Decoding Advertising

-Signifier + signified = detonation sign (+ connotative signifier)
- Denotation = literal understanding
- Connotation = secondary meaning
Myths:
- Sites in mainstream culture
- Reflect societal norms in dominant ways
- Structured to send a message which may be ideological or some groups in society
- ‘Ads ask us to participate in ideological ways’
Advertising and Myth:
- Ads have a currency
-Ads are particular to a time and place and reflect current political ideas and social ideals
- Ads reinforce particular cultural myths, which are often presented as natural but present a cultural norm or dominant ideology
Examples:
- Moral values
-Cultural norms and ways of behaviour
- Representation of gender class and ethnicity
Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs:
- Self actualisation
- Esteem
- Love/belonging
- Safety
- Psychology
The advertising business:
- Highly professional and competitive
- People who work in the industry are often highly creative and well educated
- Aware of cultural trends and the use of semiotics 
- Magazines are self contained, product is differentiated for target audience
- The signification image and text is intentional
- Encoding; presents a constructed message
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