Semiotic analysis of sunsilk mass media campaign

This kind of ad reveals a beautiful woman in a colorful Hijab (a Muslim headscarf) next to a bottle of what seems to be shampoo with limes, normal water and a lotus flower surrounding it. There is also a paragraph in Arabic together with the only English language words being “Lively Clean and Fresh.

After some investigation I discovered that this ad was a part of a campaign for “Covered Hair by the Western Hair Care Company Sunsilk in Pakistan. It was directed at young girls and ladies who cover their hair within religion, but are still aiming to be modern day, fashionable, modern day and elegant concurrently.

The advertiser provides extensively put to use the colour green, with this being featured in the back ground, on the shampoo or conditioner bottle and various shades on the hijab of the woman. The use of the colour green symbolises nature which is reflected in the use of it, flowers and water surrounding the shampoo or conditioner bottle. It is additionally reflected in the English phrases “Lively Spending Fresh. This kind of advert uses Ferdinand para Saussure’s strategy that ‘a sign consisted of a signifier and a signified’. (Fiske, 1990, l. 44).

In this case the colour green is the signifier and nature is the signified. The ad wants to express that this hair shampoo will keep hair as expending fresh because nature is definitely. The use of these symbols also appeal to the Muslim customer’s attraction to natural goods as the limes encircling the bottle of wine are presumed to be inside the product menu. The colour green is also emblematic. A symbol is said to have a ‘connection or resemblance between signal and target: a symbol communicates only because persons agree which it shall indicate what it does’ (Fiske, 1990, p. 6).

Throughout the world the color green has become used to signify nature. Many companies have used the colour green on their items in order to emphasise that these goods are normal and are not full of chemicals or other man-made things mainly because they know that green is universally known to symbolise nature. Sunsilk has done similar. The purpose of this kind of ad is for the Traditional western hair care company Sunsilk in order to into the Asian market, breaking cultural limitations. They use ethnic appropriate signs to ensure that they will appeal for the target demographic.

Charles Sanders Pierce identifies a symbol while ‘a indication whose connection with its object is a matter of convention, arrangement, or rule’ (Fiske, 1990, p. 49). In this advertising, the hijab is a symbol of the Muslim religious beliefs. This sign ensures that the point demographic, Muslim women that wear a Hijab, be aware that this is an item that is designed especially for them. Though these females have their hair covered 00% of the day, they try to charm to the market not through the appearance of the hair nevertheless through the feeling the hair shampoo will give on your hair through the words ‘Fresh and clean’.

Sunsilk provides realised why these women have got specific requirements and have used specific symbols and indications to ensure that these types of women will need to buy their particular product. I recently found that the model in this photo is a distinctive model in Pakistan. She is wearing visible eye makeup and a brooch on her Hijab. The make-up and brooch connotes that woman, who does be using this product, is style conscious. It creates the illusion that if you use this product additionally, you will be while stylish while the model.

The use of these symbols shows the surveys takers what type of girl would make use of this product and could even associated with respondent think that she could be as stylish as the model in the event that she applied this product. A lot of the Sunsilk advertisings for western cultures feature women with the hair in view and place great emphasis on bettering the artistic aspect of frizzy hair. These normal shampoo adverts focus on the outward benefits like ‘shine’ and ‘vibrant rather than handling concerns that are specific to women who cover their hair.

This kind of ad pertaining to Muslim ladies emphasises this kind of shampoo as being great for the fitness of the hair since the company sees that these ladies would place greater benefit on the health of their frizzy hair rather more and so than the appearances due their hair being frequently covered by a Hijab. That they choose to use the words ‘clean and fresh’ to emphasise this worth on health. The words are written in green which usually connotes nature, growth and prosperity. This kind of ad does not work internationally for several reasons.

The language of this advertising is Persia the language found in the majority of Middle section Eastern and Muslim completely outclassed nations, in this instance Pakistan. Unless of course someone realized this vocabulary, they would be unable to understand what the ad was for, the shampoo intended for covered curly hair. As such the ad simply has a thin niche; females in Persia speaking countries, who are also hijab putting on Muslims and would not be efficient as a major international campaign. Women that are not Muslims might not discover why a woman within the hijab would have to care about her hair since it is always covered.

It was only until I saw a converted version in the ad, which the true meaning of the ad was unveiled which was this product is created specifically for women whose hair can be covered by a hijab. Although this advertising does not work internationally due to the fact that it is specifically geared towards a certain region and race, the different symbols with the ad are easy to understand. The fruit and plants surrounding the bottle are clearly alluding to the contents of the product.

The colour green is also internationally recognised as a general symbol of nature as I stated earlier. The goal of the advertising may not be obvious to someone who is not really from Pakistan but the icons it uses are very recognisable all over the world. Through the evaluation of this ad we can see just how semiotics influences the way in which promotional initiatives are built and seen by the general public. The use of color and cultural symbols have been used to successfully advertise a product for a particular target market.

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