*Corresponding Author P-ISSN: 1978-8118 E-ISSN: 2460-710X 115 Lingua Cultura, 14(1), July 2020, 115-120 DOI: 10.21512/lc.v14i1.6385 PRODUCT ISLAMIZATION AS A MARKETING STRATEGY IN THE RESIK V “SEKARANG BERHIJAB” ADVERTISEMENT IN 2012 Kolik Koirudin1*; Sri Kusuma Habsari2; Deny Tri Ardianto3 1,2,3Kajian Budaya Pascasarjana, Universitas Sebelas Maret Jl. Ir. Sutami 36 A, Surakarta (Solo) 57126, Indonesia 1kolik.tb@gmail.com; 2skhabsari@staff.uns.ac.id; 3denytherockies@gmail.com Received: 21st April 2020/Revised: 04th May 2020/Accepted: 11th May 2020 How to Cite: Koirudin, K., Habsari, S. K., & Ardianto, D. T. (2020). Product Islamization as a marketing strategy in the Resik V “Sekarang Berhijab” advertisement in 2012. Lingua Cultura, 14(1), 115-120. https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v14i1.6385 ABSTRACT The research aimed to know why did Resik V transform its product advertisement by Islamization? How did the advertisement put and negotiate the Islamic symbols and codes on women’s feminine area cleansing products? The research would carry out textual data analysis for the 2012 version of Resik V “Sekarang Berhijab” advertisement using Roland Barthes’s semiotics theory. The results show that the advertisement utilizes the symbols of the hijab and the Indonesian Ulema Council’s label as commodities to put the Resik V product closer to Islam, as Islamic values attracted great attention from the society at that time that leaded to consumption activity. However, the Islamization in the Resik V product has ruled out the context of the hijab and halal concepts themselves, namely faith. Keywords: product Islamization, product advertisement, marketing strategy, semiotics INTRODUCTION In 2012, Resik V transformed its marketing strategy to advertise its product. Resik V chooses total Islamization through narratives and various codes displayed in its advertisement. Some of those narratives are “sekarang berhijab” (now in hijab), “semua meski halal, termasuk daerah kewanitaanku” (everything needs to be halal, including my feminine area), and “halal itu wajib” (halal is a must). The advertisement shows a woman dressed in a fashionable hijab and hangs out in a cafe full of modernity. In addition, the advertisement also displays the advertisement model’s change of look where she does not wear a hijab at first but eventually wears a hijab at the end of the advertisement. In the beginning, Resik V advertisement does not carry Islamic symbols and codes such as the concept of halal and hijab in promoting its product. The examples can be seen in the 2007 Resik V advertisement starred by a celebrity couple, Alexandre and Pipit. In the 2010 advertisement, Julia Perez starred. The concept promoted in both advertisements is a woman’s body. It is how a woman’s body, in this case, is a feminine organ, can be used to strengthen marriage and to get an ideal partner (Koirudin, Habsari, & Ardianto, 2020). In this case, the woman’s body is sold as a commodity to enhance the advertisement. After 2010 or in 2012, to be exact, there was one significant change made by Resik V to advertise its product. The brand started to bring the Islamic concept to the screen as a product enhancer. The concepts of halal and hijab become very prominent in the narratives built in the advertisement. The brand puts aside the concept of a woman’s body, which is used in their previous advertisement. According to Habsari (2019), media products, including advertisements, will always change to keep up with any popularity that becomes a trend among society. From this point, it can be seen that populist Islamic groups (middle class) have indeed begun to show their identity after the revolution in Indonesia (Jati, 2015). Such a phenomenon got even stronger in 2010. It triggers the emergence of popular Islamic products such as religious movies, Islamic novels, religious music, Islamic fashion trends, and halal food (Malefyt & Mccabe, 2016). The data collected by the researchers show how popular products from the Islamic middle class that influence the behavior patterns of most Muslims in Indonesia. For example, the hijab is only used by a handful of Muslim women before the 2000s (Rahayu, 2016). After a decade, the hijab becomes so popular that many 116 LINGUA CULTURA, Vol. 14 No. 1, July 2020, 115-120 people use it regardless of their social, education, and economic status (Indarti & Peng, 2016). Hijab then comes in various models and is very dynamic in its use. This phenomenon makes the hijab very popular among Muslim women. The hijab trend does not come in an instance. There have been several preceding causes. For example, is the existence of celebrity Ustadz (Muslim religious teacher) in the 2000s era. They have conducted da’wah in trendy and humorist style. Most of them deliver Islamic teachings that are easily accepted by the general public. For example, it is the command to cover aurat (body parts required by Islam to be covered) and prevent staring at people