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The association of particular meanings with brands makes branding susceptible to semiotic analysis. In structuralist semiotics, Saussure emphasised the relational identity of signs. A semiotic system depends on the differences between signs. What matters in 'positioning' a product is not the relationship of advertising signifiers to real-world referents, but the differentiation of each sign from the others to which it is related. A structuralist semiotic analysis of a category of products (such as cars) as a semiotic system would include specifying how each model is differentiated from other models produced by both the same makers and by those of other makers of cars perceived in some way as similar (e.g. family cars).
One of the popular car magazines (AutoCar, June 6th 2001) reported on the 'Top 50 Cars' in the UK. The categories they used were as follows:
| Category | Prime Examples from AutoCar's Top 50
| Supermini
|
Toyota Yaris 1.0 GS | Skoda Fabia 1.4 16V Audi A2 TDI Family Hatch
|
Ford Focus 1.6 LX | Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Honda Civic 1.6 SE Hot Hatch
|
Mini Cooper | Peugeot 106 GTi BMW 325i Compact Family Car
|
Ford Mondeo 2.0 | Renault Laguna 2.2 dCi Citroën C5 HDi Estate Car
|
Citroën C5 HDi | Renault Laguna dCi Subaru Legacy 2.5 MPV
|
Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 | Fiat Multipla JTD Renault Grand Espace Sports Saloon
|
BMW M3 | Mercedes C240 Avantgarde Skoda Octavia RS Executive Car
|
BMW 530i | Rover 75 2.5 V6 Lexus GS300 SE Coupé
|
Ford Puma 1.7 | Mercedes-Benz Sports Coupé 230K Peugeot 406 V6 Coupé Roadster
|
Lotus Elise | Porsche Boxster S Mazda MX-5 1.8i S Off-Roader
|
BMW X5 3.0 SE | Land Rover Freelander Td4 Range Rover 4.6 Luxury Car
|
Mercedes S500 | Lexus LS400 BMW 740i Supercar
|
Porsche 911 Turbo | Ferrari 360 Modena Noble M12 GTO |
In semiotic terms, each of these categories constitutes a paradigm - a set of items bearing sufficient similarity for it to be reasonable to imagine each as an alternative. It would not be reasonable (except where a car fits into more than one category/paradigm) to regard cars from different paradigms as reasonable alternatives - one could not fairly compare a family car with a supercar, for instance. Semiotic analysis of the car market as a semiotic system would require the investigation of the brand differentiation between cars which are widely perceived as belonging to the same paradigm.
Note that the paradigms itemised here may be those of professionals in the car industry but if we are examining the semiotics of cars within the advertising system a social semiotic perspective would prompt us to investigate the extent to which they reflect the categories used by consumers.
Whilst some surprising meanings can come to be associated with brands, as Greg Myers notes, 'It may seem that with enough advertising a product can take on any meaning. This is a common fallacy of both critics and proponents of ads. But these meanings are not infinitely flexible; they have to rely on the way the brand is used, and how it relates to other brands. All the meanings shift when a new sign is introduced or new links are made' (Myers 1999: 19). Semiotic systems and their paradigms are unstable - they change over time.
Car Branding Links
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