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The Subtle Use of Connotation and Symbolism

in the Advertising of True Match by L'Oral

Conference Paper November 2014

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3453.4008

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 The Subtle Use of Connotation and Symbolism in the Advertising of True Match by LOral

Putu Chris Susanto

Dhyana Pura University

This article examines the use of verbal connotation and visual symbolism in the televised
advertising campaign of True Match by LOral (2013). It analyzes a series of three 30-second
commercials of the same product using two qualitative approaches: Barthes connotation and
Pierces symbolism. There are six dimensions in the analysis: the brand, the slogan, the
narrative, the icons, the setting, and the product itself. Exploring connotative meanings as put
forth by Barthes (1973), the study finds the use of connotation in the personification of the
brand, which has connotative meaning relating to the search for a perfect fit, and in the slogan
and narrative suggesting that womens self-worth is a form of empowerment. Meanwhile, the
use of symbolism as suggested by Pierce (1958) can be found in the icons, setting, and product
depicted in the ad campaingn, all of which point to the representation of diversity in a beauty
product that understands the complexities of womens skin and the quest to find the best
possible match in order to celebrate individual uniqueness rather than mask or hide it.

Keywords: advertising, advertising appeal, connotation, symbolism

As means and methods of communication has evolved over time, so has our way of
conveying messages. From exclusive use of oral transmission, humans progressed to using
pictographic language, then written language, and most recently audio-visual language to
convey meaning. In todays age of mass communication, watching and listening is gaining
prominence over the conventional written culture (Parsa, 2004).
The old clich a picture is worth a thousand words emphasizes the importance of
visual communication. Ironically pictures are more impactful when they are in motion, some
form of lexical and auditory elements are included. This is true in the world of audio-visual
advertising (AV adverts), most prominently on television. This study is one of numerous studies
that explore the use of visual and verbal advertising cues in conveying meaning to audience.
Advertisements use selective language to communicate information, to persuade
audience to form a favorable opinion, as well as to elicit action that ultimately involves
purchase. Words are carefully chosen to reaffirm intended impression and to tie the images
created, all in the attempt to embed certain favorable ideas in the consumers minds given a
limited time allotment (Parsa, 2004). This necessitates creativity in the use of language
including symbolism and connotation, coupled with an effective use of imageries, to create a
meaningful and appealing advertising campaign. AV adverts can be constructed, and thus
deconstructed, using careful analysis of semiotics or the study of signs and their significance.

Semiotic Approach in Advertising

Advertisements exist in a fictitious world with certain codes and narrative forms, but the
meaning is acquired through audiences associations with the real world (Parsa, 2004). These
associations can be established and analyzed using semiotics. Championed by European linguist
Ferdinand de Saussure (1974) and American philosopher C.S. Pierce (1958), semiotics is the
study of sign as the basic building blocks of communication in which language, pictures,
performance, and other forms of expression are used to convey meaning (Delate, 2011).
 The earliest development of semiotics as a field of study saw a divergence between the
European and American schools. Saussure, the European initiator of the phenomenological
interpretation of reality, suggested that there is a dialectical relationship between a signifier and
a signified (in Oswald and Mick, 2006). Signs do not operate in isolation, but rather they create
meanings within context. For example, the signifier G-R-E-E-N is conventionally understood
in the English language to represent the signified as a color that exists between blue and yellow
color spectrums. The same relationship is not true in other languages. Therefore the relationship
between signifier and signified is arbitrary and based on language-specific conventions.
Meanwhile, the American pragmatic Pierce developed a triadic model of signification
involving the representamen (the sign that represents something other than itself), the object
(the construct represented by the sign), and the interpretant (the response or effect in the mind
of user) (Oswald and Mick, 2006). Pierce further identified three modes of relationship, each
distinguishable but not mutually exclusive from one another. First, the sign-object relationship
is iconic when the sign has likeness to the object represented and the resemblance is
acknowledged by its receivers. For example, green is an icon for recycling. Second, an indexical
sign draws attention to the object to which it refers in a sequential or causal relationship. For
example, green in the traffic light signifies that traffic from that direction may pass during the
limited time period indexed by the green light. Third, the sign-object relationship is symbolic
when sign has no obvious connection to the idea it represents except through cultural
convention, which means that the relationship is arbitrary and must be learned. For example,
green is symbolic of eroticism in Persian culture (Daughtry, 1997).
From the two earliest semiotic approaches, Roland Barthes semiotic theory emerged.
Barthes applied Saussures notions of signification to visual analysis by distinguishing
denotation and connotation (in Burrows, 2013). For example, denotatively green is the color
that naturally exists in leaves of plants with chlorophyll. Connotatively, green is associated
with youth or inexperience. Thus, connotative meanings are symbolic and context dependent.

