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Tv3 and the construction of a model of television advertising in Catalan

GERMÁN LLORCA-ABAD

Universitat de València

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Introduction

The passing of Law 46/1983 in Spain, also known as the Third Channel Bill, involved the establishment of the legal framework within which the current regional television channels in Spain were created. It was also the first major change since the start of regular broadcasts in Spain beginning in 1956. The regional channels, particularly ETB and TV3 contributed to radically alter the nature of television channels in Spain. Bearing this context in mind, this article is an attempt to describe TV ads broadcast on the Catalan channel, Tv3. My intention is to describe the characteristics of these ads and to establish if they contain enough distinctive elements to posit the existence of a Catalan advertising model which is distinguishable from models in other countries. My hypothesis is that any differences will be found at the level of discourse and design.

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Television in the digital age

The media are undergoing somewhat of a revolution due to digital technologies, especially in the sphere of audiovisual communication. The press, radio and television are being forced to make changes which entail, among other things, modifications in the nature of the contents they deliver. I am especially interested in the case of television. It is, without doubt, the medium that has undergone the greatest upheavals –some, but not all of which– are beneficial,¹ as it is the medium that has experienced the passage from an analogue to a digital model most intensely (Francés-Doménech, 2009: 275).

If the container changes, i.e., from analogue to digital, it follows that so will the contents and this applies to advertising too. However, I contend that the television advertising model in Spain remains stable in terms of narrative forms, that is, the articulation of audio-visual content. Another question altogether is the consideration of television as a vehicle for advertising. While still maintaining the symbolic role of the hegemonic medium, it has shown the effects of recent variations in the advertising market. According to figures from INFOADEX study (2012: 8) spending on TV ads fell 9.5% in 2011. It is true that although this downward trend may turn out to be unstoppable, television still remains the most important conventional medium regarding advertising expenditure with a 40.6% share of the total, only 1.7% less than in 2010.

Catalan Television channels have been affected by change in the same way as channels in the rest of the Spanish State so one would not expect changes in the medium to influence the establishment of a hypothetical Catalan advertising model differently from the rest of the Spanish State.² However, my interest is precisely to carry out an assessment of Catalan advertising in order to highlight its peculiarities vis-à-vis other parts of the Spanish State, if any. To do this, besides the relevant theoretical contextualization, I have carried out a multimodal analysis of a selection of ads broadcast on the generalist channel, Tv3. I must, at this point, highlight two important premises to be taken into account: first, I regard Tv3 as the main exponent of a Catalan model of advertising as there is no doubt that it is the most influential channel broadcasting in Catalan in Catalonia.³ Second, I propose that the characteristics that define a hypothetical Catalan model of advertising would emerge from this channel in particular.

Tv3 is part of the Corporació Catalana de Comunicació (Catalan Corporation of Communication)⁴ the creation of which was officially announced in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Catalana or DOGC (Catalan State Bulletin, 1983). The other channels belonging to the corporation are: 33, a cultural channel; TV3CAT, a content-on-demand channel; Tv3HD, a high definition channel; 3/24, a news channel; Esport 3, a sports channel; 3XL, a television series and entertainment channel; and Super3, a children’s channel.⁵ Advertisements and commercials are essentially the same on all these channels but adapted to the different types of audiences.

This multiplicity of channels is due to the move to digital broadcasting in April 2010. However, both the initial impulse at the birth of Catalan television and the subsequent effort to maintain its position as the main media reference point in Catalonia are attributable to the central role that managers and policy makers have given Tv3 since its inception. The broad nature of Tv3’s programming has influenced generations of Catalan citizens.⁶ In this sense, it has contributed, and still contributes, to the consolidation of a Catalan alternative to other state-wide channels that offer programmes to a broad audience. But, what makes it unique beyond questions such as its legal status, its sphere of influence or its management culture is the importance of Tv3 in the creation of a Catalan national identity. It has been crucial in making Catalan a vehicle of communication in the media and forms part of what has been called the linguistic normalization process (see Baguet, 2003). This process is a cornerstone of government policy and has achieved wide consensus among the major parties. For now, however, we will focus on the unique characteristics of the commercials broadcast on this channel.

