“能指”和“所指”是语言学家索绪尔提出来的。他认为语言符号的单位,不是一个物或者一个名,而是一个“概念”和一个“音响形象”。而后者不是一个实质性的声音,也不是一个纯粹的物理的东西,而是声音在我们的意识里形成的一种心理足迹。而中国和西方社会因为长久以来所受文化不同,因此在广告形式上的表现也很不一样。要吸引不同文化的客户,广告商必须了解不同的所指(产品)需要用什么形式的能指(广告形式)去表达,以吸引世界各地的客户。 “Signifier ” and “Refers to ” is a linguist put forward by Saussure. He believes that units of linguistic signs are not an object or a name, but a “concept” and a “sound image”. The latter is not a substantive voice, nor is it a purely physical thing, but a psychological footprints formed by the sound in our consciousness. However, because of the cultural differences that have long been suffered by China and Western societies, the performance of advertisements is also very different. In order to attract customers of different cultures, advertisers must understand what types of signifiers (advertisers) need to be expressed in terms of what they are referring to to attract customers from all over the world.