Semiotic Analysis of Female Character in Shell Advertisement Semangat Jalan

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the female character in Shell Advertisement titled “Semangat Jalan” using semiotic theory. Shell as a global company has an established image of masculine brand because of its automotive products and services, therefore most of its advertisements portray masculine figures. However, Semangat Jalan advertisement has a different approach where it shows a working female as the main character. This study uses the semiotic theory by Roland Barthes to translate visuals of female figures in the advertisement. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach with observation techniques. Result found in this study is that the selection of female character in Shell Semangat Jalan advertisement is used to broaden Shell’s audience which are dominated by male, shifting the perspective of the impression that Shell is a brand that represents men only