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Parameters and coordinates for analysis

Television advertising can adopt several forms, but the type of advertising discourse I will centre on is the classic TV commercial in its basic and extended forms. Añaños (2011: 83-84) summarizes the other main advertising formats that can be found on television, most notably: product placement, sponsorship and overlays. The clearest difference between the classic TV ad and others is that the former is completely independent of the programmes which precede and follow it. The approach is in line with other authors who have made reference to this issue (González Requena and Ortiz de Zárate, 1995; Eguizábal, 2007; Volli, 2010). Specifically, Saborit (2000: 21) defines it as any “fragment of television which aims to sell us something” [my translation]. Later, moreover, the author states that, among the advertising formats that exist, the classic TV commercial achieves its unique status because it is clearly distinguishable from surrounding programmes (2000: 28).

The Tv3 Advertising Code (Norma de Publicitat of Tv3 - CCMA, 2011), establishes a maximum of ten minutes of traditional commercials per hour of programming. Considering the variation in the length of commercials, it is rather complicated to calculate the exact number of distinct commercials broadcast daily.⁷ Also we must bear in mind that most of commercials are repeated throughout the day. However, it is possible to establish the maximum amount of time allotted to advertising, which is set at around 250 minutes daily from Monday to Sunday between programmes. Many of these ads are also found in the rest of the Spanish State or created by ad agencies outside Catalonia. I will concentrate on ads made in Catalonia or for Catalan products as these will most likely be the ones that can be said to constitute a Catalan model of advertising.

We define a model as an entity that represents a real world object that is different from others unequivocally. The distinction lies in the delimitation of its attributes, as well as the relationship, or set of relationships, established with other entities. The literature found on this issue requires us to hone in on what the relevant aspects are, precisely because they have an impact on the choice of corpus to be used in our analysis.

It is estimated that in Spain there are around 1,500 advertising agencies.⁸ Approximately two thirds of them operate in Madrid and Barcelona (AGEP and FNEP, 2009: 15-16), including the most important ones in the television advertising business. This fact is both a reflection and a result of the history of advertising in Spain⁹ and allows us to conclude that these: these advertising agencies are responsible for making most of the commercials seen on Spanish television. Thus, there are no major differences between the commercials broadcast by a generalist TV channel like TV3 and its Spanish counterparts.

Following Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001), our approach involves the four analytical strata mentioned in more detail below: discourse, design, production and distribution. As there are no major differences in relation to production and distribution, I am compelled to consider that the strata of discourse and design are more relevant when attempting to isolate the specific characteristics of a regional channel like TV3. Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001: 8) emphasize that the analysis of multimodal communication must take into account the point of view of the producers of advertising and those who interpret it.

As with other regional channels in their respective contexts (Canal 9 in Valencia, ETB in the Basque Country and Galicia TVG), article 14 of the law creating the Corporació Catalana de Ràdio i Televisió published in the Official State Bulletin 1983: 1,482 (DOGC), attributed to the medium “the promotion of Catalan language and culture” [my translation]. The third general provision embodied by the Advertising Code states:

The language to be used generally in advertising is Catalan, in accordance with Article 25.1 of the Law on Language Policy. At the request of agencies and advertisers, the broadcasting company will translate into Catalan or proof advertising texts without charge. (CCMA, 2011: 2) [my translation].

In fact, the wording of the provision leaves it to the advertiser to select the language, but the language chosen in most cases is Catalan.¹⁰ Why is this so?

From a multimodal perspective, the seventh provision of the Advertising Code has repercussions with regard to the commercial discourse of advertising companies: “The content of the ads in relation to sound, speech, purpose and images will be the responsibility of advertisers” [my translation] (CCMA, 2011: 3). But this is where the question arises as to precisely what portion of that responsibility falls to the medium. That is, one wonders how much of the effect of advertising is conditioned by the broadcast medium. The creation of meaning necessarily implies an ideological construct. An entirely different issue is whether said ideology is integrated within a context of generally binding rules. In any case, in this respect I believe that the wording of the law is deliberately ambiguous, since it only excludes ideas “of a philosophical, political or religious nature” [my translation] (CCMA, 2011: 3), without specifying what is meant by each of these concepts. However, as Eguizábal (2007: 309) states:

… only a simplistic and anachronistic interpretation of advertising would force us to see it as a psychological mechanism that operates in the short term to affect the behaviour [...] of consumers [my translation]

It is for this reason that the language model is built with medium-and long-term communication in mind. Eguizábal (2007: 309), in a very broad sense, relates this assertion to the cultural construction of social habits and customs “of each era”.

