From the Sacred to the Profane: A Critical Analysis of the Changing Nature of Religious Imagery in Advertising
Advertisers frequently mine popular culture for creative inspiration, finding themes, characters, and visual references in movies, books, sports, fashion, and fads. This study explores the depiction of religion in secular advertising. The beguiling innocence of Xerox Corporation's 1976 Brother...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
[2009]
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| In: |
Journal of media and religion
Year: 2009, Volume: 8, Issue: 3, Pages: 172-190 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | Advertisers frequently mine popular culture for creative inspiration, finding themes, characters, and visual references in movies, books, sports, fashion, and fads. This study explores the depiction of religion in secular advertising. The beguiling innocence of Xerox Corporation's 1976 Brother Dominic ("It's a miracle …") appears to have given way to more daring approaches employing God, the devil, angels, exorcism, live births in nativity plays, and darker overtones hinting at violence and pedophilia. Both media and cultural trends appear to underlie this shift in tone. Some advertising pundits and researchers indicate that as the power of traditional advertising is waning, advertisers must increase the "volume" in order to break through and command attention. Secularization of religion might also be a factor in broader appropriation of religious symbolism. This study suggests that religion can sometimes provide advertisers with the fuel for shocking audiences, and its content analysis explores what separates the uncontroversial from the offensive with examples from print, television, and Internet advertising. |
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| ISSN: | 1534-8415 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of media and religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/15348420903091162 |