A Brief Semiotic Analysis of a Successful Ad

This ad has an image of a shoe in a bed with the heel of the shoe up on the pillow and the comforter pulled down. The colour of the shoe is silver, which is symbolic of modern liberated times. The shoe also has accents of pink running through the swoosh symbol, the inside and heel. The colour pink is symbolic of femininity, as this is also symbolic of being delicate soft and pretty, a common colour and tactic used in advertisements to women. The concept embodied in the image and copy is summed up in the headline, "THIS IS NOT A RUNNING SHOE" when clearly it is.

The copy goes on to reinforce this idea to by making the following statements. "This is your partner in crime, your confidant," To say this insinuates that the shoe is a human who can accompany you and listen to what you say. One can wear their shoes somewhere and it is with them, but to be one's partner is to imply that they are equals. Likewise, one can speak to a shoe, but it is only a shoe, a material object, it cannot listen. The copy goes on to say that the shoe is "your personal guide and guru urging you on to new levels of physical bliss, built especially for you." The shoe is given human characteristics and is also said to be the one who will be the key motivator in your life long quest to happiness.

In essence this shoe will be the motivation for the person you want to be, the desired self. Judith Williamson points out in her article, Women is an island "…the object of desire. Since that object is the self, this means that, while ensnaring/creating the subject through his or her exchange of signs, the advertisement is actually feeding off that subject's own desire for coherence and meaning in him or her self." (Williamson 1986) This created self is embodied in this Nike shoe ad.

The ad insinuates that the shoe will compel you to become very physical, even to the point of bliss.

This owner loves her shoe (or confidant and guru), so much that she takes it to bed with her. The lines of copy continue to read "…built especially for you, so it never says no, never tires, never rolls over and goes to sleep." The ad claims to be especially for 'you' in saying that it is ironic that in such a segmented society one concept or product can be for all. The ideas implicated in the copy are successful because they are universal to women. Women want companionship, someone to talk to, a guide in physical and spiritual lives. Females want someone who will engage them in a world that embodies ecstasy and bliss, someone just for them who is mentally and sexually competent. All of these wants are articulated through the acquisition of the shoe. This is an example of society making though the use of universal wants of females and lack of human individualization. Nike tries to segment its audience by saying the shoe is 'built especially for you'. The copy tries to appeal to the emotional trials and tribulations of life.

By not mentioning anything or anyone specific, the ad cannot exclude anyone from this framework. Any female can be on the other side of that bed thus, the interpretation is that of ones self. The bed can also be seen in the realm of sexual innuendo. The copy reads "…never rolls over and go to sleep…" this is playing with the stereotype of men after ejaculation, which is connotating immaturity in men from a female perspective. The shoe is so important and valuable that it is not only in bed, but also on the pillow because it, unlike men who 'tire', 'gives as good as it gets' which is also connotating that it is responsible and dependable.

Lisa Ramdial
Student,
Communication Studies Program, Social Science Division,
York University, Toronto