According to Saborit (2000: 197):

the formal structure and rhetorical strategies of TV ads rely heavily on what is being advertised and, therefore, we can establish genres of television advertising, defined by their formal and rhetorical regularities.

In this regard, the codes through which ads are articulated have evolved from the more rational models of the first stage of modern advertising, to the much more emotional style of today. The evolution of an advertising model based on reason to one built on emotion (Klein, 2000) requires a profound change in narrative strategies. Advertising in Catalan is no exception.

Advertisements encourage in consumer’s the desire to identify with the object being promoted. To achieve this end, the ad attempts to convey the experience of consumption in cultural terms, but this allows us to participate in a reality which is independent from the real world (Llorca-Abad, 2011: 147). We can conclude, in other words, that Tv3 ads are no different from others beyond the actual language used, i.e. Catalan.

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Methodology and Analysis of the Corpus

I gathered the corpus of ads which I analyze below from February to September 2012. In my selection of ads I have given priority to those which can be seen as providing uniqueness to the analysis. In other words, as mentioned in section 3, those commercials which, due to the origin of the companies or organizations featured, may be considered more Catalan although they may also be found in the rest of Spain.¹¹ Some of the ads that have been translated into Catalan are broadcast in other parts of Spain in Spanish.

From this point on, the factors I will take into consideration when approaching the analysis are those where we can identify the presence of a differentiated advertising model. But, before analyzing my sample of nine commercials,¹² I will make a number of clarifications based on the four layers of analysis proposed by Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001).

4.1 PRODUCTION. Being an embodiment of design (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2001: 69), production is understood, in the field of television-advertising creation, as the moulding of the elements necessary for the construction of the commercial, and for final assembly: ideation, script writing, recording, performing, editing, voice-overs, sound, postproduction, etc.¹³ The production phase, i.e., the actual creation of advertising discourse is partly responsible for its ultimate meaning, as “production and discourse are directly connected” (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001: 73). In some cases this affects the division of campaigns into ads of various lengths (Estrella Damm, or Catalana Occidente) to achieve a longer term effect. The longer ads have a contextualizing function and the short ones play the role of reinforcing recall.

Although different types of production can lead to the same kind of discourse, we understand that the narratological specification of advertising allows us to speak of a stable strategy. González-Requena and Ortiz de Zárate (1995: 21) describe it thus:

What, in terms of enunciative structure, translates into a constant presence of the figure and the interpellative gestures of the advertiser directed at the audience will tend to manifest itself in all the parameters of audiovisual discourse. [my translation]

Clearly, advertising agencies, most of which are Catalan, have highly specialized production systems that are appropriate for channels of distribution of audiovisual content (television). This means that agencies work with a common narrative language and common references so they are easily identified by any viewer, regardless of their location in Spain.

4.2 DISTRIBUTION. Regarding the technology used in the distribution of commercials, my analysis will be limited to terrestrial digital television although TV3, like other Spanish television channels, can also be consumed through pay-per-view digital platforms or Internet.¹⁴ Thus, the importance of the analysis in this respect lies in the conventional manner of watching television. Recall that this has important implications regarding one of the key elements of analysis, i.e., broadcast language. Tv3 is made in and for Catalonia,¹⁵ that is, an area, defined both politically and territorially, in which more than 7.5 million people live. Of course, at a later date the contents can be consumed through other distribution channels throughout the world.

Television broadcasts capsules whose geographical and temporal range is decided by the brand being advertised, and the advertiser in relation to the trade agreement reached with the channel. These agreements are of different types for each specific form of distribution. In my analysis, I selected prime time as the scope and impact of ads in relation to the number of people they reach are very different. It is true that the old parameters used to gauge audience numbers are gradually becoming obsolete. However these parameters are still in force and such is their importance that they are used to decide on the cost of airing an ad.

4.3 DESIGN. “[Design] is the organisation of what is to be articulated into a blueprint for production” (Kress y Van Leeuwen, 2001: 50). Here we are dealing with the conceptual side of commercials, that is, semiotic resources and how they combine to create meaning. In this area there are interesting contributions in my selection. Regarding common points of reference: music, scenery, special atmospheres, etc., we can see that some have special connotations. Regarding music, there is a song played by a Swedish indie group specialized in catchy melodies, (Lacrosse, Estrella Damm), or music by a Catalan folk-rock band (Olivemoon, Vichy Catalán). In the case of natural settings, we find very special locations, i.e., the Catalan Pyrenees (Veri), or the Serra de Tramuntana (Estrella Damm). Special atmospheres are also featured, such as the cafeteria The Sortidor in Barcelona (Vichy Catalan), or Camp Nou (Estrella Damm-Barça), etc.

