Tom Ford Semiotic

Advertisements are everywhere: magazines, websites, and newspapers. However, despite our exposure to ads, most individuals do not recognize the message behind them. Adverting has been recognized as an efficient way to persuade individuals to spend money but when brands employ sex symbols in their campaigns, consumers get distracted by the raunchy ads and forget all about the product being promoted. Brands reliance on sexual innuendos to sell their products is evident in a multitude of advertisements but one specific ad that comes to mind is Tom Ford’s risqué photo campaign promoting their men’s cologne labeled “Tom Ford for Men”.

Tom Ford debuted their fragrance in a print ad that features a naked oily woman with red lips and red fingernails,
Roland Barthes utilizes this communication theory as a way to “deconstruct ideologies fisted upon naïve consumers of images” so individuals can better understand the underlying meaning behind certain imageries. The goal of semiotics is to interpret verbal and nonverbal signs, signs that can be identified by three dimensions: physical, representational, and
At first glance you notice a naked woman signifying sexuality, but what most individuals fail to recognize is the variety of other symbols that signify the same meaning. For example, the woman’s oily skin and open mouth are both erotic signifies evoking feelings of passion. Her red nail polish along with her red lipstick can also be interpreted as sex symbols. As for the fragrance, the bottle is placed in between her cleavage so the audience is swayed to look at the woman’s breasts. This tacit is meant to arouse its viewers. In contrast to the sexual innuendos, the white background is a sign of purity, which is ironic as the ad relies heavily on the idea that “sex sells”. The message behind the ad is that men can have women, like in the photo ad, if they wear his perfume. Tom Ford utilizes a variety of sex symbols in an attempt to get his audience aroused about his product. Though his strategy is disruptive as the main focus is on the woman’s breasts, it is effective in drawing his audience in. In terms of Roland Bathes, signs, such as the woman’s red lips and nails, “seemingly straightforward but that subtly communicate ideological or connotative meaning and perpetuate the dominant views of society”. Thus, the provocative message the ad elicits is how increasingly sexist today’s society has