Audiovisual Narrative Genres as a Tool for Advertising Research
- Víctor Hernández-Santaolalla University of Seville https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2207-4014
- Jorge David Fernández Gómez University of Seville https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0833-6639
- María del Mar Rubio-Hernández University of Seville https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8402-8067
Abstract
Advertising creativity has been scarcely operationalized and, considering the irregular lists of formats drawn up to date, few are the studies that have addressed the classification of the formulas or sources that help to create advertising messages. The aim of this study is to make a contribution in this respect by positing audiovisual narrative genres as useful and prolific sources for gaining strategic insights and establishing creative concepts. To this end, a content analysis was performed on a sample of 411 ads picking up awards or shortlisted at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (2009-2018). Besides the audiovisual genre, positioning and product categories are also examined. The results indicate the importance of genres, especially comedy and drama, in advertising, while providing several practical pointers as regards their strategic and creative implications.
Author Biographies
Víctor Hernández-Santaolalla holds a PhD (obtaining the Outstanding Doctorate Award) in Communication Studies. He is currently Associate Professor of the Audiovisual Communication and Advertising Department of the Universidad de Sevilla (Spain). His research interests focus on the effects of mass communication, ideology and popular culture, political communication, propaganda, surveillance and social media, and the analysis of advertising discourse. He has published papers in collective books and international journals like Information, Communication and Society, Journal of Popular Culture, Communication Studies, Academic Quarter, or European Journal of Communication, among others. Recently, he has published a book about mass media effects (2018). He has also edited two books about tv series Breaking Bad (2013) and Sons of Anarchy (2017), and another about the representation of serial killer in contemporary television fiction (2015).
Jorge David Fernández Gómez holds a PhD (obtaining the Outstanding Doctorate Award) in Brand Management, is a lecturer in Communication at Universidad de Sevilla, Spain, and he has been a member of Department of Business Economics in the UCA. He collaborates with different universities such as Bryant University (USA) or Nova (Portugal). He has published thirteen books (McGraw-Hill, Hachette Livre, etc.) and papers in European and American scholarly journals such as New Media and Society. His research interests include brand management, popular culture, advertising strategy and advertising structure. He has worked in advertising for clients like Google, Microsoft, Bankia, P&G, Tio Pepe, or Telefonica.
María del Mar Rubio-Hernández holds a PhD in Communication Studies from the Universidad de Sevilla (obtaining the Outstanding Doctorate Award), where she also earned an Advertising and Public Relations degree in 2007. She has visited foreign universities, such as the Erasmushoge School in Brussels and The University of Michigan, where she developed a special interest in the analysis of the advertising discourse. Her scientific activity focuses on collaborations with international communication magazines and conferences; moreover, she has also participated in several collective books about popular TV shows, and has also co-edited two books in 2019: one about cultural branding and another about narratives genres in advertising. She combines said research work with teaching at the Department of Communication Studies at the Universidad de Sevilla since 2011.
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