, hair shampoo and conditioner because there are so many make-up and shampoo brands which women wear and use all the time therefore using manipulative advertising would be good to use as they know that it will make people want to purchase it. Some examples that I found was ‘Maybelline’ Explosive volume 8x bigger, smoother and even mascara. This print advertising uses lots of manipulative language to get you to buy there product, there font is bold and big so it stands out too. However all this isn’t usually the truth and it wont have this effect on most peoples lashes however having this language on there print advert will make there audience “women” think that this will happen therefore they will buy this product.

 

Here is a good video that I found about how they make things look so good on advertisements however they don’t look that good in real life –

 

Reflection

I have done a wide about of research on how the media uses manipulative language to entice audiences into purchasing there product, I have looked at many books and websites to help me understand why its used and how it can have an impact on my own work. Doing this research has been useful to me and I have learned that using different words such as “Amazing” will help a product sell more and stand out to an audience this will help me with my idea because I now know what are good words to use that stand out and will attract more of an audience. I have learned that talking about all the positives about your product will have a good impact on it therefore this will help my idea because now I know what I can talk about on my website and why people should get it. I have found that making words stand out attracts your audience more especially if they are good words about the product, they should be bold and stand out so its easy to read. Overall, this research will help my idea as I know now what language to use when making my website and posters so that I can attract a more mainstream audience. I looked into the impact of language in the media because I wanted the right sort of language in my social media accounts and my poster, I don’t want my audience feeling pressured into getting my product by language that I use and example of this is ‘Buy this now’ or ‘Buy this it will make you feel better’ this is something that I don’t want to use in my productions this is something that will help me develop my idea and help me in my production as I want to make my audience feel good, fun and excited and not pressured into something so I will be very critical as to what I put in my production.

 

Here are the websites that I used to help me in my research –

EFFECTIVE WORDS USED IN ADVERTISING

I have been researching into the reception theory to understand more of what it is about and how its used in the media. The reception theory asserts that media text are encoded and decoded. The producer encodes messages and values into their media which are then decoded by the audience. However, different audience members will decode the media in different ways and possibly not in the way the producer originally intended.

These are some of the following positions when they decode the text –

• Dominant is how the producer wants the audience to view the media text. Audience members will take this position if the messages are clear and if the audience member is the same age and culture

• Oppositional Reading – when the audience rejects the preferred reading, and creates their own meaning for the text. This can happen if the media contains controversial themes that the audience member disagrees with. Oppositional reading can also occur if the audience member has different beliefs or is of a different age or a different culture.

• Negotiated Reading – a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, where the audience accepts parts of the producer’s views, but has their own views on parts as well.

Here are some things that can affect if the audience takes any of the different readings

-Gender  -Age  -Culture  -Mood  -Beliefs

Here is a video that I watched to help me understand the reception theory more as I didn’t really understand it but now I have more of an understanding about the theory

Applying to my idea-

From looking at the theory I have looked at how producers and designer of products can have a huge influence over the way that the audience read into products themselves, as my project is all about promotional campaign launch for a new chocolate bar this is something that is extremely relevant to my project. Knowing this about how to communicate messages to and audience I hope to do this through a variety of design layout and production concepts at this initial early stage of idea development these are some of these entail concepts I have been thinking about. I want my audience to feel happiness, relaxation and fun when then have my chocolate bar, I also want them to feel this when they look at my packaging. My colour ideas are mainly pink and purples as I will be having something that represents women, these will also be colours that stand out and something that my audience will relate to this I hope to be a dominant reading. I also have some ideas about fonts such as serif this is a feminine font, it also stands out really nicely therefore this is something I feel would be good to use, I also want my audience to realise it is feminine and take it as a dominant reading that it appeals to them. I want my chocolate bar to be affordable therefore this is what I will show when producing my posters and stuff, it will hopefully be made clear to my audience that my chocolate bar is affordable and not extreme luxury by using posh and rich colours and posh fonts this would be an oppositional reading. Some more oppositional readings would be that my audience felt that my poster or website appealed to a more younger audience and it was quite babyish therefore this is something that I don’t want to portray in my productions. Another oppositional reading is that my audience feels that my productions don’t feel feminine therefore I will have to pick the correct colours, fonts and imagery for my packaging, posters and website.

 

Reflection

After doing some research on this I now have abetter understanding of the reception theory, I had never heard about this but it was interesting to read and see how audiences read and understand advertisements. I will consider the reception theory when creating my advertising campaigns and what can affect the audience if something isn’t done correctly.