Semiotic Analysis of Audio Visual Advertising

This study is descriptive in nature, analyzing the content of three specific AV adverts in
the form of television ads, all of which are part of the True Match cosmetics campaign by
LOral with the use of Barthes connotation and Pierces symbolism approaches. It is important
to note the visual and verbal appeals of the advertisements. Advertising appeal is the creative
process to introduce a product or brand to its target audience and to shape the perception of
potential consumers (Shayekina and Tleuberdinov, 2012). The appeal could take various forms
such as logic, emotion, sex, humor and fear. This research aims to analyze and deconstruct the
roles that connotation and symbolism play in creating advertising appeal, within the lexical and
visual realms of AV adverts using LOral as the object of study.

Analysis of Connotation and Symbolism in True Match by LOral

All three True Match commercials are similarly constructed, each separated into three
segments: the first 10 seconds is a testimonial endorsement by a celebrity face of LOral,
the next 15 seconds is a description of the product, and the last 5 seconds is reaffirmation of the
brand. The setting of each ad is also very similar, using subtle colors and soft tonal voice, with a
stern but restrained male narrator for a 15-second product description. The analysis can be
divided into two segments: firstly the analysis of connotation in the lexical realm (consisting of
the brand name, the slogan, and the narratives) and, the secondly the analysis of symbolism in
the visual realm (consisting of the icons, the setting, and the product itself).
Brand Name. The first appeal of the ad campaign is the brand name True Match,
which is intentionally used because of its connotation relating to the search for a perfect soul
mate. LOral took the connotation a bit further, suggesting that true match occurs when
women find closest associative similarity between their skin tones and one of the shades that
LOral True Match offers.
Slogan. A take on LOral classic female empowerment campaign that has been around
since 1971, Because Im Worth It, is mentioned at the end of each True Match ad. However,
the slogan is altered into And Im Worth It. The spirit of this brand line is similar, with the
connotation that beauty is about self-esteem and not superficial (Passariello and Colchester,
2011). However, changing the conjunction from subordinate because to coordinating and
shifts the relationship between the brand and its target audience. The appeal here is the assured
sense of self-worth. Implied in the True Match ads, womens self-esteem and their connection
with the brand should exist in parallel instead of one subordinating the other. As each celebrity
face claims, Theres only one True Match for me, and Im worth it. Womens true match
exists not in the form of male figures but in a line of cosmetic products from LOral.
Narratives. There are two distinct narratives in the three commercials. First is a 15-
second description of the product by a male narrator that is exactly the same for each
commercial, and second is three different 10-second endorsement narratives by three different
celebrities. In, the descriptive narration, the term mosaic of tones and undertones is used not to
signify its denotative meaning, which refers to a pattern produced by arranging together small
pieces, but rather its connotative meaning of complexities of tones that exists within ones skin.
Next, the term multidimensional is not used in its denotative meaning of involving several
dimensions or aspects, but rather in the connotative context of diversified lightness or darkness
of womens skin tones. Additionally, the Lastly, to capture your skins unique undertones
does not mean that LOral wants to take womens skin color into their control, as the
denotative meaning would suggest, but rather in the connotative sense to acquire and proudly
show the subdued or muted skin tone for each woman and therefore indicating self-esteem.
The second narrative is by each celebrity face, each slightly different but all capture
the same essence. The opener for each advert reads, I knew immediately that Id found the
one, Sometimes you wonder if youre ever gonna find the one, and From your very first
touch, I knew. These lines could be seen from a different context as sexual innuendos,
depending on who is the object. This ad campaign uses subtle sexual appeal to personify