4.4 DISCOURSE. According to Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001: 4), discourses are socially constructed knowledge of some aspect of reality. By socially constructed they mean that:

… they have been developed in specific social contexts, and in ways which are appropriate to the interests of social actors in these contexts, whether these are very broad contexts (‘Western Europe’) or not (‘A particular family’), explicitly institutionalised contexts (newspapers) or not (dinner-table conversations), and so on.

In this sense, TV ads are a well-known form of communication in contemporary societies. And as such certain connotations related to the content of the ads match certain decoding parameters. In this respect, we note that “discourse relates to language, or perhaps more strongly, that discourse exists in language” (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2010: 24).

The construction of the discourses created in our selection is fully in compliance with this perspective. Returning to the idea of emotional advertising (Klein, 2000), my stance is that the viewer does not have time to think, to form an opinion. One of the main reasons why advertising discourse relies so much on clichés and stereotypes is that they facilitate an almost involuntary identification processes. We must also remember that each ad must establish emotional relationships between the positive ideas of the corporate identity of the brand and its products. The ultimate aim is to turn the brand itself into a universal cultural experience. Lemke’s words on advertisements seem especially enlightening in this sense (2011: 150):

Today we can say that they sell identities: identities which imply dispositions to buy some kinds of products and services rather than others. Global producers market identities. So when we analyze transmedia franchises, we need to be aware not just of the identities they are selling and the dispositions they appeal to, but also of the larger identity markets to which these belong.

In other words, each ad contains two or three of these ideas to be reconstructed in the collective consciousness: security is found in the safe environment provided by home insurance (Catalana Occidente), plurality is seen in the heterogeneous group (The Tribe), purity is felt in nature (Veri), the Mediterranean spirit is evinced through natural habitats and a permanent party atmosphere (Estrella Damm), the feeling of belonging occurs when one is a member of a club “which is more than a club”¹⁶ (Estrella Damm-Barça), wellbeing surfaces in a smile (Vichy Catalán) fear grips one at night (Sitges Festival); individuality is expressed through unconventional attitudes (Voll Damm) etc. We must not forget that companies and their products are present in other contexts and have other resources to help the public recognize them. Brands, like the ones above, are organized around certain ideas that are carefully built up over the years through advertising and marketing.

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Commercials

For the multimodal transcription used in this chapter I have followed the model proposed by Baldry y Thibault¹⁷ (2006: cf. 142). However, I have not carried out a complete transcription of each ad due to space constraints. Instead I have transcribed frames which I deem are representative of the ad; moreover, as Baldry and Thibault (2006) themselves point out, a transcription is necessarily selective per se.

Catalana Occidente (Length: 10 seconds)

This ad highlights the specialized services of the insurance company. The advertising campaign revolves around a long ad and a series of shorter 10-second ads which focus on specific insurance services: life, home, car. This allows the distribution of the ads within the same block of commercials.¹⁸ The advertising agency responsible for this advertising campaign is Catalan, Altraforma. The media plan, deployed by another agency (MPG), includes commercials on other major television networks in Spain, radio commercials, print ads in newspapers and magazines and ads on the Internet. Moreover, print material is available at Catalana Occidente’s branch offices. Altraforma has also been involved in other important advertising campaigns in Spain such as Unicef, Abertis or Dewar’s.

Catalana Occidente has spent several years organizing advertising campaigns which centre on the slogan “Catalana Occidente fixes everything, everything, and everything”. The division of the campaign into different ads of different lengths reinforces the company’s slogan.

The main character in the ad that we’ve selected is a middle-aged father who emphasises that the insurance plan can be personalized to such an extent that things can be done “my way”. Furthermore, we see the clear visual references to the home and family. In the ad I have analyzed we are shown two girls and a woman. By inference we assume that they are the man’s daughters and wife.

The playfulness and the fun, together with the sense of complicity between the family members, help reinforce the viewers’ positive perception of what they see. There is a sensation of tranquillity and, to a certain extent, a disregard for possible problems. The musical score, present throughout the piece, has an upbeat rhythm that reinforces the atmosphere of good will. In the fragment analyzed a solo guitar emphasizes the slogan (my way).