of the opposite sex. According to Syahputra (2016), the teachings that the ustadz delivered only reveal the surface of Islam because they only use one or two hadiths and do not analyze the problem thoroughly by using a holistic view. It is probably the factors of duration and public that trigger the phenomenon mentioned by Syahputra (2016). In terms of the movie industry, it can be seen that the Islamic trend was started by Ayat-Ayat Cinta movie in 2008. It manages to gain 3.6 million viewers (this later inspires the production of many religious movies). Ayat-Ayat Cinta narrates Fahri and Aisyah as the ideal characters of Muslim youth. For Hoesterey & Clark (2012), the discourse within Fahri-Aisyah can eliminate young Muslim girls’ potential to develop and grow. However, it is needless to say that Fahri and Aisyah depict the figure of good Moslems. Resik V manages to see the trend shift of Islamic popularity among the society and then makes that trend part of its product. The fundamental question from the researchers is; why does Resik V transform its product advertisement by Islamization? How does the advertisement put and negotiate the Islamic symbols and codes on women’s feminine area cleansing products? METHODS The researchers conducts a textual data analysis by using Roland Barthes’s semiotics theory towards the first Resik V advertisement, which promotes branding by adopting Islamic concepts and values. It was the 2012 Resik V “sekarang berhijab” advertisement. This semiotic theory captures the true meaning through the reading level of markers or expressions (level I), and markers or content (level II) of the signs in advertisements. Semiotic is a method used to analyze signs in the form of language and images. It provides a methodological tool to observe an object of observation critically that is not taken for granted by the subject (Ida, 2016). Barthes sees that a sign, both in form of language or picture, has a value that takes over a dominant value within a society. All of this aims for nothing but to bring the sign closer to the recipient, in this case, the society. Barthes creates a formula to dissect a sign that the subject received. He increases the level of Saussure’s scheme (signifier/signified) to the second signification level (Hayat & Hasrullah, 2016). The first level is called the primary signification, consisting of signifier I, signified I, and sign I. In the first level, the researchers will get the denotative meaning of a sign. Meanwhile, the second level is called the secondary signification, consisting of signifier II, signified II, and sign II. In the second level, the researchers will get the connotative meaning of a sign. The denotative meaning is defined as it is that people catch from the sign, or commonly called the common sense sign. The connotative meaning is the meaning associated with socio-culture, class, gender, age, the ethnicity of the recipient of the sign, or personal (Pasangio, 2020). Thus, for Barthes, there is an existing meaning in a sign that is captured by people’s senses, and there is a meaning that is related to themselves or outside of themselves. Barthes’s semiotics try to uncover things contained in a sign to be explored and defined. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS In this semiotics analysis, the researchers observe the advertisement as it is. The duration of the advertisement is 30 seconds. There are three mains focuses on this analysis: narratives, outfits, and setting of the place. The analysis only uses two meaning levels, namely the denoted and connotative meanings. The first discussed focus is narrative in the advertisement. Figure 1 Resik V “Sekarang Berhijab” Advertisement Denotatively, the narrative in Figure 1 begins with the meeting of two friends; one of them wonders about the new look of her best friend who wears a hijab. Her friend who wears hijab answers, “Semua mesti halal, begitu juga dengan daerah kewanitaanku, biar gak bau.” (Everything needs to be halal, so as my femininity, so it does not smell bad). The narrative is then followed with a back sound explaining the new product of Resik V Spa. It presents a spa sensation from its natural betel leaves ingredient that overcomes the female area’s unpleasant odor and provides comfort every day. The narrative ends by showing how one of the models in the advertisement eventually wears a hijab, but she has never done that before. It is then followed with a tagline “halal itu wajib” (halal is a must/compulsory). In addition, the advertisement also 117Product Islamization as a Marketing .... (Kolik Koirudin, et al.) displays code in the form of a halal stamp from the Indonesian Ulema Council from the beginning to the end of the advertisement. Connotatively, the narrative of Resik V product conveys that the brand wants to show that they have turned into a halal product/brand. It is proven by the Indonesian Ulema Council’s halal stamp code and the hijab symbol displayed in the advertisement. The