“Do You Even Understand What Off The Rack Means?” - Americanization and Jewish Identities in the Television Series Friends

This paper analyzes American Jewish identities in mega popular television series Friends. The story of the show is centered on six friends: three American Christians, and three American Jews. While the series present American Jews as a normal social reality, there are still problems in terms of their representation. This paper analyzes representation of American Jewish identities in terms of Jewish values and worldviews, and representation of Jewish faith and tradition. A qualitative content analysis of all 10 seasons of the popular show has been conducted. The conclusion of the paper is that the media are enforcing Americanization by creating a cast of Jewish Americans in the American popular culture where Jews are portrayed as Americanized in a sense they embrace Christianity as part of their tradition

Engagement and Empathy Discourses in Corporate Communication

This paper analyzes engagement and empathy discourse in a corporate document The Science of Engagement published online by a leading UK PR agency. The method used was a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the document, and the findings reveal that the engagement discourse in this document positions the consumer as a passive, compulsive purchaser, while the empathy discourse largely frames the consumer as young and more empathic than previous generations, and thus an easily accessible target for brands to appeal to, using emotional communication on social media. The conclusion of the paper is that in contrast to conceptual understandings of engagement as two-way and empathy as other-oriented, the Agency relies on early understanding of engagement as a cognitive process based on instincts and persuasive communication, and not as a concept of social communication that will be dependent on cultural and social differences, individual approach, and trust. This practice goes against the already acknowledged view of engagement and empathy as more than just cognitive responses by consumers, and presents an outdated understanding of these increasingly debated concepts

A Strategy for Renewing Franchise Negotiations in Kosovo

A group of Kosovar entrepreneurs recently attempted to purchase a franchise of a U.S. business. While the presence of such a business would benefit Kosovar economic development, the Kosovar entrepreneurs were quickly denied by the U.S. company. It is unclear, however, whether U.S. trademarks are protected against unauthorized use in Kosovo, either under U.S. or Kosovar law, and it is possible that the entrepreneurs could use the franchise mark regardless of the rejection. This Note explores the consequences of such unauthorized use. It examines both the uncertain nature of Kosovar trademark law and the nuances of extraterritorial application of the U.S. Lanham Act. The Note also examines forum and conflict of laws issues that would frustrate attempts to litigate alleged trademark rights either in Kosovo or the U.S. The Note concludes that protection against the unauthorized use of U.S. trademarks in Kosovo is sufficiently unclear such that use by the Kosovar entrepreneurs might persuade the U.S. business to reopen negotiations

The Corporate Social Responsibility in Lidl’s Communication Campaigns in Croatia and the UK

The purpose of the paper was to investigate whether Lidl uses CSR communication in their Advertising and Communication Campaigns in two different business contexts, and if so, how. The paper built upon existing analyses of CSR Communication by analysing Lidl’s websites in both countries, and went step forward and analysed TV adverts of the company in both countries as well. The analysis discovered importance of the social context in using CSR to promote business, as well as a different communication management strategy where Lidl does not communicate with UK public as extensively as with the Croatian public due to different views on the CSR communication. An in-depth analysis of TV adverts of Lidl in Croatia and the UK using their YouTube channel with all promoted TV adverts, as well as official websites of Lidl in both countries was conducted. The findings were analysed using the qualitative method of thematic, contextual analysis. The findings reveal that CSR is used as an argument to foster sales and consumer trust in Croatia but not in the UK. The communication management strategy is different in two countries due to different views of the public about CSR Communication, and Lidl\u27s Communication strategy is designed accordingly