Advertising Narratives of Society and Politics: A Semiotic Analysis of Amul’s Print Ads

Abstract

Contextual knowledge is the most important aspect of language comprehension. We define contextual knowledge as both general knowledge and discourse knowledge, i.e., knowledge of the situational context, background knowledge, and co-textual context. In this paper, we will discuss the significance of contextual knowledge in comprehending the humor found in Amul's cartoon advertisements in India. Throughout the process, we will analyze these advertisements and determine whether humor is an effective tool for advertising and, as a result, marketing. These bilingual advertisements also assume that the audience has the necessary linguistic knowledge, such as vocabulary, morphology, and syntax in English and Hindi. Various techniques such as punning, portmanteaus, and parodies of popular proverbs, expressions, acronyms, famous dialogues, songs, and so on are used to convey the message humorously. The current study will focus on these linguistic cues and the necessary context for understanding wit and humor. This study will also employ semiotics and sign methodology to analyze the message provided by the cartoons. According to the research findings, cartoons serve two purposes: political communication and advertising; however, advertising is camouflaged and not placed in an obvious manner.