advertisement becomes even more assertive when the two advertisement models have mentioned that “halal is a must, it is something that should be done”. The changes in this product show that, previously, Resik V does not put forward the concept of halal in their product. This change is due to the rising social awareness of halal stuff, so Resik V brings the hijab and halal stamp from the Indonesian Ulema Council as their symbol and code. In addition to changing the paradigm of halal products, the Resik V product also retains the concept of local wisdom with its betel leaf ingredients, which is beneficial to prevent unpleasant odor in the feminine area and provides comfort. Thus, the concepts of halal and local wisdom are the strategy used by Resik V to gain sympathy from consumers. Even though natural ingredients have been widely used since the 1980s and lost their popularity in the early 2000s, those ingredients still have their market share managed by other industrial products. Resik V is one of Indonesia’s feminine cleansing products that consistently uses natural ingredients in their products. The change into the halal product made by Resik V indicates how the brand wants to be close to society. It brings popular symbols and codes into the product advertisement. First, the hijrah code is shown through the dress transformation of one of the models in the advertisement, which eventually wears a hijab. This is in line with the rise of hijrah discourse that gets even more popular and adopted by many groups like celebrities, politicians, and young people. According to Fajriani and Sugandi (2019), the hijrah phenomenon is widely adopted by Indonesian youths, especially those who live in urban areas and come from middle-class society, as an effort to become a better person in terms of Islamic religious practices. In Islam, Prophet Muhammad himself had done hijrah when he moved from Mecca to Medina, as an effort to build a more Islamic socio-culture in order to practice God’s command better and more effectively. However, in today’s context, there is a change of meaning in hijrah. It conveys cultural-consumption, considering that it only has the role of changing one’s lifestyle to be more Islamic by starting from his/her clothing style and daily behavior. It becomes very strikingly popular, especially in media networks or social media and mass production, for example, The Hijrah Fest (Amna, 2019). In this context, hijrah becomes an arena to show one’s piety and obedience in terms of religious life. It is so different from that of the Prophet Muhammad’s era. Next, the halal code is shown by the halal stamp from the Indonesian Ulema Council from the beginning to the end of the advertisement. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is a non-governmental organization that houses Islamic scholars in Indonesia to guide, foster, and protect Muslims all over Indonesia. The institution itself was established on July 26th, 1975, in Jakarta. It has such strong legitimacy in the religious life (Islam) in Indonesia, and has been trusted by the government, religious organizations, and society in general. From the mentioned background, various industrial products compete to find halal certificates for their products from MUI. The product packaging, which has a halal label printed on it indirectly, offers halal certainty, and provides the comfort of consumption to customers (Alim, Mawardi, & Bafadhal, 2018). All of these are emphasized by Law No. 33 of 2014 concerning halal product guarantee. The Indonesian government regulates that any product that enters, circulates, and being traded in the Indonesian market needs to have a halal certificate. Although by October 17th, 2019, the authority to issue a halal certificate was taken by the Indonesian Ministry of Religion, and the Indonesian Ulema Council no longer has that authority. The halal certificate still bears the same story in which it is treated like a commodity that can be used to win consumers’ trust over a product. Eventually, all industrial products compete to get halal certificates to guarantee that their products are safe for consumption, and have met the halal standards for Muslim consumption. In Islam, halal is an awareness of faith that develops within human beings and guides them always to do good deeds and in a proportional manner (Koirudin, Habsari, & Ardianto, 2020). Therefore, the halal label from the Indonesian Ulema Council is just a ‘stamp’, not a major guarantee. Bear in mind that the halal parameter is the awareness of faith, doing good deeds, proportional, and not excessive. The halal stamp on a product is not the sole standard of consumption made by Muslims; instead, it is the consumption awareness based on the Muslims’ faith. The aim is for their own good, for example, to maintain body health instead of showing their obedience as Muslims in front of the public. In addition, people should also consider their condition and capability when consuming