Viral Reklamlarda ‘Selfie’ Aracılığıyla İmaj Oluşumu, Narsizm ve Öz-Tüketime Eleştirel Bir Bakış A Critical Perspective on Image Formation, Narcissism and Self-Consumption Through A 'Selfie' in Viral Advertisements

In the digitalized World of today, image has become the primary consumption parameter. Within the scope of this study, examples of successful and pioneering campaigns that have gone viral will be examined within the framework of image creation and narcissism while some academic findings on the use of selfies in advertising campaigns will be analyzed. In this respect, the relationship between advertising and self-consumption will be scrutinized from the scope of "Selfie". In the study, besides the comprehensive literature review on the subject, a semiotic analysis method will be applied on the examples of two national /international viral advertising campaigns with a "selfie "hashtag (#)”, which have high number of clicks and are exemplified by well-known social media analysis companies in the sector. ABSTRACT Nowadays, having a digital identity, and starting to 'exist' online is as easy as opening up a social media account. At this point, when the “personal” is made digital, and shared with all; the individual begins to create an avatar through the virtual “mask” he/she is hiding behind to protect his/her privacy in a sense. Sharing filtered selfies on Instagram, checking in places through Zomato, sharing every move as a 'proof' of living in Facebook stories ... In this context, the digital society consumes the original, while creating a new type of reality. One may say that digitalization is used to manipulate and/or re-shape the reality. This way, the individual starts to "live" in the digital reflection that he/she creates through the screen. The internet enables the individual to be at many places at a given time, with many identities. One can analyze this by examining the relationship between the human and his/her shadow: In the real world, the shadow follows the person; the person shapes and manages the shadow as he/she wishes. However, in cyberspace, the shadow eventually starts to rule the human. In this context, it can be said that there is a relationship between death and the screen. When the relationship in question is examined in the simulation process that goes from reflecting the reality to concealing it, then to concealing the absence of it and finally to the human-made false reality that challenges the ‘existence’ of organic ‘nothingness’, it can be analyzed how the individual consumes his essence through the "selfie". such analysis, some self-

The internet enables the individual to be at many places at a given time, with many identities. One can analyze this by examining the relationship between the human and his/her shadow: In the real world, the shadow follows the person; the person shapes and manages the shadow as he/she wishes. However, in cyberspace, the shadow eventually starts to rule the human. In this context, it can be said that there is a relationship between death and the screen.
When the relationship in question is examined in the simulation process that goes from reflecting the reality to concealing it, then to concealing the absence of it and finally to the human-made false reality that challenges the 'existence' of organic 'nothingness', it can be analyzed how the individual consumes his essence through the "selfie".
With such an analysis, it can be understood why any self-made avatar in a 'selfie', can also be regarded as some kind of self-demolition… In the digital world of today, humans are replaced by utopian visuals that bring the magic of the simulation universe to reality, causing individuals to question their 'being'. While the line separating the real and the fake disappears in this newly formed digital simulation, the abstraction of human emotions is disregarded, and the result is a pseudo-world in a sub-simulated cyber reality that shrouds the reality of emotions. Considering the importance of selling to emotions in the advertisements from Edward Bernays to the present, it becomes questionable how the concept of self-consumption observed in the transition to digital can also change the advertising parameters.
Today, consumers' choice of smartphones has come to depend primarily on the quality of the front camera, namely the camera's ability to take 'good selfies'. Selfie continues to be preferred because it is easily shared on social networks and is open to individual intervention with high-tech filtering options. In this context, the purpose, scope and research methods used in the study are as follows: Purpose of the Study: To question whether people are among those consumed as a semiotic image after objects in the consumer society, through 'selfie', and to examine the theme of selfie, which is frequently used by many brands in the advertising sector, within the framework of the leading and resonant national/international advertising campaigns of the sector.
Scope of the Study: Users in social media are both information producers and consumers. In the study, apart from how social media users approach viral campaigns with the theme of 'Selfie' and how they express their feelings in the Youtube video comments they share publicly, it will also be examined in the study how the viral advertising campaign is presented by the brands. The studies to be analyzed are: 1. Toyota/ The #selfLESSie Campaign 2. Gray Istanbul / #Instacandy Campaign Study Methods: In the study conducted, two viral advertising campaigns with the theme of 'selfie', selected by social media analysis companies or awards (internationally Pace, nationally Bronze Mixx 2014 Award reference) with high clicks and views, as well as a comprehensive literature review. An examination was made on the sample by applying the semiotic analysis method. Qualitative analyzes were made on how the meaning is constructed by establishing links between the three basic elements consisting of the sign, the signifier and the signified in the 'selfie' themed ads viralized by social media users in the digital environment. The likes and comments of social media users on the videos in question are also important. Among the limitations of the research, the lack of detailed Turkish literature on the subject and the fact that the 'self-shooting/selfie' culture has been replaced by 'killfie', i.e., 'selfshooting within the scope of death attraction' applications, can be given. This can actually be considered both as a constraint and as a helpful element in questioning hypotheses. çekerek, sosyal medya aracılığıyla paylaştığı kişisel fotoğrafı olarak tanımlanmaktadır (Hess,2015(Hess, , s.1629. Teknoloji zaman içerisinde bu "selfie" olgusunu teşvik etmiştir. "Mükemmel bir selfie nasıl elde edilir" ve "selfie için farklı pozlar" hakkında bilgi paylaşan siteler bile vardır. Koolfie, restaurantfie, musclefie, dentisfie ve çok daha fazlası gibi yeni terimler avatarların dünyasında yerlerini almıştır. "selfie çubukları" ve "selfie ayakkabısı" gibi destekleyici ürünlerin pazara