The present dissertation investigates the role of television advertising in shaping the cultural values of the Italian society in the circular process of mirroring pre-existing societal values yet inducing new ones, thus contributing to its evolution. It questions its role within the society, its relationship with families, women and youngsters, the kind of language used in communicating, between 1957-1977, the age of Carosello programme. A corpus of two thousand five hundred television adverts was viewed and filed, of which a hundred were selected according to the more frequent themes, their cultural and semiotic relevance, and twenty-two analysed by a semiotic approach, together with some more considered alongside. Chapter One deals with methodology, an overview of the main concepts and tools of applied semiotics and the socio-semiotic perspective adopted. Chapter Two, then, contextualizes television advertising into its broader socio-cultural milieu and the history of television. The following three chapters analyze the selected adverts according to five main recurring themes: Chapter Three, the first steps of TV advertising, its auto-referentiality and its language; Chapter Four, the family and its inner relationships, the couple and the institution of marriage; Chapter Five women‘s emancipation, the new generation of youngsters and new myths. Commercials are analysed by shots and sequences from a narrative and visual perspective in search of their deep underlying generative values. The approach is a holistic one, adapting itself to the prevailing characteristics of every occurrence, although the peculiar nature of the ads of the period entails a prevailing narratological model. All findings are then connected together to identify the main semantic areas indicating cultural values present in the Italian society of the period. The end findings consist of a set of interesting cultural values identified. At first a self-assertiveness of advertising as a way to popularity; then its preferred mode of communication through verbal language rather than pictures; a representation of families according to either the patriarchal or the consumerist model; a fundamental disbelief in marriage and a sexist attitude to women‘s representation; finally, a mistrust in the values of the new generations. All of these eventually pointing to the main semantic area of tradition, an index to the fundamental conservative yet contradictory role of the Carosello adverting which, while contributing to preserve traditional values, it also tended to replace them with its only main consumerist value. At a higher level, on a socio-semiotic perspective it is the role of that semiosphere which, while drawing from society it also contributes in shaping it.

本研究旨在透過符號學觀點探討Chanel與Dior香水廣告建構的法國文化意涵，並特別針對廣告普遍使用的性別題材，剖析隱藏在廣告符碼中的性別形象，以及文本意義如何被受訪者解讀。對此，本研究援引Hofstede的文化構面理論、廣告的女性形象論述與閱聽人研究，以Chanel與Dior共六支電視廣告為例，一方面進行符號學的文本分析，另一方面執行閱聽人的深度訪談。 研究結果發現，廣告文本的主體是「被解放的」女性，她們並不需要透過刻意裸露或賣弄性感來展現自我風格，更不用引誘或依附男性來定義自我；同時，廣告透過敘事手法與符號的組合，在毗鄰軸上自然化「法國」與「巴黎」這兩個實不相同的符號，建構出具有現代感的「時尚」等縱向跳躍的系譜軸意涵，並在更高層次的表意過程中，與「西方性」等符號結合，擴展成訴諸全球市場的意義指向。 歸納廣告建構的文化意涵，整體呈現「權力距離低」、「低不確定性規避」、「個人主義」、「陰柔」與「短期關係導向」的國家概念；而閱聽人的深度訪談結果也與文本建構的意義相符，屬於優勢解讀。 / This research aims to explore what “French culture” is in perfume commercials of Chanel and Dior from the perspective of Semiotics. In addition to analyzing the “gender image”, which is the principal issue among commercials, this research also seeks to reveal how the audience interprets perfume commercial. Based on the theories of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, gender discourse and audience’s research, this research takes six commercial for example, conducting text-analysis on one hand and interviewing the audience on the other. The result shows that the subject of the texts is “liberated” female. They are independent, confident and characteristic instead of being the object of men. Meanwhile, through narrating and the combination of signs, “France” is to be equalized with “Paris”, representing the meaning of modern “fashion”. At a higher level of signifying, “France” is combined with “Europe” and further with “western world”, indicating the meaning of global market. To summarize the cultural dimensions in the commercials, it implies low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, individualism, femininity and short-term orientation. As for the interpretation of the audience, the result is consistent with the constructive meaning of the texts, which means the audience takes the way of dominant reading.

