Semiotic Meanings in Cigarette Advertisement Texts

The objectives of this study are to investigate the
semiotic meanings applied in cigarette advertisement, to analyze how the meanings are coded verbally and non-verbally, and to reason why it is used in the ways they are. This study was conducted by using qualitative design. The data for the study were clauses and phrases drawn from selected billboard
advertisement of cigarettes in Medan. The verbal data analyzed
with linguistic devices and textual analysis of Leech theory and visual grammar of Kress and Van Leeuwen, as theoretical
framework. The results showed that (1) cigarette advertisements
do not express explicitly their intention to suggest people to smoke
either verbally on non-verbally due to government policy, but it
representing relation between the verbal and non-verbal
expression byelaborating, manipulating and exaggerating. (2) the use of declarative sentence/phrase in the cigarette advertisement are used to manipulate potential buyer/smoker by conveying information or suggestion to the smoker about the quality of the product or the profit it may bring whether it is true or not. The meanings of cigarette advertisement are also coded by using brief persuasive words with their own unique means, while the visual resources as color, pictures, symbols and icons, gaze and posture show the sense of wonderful taste of life, togetherness, enjoyment, creativity, and courage, (3) In the whole, the study emphasizes the vitality of visual and linguistic elements as important communication devices in advertising especially in cigarette advertisement which forbids to demonstrate, use, and/or display the form or forms of smoking or other designations and forbid to include the name of the product in question is smoking.