Analysis Of The Katy Perry Perfume 'Killer Queen'

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Advertising draws both from non-linguistic elements and linguistic cues designed to communicate a desired message to a targeted audience. Communication transpires through decoding and encoding levels of messages from the sender to the receiver via a particular medium. The overall connotative meaning of the message perceived, potentially impacts from one’s cultural perspective. This essay examines the advertisement of the Katy Perry perfume ‘Killer Queen’ in terms of a semiotic analysis. The advert itself is a conglomeration of symbolic signs, indexical signs, connotations, denotations, paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations combined. The implementation of Ferdinand de Saussure view on signs and his approach of signifier and signified assisted …show more content…

Red lipstick, a gold sceptre, a toppled gold and red throne, gold mirrors and gold interior wall and door trimmings. The iconic crooked crown on Katy’s head, an unworn red crown on the floor, diamond shaped perfume bottle, the symbolic linguistic verbal sign ‘Killer Queen’ and the syntagm ‘Own the Throne’ which signify richness, success and royalty. As explained by Mohan (1997), secondary layers of signified evoked emotions and hence, this advert suggests that wealth and royalty are virtuous. Furthermore, the connotation of the advert linked back to the sales pitch of the perfume that if you buy and wear the scent ‘Killer Queen’, you too could have a lavish and honourable lifestyle. This, in turn, underpins the ‘wealth is desirable’ ideology being depicted throughout this …show more content…

The signs employed within the ad and the connection between signifiers and the signified were subjective and based on cultural representations. The denotative and connotative meanings that a message represents along with ‘doctrine of sign’s’ known as iconic, indexical and symbolic dimensions engaged by the advertiser to send ideology and mythical messages within the Katy Perry ad, such as wealth, authority and beauty are desirable and this can be attained if you buy this perfume. On a border and more thought provoking ideological level, the ad could perhaps interpret the message of freedom, prosperity and justice that women have culturally fought for throughout history. The basis of the selling pitch of the advert is sex, beauty and wealth. A contradiction perhaps, is an alternate meaning with the syntagm “Own the Throne’ intentionally placed underneath her genital area with Katy’s legs crossed. This may signify a deeper meaning that she is truly the one that ‘owns’ her sexuality not the advertiser. It is crucial advertiser’s understand that accomplishment of linguistic and non-linguistic communication is a result of the integrated system of cultural norms that allows potential buyers, to organise their world and give collective representations. In order to permit the reader to receive and successfully decode the

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