Historically, communication has been a vital process in human existent. The mode of communication depends entirely on the environment and the circumstances around an individual. The use of images to communicate a message to people has been classified as one of the effective modes of communication. However, the meaning of an image depends on the ability of an individual to interpret the image and deduce a constructive meaning from it. Nowadays, images are used in almost every advert that we come across. This is evident from all sectors of life ranging from business, health, sports, education, entertainment, religion and so on. Semiotic interpretation of images can be described as the process of getting the visual meaning of an image. The effect an image has on an individual lies on its ability to impose a reaction. This reaction results from the connotations that are entrenched in the image. When figuring out the hidden meaning of an image, it is important to conduct sophisticated image analysis. Current marketing strategies focus on advertisement as an important aspect of improving sales. The most captivating images are used to capture the attention of potential customers.
The effectiveness of an advertisement solely likes on the ideas and emotions that it provokes in the minds of the intended audience. A good advertisement should carry a strong visual appeal and subsequently evoke meaning to the intended audience. For an advert to be effective in delivering the intended message, it must incorporate attention-grabbing attributes. Attention grabbing could be achieved with attractive colors or other artistry characteristics of an image such as iconography, symmetry or texture. In the creation of images intended for the purpose of advertisements, creativity is a central aspect. Creativity gives the image a denotative meaning and consequently a strong connotative meaning. However, the creativity of the image is rooted in its ability to give a connotative meaning that satisfies its intended purpose.
The purpose if this paper is to conduct a semiotic interpretation of a dinosaur leg. Dinosaurs are said to have existed in the Stone Age era. They became extinct thousands of years ago. The image under analysis is a preserved fresh dinosaur leg. The connotative meaning will focus on the technology used to preserve the leg and the symbolic and interpellations derived from the image. The paper will also decode the denotative meaning of the image in relation to its' surrounding.
Symbolism/iconography
The image symbolizes the technology that is behind the preservation of a Stone Age creature like a dinosaur. Through this technology, the buyer can be able to preserve the meat for a very long time just as the dinosaur meat. Therefore, this image serves the iconographic and advertisement purpose of refrigeration technology. The image serves to tell its intended audience that the freezer or refrigerating technology is very efficient and reliable, that it can preserve meat for a very long time.
Image signifiers
Image signifiers play the role of building clues about what the deeper meaning of the image could be. As earlier mentioned, the image is placed near the kitchen sink, and besides, a knife and onions serve to signify that the dinosaur leg is meant for human consumption. These signifiers bring out the denotative meaning. However, other signifiers serve the purpose of arriving at the connotative meaning of the image. There is no doubt that there are no dinosaurs on earth .So, how can we use dinosaur leg as a meal in the contemporary society? It is only through a very powerful preservation technology. The fact that we can preserve meat for a very long time gives the viewer the second clue to the connotative meaning. Therefore, in this manner, this idea forms the second signifier.
Creating relevance in an advert
For an advert to be relevant, it must possess attributes that principally appeal to the target audience. To create a relevant advert, the advertiser must research on the culture and trends of the intended audience. An advert may communicate effectively in one society, it may prove tricky to understand in another context/ society, or may even be offensive to the audience. The advertiser utilizes skills and strategies that aim at drawing the attention of the audience, after which meaning derives from the image. The inclusion of claws on the dinosaur steak on display draws the attention of the audience. The peculiarity of a steak wrapped and ready for consumption attracts the immediate attention of the audience. This strategy in drawing attention is stadium.
The advertiser must include triggers that stimulate the audience to draw deeper meaning from the image in the advertisement once they capture the audience attention. The meaning drawn from the image at first instance is that the leg is ready for consumption way through its packaging, through the placing of onions, the ladle and other spices. The meaning that the viewer should draw from the image is why the advertiser should want people to consume a seeming non-common steak. The implied message might be that; they are comprehensive in their offerings, and as such, it would be rare for a consumer top lack what they seek in their store. Further, it might mean that the preservation of the steak is good to the extent that a dinosaur leg is consumable long after the dinosaur went extinct. The, meaning, or the interpellation must be presented to an audience that is conversant with the fact that the dinosaur is extinct for it to imply the latter meaning. It is important, therefore, that the society in this case is educated to draw meaning from the advert.
The use of written posters on the image implies that the image targeted a literate audience. The presentation of this image to another audience, therefore, would not create more levels of significance in comparison to a literate audience. An advertiser, therefore, creates as many levels of interpretation as possible for different audiences. The image in this image has varying levels of interpretation, if a person does not read the label; they have a fair chance at deducing the implied meaning by choice of the image.