Ultimately, the brand image is associated with the reliability of the term group, which in turn reinforces the meaning of the phrase uttered in the voice-over “many professionals working to do what has been promised” [my translation], i.e., individualized treatment tailored to real consumer needs. The brand, in this case, is also given a more Catalan flavour through the inclusion of the adjective Occident in the name of the company Catalana Occident instead of the Spanish version: Catalana Occidental.

La Tribu de Catalunya Ràdio (Length: 20 seconds)

The self-promotion of the programmes produced by Catalunya Radio has always been a hallmark of this radio station. Among public broadcasters in Spain, the RTVC group has always paid great attention to the quality of their self-promotion.

La Tribu (the Tribe) is an evening magazine programme on Catalunya Radio and one of the most popular radio programmes in Catalan. For this reason, it is the only commercial in our corpus that is not aired in the rest of Spain. The ad projects the positive values of the programme. It relies on a simple but effective voice-over that emphasizes the human component of the members of the show. In-house staff at Tv3 design and produce the ad. The fact that the ad is inexpensive and effective constitutes one of the reasons for the success and popularity of this radio station.

La Tribu commercial endeavours to make the values of the programme and the radio station that airs it explicit. Therefore, two-thirds of the ad, the first seven seconds and the last seven are on-screen texts focusing on the main theme: “Now, more than ever” (Ara, més que mai). The values promoted are: diversity, humour, spontaneity and empathy. Next we see the six people who appear in the programme in a series of just three interconnected scenes. This is enough for us to see how the six exchange smiles and knowing looks, while highlighting the figure of the director and main voice in the programme, Tatiana Sisquella. A clear visual identification between the positive values of the programme and the people who make it is conjured up.

The characters are surrounded by a very warm light in a place which we cannot identify immediately but which we intuitively surmise is the radio station.

A poster that can hardly be seen is located right at the back of the scene. The way verbal language and images articulate meaning by establishing a relationship of interdependence is worth noting. What is highlighted is not only the content of the programme, but also when it is aired. The announcer supplies this information which is also displayed as on-screen text. At the end of the ad once more, the slogan “ara, més que mai” is repeated but this time it is associated with the station itself. This is important as the national character of the station is emphasized through the voice-over: “Radio Nacional de Catalunya”, in a clear reference to the only national radio that existed before Catalonia became an autonomous community: Spain’s National Radio (RNE). The reference to a national radio network, which reinforces the idea of a Catalan nation, can only be understood from the point of view of listeners living in Catalonia.

Agua de Veri (Length: 40 seconds)

The Villarrosàs advertising agency based in Barcelona is responsible for statewide campaigns for companies such as Nike, Honda Automotive, or Bacardi. The agency also carried out its activities from Madrid for large national firms before closing its offices there in September 2012. As on other occasions, the Veri campaign highlights the central idea of the purity of its water and where it comes from, the Pyrenees. This time, however, unlike previous campaigns, the idea of purity is reinforced from the perspective of isolation. The previous lighthearted approach used in other campaigns is abandoned and a much more serious and transcendental tone is adopted.

The idea of isolation is actually a risky strategy as it could be negatively connoted from a social standpoint. The ad strategy is to continue to link traditional values related to Catalonia but this time relating them to the elite Catalan skyrunning athlete, Kilian Jornet, who is well known in Catalonia. For those who may not have heard of him, his name appears on-screen over the image between the 13th and 16th seconds of the ad. This information makes it possible to air the ad throughout Spain. For thirty seconds of the ad we see a spectacular montage of images alternating between the Pyrenees and the athlete; images of isolation and wild nature combine to connote symbols of purity and authenticity.

Interestingly, the narrative voice is attributed to the athlete’s mother, who is also seen in different scenes. The explanatory and very motherly tone (see excerpt above) of the narration implies that this is an ad for mothers with children.

The musical score is made up of a piano piece that is heard throughout the ad and reinforces the breakup of the content into three blocks. These can be interpreted as: the decision to live in an isolated place, the doubts about the desirability of doing so with a small child, and the confidence that the final decision was the right one: “I only want what any mother wants, the best for her child” (jo només he volgut el que vol qualsevol mare, donar-li el millor al meu fill) thus attempting to establish a connection with mothers everywhere.

Vichy Catalán (Length: 60 seconds)

The 2012 commercial for the best-known Catalan brand of sparkling water highlights the idea of well-being in a very broad sense.

