When Is Celebrity Advertising Effective?

The question about celebrity advertising effect has been drawing a lot of attention. This dissertation tries to find an answer. The dissertation will choose the angle of Semiotics and analyse the text of celebrity advertising with the method of Semantics. The dissertation will take celebrity advertising as a series of practicing of symbols centering on the celebrity symbol,then study the inside of celebrity symbol and the text of the advertising,and research into how does the celebrity advertising produce the meaning. Through such a journey,we expect to find a new answer different from the other researchers.The dissertation argues that advertising is a system made up of different symbols,and that celebrity symbol is the vital symbol so the inside structure is especially complicated. The celebrity symbol has a system of signifier made up of highly differential signifier and charming signifier. The signified system is constructed by the kind signified and the personal signified. The system of the celebrity symbol also acts as an element of the whole advertising text and should be changed into an advertising symbol supporting the whole appeal. All in all the process depends on whole the Syntamatic and Paradigmatic structure of the advertising text.Subsequently the dissertation discusses the mistakes of the current celebrity advertising,and argues that the unhealthy dependence on the signifier and the kind signified causes the neglect of the personal signified and the Syntamatic and Paradigmatic structure. All of this leads to an bad effect for the celebrity advertising.The dissertation has three chapters. The first chapter deals with the object,method and the research by other scholars. The second chapter introduces the concept,history of celebrity advertising and explores the signifier and signified system of celebrity symbol and researches into the process of its taking part in the text meaning producing. The third chapter analyses the mistakes of current celebrity symbol operating and draws a conclusion.