something. The second focus in the research is the outfit of the advertisement’s models shown in Figure 2. The outfits used by the advertisement models are variations of fashionable and modern hijab. It is emphasized after one of the advertisement models eventually wears a hijab, in which she has never done that before. Meanwhile, almost all supporting talents in the advertisement do not wear a hijab, but they still display a nice and fashionable look. Connotatively, the hijab is the main code in this Resik V advertisement. Hijab is a symbol of honor for Muslim women, both physically and mentally. It is their faith that makes them wear the hijab voluntarily (Wijayanti, 2017). This faith is the main basis for obedience in carrying out Islamic teachings. Faith is not only spoken but also carried out and believed. It 118 LINGUA CULTURA, Vol. 14 No. 1, July 2020, 115-120 also applies to Muslim women who wear hijab; they do not only wear hijab as a symbol of honor, but they also need to implement that symbol in their daily life. Figure 2 Resik V “Sekarang Berhijab” Advertisement In the Resik V advertisement, the hijab is juxtaposed with the feminine area cleansing product. The advertisement indirectly conveys that a Muslim woman’s honor lies in her feminine area, in addition to the hijab that she wears. Therefore, the honor is only recognized physically in the advertisement. It puts aside a Muslim woman’s inner honor because the advertisement only sees this matter from a woman’s feminine area’s cleanliness. In this case, the hijab is only put as the complementary accessory for a Muslim woman to be considered obedient. The hijab’s codification as an accessory gets even more protrude when seen from the type of hijab used by the models in the advertisement, namely the ‘necktie hijab’. This hijab type gets more and more popular since it was first popularized by the ex-Indonesian ‘hot movie’ star, Inneke Koesherawati. Thus, the advertising plays its role in lowering a universal and sacred value to become code and symbol that is easy to accept by the public in general. The hijab’s use as an identity of a Muslim woman gets its popularity for the last 20-30 years. The interesting thing is that the economic status, education, and political views will greatly influence the style and model of the hijab worn. Hijab transforms into social relations; it no longer covers the theological relation. This happens because of its massive use and later becomes popular. Muslim women wear hijab as an expression to show their identity (Fakhruroji & Rojiati, 2017), whereas, at the same time, it fades away the true purpose of hijab to enhance their faith. The same thing can be seen in the Resik V advertisement, which illustrates the honor of a Muslim woman is considered from her feminine area, not from the hijab she wears. The advertisement does not cover the hijab content through a Muslim woman’s deeds; it only aims to gain product consumption by the public. The third focus is the advertisement’s setting of place that can be seen in Figure 3. The setting of place in this advertisement is a cafe where many youngsters hangout. That place gives a modern, comfortable, and hygienic atmosphere. It is a good place to gather with family and friends. Figure 3 Resik V “Sekarang Berhijab” Advertisement A cafe is a place where individuals or groups usually go to hang out and relax. It first appeared in France in the 17th century and was popular in the 19th century in England and European countries. In general, the cafe is built as an entertainment venue, which guarantees visitors’ comfort by serving a variety of drinks and food menus, often accompanied by relaxing music. Historically, the word cafe comes from the word coffee. The history began when the Ottoman emissary come to Paris in 1669, bringing sacks of coffee beans. From that moment, the coffee became very popular among French aristocrats. They enjoyed coffee in a place later called the cafe. The interesting fact is that at that time, women were prohibited from visiting the cafe and gathered with the men, even though those women were also aristocrats. In Indonesia, the cafe is popular among Indonesian youngsters to hang out with their family and friends. Cafe has unique values among Indonesian urban societies. Those who come and gather at the cafe will easily get the stereotype of ‘cool’ and sociable in a positive context. This happens because nowadays, the cafe is the favorite spot for youngsters to gather because it offers a comfortable atmosphere. From the mentioned background, Resik V advertisement wants to place its product among young people, making it familiar and easy to be accepted. It wants to put forward the discourse about the hijab, halal, hijrah, and cleanliness of the feminine area to the public. The advertisement also wants to turn the serious and sacred stigma on those topics into something more relax and less tense. It is emphasized by the happy expression of the two advertisement models. The