This campaign is particularly interesting for many reasons. First, because the target audience it addresses, is made up of young people. All the characters, that is, a man drinking Vichy Catalan, the waiter, a girl and a second man, are young people. Also, they only communicate through looks–what links them together is the water itself. The importance of gaze, which constantly reframes the rest of the action is highlighted in the frame analyzed below. After the initial reluctance to accept invitations to drink, the mood of the three customers improves on drinking the water. Specifically, 34 seconds and 54 seconds into the ad smiles appear instantly when contact with the water is made, coinciding with a rise in intensity of the music.

Second, because it uses references which bring up cosmopolitan reminiscences of Barcelona, i.e., the cafeteria, located in the Poble Sec in Barcelona and the Barcelona band Olivemoon. The café, which conveys an atmosphere of great warmth, could be a café located in any city. Nothing explicitly tell us that we are in Barcelona. 38 seconds into the ad a couple of people with oriental features appear. The lyrics in English, do not give clear clues as to where we are. In this respect, it is important to note that the spot has only been released in Spain.

Third, because the ad features montage which is lacking almost entirely in linguistic elements, which gives it a certain universality. Only at the end is the slogan on the label of the bottle pronounced: “Vichy Catalan loves me” (Vichy Catalan, m’estima). It is important to highlight this, because one would only have to change this three-second fragment to use the ad outside Catalonia. It is also important to emphasize that the brand name, in spite of it being a quintessentially Catalan product, has a Spanish name, even within Catalonia. That is, Vichy Catalan and not a hypothetical Vichy Català. This is common in many advertisements we see on TV3. Catalan versions retain the name of the brand (product, company ...), and / or slogan in Spanish: El Corte Ingles, “Somatoline Complex: funciona” (works), etc.

Estrella Damm 2012 (Length: 3 minutes, fifty seconds)

This is the Catalan brand of beer par excellence. The Serra de Tramuntana campaign involved ads of varying lengths. The long version showcases the singularity of the content to a greater extent than the shorter versions. The ad is intended to build up an association between the values of Mediterranean culture and beer. In other words, it is a kind of vindication of the culture and lifestyle of the Mediterranean. Thus, recourse is made to a wide variety of stereotyped clichés regarding Mediterranean culture. First, because the story unfolds on a very specific Mediterranean location, that is, the island of Mallorca and at a very specific point on the island, the Serra de Tramuntana. At the same time it seems to rule out the possibility that similar things might occur in Turkey, Israel and Morocco.

Second, because of the peculiar idea of what being Mediterranean means. According to the ad, it is associated with being forever young, spontaneity, partying all day long, romance, sensuality and sex, drinking, eating and sleeping. Actually, this is a very restricted view of a certain type of Mediterranean holiday. It makes no reference to other facets of the culture and much less about the life of people within that geographical area. To reinforce this preconceived happy-go-lucky positivism, we see images of the untouched Mallorca–a far cry from the crowded, high-rise urban areas of Magaluf, Sa Porrassa, or Palma Nova. Added to this, we hear lively music and see frenzied activity through agile and dynamic montage sequences. Despite the apparent universality of this commercial, which could be understood by any young European (unsurprisingly Mallorca is an icon of the Spanish fiesta), there exist local elements that anchor the general discourse of this advertising to a specific environment, namely the typical architecture of the houses of Serra de Tramuntana (28 seconds into the ad), a game of dominoes (60 seconds into the ad), or Tomeu Penya (103 seconds into the ad); a Mallorca singer-songwriter who is also well known in Catalonia.

Barça-Estrella Damm (Length: 120 seconds)

The Barça-Estrella Damm ads are also created by the Villarrosàs agency of Barcelona. This particular advertising campaign is designed to reinforce brand values. In this case, the brewery joins forces with the football club in order to highlight the brand values they share. What is of interest here is the contrast with the Serra de Tramuntana campaign. However, in this case there are also two elements, which could be considered very Catalan, one is of a culinary nature, la escudella, a type of traditional stew, and the other, is a football club, el Barça. Both are inimitable and part of the essence of being Catalan. The idea behind the ad seems to be to imbue the beer with the same kind of inimitable status that la escudella and el Barça possess.

The commercial employs several verbal and non-verbal clichés in a tongue-in-cheek fashion: the phrase “Barça is much more than a football club”, the club colours: blue and purple (blaugrana), the colours of the Catalan flag, yellow and red, etc. The clincher is that a girlfriend, no matter how beautiful, French and sophisticated she may be, can never replace a mother –at least in the kitchen.

