A Research Of Advertising Representation Of Nationalism And The Audience's Construction Of National Identity

Basing on the important role advertising message plays in constructing the audience's nationalist ideology and national identity,this study analyses the representation of nationalism in the social media advertising of Chinese brands and explores how the audiences construct their national identity by interpreting these advertising messages.Content analysis was used to analyze the advertising text to identify the representation strategies of nationalism.The study found that the nationalist advertising strategies include appropriating the typical Chinese national symbols(especially the traditional Chinese cultural elements),the nationalist narratives,the achievements of China's modernization development,and the foreign symbols.It also shows a tendency that Chinese brands are rebranding their image without stripping the "national goods" label.This study also explores how audiences make sense of the nationalist advertising strategies.By using in-depth interview and thematic analysis,it is found that participants construct their national identity by the following ways: recognizing the rich cultural resources of the Chinese nation,being proud of the achievements of national modernization,breaking the imaginary "Western gaze",and considering domestic brands as part of the Chinese community.This article finds that the revealed advertising strategies are consistent with the national identity construction paths of the audiences during their interpretation process,which confirms the effectiveness of such advertising strategies and provides empirical support for the effectiveness of advertising information on the construction of social ideology.