Background of the Study
3
Advertisements promote them in the electronic or non electronic, such on television, radio, internet, and newspaper where the consumers may watch them
easily. Then, they which using strategic marketing, achieving quality product that
to be beneficial to consumer need and involving ads media to create the symbolic and sign values in the product operate the economical circulation successfully.
The strategic combination between production process and advertisement intends to have the market position in the competition and to have responses back from
consumers consumer trust. Generally in advertisements, the function of advertisements is to introduce
products and services and to promote them to societies; it needs the roles of human resources such as technology and creative design. The aim of
advertisements is how societies have trusts upon the products and services.
2
The production process, achieving quality product as like what Karl Marx recommended about dynamic economic upon products which has beneficial and
price to fill the consumer need is substituted by advertising to be symbolic and sign values in products by involving the role of human resources on
advertisements. Nowadays, consumers consume the products both beneficial and symbolic and sign values.
3
Jean Baudrillard received the argument that the consumption activity basically is not just caused by the need reason, but it is completely caused by
2
Benny H. Hoed, Semiotika dan Dinamika Sosial Budaya, Depok: Komunitas Bambu, 2011, p.
249.
3
Audifax, Imagining Lara Croft: Psikosemiotika, Hiperealitas dan Simbol-Simbol Ketaksadaran, Yogyakarta: Jalasutra, 2006, p. 102.
4
symbolic reason; they are honor, status, and prestige. Furthermore, the products is consumed or bought that is caused by symbolic meaning which is in, and not
caused by beneficial, price, function, and need.
4
The symbolic and sign meaning, luxurious, prestige, honor, and sensuality are the semiotics field. Semiotics holds the question why do human consumers
consume products in luxury? As the filling consumer satisfaction, human jumps to see the products as the functional to the symbolic and signs values. Human is
pushed to consume more not caused by the functional, but it is caused by filling of satisfaction.
Barthes said that advertisements cooperate with modern era to perform “something new new brand” which is not common in societies.
5
In this term, modern era intends to persuade consumers to follow the dynamic development.
Advertisements have a power capacity to influence the state of consumer mind with the word “new or modern”.
6
Advertisements often change the paradigm values in societies which are goodbad, beautifulsimple, suitableunsuitable, high
classlow class, and trendyodd. Modern era could open state of mind to imitate the new values above, good,
beautiful, high class, trendy etc. All are the capacity of capitalism actors by involving advertisements to create a connotation process. A connotation process is
the extension of contentsignified sign. It is the place given by producers upon
4
Ibid., p. 103.
5
Barthes 1957 called as “néomania” which is “addicted to something new”
6
Modern era is a response to leave from traditional condition to something new western
influence.
5
products to consumers, and then the consumers will react an active respond to give a meaning upon products based on their culture and ideology.
An active respond connotation process is something that products which are produced by the motif of capitalism actors and advertisement media are
assumed by all human consumers in many interpretations. The interpretation upon products that has symbolic and sign values is recognized as semiotics or
sémiologié field. A connotation model of Barthes may apply to an element of non-language,
advertisements. As long as it has sign system.
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And advertisements have a power capacity with including their system via television, radio, newspaper, images on
billboard and so on to create the symbolic and sign values, luxurious, prestige, and sexy, as the following explanation about the motif of capitalism actors above. And
one of advertisements is Axe advertisement. Axe is one of perfume products. Axe was launched in France in 1983 by Unilever Company. It was inspired by another
of Unilevers brands, Impulse. It is assumed that by using this product, Axe perfume, be able to get sexiness, beauty, and other symbolic and sign values. It is
the development or extension of signifié signified which is responded by consumers sign users actively, connotation process.
Afterwards, based on sign users consumers, Barthes explained that how to interpret in which assuming the same perception about a sign. He gave in his
book, SZ, some codes to interpret the hidden sign symbolic sign on advertisements. Advertisements send a “message” to consumers upon products.
7
Jonathan Culler, Saussure, Fontana Press, 1976, p. 93.
6
And semiotics field which is developed by Roland Barthes attempts to open up, open the hidden sign. These codes are hermeneutic, semantic, symbolic,
narrativeproairetic, and cultural code. Umberto Eco states that a code is “…aturan yang menghasilkan tanda-
tanda sebagai penampilan konkretnya di dalam hubungan komunikasi ”.
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Seeing the definition above, a code is a rule or collective convention, which are signs that
may be organized. It pushes a message to be operated between communicators, sender and receiver.
In Elements of Semiology, Roland Barthes gave models of denotation and connotation. He defined a sign as system consisting of Expression E on signifier,
in relation R to content C on signified. Such primary system can become an element of a more comprehensive sign system. The primary sign E
1
- R
1
- C
1
as denotative level becomes the expression of secondary sign system E
2
= E
1
- R
1
- C
1
. Then, in connotative level is the combination of E
2
- R
2
- C
2
. According to Yasraf Amir Piliang in his book, Hipersemiotika: Tafsir
Cultural Studies atas Matinya Makna, said that advertisements have usually three special elements as dominant elements in the advertisment images. They are
object, context and text. Object is an object image or product which is advertised, context is the environment of advertisements that giving meaning to the object.
And the last is text written image; they, the elements, intend to strengthen the advertisement meaning.
9
8
Umberto Eco, Teori Semiotika, Signifikansi Komunikasi, Teori Kode, Serta Teori Produksi
Tanda, Yogyakarta: Kreasi Wacana, 2009, p. 48.
9
Yasraf Amir Piliang, Hipersemiotika: Tafsir Cultural Studies atas Matinya Makna, Yogyakarta:
Jalasutra, 2003, p. 280.
7
These elements are produced by the capitalists to express “the messages”
shown on products advertisments. The messages, denotative or connotative may be appeared on the elements of advertisements. Denotative is what is shown and
connotatative is related to the understanding of sign user consumers upon products.
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Semiotic field is designed to be able to have a chance or opportunity to
criticize in critical thinking in facing or understanding that there is no authority
that controls a meaning or an interpretation upon “everything” which happens in
social culture. It means that this study concerns about the place that has given by and has interpreted by.
With this attempt, the writer wants to implement the Roland Barthes ’
concept to the images of Axe advertisements. This is to seek the denotative and connotative meanings in the images which are based on the elements of
advertisements, the object, context, and text. The images of Axe advertisements are assumed that they have sign and
symbolic values to manipulate the consumers with the “messages” that shown in
the Axe images. The messages of Axe advertisements are expressed to consumers by giving the authority meaning to control the consumption of consumers. So,
Semiotics is suitable as the science of the study, because this field has designed to criticize the meaning that controlled by the Axe Company.
10
Ibid., p. 261.
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