Reading Electric Vehicle Advertising Through Social Semiotics: Analysis of Visual Grammar Meta functions in Wuling Air EV Drive for a Green Life
DOI:
10.59888/ajosh.v4i11.776Published:
2026-08-24Downloads
Abstract
Electric vehicle advertising increasingly functions not only as product promotion but also as a cultural discourse that constructs meanings of sustainability, technology, and modern lifestyles. This study aims to examine how the Wuling Air EV “Drive for a Green Life” advertisement constructs visual meaning through social semiotics. A qualitative descriptive-interpretive approach with a critical-interpretive paradigm was employed. The data consisted of eight purposively selected frames from the 61-second advertisement, representing character introduction, product reveal, urban mobility, family use, environmental imagery, and lifestyle scenes. Analysis was conducted in two stages: Barthes’ denotative and connotative interpretation, followed by Kress and van Leeuwen’s three visual grammar meta functions of representation, interaction, and composition. The findings show that the advertisement positions the Wuling Air EV as more than a transportation product. Through visual elements such as gaze, camera angle, color, salience, spatial arrangement, modern urban settings, family imagery, and clean environmental backgrounds, the vehicle is associated with future mobility, technological sophistication, convenience, environmental responsibility, and aspirational urban living. However, these meanings are selectively constructed through idealized representations that exclude congestion, uneven charging infrastructure, and socioeconomic realities. The study concludes that visual choices strategically shape public perceptions of electric mobility and sustainability in Indonesian consumer culture.
Keywords:
Social Semiotics Meta Function Visual Grammar Electric Vehicle Advertising Wuling Air EVReferences
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