Representation of classical painting images in an advertising product as a form of dialogue between elite and mass culture (using the example of Volkswagen AG’s 2008 advertising campaign)

Abstract

The study aims to analyze a 2008 advertising product (poster) by Volkswagen AG (referencing the works of S. Dali) in the context of the dialogue between elite and mass culture, identify ways to attract the consumer’s attention to the merits of the offered product through references to cultural pretext, and also consider the features of the representation of classical painting images in advertising. The paper examines the features of the cultural dialogue in the process of the creative interpretation of the plots and images of Salvador Dali’s artistic masterpieces “The Persistence of Memory” and “The Anthropomorphic Cabinet” by the advertising artist K. Chudinskiy. In addition, various intentional means of influencing the recipient through the advertising product are considered. The scientific novelty of the paper is accounted for by the fact that the analysis of advertising material that refers to cultural artifacts of the past makes it possible to consider the main techniques for engaging the consumer in a dialogue with Dali’s legacy in order to generate interest in the offered product; to show ways of manipulative influence of advertising on the recipient through playing with cultural pretext; to identify the specifics of the dialogue between elite and mass culture as a result of the creative interaction of a modern designer artist with classical art. Furthermore, the advertising product in question has not previously received researchers’ attention. As a result of the study, it was found that through various means of representing classical painting images in the 2008 Volkswagen AG advertising campaign, the advertiser, firstly, stimulated the consumer’s interest in their product by using the imagery of Dali’s works. This approach allows for the satisfaction of the buyer’s aesthetic needs and convinces them that the product deserves attention. Secondly, the interpretation of the plot of classical painting offered by the designer artist in the advertising product makes it possible to “sell” a certain lifestyle, a dream that can be realized with the purchase. The work of art allows the consumer to believe that the product offered is intended specifically for them. Thirdly, the effect of the advertising slogan (“Absurdly low consumption”), promoting the principle of rational consumption, is amplified by the use of a cultural pretext, which is intended to remind the buyer, a civilized person, of their responsibility for actions that change the surrounding world. Fourthly, by creatively interpreting the artistic heritage of the past, the author of the advertisement not only encourages the consumer to purchase the product, but also awakens intellectual interest in masterpieces of painting, including the recipient in a dialogue between elite and mass culture. The main means of representing classical painting images in the advertising, which allow the modern artist to creatively interact with the classical heritage, are modifications of the object’s locus, playing with the cultural pretext, irony, symbolization of the artistic space of the advertising product, allusion.