HEROIC FIGURES IN CONTEMPORARY ADVERTISING. CONSIDERATIONS ON BRAND ACTIVISM 24-36

Abstract

The periods marked by serious crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or, more recently, the war in Ukraine, create the context in which the human need for heroes becomes more visible. The assumption underlying this paper states that, in a secular society, media in general, and advertising in particular, represent a major source of content that offers to the consumers symbolic meanings used in the creation of meaningful stories about themselves, about the others and about the world. The aim of the paper is to investigate the presence of heroism and heroic figures in advertising. Firstly, I will focus on several important conceptual aspects necessary for understanding the presence of the heroic images in advertising. Then, I will address the main characteristics of the heroic figures that are central for advertising nowadays. In this respect, I will try to identify the main types of heroes, whose stories are told by advertising texts, focusing especially on the trend that, in the era of advertising that is defined by activism and social involvement, democratizes the heroic status.