THE USE OF CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISEMENTS: SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF APPLE TÜRKİYE “THE GREAT ESCAPE” COMMERCIAL FILM

Abstract

Today, social media has caused a major transformation, especially in the field of advertising, and these platforms have become a powerful tool for brands to deliver their products and services to wider audiences. Each culture has its own unique language, symbols, traditions and set of values, and these cultural elements can help advertisers convey their messages in a way that is appropriate for the target culture. The purpose of advertising is to persuade consumers by appealing to the values of the target group. In this study, cultural elements and how they are positioned are analysed by making use of Roland Barthes' semiotic approaches. According to the YouTube Ads Leaderboard Turkey results of the second quarter of 2023, the Apple commercial film titled "The Great Escape" was announced to be the most watched commercial film. In this study, this commercial film which was shot in Istanbul Grand Bazaar using only an iPhone 14 Pro was analysed in eight sections. In the two minutes thirty-seven seconds long film which was directed by Sinan Sevinç, seventeen cultural elements were found to be used and each element was analysed in detail. As a result, it was determined that the use of local cultural elements in the advertisements enables the target audience to identify themselves with the advertisement providing a strong emotional bond with the brand. It also creates the impression that the brand shows cultural sensitivity in consumers, and is an indicator that it endeavours to understand the lifestyle and values of the target audience.