Here is the book and website that I used to help me understand reception theory –

RECEPTION THEORY – MEDIA STUDIES – REVISION WORLD

 

Tim O’Sullivan Brian Dutton Philip Rayner (2003). Studying The Media. 3rd ed. London: Hodder Headline Group. 307.

I will be doing some research into existing Chocolate bar names and the colour of font and packaging they use. I will be doing this so I can gain some ideas of what I like then make my own product that will be then used in my own advertising campaign using the inspiration I have gained from the research, I will then make a questionnaire that I will ask my audience which title they like and why?
This is the first chocolate bar that I looked at “Dairy Milk”. This is one of the most well known chocolate bars there are and it is instantly recognisable. The purple packaging is a very bold colour and it stands out really well. The colour purple means luxury, royalty, power and elegance. These words represent the packaging well as it is a very luxury brand and constantly produces the best and nicest chocolate there is, the word royalty also stands out as it is one of the biggest and most powerful chocolate brands there are and the purple colour is liked by the queen and is used over royal tradition therefore it makes the colour more iconic. We see in the top left the company title ‘Cadbury’ in a gold font which is repeated on all there chocolate that they make this is also called brand awareness so that there buyers know it’s good quality and who they are. The dairy milk font is in a serif font and in a clear white colour this is so it stands out to there audience, they also use the two iconic milk cups above the ‘i’ this is also brand awareness because it is shown on all the dairy milk chocolate bars and it is also featured on billboards, busses and more. This packaging appeals to a mainstream audience both male and female however fonts and colours would suggest more of a feminine packaging.
Overall, I really like this packaging because it aims at a mainstream market both male and female which you can tell from the packaging. They use a bold white clear font which is easy to read, it’s also very spacious and big too. They use there brand name on there which is brand awareness which is a clever idea so that the audience know who made the chocolate bar.

This is the next chocolate bar that I looked at “Mars”. This is another well known chocolate bar as it’s also very recognisable. The black packaging of this makes the font and title stand out really well as it’s red on black. The black represents power and strength which is what mars shows in it’s adverts, the bar is also mainly aimed at men therefore that is what the black might represent. The red suggest boldness, strength and energy this also represents masculinity as men want to feel strong and very bold therefore this packaging works really well. I really like how they make the red stand out so much as it catches the audiences eye, the title itself is surrounded by a gold outline too which also makes it stand out more. The font is serif which isn’t very masculine however it looks very clean and spacious on the package. The red font also matches the colour of the actual planet ‘Mars’ and the black suggest space which goes really well. Space is also something that males are more interested in than women. I feel this packaging aims at a more male mainstream audience than women.
Overall, I really like this packaging as you can see that they are targeting a male audience. The colours all stand out really well together and the font is clear and spacious therefore it’s easier for the audience to read.

This is the next chocolate bar that I looked at is “Snickers”. This packaging is different than others as it has nut’s on it as snickers tag line in advertisements is “Snickers Get Some Nuts” therefore they included nuts on there packaging. The packing around the title is brown this suggest confident, solid and endurance. This represents snickers as this is also a more masculine chocolate bar and these words represent men. The brown also makes the title itself stand out which is a dark blue, this colour suggest masculinity and loyalty. Blue is a colour mainly aimed at boys therefore you can tell this chocolate bar is mainly aimed at men. They also use a red border around the title to help it stand out more which is really good. The title font is sans serif which means it is more bold and stands out to the audience, sans serif is also more of a masculine font too. There is less spacing in this lettering however this doesn’t matter as it is still instantly recognisable and stands out.

Overall, I feel this chocolate bar is mainly aimed at men and not women, I also really like how they have nuts on the packaging so that the buyers know what is inside. The font stands out really well on the brown packaging and its big and bold so it’s easier to read.

This is the next chocolate bar that I looked at “Twirl” This is the iconic purple packing that the company Cadbury uses however they also use a bright yellow title colour which stands out really. The yellow suggest attention grabbing, comfort and feminism this is a really good idea for packaging having a colour that stands out because it catches the audiences eyes. We can also see on this packaging that yet again Cadbury put there brand name on it so it’s brand awareness and its instantly recognisable. The title uses a serif font which is very feminine and the text is very spacious and big so that its easy to read and is eye catching. I really like the twirl above the eye which also represents the actual title of the chocolate. I feel this is a more feminine packaging because of the colours and font that they use which I really like.
Overall, I really like this packaging as you can tell they are aiming at a more feminine audience however they are still aiming it at males too. All the colours stand out really well together to make it eye catching and the font represents the name of the chocolate bar really well.

