Representament and Object (RO) Marking Iconicity Relationship in Wardah Cosmetics Commercial TV Advertising

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between representament and object iconicity in Wardah's cosmetic commercial television commercials, which include shampoo, BB cream, mascara, lipstick, and social activities. Wardah cosmetic commercial television commercials attempt to construct consumers using the concept of “Beauty from the heart”. Meanwhile, the beauty of cosmetic users is always visible physically. Thus, it cannot be proven to be real beauty from the heart when someone uses cosmetics. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method to analyze data in the form of verbal and nonverbal text. The researcher uses Charles Sander Peirce's semiotic theory which divides the signs according to the relationship between the representament (sign) and its object (marker) into icons, indexes, and symbols. The results of this study indicate that beauty can be classified into two categories, namely physical beauty and psychological beauty. Physical beauty relates to the body and the head. There are four parts of the head which are icons of beauty for a young woman: 1) the hair, 2) the facial skin, 3) the eyes, and 4) the lips. Meanwhile, psychological beauty is a beauty from the heart that is manifested in the form of attitudes during social activities. In addition, young women as users of Wardah cosmetics are represented by the use of youthful vocabulary and language typical of the millennial generation.