Study on Representation of Gender in Indian Print Media: A Semiotic Analysis of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Advertisements

The categorisation of gender into femininity and masculinity is purely a social construct. Advertising is a social institution which plays a significant role in the promotion of notions of gender identities at a symbolic level (Gilbert and Taylor, 1991). The purpose of this study is to understand the manifestation of masculinity and femininity in contemporary Indian print advertisements of popular Fast Moving Consumer Goods(FMCG). This study uses the theory of visual social semiotics for the analysis adopting the framework propounded by Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen (1996;2006). The representational and interactive dimensions from the framework will be used for the analysis of the advertisements. This will be further thematised to understand the nature of the representation of masculinity and femininity in them. It will also provide an insight into the relationship between the viewers and participants of these advertisements. The data for the current study includes three popular Indian magazine advertisements of FMCG products published between the years 2019-2020, selected using a purposive sampling technique.

„Hier kommen ihre grauen Zellen in Fahrt“ – Phraseme in der Anzeigenwerbung

The article deals with the use of the phraseological units in print advertisements in the German print media. The focus is the relations between phraseological units in the texts and images of the advertisements. The introductory part provides a brief overview of phraseology as a linguistic discipline and its role in advertisements, the structure of advertisements and possible modifications of phraseological units. The results of the analysis of semantic modifications showed certain relations between phraseological units in texts and images of the advertisements. According to the typology of Hartmut Stöckl (2004), we first defined the relation between a phraseological unit as a latent or explicit relation. In the latent relation phraseological units create a certain relation between text and image. There are two subgroups of the latent relation: phraseological units, which are visually evoked, and phraseological units, which are textually evoked and expressed. In the explicit relation phraseological units are materialized in image and text. Phraseological units, which appear isolated only in one place, are classified in the subgroup of the punctual relation. In the subgroup of the connected relation are phraseological units, to which other linguistic elements and structures refer. The analysis of 84 print advertisements showed that phraseological units are mostly used explicitly and in a connecting manner. This means phraseological units are not used isolated, but the text is characterized by an expressive or phraseological language that is linked to the advertisement’s message in image and text at the same time. The research confirmed that phraseological units are very popular as fixed and idiomatic units in advertisements, because they take on the persuasive functions and represent understandable, connotative and easily memorable structures.

Language choice and language contact in print advertisements for Russian-speaking immigrants in Germany

This study aims to analyze linguistic contact in a written language on a sample of advertisements for Russian-speaking immigrants in the German city of Nuremberg, where there is a well-developed infrastructure for Russian-speaking immigrants, including the availability of periodicals. The study has the following research questions: What functions do Russian and German, as well as other languages, perform in advertisements in periodicals for Russian-speaking immigrants? Is there a correlation between the subject matter of the ads and the language or languages used? What phenomena of language contact found in the spoken language of Russian-speaking immigrants are characteristic of advertisements? A corpus consisting of 443 advertisements, obtained through continuous sampling from periodicals, was collected for the study. The analysis revealed that Russian, German, English, Ukrainian, and Latin fulfil specific functions in the advertisements. It was found that, depending on the subject matter, advertisers choose a particular language or language combination for their ads. At the lexical and morphosyntactic levels were identified borrowings from German and English, entirely or partially grammatically integrated into Russian, and cases of code-switching between Russian and German. Thereby, the study highlights one aspect of the linguistic situation of the Russian-speaking community in Germany and may implicitly serve to assess the vitality of the Russian language in Germany.

Metamodernism and Language: Pandemic Era Advertising

In cultural theory, metamodernism becomes a new cultural paradigm of the twenty-first century, epistemologically with (post) modernism, ontologically between (post) modernism, and historically beyond (post) modernism. It appears in the context of political changes following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the environment of digital progress, but also in periods of financial and ecological crises. Rather than simple “zeitgeist”, metamodernism as an arriving cultural paradigm is to be understood more as a “structure of feelings” or sentiment so pervasive that it becomes structural. Metamodernism is symbolically presented by the dual nature of God’s messenger Eros, who operates between the worlds of mortals and immortals. Another metaphor to illustrate metamodernism is a pendulum that constantly fluctuates between opposites such as modern hope and postmodern melancholy, empathy and apathy or enthusiasm and irony. This paper examines Italian advertisements during the largest contemporary health crisis, the SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak. The semiotic textual analysis is performed on the audio-visual commercials of well known companies, such as Vodafone and Barilla. In addition to this, several print advertisements of a local company for funeral services Taffo are considered. Different metamodern characteristics are recognised in all examined texts. In already confirmed pandemic narratives (such as “the celebration of being Italian and patriotic solidarity”, “the juxtapositioning of the “inside” and the “outside”, and the “humanization of technology at the service of human affections and emotions''), now the metamodern characteristics, as a new structure of feeling that brings hope, continuous oscillations between contrasted polls and a certain quirkiness, are being identified. The most relevant morphosyntactic, lexical and semantic traits of the Italian language in pandemic advertising are being compared with the same language tools in postmodern Italian advertising. Finally, different stylistic and pragmatic, rhetorical and semiotic tools are being interpreted and analysed, defining more closely the unique characteristics of “metamodern” pandemic advertising.

