Advertising in Greek media during the Covid-19 pandemic

This paper investigates social advertising both in social media and mass media during the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic in Greece. It presents a qualitative analysis of the advertisements that were part of the coronavirus campaigns “Stay at home” and “Stay safe”, from March to June 2020. The analysis is based on semiotic and communication models. The aim of the research is to find out to what extend those advertising spots shaped the new daily life of the citizens, acting either informatively or instructively. Findings indicate that the campaign adapted to the needs of an already tired public. Furthermore, those specific social ads neither did they meet the expectations, nor resulted as expected, reproducing mostly stereotypes. They eventually did not innovate, express better ideas nor effectively communicate the intended message without provoking, distracting from the central objective or raising debate for all the wrong reasons.