This is then next chocolate bar I looked at ‘Crispello’ This chocolate bar uses a purple and light purple packaging which is very feminine. The font is very curly and swirly which means it is a sans serif font which women like. The title is in white which is clan and stands out therefore it catches peoples eye. They also use an image of the chocolate inside on the packaging so that the buyers know whats inside. They use a big bold font however there is a dark outline of purple around the title to make it stand out more which is a really good idea.

Overall, I really like this packaging because it appeals to women which I am looking to do for my own. The colours are very feminine and I like how the title stands out really well. They also use and image of what is inside so there audience knows what is in the packaging which I think is a really good idea so people know what it is.

This is the final chocolate bar that I will be looking at ‘Yorkie’ I saved this for last because it appeals to women the most however they use a different technique to do this. This chocolate bar uses a pink packaging with suggest love and feminine which girls like. They use a large bold font with gold lettering which isn’t very appealing to women however it stands out really well because its easy to read and eye catching. However on this yorkie bar they use a different technique than we have seeing to engage there audience. They use a challenge “Girls can you handle it” this makes women want to buy there product more because they wan to prove that they can, this is a very interesting way to engage there audience however its a really good idea. They also use a symbol of a woman with a line through her this also causes controversy.

Overall, this is one of the interesting packagings I have seen. it uses feminine colours such as pink and yellow and they use a challenge to make you by the chocolate bar. They use a large font so it stands out to there audience which is a good idea. Finally, they use there company name on there which is brand awareness.

Reflection

I am happy that I looked into all these chocolate bars because it has now given me a wider understanding into what company’s use to aim there product at a certain audience. I have learned about the different fonts that they use and why they use certain colours and what they mean. I have looked at a wide range of packagings here and I now have some ideas of my own using the inspiration from these. I have learned that it is a good idea to include your company name on the packaging for brand awareness, use specific colours for a certain audience and fonts. I will be doing more research in the future on these to bring my packaging together to make something really good. With all this research it will help me in my final productions as I am able to now understand why they use different colour packaging such as pink represents femininity and why they use different fonts and text to appeal to a certain audience therefore doing this blog it has helped me understand that this is something that I need to consider when doing my planning and production. I am also going to expand on this research in the future to understand more about the packaging and why they use different things to appeal to certain audiences.

I used this website to help me understand what colours mean –

THE MEANING OF COLORS
In-text: (Changingminds.org, 2019)
Your Bibliography: Changingminds.org. (2019). The Meaning of Colors. [online] Available at: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/communication/color_effect.htm [Accessed 6 Mar. 2019].

I have decided to do a small blog on the meaning of colour. I have chosen to do this because I will be looking at a wide range of packagings and I would like to be able to understand why they have used these colours and what they mean, this blog will also help me in the future with my own packaging.

RED – warmth, love, anger, danger, boldness, excitement, speed, strength, energy, determination, desire, passion, courage, socialism

Orange – cheerfulness, low cost, affordability, enthusiasm, stimulation, creativity, aggression, food, halloween, liberal (politics)

Yellow – attention-grabbing, comfort, liveliness, cowardice, hunger, optimism, overwhelm, Summer, comfort, liveliness, intellect, happiness, energy, conflict

Green – durability, reliability, environmental, luxurious, optimism, well-being, nature, calm, relaxation, Spring, safety, honesty, optimism, harmony, freshness

Blue – peace, professionalism, loyalty, reliability, honour, trust, melancholia, boredom, coldness, Winter, depth, stability, professionalism, conservatism

White – Cleanliness, purity, newness, virginity, peace, innocence, simplicity, sterility, snow, ice, cold

Pink – feminine, love, caring, nurture

Black – Elegance, sophistication, formality, power, strength, illegality, depression, morbidity, night, death

 

Overall, I am happy that I looked at these colours at what they mean because it will help me researching into different packagings and help me with my own packaging. I never knew what all these colours stood for and now I do and most of these colours are used in retail and advertising therefore it was a good idea that I looked into it. With this research I will understand more into packaging colours and why they have used certain ones, it will also help me in my final productions as to what colour scheme to use and why the colours would impact my audience and represent them. With this research I am also going to do a more in-depth blog on colour connotations about packaging colours as this will have an impact on my final production.

THE MEANING OF COLORS

For my chocolate bar I will be aiming at females ageing from 16+. I have chosen to do this because when looking at different company’s and existing chocolate bars I realised that many aim at women therefore I thought it would be a good idea to do this.

For my research about audiences I will look at different chocolate bars aimed at women, how they are packaged and advertised to the public. I will also be looking into some posters and websites about chocolate aimed at women to give me some tips and ideas about what to use in my own productions. Finally I will be asking a small questionnaire to a group of females about would they like a chocolate bar that suits females and would they try it.