LOrals cosmetics brand as the object, as the true match for these three women. The subdued
use of connotative sexual appeal does not stop there. Next comes the bold claims which read
respectively, You are my one true match, I found my one true match, and Id finally found
my one true match. The wording for each ad is slightly different but the personified appeal and
the idea of discovering True Match, using subtle and non-evasive sexual appeal, is similar.
Icons. There are three celebrity icons in the True Match campaign, all of whom are
American but each representing a distinct demographics. Aimee Mullins (born in 1976) is a
track-and-field athlete, fashion model, and actress. She is also an amputee with prosthetic legs,
having born with a fibular deficiency. She is Caucasian. Byonce Knowles is an award winning
singer and actress. Born in 1981, she is African American. Jennifer Lopez is a best-selling
singe, dancer, actress, and producer. Born in 1969, she is Hispanic. The common denominator
for the three women are their fame and renowned talents. Demographically, they represent
different ethnicities and skin color, thus symbolizing diversity in True Matchs target market.
This is not immediately apparent when the ads are seen individually, yet seen as one unified
campaign it is clear that LOral is channeling diversity. The celebrity icons are also in their 30s
and 40s, representing the age segment that the ad campaign targets. They are also symbols of
work/life balance, drawing similarity to the market segment of True Match.
Setting. Staging and setting matter a great deal in commercials. It is important to
establish attraction and interest in order to create desire and encourage action. In the True Match
ad campaign, the setting is subdued with grey tones and nothing but a screen on the background.
The use of grey is a subtle symbolism of the age group targeted by this brand. Grey is also
linked with the connotative meaning of calm and maturity. The neutral background with a
varying shades of grey allows each icons skin tone to be the highlight, again symbolizing
diversity. Clothing worn by each icon is also monotone, without any jewelry or any other
accessories, to focus the audiences attention to each icons face. The icon in each commercial
is also seen sitting down, each touching her skin or hair while narrating the 10-second
endorsement. The staging of sitting down makes it as if the icons are having a heart-to-heart
conversation with the audience. Subtle sexual appeal is used to testify to the audience that if the
three icons could find their true match in True Match, they too can do the same.
Product. The product shown in the commercials represent a range of brown shades,
from light tan to dark brown. This is parallel to the use of the three icons as brand
representatives and the use of varying shades of grey background. It indicates the understanding
that womens skin tones are diverse complex, and that there not a one-size-fits-all solution. That
is why True Match offers 33 shades from which women could choose. The commercial shows
the range of products to best match varying skin tones, going from light to dark and from warm
to cool. The symbolic theme is reoccurring here, representing diversity of colors and variability
of choice to best suit the target market.

Conclusion
It can be concluded that LOral succeeded in capturing the essence of complexity and
diversity in womens skin tones, creating a product that provides a wide range of shades to
match the tones and undertones (i.e. True Match), and conveying it with an advertising message
that contains subtle use of connotation and symbolism. In this article, three AV adverts from a
unified campaign are analyzed using the concept of connotation by Barthes (1973) and
symbolism by Pierce (1958). From the analysis, the use of connotation can be found in the
personification of the brand has the connotation of the search for a soul mate and the discovery
of the closest resemblance, and in the slogan and narrative suggesting that womens sense of
worth is not a construct of men but rather stems from self-esteem and empowerment. The use of
symbolism can be found in the icons, setting, and product depicted in the commercials, all of
which point to the representation of diversity in a beauty product that understands the
complexities of womens skin and the quest to find the best possible match in order to celebrate
individual uniqueness rather than mask or hide it.

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