Mythization by advertising means in the field of higher education: the worldview and communicative aspect

Abstract

The article examines the process of mythization, which occurs in the advertising activities of higher education institutions. It is noted that in contrast to commercial advertising of other economic entities, advertising of higher education institutions is limited to the choice of forms and methods, as educational services are regulated not only by the economic institution of society, but also by education, culture and politics. Based on the analysis of more than 500 advertising messages (voice, visual, audiovisual) of higher education institutions of Ukraine, it is established that the vast majority of advertising has the character of a presentation of specialties and facilities of a higher education institution. This advertising is often made by non-professionals, its dominance in the media space causes the recipient not to perceive large arrays of information load, which is characterized by a low level of recognition of the subjects of advertising. The production of mythologemes allows advertising resources to increase the effectiveness of action, to form a campaign strategy for several years. The main mythologemes produced by advertising in the field of higher education are «new stage of life», «popular specialty», «ease and accessibility of education», «here you will be taught by the best professionals», «leader of education», «education for all», «higher education institution in your region». In particular, it is noted that the integration of mythologemes «popular specialty» and «ease and accessibility of education» allows the advertiser to appeal not to assess the essential strengths of the child and the need for rational choice of potential models for personal self-realization, but to the ambition of parents. An important component of the mythization process is the production of new archetypes. The mythologeme «education leader» is reflected in quasi-ratings, the proclamation of the word «leader of the region» in slogans and often does not involve the use of complex mechanisms to confirm the proclaimed advertising messages. The use of tagged advertising leads to the assertion of the advertising myth about the ease of material education in «their» region. An important component of the mythization process is the appeal to the archetype of the researcher in a white coat, as well as the production of new archetypes, including the «crazy professor». Along with the processes of mythization, there is also demythization, which is designed to apply the means of monitoring the market of educational services and compliance with competition rules, to introduce rational criteria for evaluating the activities of higher education institutions while maintaining their autonomy.