Connotative Meanings in Beauty Product Advertisements on Social Media: A Semantic Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the connotative meanings embedded in beauty product advertisement slogans circulated on social media platforms. Using a qualitative descriptive approach grounded in semantic theory, the research analyzes ten advertisement slogans collected from popular Indonesian beauty brands. The theoretical framework draws primarily on Leech's (1974) seven types of meaning and Ogden and Richards' (1923) semiotic triangle, supplemented by Roland Barthes' (1977) concepts of denotation and connotation. Each slogan was analyzed to identify its denotative (literal) meaning and its connotative (contextual and associative) meaning, followed by a classification of the linguistic and rhetorical strategies employed. The findings reveal that all ten slogans deploy positive connotative language to construct idealized beauty standards, with aspirational and psychological connotation types being the most prevalent. Key linguistic strategies identified include metaphor, hyperbole, antithesis, imperative mood, and paradox. The study concludes that beauty product advertisements on social media function not merely as commercial messages but as powerful ideological instruments that shape societal beauty norms, consumer self-identity, and psychological well-being. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on critical discourse analysis of advertising language and have implications for media literacy education.