VISUAL PERSUASION IN THE DIGITAL AGE: A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF CGI MARKETING CAMPAIGNS IN TÜRKİYE
Öz
This study aims to examine how computer-generated imagery (CGI) is used as a visual persuasion tool in digital marketing campaigns. Focusing on three CGI-based Instagram advertisements by Turkish brands—Samsung Türkiye, Adidas Türkiye, and Migros Sanal Market—the study employs a qualitative methodology combining semiotic analysis of visual content with content analysis of user-generated comments (n = 35–50 per case). The findings reveal that CGI enables brands to construct culturally resonant narratives through digital spectacle, visual exaggeration, and emotional appeal. Rather than merely enhancing aesthetic value, CGI operates as a myth-making device, contributing to symbolic brand identity. User reactions reflect a range of perceptions—from national pride and admiration to skepticism and confusion—indicating a blurring of boundaries between real and virtual experiences. Anchored in the frameworks of Barthes, Peirce, and Baudrillard, the study concludes that CGI has become a rhetorical and cultural medium shaping contemporary brand storytelling and consumer engagement in online platforms.
Anahtar Kelimeler
CGI Marketing, Visual Persuasion, Semiotic Analysis, Brand Mythology, Digital Advertising
Kaynakça
- Aiello, G., & Parry, K. (2020). Visual Communication: Understanding Images in Media Culture. SAGE.
- Arnould, E. J., & Thompson, C. J. (2005). Consumer Culture Theory (CCT): Twenty Years of Research. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4), 868–882. doi:10.1086/426626.
- Barthes, R. (1977). Image, Music, Text. London: Fontana Press.
- Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation. University of Michigan Press.
- Boorstin, D. J. (2012). The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America. Vintage.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Campbell, C., Plangger, K., Sands, S., Kietzmann, J., & Bates, K. (2022). How Deepfakes and Artificial Intelligence Could Reshape the Advertising Industry. Journal of Advertising Research, 62(4), 371–380. doi:10.2501/JAR-2022-017
- Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
- Grau, S. L., & Zotos, Y. C. (2016). Gender Stereotypes in Advertising: A Review of Current Research. International Journal of Advertising: The Review of Marketing Communications, 35(5), 761–770. doi:10.1080/02650487.2016.1203556
- Hackley, C., & Hackley, A. R. (2018). Advertising at the Threshold: Paratextual Promotion in the Era of Media Convergence. Marketing Theory, 19(2), 195–215. doi:10.1177/1470593118787581.