The Swiss linguist "Saussure developed the original formal theory of the hidden, absent elements of language" (Lemert: 1993: 22) Saussure deluded that the relationship between an object we see and the language or word we associate with that object are arbitrary, the concept of signs was therefore created. Taking a banal example of a chair, the physical chair (signified), Saussure argued has no actual link to the word chair (signifier) that we connect it with but together they create a sign that is culturally recognized. "Both terms in the linguist sign are psychological and are united in the brain by an associative bond" (Bally & Sechehaye cited in ibid: 160).This brings us to the study of semiotics. Roland Barthes takes the notion further by applying that idea of denotation to the sign (signified + signifier = sign), and from the denotation looks at the connotations that we culturally relate to it. This essay will use a close analysis of a perfume advertisement (still image) to look at the denotations and connotations in order to find out the "myth", as Fiske, reflecting on Barthes, explains "A myth is a story by which culture explains or understands some aspect of reality or nature". The analysis of the advertisement for the fragrance "Night" by Armani sets out to demonstrate how the concept of "myth" shows that "meaning is never "innocent" but has some particular purpose or interest lying behind it which semiotics can uncover" (Strinati:1995:109).
The two page spread for Emporio Armani's "TWO NEW FRAGRANCES, FOR HIM, FOR HER" was featured in a recent edition of New Woman magazine. In order to discuss the myth and meaning of the advertisement a detailed analysis is required. The image is simply of a man and a woman on a flight of stairs. The denotations of the image however include that the man is dressed in a black suit with no shirt baring his chest, his hair is dishevelled, and the woman is in a red dress.