Resik V product advertisement wants to convey the message that there is no boundary between the concept of modernity (cafe), Islam (hijab, halal, hijrah), and local wisdom (cleansing the feminine area with bettel leave concoction). This advertisement shows how the concept of hijab, halal, hijrah, and the cleanliness of the feminine area can become a topic of discussion in a modern cafe. In this case, a woman’s feminine area turns the stigma of something considered taboo into something more familiar. However, Resik V eventually wants to grab the market filled by open-minded youngsters. The brand utilizes the ideology or word view of those youngsters to gain sympathy because the manufacturer of Resik V 119Product Islamization as a Marketing .... (Kolik Koirudin, et al.) does not necessarily think as what is shown in the advertisement. The manufacturer tends to observe the phenomena among society and ignore their own word view to gain popularity, considering the profit as their ultimate goal. Eventually, everything exists by the name of production, consumption, and profit. The discourse in this advertisement, hijab and halal label from the Indonesian Ulema Council, is the commodities. Baudrillard has explained that a consumptive behavior is not only a matter of economy or rational choice. It also happens because of a cultural system that gives meaning to something that able to direct the individual’s choice of a commodity (Putra & Jusnita, 2018). This is what Resik V brand does with its “sekarang berhijab” advertisement. They transform their product into the halal concept by using symbols like the hijab and halal stamp from the Indonesian Ulema Council in their advertisement. This halal concept is a mark value of Resik V that has the role of being a commodity in society. Halal and hijab become the commodity attached to the product. They do not only define the product but also build social relations between subjects so that consumption can take place. It tends towards the abridging of relations in the formation of self-identity in public. Islamization to Resik V product is displayed to get closer this product to society. This closeness then allows the consumption of it. Hijab and halal label from the Indonesian Ulema Council are the two commodities used by Resik V to build close relationships with the community. These two commodities are used for marketing the product without considering the religious value because the brand’s real aim is profit. In the end, accepting the symbol and value of the hijab and halal stamp on the Resik V product is also very profane. It is a mere consumption to build identity. The consumption activity is only based on the symbols and codes displayed by a product, which offers something to people, especially the customer, and without seeing its usefulness. Nevertheless, in Islam, the issue of hijab and halal in a consumption activity is a matter of someone’s faith. As mentioned before, faith is something that should emerge from a Muslim’s self-awareness. Faith is the underlying factor of a Muslim’s activities, such as wearing hijab or consuming something. The use of advertising media by making hijab and halal stamp as a commodity in an effort to build relations with the Muslims in enhancing product consumption has turned a Muslim’s faith into a product market. The Resik V product has negotiated faith through product Islamization. A faith is eventually measured by the symbols and codes obtained through consumption activities, not from the daily behavior. CONCLUSIONS Resik V product manufacturer wants to make their product close to the public by providing Islamic symbols and codes in their 2012 “sekarang berhijab” advertisement. The brand uses a hijab and halal stamp from the Indonesian Ulema Council to form the image as well as the identity of the product, in addition to putting forward the natural ingredients (betel leaves) and the impression of modernity on the product. Putting Islam as the identity of this product cannot be separated from the various social phenomena that occur, where Islam is so populist and close to people’s lives. The Resik V advertisement sees such a phenomenon and then builds a product image that is close to Islam with various symbols and codes displayed. It aims to facilitate consumption activities. In this context, the hijab and halal stamp from the Indonesian Ulema Council become a commodity to make the Resik V product closer to the public by bringing forward the Islamic impression. Whereas the concept of hijab and halal is not only a matter of the expression that exists but also a matter of faith. So, the Islamization of Resik V product has indirectly made a measure of Moslems’ faith from mere symbolization and through consumption activities, not from their daily behavior. Last, Resik V product transformation by Islamization in 2012 was just the beginning because that brand continues to do the Islamization up until now. 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