Secular spirituality versus religiosity – communication strategies in advertising

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the article is to identify the specificity of religious and spiritual content in advertising aimed at different markets. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The article demonstrates that the use of religious and spiritual content is specific to image advertising and is a trend that is functional: it serves to disguise the purpose of persuasion, to increase the contextual effect, to build community between sender and receiver and to inspire trust in the addressee. The methodology used in the text is content analysis, desk research, research into the persuasive potential of advertisements, and ancillary semiotic research. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Preliminary considerations introduced the concept of faith and secular spirituality. The body of the article then analyses the research material, which is a selection of television and online advertisements for the Merci brand, the jewellery manufacturer and retailer Pandora A/S, the Cartier brand and Ikea shops. In collecting the material for the article, purposive sampling was used, taking into account commercials aired in Italy, Poland, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Russia before Christmas Eve between 2014 and 2022. RESEARCH RESULTS: The research showed that content relating to religious values and secular spirituality is selected syncretistically in order to broaden the group of planned ad addressees. The very construction of the advertisements resembles a multi-level structure, the elements of which, by levelling the criticism of the recipient, serve to achieve the inference planned by the sender. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The process of secularisation is evident in advertising, which is reflected in spots aired during religious holidays, which are explored by advertising broadcasters. This is facilitated both by the temporal context and by different consumer experiences derived from knowledge structures built on religious and cultural perceptions.