FEMALE CHOCOLATE BAR

Here are two chocolate bars that I found which are mainly aimed at women. These are created by the company Nestle and Cadbury as you can see on there packaging. The first chocolate bar “Yorkie” is in a bright pink packaging which suggest feminism and love. This colour appeals really well to women and it stands out too. The title of this chocolate bar is in a bold orange serif font which is more masculine however for the ‘O’ we see a female symbol with a line through it and on the right hand side it says “GIRLS can you handle it” this is attention grabbing and stands out really well, it also makes females want to buy the chocolate bar because they will want to prove that they can eat it.

I really like this chocolate bar packaging and the colour is something that I will consider using for my own chocolate bar as I am aiming my product at females therefore pink would be a good idea. They have there company name on the packaging which is brand awareness which is common for most chocolate packaging’s to have on. I also like how they use attention grabbing words to make you want to buy the chocolate bar however this is something that I don’t want to use for my packaging.

I really like this chocolate bar packaging too as it uses a dark and light purple which is a feminine colour. The title is in a serif font however it is big and bold so that it stands out really well. The title is in white therefore it is clear and looks tidy which I really like too. On this packaging they feature the company name too which is brand awareness and is something I will consider putting on my own packaging.

 

I really like both of the packaging’s for these chocolate bars as they both appeal to women. I have only chosen 2 to talk about as I will be looking at more in the future however I just wanted to find some that appealing to a feminine audience the most to gain some small ideas of what looks good. I really like the colour of packaging they use for these chocolate bars as they are both feminine colours and I feel like people ageing over 16+ will like and enjoy seeing these colours. I also like the use of the serif font as its swirly and curvy which is the type of font women like. I am happy I looked at some chocolate bars for my audience page because it gave me an idea of how many bars appeal to women out there and what company’s do to appeal to that audience.

 

ADVERTISING POSTERS

Here are some websites and posters featuring chocolate bars aimed at females however it also includes some old posters of chocolate being advertised as It was a more common way of advertising back then than it is now.

This is the milk tray advertisement I have chosen to look at these because one is a poster from 1995 and the other is a recent billboard. The milk tray billboard is interesting because they use a tagline “All because the lady loves” then we see a milk tray on the right, I really like this because you always read from left to right. For the billboard you can tell they are aiming the milk tray at women from the words “Lady Loves” and you can also see a woman touching the milk tray quite seductively. The milk tray packaging also has feminine colours pink and purple which is usually a woman’s favourite colours. The packaging also has little images over it showing the chocolates which are inside. The font colour is white which is clean and stands out which is something I will consider for my packaging and they use a sans serif font which is very feminine therefore it is appealing more to a female audience. For the poster it is quite historical and I have chosen to look at this because I thought it would be nice to see how far advertising has come and what they use in them days to appeal to there audience. On this poster we see the standard milk tray box with the chocolates falling out the box therefore there audience can see what they will be eating however we see a women hand cutting one of the chocolates and pick creme comes out. The pink will catch a women’s eye as it is a very appealing colour to have and it also entices you to buy the chocolate because you can see whats inside.

Overall, I am glad that I looked at both of these advertisements because it has given me more of an idea of what I will add in my posters. These posters don’t include a lot however  they are very catching with the use of words, all the images stand out and they both include the product. I feel this has helped my with my audience research because I have now looked at existing posters that aim at a female audience and what text, images and other techniques they use.

 

Reflection about blog

After doing some basic research I have decided I will be producing my website, posters and social media for women ageing from 16+ as I feel there isn’t a lot of this on the market therefore it will be a good challenge to do. Overall, this basic research has inspired me on packaging’s of my product and what other company’s use to target a female audience and I have also learned about what should be put on a poster to aim at a certain audience and although this is some basic research it will have an impact on future in more detail research for the up coming weeks. I am now confident with who I am aiming my products and I have gained some positive feedback on my questionnaire which you can see below, and I am happy that a lot of people voted they want to see a chocolate aimed at females.

There are the responses I got for my questions, in total I got 18 responses from the audience I am aiming at and they was all positive. All of the people said they do want to see a chocolate bar aimed at females. I got some mixed responses for the 16+ question however they was mostly positive and thought the age range was okay. The reason I put the option no is because there is a lot of media about child obesity and children shouldn’t have it and people don’t really agree with it. My final question was do you feel that there is enough chocolate bars aimed at women and it was nearly all positive and that there isn’t enough therefore that inspires me more to do something about this and make them something that they want and want to see.