The semiotics of smartphone advertising: myth and ideology in YouTube commercials

This study explores the semiotic construction of meaning in contemporary smartphone advertisements using Roland Barthes’ four-level model: denotation, connotation, myth and ideology. Focusing on two YouTube ads—Apple’s iPhone 15 and Samsung’s Galaxy S24—the research applies a qualitative descriptive approach to examine how visual and linguistic elements convey layered meanings. Through segmentation, coding, and interpretation of scenes, the study reveals how each brand constructs cultural narratives and embeds ideological values. The iPhone 15 ad emphasizes themes of strength, resilience, and technological reliability, while the Galaxy S24 ad promotes ideals of global connectivity and language empowerment. Both advertisements utilize myth to naturalize consumerism, technological determinism, and aspirational individualism. The findings highlight the role of digital advertising in shaping contemporary myths and reinforce the critical importance of semiotic analysis in decoding multimodal promotional media.