This thesis deals with the depiction of death in the Sandman comic books written by Neil Gaiman. It aims to explore the forms of death that the author presents in his comics through pictorial and textual codes. The work begins with a reflection on the phenomenon of death and how this phenomenon and its depiction stand in time and in current perception. The theory of visual semiotics is used for research, especially the findings of Ch. S. Peirce and the theory of multimodality, which is described in the theoretical part. The focus is then shifted to the comics itself and towards the characteristics of individual elements of visual language applicable for describing comic images, such as color, perspective, panel size, framing, etc. The analysis of images is preceded by research depicting death from the perspective of western culture in its historical context. In the description of the images, the essential features of the individual modes are determined and their meanings are interpreted. The conclusion is summarizing author's findings and try to confirm the initial thought presented at the beginning of the work: that Gaiman perceived the character of Death very differently than is usual in contemporary commercial images.

This thesis aims to provide analysis of chain emails during the second direct presidential election in the Czech Republic. The main goal of this work is to set out a semiotic analysis in order to provide detailed research of emails related to both candidates Miloš Zeman and Jiří Drahoš. The chain emails usually using a specific linguistic terms and persuasive procedures. Therefore, the attention will be paid mainly to linguistic and persuasive procedures which are identified. In order to examine the phenomenon the theoretical framework will be based on several key words and terms such as: chain emails, disinformation, hoax, semiotics, etc. Aforementioned, this work is aiming to provide a detailed overview of chain mails. In order to address the topic, I will approach the political background within the media context to present solid foundational analysis, which will conduct disinformation topics.

The aim of this thesis is to define the growing use of health symbolism in the consumer goods industry. Powerful group of consumers, focused on the value of health and an active lifestyle, is the base for developing a long-term emerging market with portfolio of brands and products, which are building its image on the basis of health connotations. This "medicalization of consumption" takes place mainly at the level of signs with relevant references, according to which consumers are oriented at different levels of awareness of that fact. On the example of semiotic analysis of Activia brand we would point out how could each sign build a product, permanently associated with required values.

Studien ”Nu stannar vi på marken” ämnar analysera hur företaget SJ konstruerar sin hållbarhetskommunikation och om greenwashing-fenomenet ses i deras reklam och iså fall i vilken grad. Greenwashing anges när ett företag sprider vilseledande information för att få företaget att framstå mer hållbara än vad de egentligen är, för att locka konsumenter. Företag har ett ansvar att inte bara presentera en miljömässigt ansvarsfull bild, utan även agera i praktiken. SJ har vunnit pris för att vara ett av Sveriges grönaste varumärken, men samtidigt blivit fällda för att visa sig grönare än de verkligen är. Studien har utifrån teorierna semiotik, greenwashing, reklamteori och bildretorik via en kvalitativ semiotisk analys besvarat studiens syfte. Resultatet påvisar att SJ skräddarsyr sin hållbarhetskommunikation utifrån känslor som ska locka och framkalla relationer och gemenskaper, snarare än att de lyfter sin tjänst utifrån problem och lösningar.  Konnotationerna visade en dominerande användning av naturbilder, igenkänningsfaktorer och ett sensoriskt budskap för att i syfte få mottagarna att känna. Genom SJ:s genomgående patosargument i deras kommunikation som bygger på en närhet och emotionell känsla, framstår reklamen i första anblick som hållbar i kontext till de nämnda konnotationerna. Etos påverkar det visuella materialet med hjälp av SJ:s starka position i transportbranschen och en välkänd logga. Textslogan “framtidens sätt att resa” representerar kommunikationens koncept och ett logosargument som stämmer överens med SJ:s arbete med hållbarhet. Dessa aspekter tyder på tendenser till greenwashing och den så kallade “green product advertising”. / The study ”Let’s stay on the ground” aims to analyse how the company SJ construct their sustainability communication and if the greenwashing phenomenon is seen in their advertising, and if so, to what extent. Greenwashing is stated when a company disseminates misleading information to make the company appear more sustainable than what they really are, to attract consumers. Companies have a responsibility not only to present an environmentally responsible image, but also to act in practice. SJ has won an award for being one of Sweden’s greenest brands, but at the same time has been condemned for appearing greener than they really are. The study is conducted through a qualitative semiotic analysis and a theoretical framework based on semiotics, greenwashing, advertising theory and image rhetoric. The results show that SJ adapts their sustainability communication based on emotions to attract and develop relationships and communities, rather than lifting their service based on problems and solutions. The connotations showed a dominant use of nature images, recognition factors and a sensory message. Through SJ’s strong and consistent pathos arguments in their communication, which are based on closeness and emotions, the advertising appears at first sight to be sustainable in the context to recently mentioned connotations. Ethos influences the visual material with the help of SJ’s strong position in the transport industry and through their well-known logo. The text slogan ” the future way for travelling” represents the concept of the communication and a logos argument that is in line with SJ’s work with sustainability. These aspects indicate tendencies towards greenwashing and the so-called ”green product advertising”.

