University Semiotic Analysis: Colgate Toothpaste Advertisement

This report presents a semiotic analysis of a Colgate toothpaste advertisement, examining how the advertisement utilizes language, images, and signs to convey specific meanings and influence consumer behavior. The analysis delves into the advertisement's structure, including the use of visual metonymy, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships, and the role of the gaze in attracting viewers. It explores how the advertisement includes and excludes identities, promotes certain sociocultural practices, and reinforces consumerism. The report discusses the denotations and connotations embedded within the advertisement, how the text can be interpreted by consumers, and the ways in which the advertisement aims to associate the product with positive values such as family and oral hygiene. The analysis highlights the advertisement's effectiveness in creating a connection with the audience and promoting Colgate as an essential part of daily life, ultimately aiming to drive consumerism by appealing to both rational and emotional aspects of the viewer.

Running Head: ENGLISH 1
Semiotic analysis
Name of student
Name of University

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Introduction
Language plays a multidimensional role in communication, and written, oral, and visual
texts are used within the scope of language essential to convey certain meanings and messages.
The semiotic analysis encompasses the interpretation of those written, oral, and visual messages
within the fields of language and communication. The paper makes a Semiotic analysis of an
advertisement of Colgate toothpaste.
The signs and sign systems at work in the text
Advertisements are the semiotic texts and forms that are designed and structured to
influence the consumer society and their consumption patterns. The given advertisement is in
black and white, and the prime motive is to create a positive image of Colgate toothpaste and
how it can help maintain good oral hygiene. The title of the ad is in bold font, followed by an
image of a mother and son with perfect smiles and buys with the routine of brushing teeth in the
bathroom. Just below the image is a woman conveying the message of how every family should
use Colgate in a speech bubble. Below her image is brief information about Colgate in two or
three paragraphs, followed by a clear graphic of Colgate toothpaste in its package and as dental
cream. There is a brief line on Colgate in all caps font saying- Cleans your breath while it cleans
your teeth. The advertisement uses simple words and language and cle3ar graphics that are easy
to understand.
Images and text communicate meaning on their own but become more effective with the
syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationship between them. The use of Syntagms is evident in the
given advertisement in the use of words and sentences that are put together to create meaning
with the help of syntagmatic relationships. The image delivers a narrative to a viewer

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successfully and creates meaning. The bold font and its size connote the importance of it and the
significance of using Colgate.
Visual metonymy is used in the advertisement to add to the visual meaning, and the
metonymic sources of a family bond are used to impact metonymic targets such as the society
under a specific perspective. Metonymies are used to attract the reader’s attention and highlight
the message with facial expressions of the characters and to create attitudinal meanings. The
viewer will infer the participant’s attributes based on the features, actions, and social identity of
the participant in the ad. In the current ad, the viewer gets the message that a family who brushes
teeth regularly and uses Colgate enjoys good oral hygiene as well as strong emotional bonds.
The image and signs in the ad function at two levels, the level of denotation and the level
of connotation. The aim behind is to make the commodity or the product a part of the dominant
culture with certain social associations and connotations. Connotations and denotations prove to
be useful tools here as they are designed to generate culturally-significant meaning and target its
audience. The viewer can derive the literal meaning graphic and text of the ad as well as
culturally specific meanings. Hence, the consumption of the toothpaste would be socially agreed
upon and culturally consensual. Here the sign meets the emotions of the viewer who is likely to
embed the practice of using Colgate in his culture.The use of the iconic image of Colgate offers a
literal visual representation and can easily reach a broad audience across many cultures. The
Colgate image is used prominently in the ad and arrests the attention of the viewer.
Commutation test to test the paradigmatic value
The commutation test of the given ad to make a paradigmatic analysis shows that the use
of the image of a woman and a child is done with a purpose. The Colgate advertisement has used