Festival de Cine Fantástico de Sitges (Length: 25 seconds)

Sitges is one of the most important specialized film festivals in Spain. The campaign plays on the sci-fi and horror-movie characteristics of the festival. Based on an idea from the Madrid advertising agency, China, the actual audiovisual production is carried out by the international advertising agency FishFilm. China is responsible for similar commercials with a fantasy film theme such as the television channels SYFY and Calle 13, but also for large companies such as Opel, Evo Bank or Toys ‘R’ Us.

The ad recreates the atmosphere of a feature film. The idea is to generate a feeling midway between suspense and terror. To do this the producers of the ad recreate scenes that have appeared in hundreds of movies: a bus passes by at night with a single female passenger. It stops and a man with a sinister look on his face and dressed in a rumpled raincoat gets on. The man looks at the passenger, who, instead of being intimidated, stares at him defiantly. Finally, the man sneezes and turns into a pack of rats that run around the bus. However, the woman looks on as if nothing untoward is happening. The message at the end of the ad is clear: “our fans are difficult to frighten” (els nostres fans són difícils d’impressionar). As in the Vichy Catalán ad, the verbal element only appears at the end, allowing, on the one hand, the tension of not knowing what will happen to build up and, on the other hand, for the ad to be translated into other languages with only slight modifications.

Bayer-Advantix (Length: 20 seconds)

This is a conventional campaign promoting a dog-worming product that has been present in the Spanish and European markets for decades.

The ad is the identical to the Spanish version, except for the language, i.e., Catalan. Created by the Spanish subsidiary of Global Health Care, this agency, with offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Mexico, specializes in pharmaceutical and healthcare products and services. Among other clients, it has produced advertising work for companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Lacer, Novartis, or Unilever. The agency is associated with DDB, one of the most important advertising agencies in Europe and worldwide.

This campaign is interesting due to the simple association that it makes between concepts. The advertisement starts with several people attempting to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Then a voice says: “your dog trusts in you to protect it” (el teu gos confia que tu el protegeixis). The discourse associated with pets, especially dogs, is based on protection and loyalty. In this case, while highlighting the benefits that the product has on the health of the dogs by listing, one by one, the types of parasites that it eliminates (8 seconds into the ad), it emphasizes that they cannot care for themselves. Faced with these threats, it is the owners who must act.

Voll Damm (Length: 60 seconds)

The 2012 campaign reinforces the importance of the double malt manufacturing process that characterizes this beer. This is an idea which has traditionally been promoted by the Voll Damm brand. In the Catalan version there are no differences except for the language–Catalan instead of Spanish–and on-screen text recommending responsible drinking habits. It is a creation of the agency SCPF, run by the renowned Barcelona publicist, Toni Segarra, who is also the principal creator of the brand’s slogan. His agency has produced many other ads nationally and internationally for well-known brands such as BMW or Evax.

The first thing that surprises one is the level of aggressiveness transmitted by the images in this commercial. It starts with a frontal image of the boxer approaching the ring. The boxer does not look at the viewer, but what lies ahead of him. Immediately, as if he had accepted a challenge, he starts to run and goes on doing so for the rest of the 60-second ad. From this point, we only see his back, which changes as other characters appear: a rugby player, a paratrooper, a firefighter, an aggressive executive, etc. During this phase the narrator emphasizes the ideal of a challenge. The point of view only changes at the end of his run.

This ad is clearly directed at men, but female characters, such as the girl in the example above, also appear as do characters whose gender is quite ambiguous (10, 15 and 19 seconds into the ad) thus causing a certain amount of confusion. It seems that everyone is invited to transgress what is socially accepted, that is, there is a certain laisser-faire atmosphere. Ultimately, it is the female gaze (28 and 35 seconds into the ad) that tells us that it is only by being true to oneself that we can be what we want to be.

6

Conclusions

This chapter has shown that television advertisements broadcast on TV3 do not differ substantially from those found on other Spanish television channels, whether they are of a generalist nature or not. Therefore, my results do not point to any significant differences between a hypothetical Catalan advertising model posited at the beginning of my article and that of other TV channels in the rest of the Spain. However, “an empty sign only acquires an identity within the act of communication itself which is the strategic axis of the symbolic production of the advertising industry” [my translation] (Gavaldà, 2004: 126). That is, although we cannot conclusively argue for the existence of an entity that represents a real world object and which differs from others unequivocally, we have seen characteristic elements that could support a hypothetical Catalan advertising model.