This master thesis aims to contribute to the available literature on how place branding can be used for enhancing local identity and how this affects audience participation, in particular: engagement on social media. The case of two campaigns of the Swedish cooperative bank Länsförsäkringar are used to demonstrate the initial hypothesis: local identity and place branding use in campaigns as part of a corporate branding strategy increases followers’ engagement and participation on social media. To that end, essential theoretical concepts in order to understand the research approach and methods are explained in the following sections. For this thesis, the encoding/decoding theory by Stuart Hall is used as theoretical framework, along with some other key theoretical aspects such as identity theory, globalization and place branding.Two different campaigns of Länsförsäkringar are analysed following a mixed approach by carrying out a visual semiotic analysis of the materials (mainly photographies, posters or videos) with an autoethnographic and constructivist perspective, and a social media analysis by looking at the engagement that those campaigns generated on Länsförsäkringar’s social media. The findings show that the use of local identities and local place branding as a corporate branding strategy impacts positively on some types of social media engagement by appealing to the online community’s common origin, heritage and geography.

Hållbar utveckling har på senare år blivit allt mer omtalat och ett ämne som ses som en lösning på den rådande klimatkris som världen står inför. För att ämnet ska uppmärksammas i samhället krävs det att organisationer och beslutsfattare kommunicerar budskapet, dock saknas det tydliga definitioner för hur kommunikationen ska konstrueras. Syftet med denna studie är att, ur ett explorativt synsätt, undersöka vilka visuella och retoriska element som används av den ideella organisationen Svenska Turistföreningen för att konstruera hållbarhet samt hur elementen samspelar med varandra i konstruktionen. Samtidigt önskar studien bidra med ytterligare kunskap om relationen mellan ideella organisationer, hållbarhet, kommunikation och sociala medier.Studiens empiriska material består av fem Instagram-inlägg som analyseras genom en semiotisk bildanalys och en retorisk textanalys. Analysresultatet visade på att de objekt som var synliga i bilderna kontextualiserade bilden och förankrade budskapet. Resultatet visade också att appellformerna ethos och logos var delaktiga i den textuella kommunikationen medan pathos inte återfanns. Samspelet i konstruktionen av hållbarhet synliggjordes mellan de konnotationsbärande objekt som återfanns i bilden och appellformen ethos som återfanns i texten. / Sustainable development has in recent years increased and is a topic that is seen as a solution to the current climate crisis the world is facing. In order for the subject to be noticed in society, it is required that organizations communicate the message of the climate crisis. However, there are no clear definitions for how the communication should be constructed. The purpose of this study is to, from an exploratory point of view, examine the visual and rhetorical elements that are used by the Swedish non-profit organization Swedish Tourist Association to construct sustainability in communication and how the elements interact with each other in the construction. At the same time, the study contributes with further knowledge about the relationship between non-profit organizations, sustainability, communication and social media. The empirical material of the study consists of five Instagram posts that are analyzed through a semiotic image analysis and a rhetorical text analysis. The result showed that the objects that was visible in the images contextualized the image and anchored the message. The results also showed that the rhetoric elements ethos and logos were involved in the textual communication while pathos could not be found. The interplay in the construction of sustainability was visible between the connotation-bearing objects that was found in the images and rhetoric element ethos that was found in the text.