現代消費社會籠罩在濃厚的符號性消費氛圍之下，「家具」也從純功能性的物件轉變為符號價值高的象徵性消費商品。本研究以Roland Barthes的圖像符號理論為基礎，試圖分析台灣的家具平面廣告，探究這些廣告的符號運作原則，以及隱含於家具消費背後的社會文化價值。從居家設計雜誌《ARCH雅砌》與《室內interior》中選取二十三則家具廣告，並依據廣告的主題與文本特性分為五個類別，進行深入分析。本研究發現，家具平面廣告的圖像訊息常依循「堆疊引申」與「二元對立」兩種意義建構過程，自然化物件的並置，堆砌出各種符號指涉系統；此外，在家具廣告中，文字訊息能同時對圖像訊息產生預設意義與情境意義的功能，但多對圖像進行「預設意義」的作用。本研究進一步發現，多數的家具廣告未建構出一個「家庭」的氛圍，而僅是搭築一個富含指涉意義的家具展示空間，利用這個空間極力強調西方文化的優越性，而西化的氛圍指涉了高級的生活型態。最後，研究結果顯示，在家具消費的領域中，社會階層、品味與文化資本皆影響了消費者行為，驗證了Baudrillard與Bourdieu等學者的符號消費理論。 / Modern society operates behind a shroud of symbolic consumption. Home furniture consumption, as an example, has been altered from purely functional to highly symbolic. Based on Roland Barthes’ pictorial semiotic theory, this paper attempts to analyze the print advertisements of furniture in Taiwan in order to clarify the signifying process of these furniture print ads and the socio-cultural values embedded in the Taiwan’s furniture consumption. Twenty-three print ads selected from popular design magazines, Arch and interior, are categorized into five groups according to their thematic and textual characteristics. The research finds that the iconic messages of these print ads are mostly in the pattern of “refrain” and “binary-opposition” utilizing “naturalization of objects” to construct symbolic meanings. Furthermore, the meaning of iconic message is frequently restrained by the linguistic message in terms of “anchorage,” although both “anchorage” and “relay” may both function in the print ad simultaneously. Most of the furniture advertisements didn’t construct a “home” atmosphere, but only a space to display furniture products and build rich referential meaning. The superiority of western culture is strongly emphasized; westernized ambience signifies the high-class life style. Finally, the research results indicate that in the case of furniture purchase, consumer behavior involves social class, taste, and cultural capital, which confirm Baudrillard’s and Bourdieu’s theories of symbolic consumption.

Abstracts in English and Afrikaans / The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the underlying meanings of Old Mutual South Africa’s (OMSA’s) CSR 2.0 corporate advertisements. It specifically examined the underlying myths and ideologies conveyed through the texts. This qualitative study was conducted by means of a visual semiotic analysis (Machin 2012) on eight CSR 2.0 corporate advertisements, which were purposively selected. A theoretical framework to measure visual CSR 2.0 corporate advertisements was developed, which aided in the sampling, data analysis and interpretation processes. The findings of the study indicated that by positioning its CSR 2.0 positively in terms of change and transformation, progress and equal opportunities for all citizens, OMSA is fostering stakeholder-organisation relationships. In addition, it was also found that OMSA adopts established representational tropes of CSR 2.0 and use them repetitively that firmly entrenches the intended/encoded message to the viewer. / Die doel van hierdie verkennende studie was om die onderliggende betekenis van CSR 2.0 korporatiewe advertensies in Ou Mutual Suid-Afrika te ondersoek. Dit is spesifiek gemoeid met die onderliggende mites en ideologieë wat deur middel van die tekste oorgedra word. Die kwalitatiewe studie is uitgevoer deur middel van 'n visuele semiotiese ontleding (Machin 2012) op agt CSR 2.0 korporatiewe advertensies, wat doelbewus gekies is. 'n Teoretiese raamwerk, om visuele CSR 2.0 korporatiewe advertensies te meet, is ontwikkel, dit het bygedra tot die steekproefneming, data-analise en interpretasie prosesse. Die bevindinge van die studie dui daarop dat deur CSR 2.0 positief in terme van verandering en transformasie, vooruitgang, en gelyke geleenthede vir alle burgers te posisioneer, OMSA verhoudings met belanghebbendes kan bevorder. Daarbenewens is ook gevind dat OMSA gevestigde temas van CSR 2.0 implementeer en hulle herhaaldelik gebruik wat juis die beoogde / gekodeerde boodskap stewig aan die kyker bevestig. / Communication Science / M. A. (Communication Science)