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the images to create an impression of a loving family. The mother and son carry bright smiles,
and one reason for s happiness sin their life is Colgate. If the ad carried the image of a father
instead of a mother, the ad would still be meaningful but may not create that strong a connection.
The general masses still carry the idea of heaping the familial responsibilities on the woman, and
it is her responsibility to look after the children.
Paradigmatic transformations in the ad are possible, but the ad would stand to lose its
meaning and impact. The ad could use the image of a father and daughter but is the assembly of
mother and son that suggests the idea of a whole and loving family. Those who created this
image knew it was essential to target the masses and strike on the cord of happy and positive
relationships. This is why they have used the best possible combination of images to create a
strong paradigmatic value. The use of the image of a woman with a loving expression deals with
the cultural practices and would draw the attention of all mothers to their responsibilities of
keeping the oral hygiene of their child in good condition. The image of the child would draw the
attention of all children who would lean that why it is essential to brush their teeth with
toothpaste.
How the gaze operates
Advertisements are designed to draw attention, and the use of human faces is a common
way to develop a social affinity with the viewers. In the current Colgate ad, it is the smiling faces
of a mother and child that compel the viewer to see and read the ad. They get drawn toward the
image at first because of the facial expressions. It is the gaze of featured faces that carry the
ability to direct the attention of the consumers towards other specific elements of the
advertisement. A certain gaze in an advertisement can trigger consumers’ attention that they
might otherwise ignore.

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The consumers are likely to take more interest in the product as they can connect with the
gaze in the advertisement with a human face. They want to have a happy family like they see in
the ad and feel motivated to buy the product. It is easy to see here as to how gaze direction
influences the views and subsequent product evaluations and purchasing behaviors. The white
sparkling teeth and beaming smiles of mother and son busy with the daily task of brushing the
teeth compel the viewer to desire the product. Humans expressions and gaze work as signs to
create outward expression and connect with the culturally available resources that are shaped by
social practices. In the given image, the viewers are invited to embrace family orientated roles as
well as products that add to the quality of their life. Such a graphic carries a social appeal that
promises involvement, acceptance, and approval by society.
How the text includes and excludes identities and meanings
The dominant sociocultural practices within society create class consciousness and
consumerism, along with certain myths and ideologies. These identities and meanings get
naturalized in society and communicated as common practices. This ad projects a typical family
where the mother takes care of her children and creates a happy family, which is the ideal of any
society. It is not just the concept of the product that is advertised in the image but also the
concept of happy relations within a family that gets imposed on the minds of readers. The family
shown here is an inclusive one that could be any mother and son who are busy with the task of
brushing the teeth, which promotes the concept of healthy oral hygiene.
The identity of the product gets linked to certain sociocultural value and differentiate a
particular product. The ad goes to a higher level of social/cultural identity and insists on self-
identity and a differentiator sign. The ideological facts in the ad are hidden behind the linguistic
and non-linguistic signs. Stereotyping spreads intentionally in modern society, and the image of

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a woman in the ad reinforces the idea that the sole responsibility of the wellbeing of children lies
with the mother. Still, every family would want to see happy and satisfied smiles of their
members. The ad conveys that oral hygiene can get compromised if Colgate toothpaste is not
used to fight tooth decay. Thus, the images persuade the viewers to be consumers.
How the text can be read
When one examines the text of the advertisement, it is easy to see how the readers can
interpret the ideology directly, and decode it easily. The consumer is placed within a direct point
of observation and feels motivated to reproduce the intended meaning, which is that of a happy
family and the significance of good oral hygiene. They can identify with the dominant cultural
beliefs represented in the text that appear as common sense and without any deviance from
dominant norms.
The woman and child in the advertisement identify the association between the product
and societal codes. The woman is smiling and looks lovingly at her son, who is happy as he
squeezes the Colgate tube to put the paste on his toothbrush. The image suggests that this is a
happy family that shares strong, loving bonds, and their oral hygiene is in good health because of
the Colgate. The ad goes with the dominant belief of a mother looking after her child’s wellbeing
and the importance of keeping good oral health.
The favored linguistic expression in the toothpaste advertisement not only finds favor
with the targeted audience but also develops consumerism in modern societies. The dominant
and popular culture encourages investment in commodities. The advertisement persuades its
receivers to change their toothpaste and within their dominating cultural values and beliefs. The

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narrative around the product in the ad unfolds the dominant mood and triggers an appeal that is
both rational and emotional. It follows the dominant ideological codes of society.