Denna studie är en visuell semiotisk analys av tre olika märken av tequila i tre olika länder och hur deras flaskor presenteras och representeras visuellt. Studien tittar på de mest sålda tequilaflaskorna i respektive land och genom det kanske man förstår vad det säger om det landet och deras förhållande till tequila men även Mexiko. Eftersom den mest sålda tequilan är José Cuervo i de utvalda länderna kommer denna studie att fokusera på de näst mest populära märkena. De näst mest populäraste märkena i utvalda länder är Cabrito blanco från Mexiko, Patrón från USA och Sierre tequila silver från Sverige. Det kan vara intressant för företag och andra designers att förstå de olika marknaderna och deras tequilakultur. Med den kunskapen kommer de att få en bättre insikt i hur de visuellt kan presentera sin egen tequila om det behövs. Studien visar att flaskorna med tequila representeras och presenteras olika baserat på marknadens kunskap om tequila. Mer specifikt visar det att en kultur med låg kunskap om tequila som Sverige, använder fler stereotyper av Mexiko och tequila. De höjs och överdrivs. I en kultur med högre kunskap som Mexiko å andra sidan, visar inte flaskan många tecken om Mexiko eller tequilan. Det visar också hur Sverige fortfarande har en kultur där tequila representerar fest, shots, citron och salt medan man i USA har flyttat mer bort från den kulturen och närmare den i Mexiko. Detta märks på flaskan med Patrón tequila som har en mer elegant stil men som fortfarande är uppenbar för en icke spansktalande konsument vad det är för produkt. / This study is a visual semiotic analysis of three different brands of tequila in three different countries and how their bottles are presented and represented visually. The study is looking at the most sold tequila bottles in each country and through that maybe understand what that says about that country and their relationship to tequila but also Mexico. Since the most sold tequila is José Cuervo in the chosen countries, this study will focus on the second most popular brands. The second most popular brands in selected countries are Cabrito blanco from Mexico, Patrón from the USA and Sierre tequila silver from Sweden. This might be interesting for companies and other designers to understand the different markets and their culture of tequila. With that knowledge they will get a better insight in how to visually present their own tequila if needed. The study shows that the bottles of tequila are represented and presented differently based on the market’s knowledge of tequila. More specifically, it shows that a culture with low knowledge of tequila like Sweden, uses more stereotypes of Mexico and tequila. They are heighten and exaugurated. In a culture with a higher knowledge like Mexico on the other hand, the bottle doesn’t give away a lot of signs about Mexico nor the tequila. It also shows how Sweden still has a culture where tequila represents party, shots, lemon and salt while in the USA they have moved more away from that culture and closer to the one in Mexico. This is noticeable on the bottle of Patrón tequila that has a more elegant style but still is obvious to a non Spanish speaking consumer what the product is.

