You may want to grab a cup of tea before reading this because it's a long one with a lot of background issues. As a young female who has been through the absolute mill when it comes to self-hatred and body issues this is a subject close to my heart. I've never been naive and always knew the pictures in the magazines are not a true
Yeah I'm pretty proud of that title so let's just all take a minute to appreciate it... Appreciated it enough? Good. Let's crack on with the mane point (I can't stop, I'm sorry) of this post. So I was in Tesco avoiding talking to humans by using the self-service machines (our generation just do NOT like to interact personally do we...) and I spotted this huge cardboard stand with leaflets:
Excuse the image quality - snapped it quickly and didn't want to look odd taking photos in Tesco.
I will start with the definition of semiotics, though it is not actually a defined system. In simple terms, it is the analysis of meanings and signs within our culture. In the role of advertising, it is more specifically the analysis of meanings in advertisements. Beasley and Danesi describe the goal of semiotics in the study of advertising is to unmask the arrays of hidden meanings in the underlying level" (2002). Iain McRury defines semiotics as "the attempt to offer insights not just to what ads mean, but proposing how they mean" (2009).
Umberto Eco (1976) views semiotics as a science in the traditional sense of the word for five reasons:
it has an autonomous discipline
it has a set of standardised methodological tools
it has the capability of producing hypotheses
it affords the possibility of making predictions
its findings may lead to the modification of the actual state of the objective world.
In advertising, semiotics allow advertisers to identify the target market - it mostly plays on common references and cultural knowledge etc.
Let's take a look at the latest advert from Flash celebrating their fifty years:
I shall start by first saying why this blog exists. Part of my course requires me to keep a blog and post topics surrounding Advertising Strategy. The influx of posts just now should probably be explained too - this is the third blog I have now set up. I was required to keep a blog in the first year and then moved those posts onto my every-day regular blog and now, to make life a little easier I have created AdStratUndergrad so all my marketing posts can be in one place. Any created in the first year are labelled with "year one" and any created this year will just have your regular, normal and relevant labels. I didn't think it worth deleting them. It shows how far my knowledge has grown and people of the internet still look at them from time-to-time. So these posts have been created over the past five or so months but now would make it seem I can type at lightening fast speed which, by the way, is a perception I am more than happy to have. Enjoy!
Are business cards a thing of the past? I'd like to think not. What with social media sites such as LinkedIn, there really is no need to print and distribute business cards surely? I think there is still a place for physical business cards and they're perfect for those random opportunities where you just happen to meet someone in a pub or sandwich place. Have you ever tried searching your name on LinkedIn and seeing how many other people share the same name? Or perhaps like me you have a name commonly misspelled - things like this mean you miss out on potential contacts and potential opportunities in terms of internships and jobs. My blog, thankfully, is starting to pick up and get a lot of digital footfall and I'd like for it to have more so putting your blog domain on a business card is a good way of getting it out there. If you talk to someone about it, chances are they'll
This is going to be a more topical post based around the three companies which have gone into administration literally just over two weeks into the new year. Now, I studied economics for a year but am by no means an expert in this field however I do have a passion for marketing, business and of course, shopping so I like to know about these sorts of things and have, unfortunately, been on the wrong end of the stick when it comes to companies going bust. So if you're in the UK you'll have seen that Jessops, HMV and now Blockbuster have all had to call it a day (although, I believe HMV and perhaps Blockbuster are still waiting for a last minute white knight) all basically within the same week. This is not a good start to the year as thousands lose their jobs and it's certainly not a good feeling when it comes to looking at the UK's economy. As I was laying in bed the other night I got to thinking about the future of the High Street. I certainly don't buy movies, CDs, cameras and pretty much any electronics in-store preferring to hunt for better deals online and with shoppers becoming more savvy and the introduction of smart phones it seems these retailers were doomed. Stores such as CEX and Cash Converters are my new favourite haunts for DVDs as you get a cut price deal for used discs with the safety of knowing they've been tested
Just like my Coca-Cola Christmas post a few posts ago, I am always astounded at the power of advertising in connection to Christmas. This time, it is all about John Lewis. As per every Christmas at this time of year there is a whole host of posts on Twitter and Facebook about the latest John Lewis Christmas advert!
This year, it definitely didn't disappoint in terms of emotions. I cried re-watching it for this particular post. Actual tears. Over a snowman. Having said that, all the John Lewis adverts recently have made me well up - the "Never Knowingly Undersold" advert has me crying and clutching onto my boyfriend every time I see it.
In case you're one of the few who haven't seen the new John Lewis Christmas campaign featuring the beautifully voiced Gabrielle Aplin as the singer I have posted the video below:
