Myth Analysis of ‘Make Over’ brand Advertisement: A Semiotic
Study
Desy Riana Pratiwi, Lia Maulia Indrayani, Ypsi Soeria Soemantri, Sutiono Mahdi
Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Department of Linguistics, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Keywords: Semiotics, Myth, Advertisement, Mythology, Denotative, Connotative
Abstract : The study aims to analyze the myth in semiotics analysis of one local brand makeup in Indonesia
“makeover”, the study employs qualitative method which concerns with analyzing everyday
phenomenonand finding the meaning of the sign made of the company. This analysis also discussed the
denotative and connotative meanings. In order to answer the question this study uses mythology theory
proposed by Roland Barthes. The result of analysis to finding the meaning ofMake Over product that
written "beauty beyond rules" and uses a model for its products with various types of skin colors of
Indonesian women, that the population can be easily accepted by all types of women of all ages.
1 INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, woman in the world are using makeup
for daily to hidden an imperfection or for making the
more flawless face. Makeup being an important
thing for women from the age of 17 years above,
kind of brand makeup that goes into Indonesia also
consists of quite a lot of high-end makeup from
international brands, to local brands make up. Here
the author will analyze the myths contained in the
slogan used advertisement and the models of the
brand. Make Over is a local brand from Indonesia
that is pretty much obtained by Indonesian women,
in addition to its affordable price and makeover has
good quality for their products.
Make Over Cosmetics is a local brand with all
the breakthroughs of trusted cosmetics that develop
according to the changing needs of each customer.
Make Over Cosmetic provides various types of
products that have proven to be the main choice of
makeup artists, used for fashion show, TV shows,
concert music and magazine photo. Make Over
already has a halal certified it will be supported the
product sales because it is guaranteed. Have a very
good response from consuments when this brand
launched the new products, because of the good
quality and also Make Over sell at a price worth to
buy. In the data’s there setting a words, it can be
give a suggestion for the reader for a example
“beauty beyond rules” there will give a new
perspective about beauty and about brand makeover.
From that words the reader will thinking if beauty
doesn’t need with rules, perfect with anything seems
like good and also the makeover brand make
suggestion if they have many inovation in their
product.
2 THEORY
Semiotics or ‘semiology’ (from Greek semeion
“sign”) is a study of ‘sign’ or ‘sign process, the signs
in semiotics from all types of knowledge there are
laguages, myts, art forms, sciences. Semiotics is a
symptom of something that would be interpreted and
find out what basic meaning from a sign then does it
have a relationship with others, for example if that
says “green light” or in bahasa means “lampu hijau”
it means to giving something a signal to keep going
and the second example is if the sky getting dark it is
a signal that will be raining day. A sign is anything
(a color, a gesture, a wink, an object, a sounds, a
mathematical aquation, ect) and it will be different
view depending on the concept of situation
perspective and circumstances from itself because
sometimes we can see signs like A but other people
can see it like B and it will be more different with
another people and can be C. The brain’s capacity to
produce and understand sign is called semiosis, the
human ability to recognize a thing is called a
Pratiwi, D., Indrayani, L., Soemantri, Y. and Mahdi, S.
Myth Analysis of ‘Make Over’ brand Advertisement: A Semiotic Study.
DOI: 10.5220/0008994801190122
In Proceedings of the International Conference on Education, Language and Society (ICELS 2019), pages 119-122
ISBN: 978-989-758-405-3
Copyright
c
2020 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
119
presentative. Sometimes children with adult value
thing with different view, interpretation is a crucial
aspect of the human condition? Why? Because when
someone interprents something they will produce a
sign and sign will make the meaning of a thing begin
to be clearly identified.
Myth
Myths are fundamental to human understanding that
they continue to inform activities.Myth is a
ideological process which has a relationship with
history and culture. Myth also serves to present
something looking natural and timeless, the role of
the mythology is to giving us reminder of the
artificial and constructed nature by images, but not
just about that, the role of myth itself makes the
ideology of each reader or the listener that will be
stored in the brain’s memory. Myth is the
metalanguage there are the second language that
function as the first language, the language that
produces meaning from the available meanings and
Barthes reminds us that the first original
meaningwill not forgotten.
To find out more mythological meanings Barthes
using semiology because semiology is the idea of
general study of sign, Barthes give mean semiology
sometimes referred to as semiotics, by Saussure
semiology is the general science of signs and he is
imagined a science that would be able to read all
human signs system. Then semiology sharing with
structuralism by Saussurean linguistics and explain
to others sign system. To understand what the
meaning of mythology first step, we should
understand Saussure means about signs as
semiology because the beginning of definition start
from this theory.
A linguist must explain every language action
that occurs, Saussure gives a solution in the center of
his new linguistics, which is to different between
speech or act language (parole) and the language its
self (la language) all types of language actions
(parole) are made from system (la langue) and it
makes the language system (la langue) consist of
rules that allow speech (language, action, parole) to
be a possible.Barthes deals with many structures the
solution is to use a method from linguistics to find
out how the level of meaning builds a message that
signifies something about the world. Barthes used
his time to distinguish between various structures
involved in the fashion system which is used with
this system is semiology.
Barthes also takes up the distinction in Elements
of Semiology. Between denotation and connotation;
the first system is denotation (usually what
something actually means, this is the most basic
layer meaning) and the second is system connotation
(this is the connection that a simple sign has to
various concepts or ideas, deeper layers of meaning).
3 METHODOLOGY
Data collected from Make Over brand official
website, then analyze the myth of the semiotics to
finding the syntagmatic and paradigmatic and
denotative and connotative meaning in the slogan,
models, and advertisements brand. The data will be
analyze with qualitative method. Qualitative method
research is an activity which locates and makethe
observer in the world, consist of a set of interpretive,
natural practices that make the world visible (Denzi
and Licoln, 2011) and using the purposive sampling
to take it the data’s analysis. Moreover, in order to
analyze the data, the study using semiotics study
based in Roland Barthes theory for finding the myth
in the advertisement.
4 FINDING AND DISCUSSION
From analysis semiotics will be organize with a
myth and meaning by Roland Barthes theory which
is almost literally derived from theory of language
by De Saussure which has four theoretical concepts
namely language-parole, significant-signifie,
syntagmatic-paradigmatic and synchronic-
diacronic. This bellow will be analyzed with two
concepts based on Roland Barthes theory which
have relevance to semiotics, for the first is
relationship of advertisements with syntagmatic and
paradigmatic.
The second is the concept meaning from
denotation and connotation in accordance with
structuralism.
ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society
120
Figure 1 : Makeover brand used this model for the
products and type of the models different into three
skin tone
That makes makeover brand image can be
accepted in all woman. The model used “natural”
makeup and “heavy” makeup that makes makeover
brand image also can be accepted in all situation.
From paradigmatic perspective, these relations are
those that among the options in a system. That
advertisement using two kind pink color, in the left
pink is nude and the right is shocking pink, because
pink is signifies of romance, love, and friendship. It
denotes feminine qualities and passiveness. (Cerrato,
4) and used the font with white color because white
is connected with light, goodness, kindness,
innocence and purity and it is considered to be the
color of perfection, white can represent a successful
beginning. In advertising white is associated with
coolness and cleanliness because it’s the color of
show. “Makeover” font in denotative meaning is in
line with the words in English verb phrase V+
Preposition. In connotative meaning “makeover”
related with anothers word “created” “produce”
connotation is a new meaning that given by the
wearer as desired. Connotation is given by the sign
user, used Barthes to finding how the symtoms are
seen as sign.
Table 1: “makeover” related with anothers word “created” “produce”
Sign
Syntagmatic
Paradigmatic
Used three kind skintone of
models and used the
background pink for the
advertisements.
Three kind of woman in the
different skin tone, with
background pink and using the
black clothes.
Related with the situation in Indonesia right now,
all woman searching for finding some makeup
for daily and heavy makeup to hidden an
imperfection in their face.
Using black and pink in the background of the
slogan in advertisement because pink color have
a meaning sweet, love, feminism for a woman
and very appropriate to used in cosmetics
advertisements in the world. black have a
meaning bold and making that slogan seen as
elegant.
“beauty beyond rules”
Used as a slogan makeover in all
slogan with font white.
In “beauty beyond rules” giving a meaning for
all woman about motivation and perspective
about beauty not always about rules (good eyes,
good lips, light skin everything will be hidden by
a good makeup.
Table 2: Connotation is given by the sign user, used Barthes to finding how the symtoms are seen as sign
Sign
Connotative
Used three kind of skintone models
and used the background pink for
the advertisements.
To shown to all consument if beauty
not always for the light skin but more
than it.
To united all woman about the
perspective about beauty.
Myth Analysis of ‘Make Over’ brand Advertisement: A Semiotic Study
121
“beauty beyond rules”
Beauty doesn’t have to be perfect.
That changed the perspective about
beauty for all woman in Indonesia,
beauty doesn’t need to be perfect
with good eyes, good lips, glowing
light skin and the all perfection.
5 CONCLUSION
The advertisements of a one brand is about purpose
from their product, the way they present the slogan,
the font, the color icon of slogan and the meaning
about the words in that advertisements. The result of
this analysis is about meaning in each part, the photo
was taken and the words in a slogan. They have a
different meaning in connotative and denotative
meaning by syntagmatic and paradigmatic concepts.
Makeover want to tell to all consument especially a
woman to know if the beauty not always with a good
shape all the things will be hidden with a good
makeup they want to use. Myth that appearing in
this products is about perspective woman about
beauty, beauty doesn’t need to be perfect, all woman
with different skin, different shape of lips and
different eyes are beautiful in another meaning is
about Make Over products can used in different
skin from light, medium and dark skin because they
have a many color to combine and match to all skin
tone.
REFERENCES
Allen, Graham (2003). Roland Barthes. New Fetter
Lane, London.
Barthes, Roland (1957). Mythologies.France.
Denzin and Lilcoln (2011). Handbook of qualitative
research second edition. International and
professional publisher. London.
Danesi, Marcel (2004) Messages, Signs, And
Meanings: A Basic Textbook in Semiotics and
Communication Theory. Third Edition .Canadian
Scholars’ Press Inc.
https://www.makeoverforall.com/Herman
Cerrato (201). The meaning of colors.
ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society
122