The role of simulations in consumer experiences and behavior: insights from the grounded cognition theory of desire

What are the mechanisms by which extrinsic and environmental cues affect consumer experiences, desires, and choices? Based on the recent grounded cognition theory of desire, we argue that consumption and reward simulations constitute a central mechanism in these phenomena. Specifically, we argue that appetitive stimuli, such as specific product cues, can activate simulations of consuming and enjoying the respective products, based on previous learning experiences. These consumption and reward simulations can lead to motivated behavior, and can be modulated by state and trait individual differences, situational factors, and product-extrinsic cues. We outline the role of simulations within the grounded theory of desire, offering a theoretical framework for understanding motivational processes in consumer behavior. Then we illustrate the theory with behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging findings on simulations in appetitive behavior and sensory marketing. Finally, we outline important issues for further research and applications for stimulating healthy, prosocial, and sustainable consumer choices

T(r)opical patterns in advertising

This research aims at unraveling relationships between rhetorical devices from elocutio and argumentative topoi from inventio in advertising. Studies on this topic have attempted to demonstrate not only that rhetorical devices condense argumentation schemes, but also that they have a strong argumentative force. I will try to achieve my goal by applying the Argumentum Model of Topics (a tool allowing to unveil inferential patterns behind arguments) to a corpus of award-winning advertisements

Articulation(s) of Culture(s): Mobilizing knowledge, ecological justice, and media convergence

This paper draws on articulation(s) as a multi-method countermethodology in the design of educational research. We use this form of critical\ud inquiry to examine ecological literacies and digital epistemologies associated with\ud Dow’s 2006 worldwide advertising campaign, “The Human Element”.\ud Articulation(s) draw from research that continues to evolve reflexively and that\ud openly questions deterministic institutional explanations. Our interpretation of\ud articulation(s) include(s) critical processes for gathering, analyzing, and\ud interpreting data. A critique of Dow‘s “The Human Element” ad is provided as an\ud example of how multimodal forms of information have been mobilized,\ud (re)presented, (re)mixed, and (re)mediated using media convergence, how various\ud points of view intersect formations of everyday digital media networks, and how\ud communication practices entail subtle and complex relationships associated with\ud social and political meanings and values. Our focus is on social justice issues of\ud ecology as mobilized through media convergence. We argue that an integrated and\ud negotiated approach to critical inquiry linking ecological justice through education\ud can help researchers, teachers, and students analyze conditions of culture(s) within\ud the contexts of complex political and social conditions that are prevalent in most\ud societies

Rhetorical Transformations in Multimodal Advertising Texts: From General to Local Degree Zero

The use of rhetoric in advertising research has been steadily gaining momentum since the 1980’s. Coupled with an increased interest in multimodality and the multiple interactions among verbal, pictorial and auditory registers, as structural components of an ad filmic text, the hermeneutic tools furnished by traditional rhetoric have been expanded and elaborated. This paper addresses the fundamental question of how ad filmic texts assume signification from a multimodal rhetorical point of view, by engaging in a fruitful dialogue with various research streams within the wider semiotic discipline and consumer research. By critically addressing the context of analysis of a multimodal ad text in the course of the argumentation deployed by different approaches, such as Social Semiotics (Kress/Leeuwen 2001), Film Semiotics (i.e. Metz 1982, Carroll 1980, Branigan 1982), Visual Semiotics (i.e. Sonesson 2008; 2010, Eco 1972;1976;1986, Groupe " 1992), Consumer Research (i.e. Mick/McQuarrie 1999; 2004, Philips 2003, Scott 1994), the relative merits of a structuralist approach that prioritizes the distinction between local and general degree zero, as put forward by Groupe " (1992), are highlighted. Furthermore, the modes whereby rhetorical transformations are enacted are outlined, with view to deepening the conceptual tackling of degree zero of signification, while addressing its applicability to branding discourse and multimodal ad texts

‘Super disabilities’ vs ‘Disabilities’?:Theorizing the role of ableism in (mis)representational mythology of disability in the marketplace

People with disabilities (PWD) constitute one of the largest minority groups with one in five people worldwide having a disability. While recognition and inclusion of this group in the marketplace has seen improvement, the effects of (mis)representation of PWD in shaping the discourse on fostering marketplace inclusion of socially marginalized consumers remain little understood. Although effects of misrepresentation (e.g., idealized, exoticized or selective representation) on inclusion/exclusion perceptions and cognitions has received attention in the context of ethnic/racial groups, the world of disability has been largely neglected. By extending the theory of ableism into the context of PWD representation and applying it to the analysis of the We’re the Superhumans advertisement developed for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, this paper examines the relationship between the (mis)representation and the inclusion/exclusion discourse. By uncovering that PWD misrepresentations can partially mask and/or redress the root causes of exclusion experienced by PWD in their lived realities, it contributes to the research agenda on the transformative role of consumption cultures perpetuating harmful, exclusionary social perceptions of marginalized groups versus contributing to advancement of their inclusion

Surprising turns of the persuasive path – exploitation of conceptual blending in Polish medical advertising

The essence of advertising lies very often in unusual and surprising juxtapositions of apparently incongruous elements, which nevertheless successfully combine in pro-ducing a coherent and understandable message. A vital role is performed by a skillful-ly engineered context, which allows for simultaneous activation of certain otherwise inconspicuous senses and the construction of novel and attractive connections. Such theoretical proposals as Lemke’s traversals (2001; 2005), Fauconnier and Turner’s Conceptual Blending Theory (1998; 2002) and Kecskes’s Dynamic Model of Mean-ing (2008) seem to describe many vital aspects of the phenomenon in question. It is in advertising that we often come across the linking of elements by transgressing naturally existing borders between domains which are unrelated, and we are invited to map onto one another different mental spaces on the basis of their salient analogy or identity, and indulge in creative riddle-like exploration of contextual elements in order to reconstruct the intended message. These techniques’ true power lies in their abil-ity to blur the distinction between ‘the real’ and ‘the imagined’ to such an extent that certain irrational but attractive connections, implanted in the minds of the audience, contribute to subsequent decisions in the real world. The present study attempts to uncover the ways in which certain unrelated elements are skillfully brought together in a context which allows for such a juxtaposition in selected Polish TV advertise-ments for various medicine and health-related products. The method employed is an in-depth content analysis of the material, followed by an attempt to integrate the iden-tifi ed mechanisms with the models of meaning-making mentioned above. The results will hopefully help in better understanding of the ways in which particular compo-nents of the context may interact with the message expressed verbally or pictorially in the construction of multilevel meanings in advertising communication

Reliability in the identification of metaphors in (filmic) multimodal communication

Research on multimodal communication is complex because multimodal analyses require methods and procedures that offer the possibility of disentangling the layers of meaning conveyed through different channels. We hereby propose an empirical evaluation of the Filmic Metaphor Identification Procedure (FILMIP, Bort-Mir, L. (2019). Developing, applying and testing FILMIP: the filmic metaphor identification procedure, Ph.D. dissertation. Universitat Jaume I, Castellón.), a structural method for the identification of metaphorical elements in (filmic) multimodal materials. The paper comprises two studies: (i) A content analysis conducted by independent coders, in which the reliability of FILMIP is assessed. Here, two TV commercials were shown to 21 Spanish participants for later analysis with the use of FILMIP under two questionnaires. (ii) A qualitative analysis based on a percentage agreement index to check agreement among the 21 participants about the metaphorically marked filmic components identified on the basis of FILMIP’s seven steps. The results of the two studies show that FILMIP is a valid and reliable tool for the identification of metaphorical elements in (filmic) multimodal materials. The empirical findings are discussed in relation to multimodal communication open challenges

Promoting Students’ Reviewing Skills in Foreign Language Writing through Genre-Based Activities in Linguistic Classes

Recently, genre studies contribute not only to linguistic areas but also to the areas of language education. In language teaching and learning, developing learners’ awareness of various genres, especially those prevail in their future job contexts, is essential in the sense that learners could be better prepared to successfully produce texts of the same genres when required. In this study, genre-based activities (GBAs) were introduced to 40 third-year EFL students in two linguistic classes. The data collection was conducted via class interaction, assignment analysis and informal talks. The data analysis revealed that, despite some limitations in the intervention, GBAs had such positive effects on students’ development of reviewing skills in English writing as: students could link their text evaluation and revision to the contextual features, they tried to read extensively about the features of different genres, and accordingly, they could enhance their genre awareness, resulting in their better evaluation and revision of texts. However, it was found that unfamiliar genres might hinder the effects of GBAs. Texts elicited from students and multimodal texts were more appropriate inputs for novice genre analysts

Brand Equity Planning with Structuralist Rhetorical Semiotics: A Conceptual Framework

This paper furnishes a structuralist rhetorical semiotic conceptual framework for brand equity planning. The main source of brand equity that is employed for exemplification purposes is the advertising filmic text. The conceptual framework assumes as its general blueprint Greimas’s generativist model of the trajectory of signification. Structuralist operations and operations of rhetorical transformation are posited as the basis for the generation of superior brand associations. The conceptual model put forward challenges the Greimasian assumption that a depth semantic structure is reducible to a binarist rationale, while adopting a connectionist approach in the form of associative networks. At the same time, the proposed framework deviates from the application of conceptual graphs in textual semiotics, while portraying in the form of associative networks how the three strata of a brand’s trajectory of signification interact with view to generating brand associations