DIY in the DNA: Macro Context and National Myth as Enduring Advertising Discourse

Authors

  • Fabrice Desmarais Department of Management Communication, Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Hamilton

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/hjlcb.v0i56.97231

Keywords:

advertising, myth, nation, New Zealand

Abstract

This study shows how national contexts recurrently foreground specific myths in advertising to increase consumers’ ‘knowledge’ of the positioning of brands and their ‘liking’ of these brands. From an extended sample of New Zealand television commercials, the research isolates the theme of ‘Kiwi Ingenuity’ as an important tool to advertise a wide variety of brands.
At a micro level the study illustrates how hyperbolic characterisation works to attach emotional meanings to brands and products, in particular how ingenious characters are used as hyperbolic cultural signs. The study situates these micro representation strategies in their macro cultural context, arguing that the mechanics of national myths in advertising needs to be understood within the geopolitical context.

Downloads

Published

2017-10-11

How to Cite

Desmarais, F. (2017). DIY in the DNA: Macro Context and National Myth as Enduring Advertising Discourse. HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, (56), 181–200. https://doi.org/10.7146/hjlcb.v0i56.97231

Issue

No. 56 (2017)

Section

Other Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).