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Loneliness as an Activation Strategy in Narratives of Contemporary Advertising

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Emotions and Loneliness in a Networked Society

Abstract

This chapter investigates the representation of loneliness and its use as an activation strategy within contemporary advertising in Germany, as well as the application of the deficit model of ageing as part of advertising narratives. Both quantitative and qualitative media content analyses are employed to examine a selection of German print advertisements featuring adult characters aged 18 years and over, with a particular focus on adults aged 50+. The study uses inter alia the Campaign to End Loneliness (CEL) Measurement Tool to derive its variables for the quantitative insight and identifies two narrative clusters through its qualitative analysis in which loneliness is strategically employed in the contemporary advertisement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of West London, London, UK

    Dennis A. Olsen

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  1. Dennis A. Olsen
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Correspondence to Dennis A. Olsen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK

    Bianca Fox

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Olsen, D.A. (2019). Loneliness as an Activation Strategy in Narratives of Contemporary Advertising. In: Fox, B. (eds) Emotions and Loneliness in a Networked Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24882-6_12

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