[pt] O conceito de desenvolvimento é um fator chave que impulsiona diversos aspectos da vida em sociedade, inclusive os próprios processos de gestão. Conforme os estudos de Arturo Escobar, percebe-se que o desenvolvimento se tornou um discurso poderoso e envolvente. Essa lógica divide o mundo desde o século passado, classificando e hierarquizando os países com bases em parâmetros que foram estabelecidos por aqueles que já atingiram o almejado patamar de país desenvolvido, ignorando muitas vezes o contexto histórico de colonização que assombrou diversas nações. Tal é o caso do Brasil, que hoje carrega o título de país em desenvolvimento. Porém, ainda que essa seja uma realidade social, o campo da administração e do marketing pouco se debruçam para entender os impactos desses valores e dos resquícios coloniais. Diante disso, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar, a partir de uma ótica decolonial, de que maneira a propaganda empresarial contribui para a construção de uma imagem de desenvolvimento/subdesenvolvimento do Brasil. Para tal, foi feita uma análise com base na semiótica greimasiana de 71 imagens publicitárias de 5 campanhas globais da empresa Havaianas, com o intuito de entender os textos e as interações simbólicas transmitidas por essa marca. Por meio desta investigação, averiguou-se a exploração de elementos de uma brasilidade estereotipada, que resgata sempre os aspectos naturais e a noção do paraíso tropical como forma de sedução ao país, que permanece sendo representado com associações que reforçam o pouco desenvolvimento. / [en] The concept of development is a key factor that drives several aspects of life in society, including business processes. According to studies by Arturo Escobar, development became a powerful and engaging discourse. This logic divides the world since the last century, classifying and ranking countries based on parameters that were generated by those who have already reached the desired level of developed country, often ignoring the context of colonization that haunted several nations. Such is the case of Brazil, which today bears the title of the developing country. However, even though this is a social reality, the field of administration and marketing do not focus very much on understanding the impacts of these values and colonial remains. the present work aims to analyze, from a decolonial perspective, how business advertising contributes to the construction of an image of development / underdevelopment in Brazil. To this end, an analysis was made based on the Greimasian semiotics of 71 advertising images from 5 global campaigns of the Havaianas brand, in order to understand the texts and symbolic interactions transmitted by this brand. Through this investigation, it was verified the exploration of elements of a stereotyped Brazilianness, which always rescues the natural aspects and the notion of tropical paradise as a way of seducing the country, which remains represented by associations that reinforce little development.

After World War II, Europe has only experienced two wars, in the 1990s when Yugoslavia dissolved and now in 2022 when Russia went to war with Ukraine. Regardless of the outcomes of wars, it is clear that wars continue to recur in a continent that prides itself on its peaceful aspirations. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia was, in terms of scale,  the most terrible of all wars in the Balkans. In addition, it was the war that received extensive media coverage. This affordance has not been fully utilized. After the war ended, the Bosnians went a long way in rebuilding their devastated community. Based on a semiotic analysis of media representation of war-torn reality in this community, it was found that community subjectivity built up at a similar rate to the media's representation of their reality. The results show the five most commonly used terms to describe Bosnians in connection with the Bosnian War. These terms are 1. Genocide 2. Crime 3. Tragedy 4. Invaders 5. Victims. And,  results show that realistic depictions of war presented in the media reduce victim identification in war-devastated communities.

Online sports betting is an industry that has seen a huge surge in popularity in the US since 2018, and the companies behind this surge have enjoyed exponential increases in profits. Accompanying the increased interest in and profits of online sports gambling is a large spike in advertisements created by companies that offer online sports betting services. Although gambling is an activity that is recognized as highly addictive and potentially destructive for certain individuals, the companies that offer sports gambling services in the US face little to no government regulation in how they advertise their services. This study aimed to investigate the advertising narratives deployed by the four most popular online sports betting companies in the US (FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, and BetMGM) in terms of their frequency, using the precision afforded by the method of qualitative content analysis. Additionally, this study deployed semiotic analysis with the constructionist approach to representation and the concept of myth to examine how the most frequently used narratives in online sports betting advertisements draw on broader systems of meaning in order to persuade audiences. This study found that FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, and BetMGM most frequently used narratives of online betting and celebrity feature in their advertisements. Using semiotic analysis, this study found that the narratives of online betting and celebrity feature often translated to mythologized and often unrealistic depictions of sports betting which represented it as an activity that allowed sports bettors to align themselves on the same hierarchical level as professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities, while largely ignoring the risks that are inherently attached to gambling. The findings of this study stand as an exploratory accounting and examination of the currently unregulated advertising practices of the largest sports gambling companies in the US.