Denis JAMET-COUPÉ
INTRODUCTION / 5
Karine BERTHELOT-GUIET
Title: BRANDS AND ADVERTISING, MARKET MEDIATIONS OF ABSENCE
Abstract: The question concerns the links between commercial mediation and absence. Indeed, brands and their heralds, advertisements, rely heavily, if not entirely, on the disappearance or absence of the physical product behind the signs intended to ensure its sale. They transform consumption into choices, purchases, and exchanges of signs. They must stand out and, beyond the products themselves, encourage the consumption of signs.
Keywords: brand, advertising, presupposition.
Marque et publicité, médiations marchandes de l’absence / 10
Maria KONTOZOGLOU
Title: THE ART OF ADVERTISING SUBVERSION: HUMOR AS A TOOL OF SHARED UNDERSTANDING
Abstract: The article analyzes how humor, used as a strategy of diversion in television advertising, fosters complicity with the audience to capture attention and circumvent rejection caused by advertising overload. The methodological framework is based on a pragmatic study of seven French commercials, distinguishing between consumer goods and services, and examines the linguistic and visual humorous techniques employed. The main findings show that humor, in various forms (irony, pastiche, parody, incongruity, etc.), creates surprise, reinforces product memorization, and encourages viewer identification, while allowing brands to mask the commercial aspect in favor of an empathetic relationship.
Keywords: complicity, diversion, humor, pastiche, television commercial.
L’art du détournement publicitaire : l’humour comme outil de connivence / 18
Sylvie FABRE
Title : RE-ENCHANTING ONLINE DATING: THE PLACE AND ROLE OF LITERATURE IN THE RECONFIGURATION OF THE BRAND DISCOURSE ON THE ADOPTEUNMEC WEBSITE
Abstract: This article examines the shift in the discourse surrounding the dating site Adopte, which, after generating a buzz with an interface inspired by e-commerce conventions, appears to have set out to re-enchant virtual dating through campaigns that reference or borrow from literature. Despite growing social acceptance, online dating is often still perceived as lacking authenticity. This mistrust stems in part from the very nature of the digital platform, which operates on a consumerist logic. The persistence of the romantic ideal of a spontaneous romantic encounter, shrouded in mystery, is believed to be at the root of this dissonance with digital practices. The aim, therefore, is to examine how the AdopteUnMec platform tends to downplay the commercial aspect of online dating, even though the brand had specifically built its identity on an overtly consumerist positioning. Initially based on a hyperbolic portrayal of the commodification of human relationships, AdopteUnMec’s discourse has gradually shifted toward a literary imagination that draws on fictional worlds, narrative techniques, and reflections on the power of language. This strategy is part of a metonymic treatment of dating: the term is displaced from the discourse in favor of a semiotic configuration aimed at revaluing its symbolism. By drawing on works and practices specific to the literary genre, and by diluting its own voice within the voices of iconic authors or characters to the point of blurring the boundaries between sources of enunciation, the brand seems to infuse the 2.0 experience with a sense of the sublime that technological systems are clearly struggling to provide. Reflectively, this strategy also reveals the limits and shortcomings of commercial discourse and highlights literature’s unique place in the collective imagination.
Keywords: brand discourse, dating sites, literature, representations.
Yana PAYOLI
Title : ECLIPSE AS AN ADVERTISING STRATEGY: COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY AND ITS LITERARY ECHO
Abstract: This diachronic study focuses on the advertising strategy adopted by a French shoe polish brand established in Russia in the 19th century. The study analyzes the stylistic and extralinguistic elements of the advertising campaign 1910 as a comparative advertising and juxtaposition of the rival brands. This type of commercial discourse plays on the simultaneous presence and absence of the competitor’s image. The study takes into account the restrictive economic and legal framework. The study examines the lexical and visual representations generated by promotional postcards used as the advertising multimodal medium. The principal iconotextual elements supporting the brand’s strategy to eclipse its rivals in the shoe polish market at the beginning of the 20th century are identified. The reception of the product by buyers is examined through a study of the logo, product name, and brand reputation.
Keywords: comparative advertising, commercial discourse, multimodality, Franco-Russian relations.
Imen SEGHIR
Title: WHEN ADVERTISING CROSSES BORDERS: TRANSNATIONAL ADAPTATION IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH COSMETICS ADVERTISING
Abstract: This paper aims to examine the discourse of women’s cosmetics advertising through a contrastive analysis of English and French advertisements. The study focuses on strictly equivalent ads, seeking to identify not only the similarities in both editions, but above all the discursive and visual differences that distinguish them. My analysis foregrounds textual, visual, stylistic, and argumentative variations in advertising, with a particular focus on how certain elements of discourse are absent, omitted, or substituted in either version. Drawing on a series of case studies, this study demonstrates how brands adjust their discourse to target audiences, linguistic and cultural contexts, as well as regulatory frameworks, using distinct stylistic and visual elements. The differences identified within this study illustrate the diverse strategies of adaptation at play in transnational advertising.
Keywords: advertising discourse, cosmetics, multimodality, advertising adaptation.
Lucile BORDET
Title : BETWEEN ABSENCE AND HYPER-PRESENCE, OR HOW TO CONVINCE THE CONSUMER: AN ANALYSIS OF THE LEXICAL AND SEMANTIC-CONCEPTUAL DOMAINS OF A CORPUS OF ADVERTISING VIDEOS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Abstract: Based on a corpus of videos featuring sports coaches specialising in weight loss, this paper analyses advertising strategies through the lens of the absence and hyperpresence of terms related to weight loss, such as sport and food. First, a textometric analysis reveals lexical frequencies and highlights over- and under-represented lexemes. Secondly, an analysis of semantic-conceptual domains is conducted, revealing that the semantic domains that are highlighted or, conversely, relegated to the background differ depending on the advertising strategies chosen by sports coaches.
Keywords: advertising discourse, corpus linguistics tools, textometry, weight loss, absence and hyper-presence.