Unity Narratives: A Semiotic Analysis of Petronas' Sepenuh Hati National Day and Malaysia Day Advertisement

Advertisements for National Day and Malaysia Day are a means of promoting national unity, social ideals, and patriotism. Advertisements create meanings that represent a country's identity and goals via the use of verbal and visual cues. Using Saussure's Semiotic Theory (1974), this study examines the unity narrative presented in Petronas' National Day and Malaysia Day short video Sepenuh Hati. The advertisement's content was analyzed using a qualitative method. The relationship between signifiers and signifieds present in the film's linguistic and visual components was examined in order to analyze the data. The results show that the Rukun Negara, educators, students from various ethnic backgrounds, the school setting, and the Malay language serve as important signifiers that produce meanings related to civic values, unity, social harmony, and national identity. The connection between these indicators creates a story that emphasizes how crucial it is to comprehend, internalize, and put shared ideals into practice in daily life. The investigation also demonstrates how awareness, appreciation, and group participation within the school community gradually shape the narrative of togetherness. The commercial presents unity as a value that transcends ethnic divides and fosters social cohesion through the character of Cikgu Murni and the relationships between pupils from various ethnic origins.Overall, the study demonstrates that Sepenuh Hati functions as an effective semiotic medium for communicating messages of unity through representations that are closely connected to the lived experiences of Malaysians. The findings also confirm that the construction of unity narratives in advertisements relies on the strategic use of signs that embody cultural meanings, national values, and a shared sense of identity.

Rukun Negara, Unity Narrative, Semiotics, National Day, National Identity, Advertisement, Petronas

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