Authors - Likhitha Ragha Ramya Nakka, Anuradha Andra, Appalaswami Ravada, Vinay Kumar Pamula Abstract - This study uses Roland Barthes' semiotic approach to analyze how meaning is represented in HMNS' Untitled Humans ad on Instagram Reels. Understanding how storytelling campaigns create and communicate meaning has become crucial for successful digital marketing as social media plays a big-ger role in brand communication strategies. This study examines a selection of Instagram Reels content from the official Instagram @hmns account using a qualitative-descriptive methodology, emphasizing how text, sound, and visual components interact to provide multiple interpretations. The study methodically sign how everyday occurrences, human relationships, and nature scenery are turned into symbolic representations of authenticity, freedom, and personal identity using Roland Barthes' three-level semiotic framework: denotation, connotation, and myth. Direct observation and content documentation of Reels recordings are used for data gathering, and triangulation is used for analysis to guarantee validity and thoroughness. Results show that by creating an existential story that prioritizes closeness, introspection, and human connection, the campaign goes beyond traditional product advertising. Authentic, unconstructed life imagery is presented at the denotative level, visual and musical elements evoke emotion and personal memory at the connotative level, and perfume, rather than being a commercial product, becomes a symbol of emotional intimacy and identity exploration at the mythic level.
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