Author(s): Mohammed Alhuthali
This paper considers the visual grammar of perfume adverts with the goal of understanding the semiotic modes used and whether these vary by culture (Saudi or non-Saudi) or by the gender of the target audience. Data was collected from on-line perfume adverts that contain a human figure. Since the goal was a detailed semiotic analysis of each only twelve images are used as the basis for this paper. While perfume advertising shares much with wider norms in advertising there is one key difference for adverts that rely on text and image. In effect, the smell of the product is they key aspect when it is used and is necessarily missing from any such advert. This tends the adverts towards some degree of ideation, in particular how the consumer will look if they use that particular fragrance. In this study this led to a conclusion that culture played little role in determining the semiotic resources used but the dominant vector was one of a demand from the model to the user.