The Department of Lithuanian Philology (Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty of Humanities) held an international interdisciplinary scientific conference “ADS quasi ART” for the first time on April 10-11, 2014 and invited advertising theorists, practicians and everyone interested in advertising.
Multidimensional discourse of advertising
“Our Faculty stands out for the interdisciplinarity of its study programmes. This conference is a significant outcome of an interdisciplinary study programme Lithuanian Philology and Promotion that out Faculty has implemented for 10 years now”, emphasised Vice Dean for Research Affairs Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ingrida Šarkiūnaitė during the introductory word and wished everyone interesting presentations and discussions.
The chairperson of the initial plenary meeting professor Saulius Keturakis congratulated the participants and thanked the authors of the idea for the conference, i.e. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saulė Juzelėnienė, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Skirmantė Šarkauskienė and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rita Baranauskienė. As for the title of the conference – “Ads quasi Art” (or, in other words, “Ads are like Art”) – the chairperson maintained that it was perfect for the postmodernist times encouraging to think even those who sceptically evaluate the idea that advertising could be juxtaposed with art. “The discourse of advertising is multidimensional, it involves all the sign systems and cites well-known pieces thus enabling philologists to talk about the subtleties of advertising”, said Prof. Saulius Keturakis.
The first day of the conference was dedicated to presentations on scientific research of the advertising discourse. The guests from various Lithuanian and foreign universities discussed advertising as a certain cultural phenomenon with the emphasis on semiotics, literary science, cognitive linguistics, rhetoric and other disciplines.
The success of advertising and product motifs in literature
Gintautė Žemaitytė, a scientist at Vilnius University, invited to think whether the scenarios proposed by advertising are somewhat like happy ending stories that invite one for entertainment and joy; is it a solution to any problem, or rather a social prison of the values and rhythm of life it imposes on the consumer?
Saulius Keturakis, Professor at Kaunas University of Technology, analysed the motifs of the product and trade in literature. He notices the problems of the trading topic discussed by Lithuanian writers and compared to Biblical motifs, for instance, a cashier at a supermarket who can be compared to the first martyr Saint Stephen as he was stoned to death, whereas a cashier “stoned” with products due to excessive consumerism. The researcher maintains that the meaning of buying as a form of torture is an implication here. He also found a direct advertisement of the “Colgate” toothpaste in a poem by the Lithuanian poet, essayist, translator and a public figure Marcelijus Martinaitis (1936-2013).
Commissioned articles and phraseological units in advertising
Anneli Baran, a specialist of folkloristics from Estonia, talked about phraseological units in advertising. The researcher presented advertisements of rye-bread which in her country stands for tradition, consistence, nostalgia and family; the advertisements introduce well-known Estonian bands, and rye-bread is offered as a gift even during St. Valentine’s Day. Despite this, the scientist emphasised that the majority of the younger generation in Estonia chose to eat wheat bread or French bread rather than rye-bread. Anneli Baran brought into focus the fact that it remains important for every consumer to analyse the subtleties of advertising because they affect each and every one of us without us even noticing it.
Political and religious motifs in advertising
Liudmila Arcimavičienė, a scientist at Vilnius University, delivered her presentation in English. She spoke about the tendencies of British and Lithuanian political advertisements (conservative and labourist) comparing them with each other. The main difference between political advertisements in the two countries, according to the scientist, is the fact that British politicians are more inclined to choose the accusatorial mechanism directed towards other political powers. In Lithuania, however, politicians advertise themselves, their good qualities, yet do not direct their accusations towards other political powers, and do not emphasise their negative qualities.
Gintarė Kriaučiūnaitė-Lazauskienė, a scientist at Mykolas Riomeris University, discussed the use of religious motifs in commercial brand advertisements and the significance of spirituality in the consumerist society.
A successful meeting of advertising theorists and practitioners
The second day was dedicated to seminars and workshops led by representatives of agencies, public relations and media specialists who shared their practical experience.
“It was very interesting. I especially enjoyed the wide scope of topics on advertising that can be analysed and discussed. However, after the uplifting presentations, the advice given by professionals on the second day brought back to reality”, recalled Viktorija, a student at Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty of Humanities. “The seminars were dedicated to presentations on the actual advertising business, what you need in order to be creative, what the peculiarities of journalism are. All this is very useful in making certain what kind of job you would want to be involved in”, said Viktorija.
The conference “ADS quasi ART” has showed that the idea to gather advertising theorists and practitioners is significant and prospective. Thus, everyone has agreed that the conference should become annual.
Agnė Zakaravičiūtė,
4th year student of
Lithuanian Philology and Promotion