How advertisers create affinity between destinations and American and British audiences: towards a theoretical framework

The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework that explores how advertisers attempt to establish affinity between destinations and British and American audiences. The proposed framework consists of four spheres, five techniques, two message strategies and four means. This framework will be presented through a qualitative content analysis of 103 cases, selected from almost 2500 print advertisements and YouTube videos. The print advertisements were published in four major tourism magazines between 2007 and 2019. Besides the theoretical contribution, a study of audience affinity that analyses many cases might be helpful for marketers and policy makers, giving them ideas of how to reach and touch specific audiences.

Gender representation in food and beverage print advertisements found in corner stores around schools in Peru and Guatemala

Objective The objective of this study is to assess gender representation in food and beverage print advertisements. Results The study follows a quantitative descriptive approach. Using a content analysis technique, we assessed the gender representation in 200 food and beverage print advertisements found in corner stores located in four areas around schools in Lima, Peru, and Guatemala City, Guatemala (100 advertisements per country). A total of 36% of the print advertisements exhibited a male main character for the case of Guatemala, while in Peru 14% of the print advertisements presented a male main character. Furthermore, in Guatemala, 22% of the main characters were male animated characters. Moreover, 27% of the print advertisements in Guatemala and 17%, in Peru were visually male-oriented. Overall, male characters appeared alongside sports references and in varied settings, whereas female characters were usually holding or consuming the product. In conclusion, although the majority of variables used to assess the representation of gender in food and beverage print advertisements were gender-neutral, those showing gender representation were mostly male-oriented. Despite its limited findings, the study provides evidence for the formulation of public policies and educational content aimed to protect children’s and adolescents’ health from the effects of food marketing.

Gender representation in food and beverage print ads found in corner stores around schools in Peru and Guatemala

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to assess gender representation in food and beverage print advertisements.ResultsThe study follows a quantitative descriptive approach. Using a content analysis technique, we assessed the gender representation in 200 food and beverage print advertisements found in corner stores located in four areas around schools in Lima, Peru, and Guatemala City, Guatemala (100 advertisements per country). A total of 36% of the ads exhibited a male main character for the case of Guatemala, while in Peru 14% of the ads presented a male main character. Furthermore, in Guatemala, 22% of the main characters were male animated characters. Moreover, 27% of the ads in Guatemala and 17%, in Peru were visually male-oriented. Overall, male characters appeared alongside sports references and in varied settings, whereas female characters were usually holding or consuming the product. In conclusion, although the majority of variables used to assess the representation of gender in food and beverage print advertisements were gender-neutral, those showing gender representation were mostly male-oriented. Despite its limited findings, the study provides evidence for the formulation of public policies and educational content aimed to protect children’s and adolescents’ health from the effects of food marketing.

A critical review of international print advertisements: evolutionary analysis, assessment and elucidations, from 1965 to 2020

PurposeAmidst the plethora of mass communication methods that technology bestowed business with, print advertisements still remain an effective and widely utilized advertising tool, and retain a diachronically venerable position in international marketing practice. Bar and transcending mere academic fascination or curiosity, this research provides insights into the past, an understanding of the present and an outlook into the future. In this vein, through a methodical and comprehensive critical review of extant literature on print advertisements since 1965, this research aims to identify gaps in extant knowledge, to map its trends and divergences, to trace its paradigm shifts and to ultimately develop agendas for truly significant future research.Design/methodology/approachThis spatial-temporal study reviews 256 methodically selected articles, using VantagePoint software, and adopts a novel methodology through natural language processing (NLP), text mining, auto-correlation maps, and bubble maps to conduct and present a robust analysis and explicit findings.FindingsUsing also the VOSviewer for density and network visualization, the results identify the predominant literature themes and, conversely, the relatively under-researched areas, and provide a more insightful collective interpretation of extant works, while laying the foundation for future research of greater value and significance to academia and industry.Originality/valueThis study transcends the partial and/or limited analyses and perspectives of extant literature to present scholars with the first comprehensive and long term meta-analysis or systematic study of print advertising, with explicit findings of both scholarly and executive worth.