Semiotic Analysis of Sunsilk Media Campaign for Covered Hair
This ad shows a beautiful woman in a colourful Hijab (a Muslim headscarf) next to a bottle of what seems to be shampoo with limes, water and a lotus flower surrounding it. There is a paragraph in Arabic with the only English words being “Lively Clean and Fresh”. After some investigation I discovered that this ad was part of a campaign for “Covered Hair” by the Western Hair Care Company Sunsilk in Pakistan. It was aimed at young girls and women who cover their hair as part of religion, but are still aiming to be modern, fashionable, contemporary and elegant at the same time.
The advertiser has extensively utilised the colour green, with it being featured in the back ground, on the shampoo bottle and in various shades on the hijab of the woman. The use of the colour green symbolises nature which is reflected in the use of the fruit, flowers and water surrounding the shampoo bottle. It is also reflected in the English words “Lively Clean and Fresh”. This advert uses Ferdinand de Saussure’s concept that ‘a sign consisted of a signifier and a signified’. (Fiske, 1990, p. 44). In this instance the colour green is the signifier and nature is the signified. The ad wants to express that this shampoo will keep your hair as clean and fresh as nature is. The use of these symbols also appeal to the Muslim consumer’s attraction towards natural products as the limes surrounding the bottle are presumed to be within the product recipe. The colour green is also a symbol. A symbol is said to have a ‘connection or resemblance between sign and object: a symbol communicates only because people agree that it shall stand for what it does’ (Fiske, 1990, p. 46). Throughout the world the colour green has been used to signify nature. Many companies have used the colour green on their products in order to emphasise that these products are natural and are not full of chemicals or other man-made things because they know that green is universally known to symbolise nature. Sunsilk has done the
The advertiser has extensively utilised the colour green, with it being featured in the back ground, on the shampoo bottle and in various shades on the hijab of the woman. The use of the colour green symbolises nature which is reflected in the use of the fruit, flowers and water surrounding the shampoo bottle. It is also reflected in the English words “Lively Clean and Fresh”. This advert uses Ferdinand de Saussure’s concept that ‘a sign consisted of a signifier and a signified’. (Fiske, 1990, p. 44). In this instance the colour green is the signifier and nature is the signified. The ad wants to express that this shampoo will keep your hair as clean and fresh as nature is. The use of these symbols also appeal to the Muslim consumer’s attraction towards natural products as the limes surrounding the bottle are presumed to be within the product recipe. The colour green is also a symbol. A symbol is said to have a ‘connection or resemblance between sign and object: a symbol communicates only because people agree that it shall stand for what it does’ (Fiske, 1990, p. 46). Throughout the world the colour green has been used to signify nature. Many companies have used the colour green on their products in order to emphasise that these products are natural and are not full of chemicals or other man-made things because they know that green is universally known to symbolise nature. Sunsilk has done the
Bibliography: Fiske, J., 1990. Introduction to Communication Studies. London, New York: Routledge.