Advertising agencies do not use different techniques to create ads in Catalan; the articulation of meaning that takes place through narrative and narratological process is the same as for other TV channels. Nor are there different procedures in relation to the origin of most of the common discourse referents used, production costs of the advertising capsule, or the length of the ads. What we do see is that nuances are introduced through language, geographical locations, and some clichéd references.

Although we may not agree, today it is true that in an increasingly globalized world advertising models are also required to reflect this fact. The uniformity of referents, the standardization of communication strategies and the exaltation of the same corporate values: individuality, consumption, canons of beauty, etc. is necessary for the creation of universal discourses.

It is true that Kilian Jornet is a very important symbol of Catalan identity, but we cannot forget that he is an athlete in a sport with an English name, in a context of global competition. We could argue that the Sitges Festival is an international symbol of the Catalan film industry, but it is also undeniable that it has subsumed the aesthetic of American terror films. We might think that a symbol as Catalan as the sparkling water of the Caldes de Malavella would be imperturbable, but it needs referents that are not tied to any concrete social or geographical reality for discourse to be articulated, and so on. Emotionally we are heading towards a society modelled on consensus on certain undeniable and unquestionable values (Llorca-Abad, 2011: 145). In this sense, if we want to sell beer or products to deworm pets we can do so by using the same language, English, worldwide, thus relegating everything else to an anecdote.

In spite of all this, the normalizing influence of Tv3 regarding language and culture within Catalonia itself has been a determining factor in making the existence of television broadcasting in Catalan –including advertising discourse– a felicitously unremarkable everyday fact of life. Private companies and other entities understand that nowadays in order to sell they must also make use of local culture. This is what makes advertising on Tv3 both a force for globalization and, at the same time, a reinforcement of national identity. Therefore, advertisers and academics still have to avail themselves of some of the old referents, be they political, geographical, social, cultural, or economic to understand just what makes advertising in Catalonia similar but somehow different to other places in the world.

Appendix

Abbreviations found in Baldry and Thibault (2006)

T. column.

Refers to time in ad in which images appears.

Frame column

Image capture corresponding to the time in T. column.

Image column

CP. Camera Position, HP. Horizontal Perspective, D. Distance, VC. Visual Collocation, VS. Visual Salience, CO. Coding Orientation, CR. Colour, VF. Visual Focus

Kinetic action column

Brief description of action

Sound Track column

[♫] Presence of musical instruments

(*) Indicates that the music marks stress when it goes down or remains the same (roll).

(**) Indicates that the music marks stress when it goes up (volume might increase).

These indicators are also used to refer to male and female voice overs. In this case the text that is being heard is indicated.

Interpret. Phases and Sub-phases column

EXP. Experiential, INT. Interpersonal, TEX. Textual, LOG. Logical

Music

(pp.) very soft, (p.) soft, (n.) normal, (f.) loud, (ff.) very loud. If these appear together, that is, “pp., f”, it indicates fluctuation in volume.

Voices

[☻♂] [☻♀] Indicates male or female voice-overs respectively

Vol. stands for volume of the voice. It combines with volume indicators seen above, i.e., pp., p., n., etc.

Temp. stands for tempo or voice speed. It combines with the following: s. Slow, n. Normal, m. Median, f. Fast

Singers

[♫ ♂] Male singer [♫ ♀] Female singer

[♫ chorus] Male and female singers. It combines with the volume indicators for volume: n. Normal, m. Medium, l. Loud

Y for direction: > y <

Other sounds

[☼] Indicates sounds other than voice or music –includes silence.

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1 In this respect, changes in the TV medium not only affect the economic model (negative) but also the contents and narratives (positive). In Francés-Doménech (2009) the keys to this debate are discussed.

2 The multimodal analysis of TV ads requires a recontextualization precisely because of the relevance of social and historical aspects when TV ads are broadcast (Baldry and Thibault, 2006: cf. 165). This perspective is latent throughout this chapter.

3 Barcelona Televisió, BTV could have been chosen for this study due to its importance in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The same can be said for TVE 2, part of the Spanish broadcasting company TVE, which also offers programmes in Catalan.

4 After the changes in the law introduced in 2007 (Catalan State Bulletin: DOGC, 2007), the corporation changed its name to Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (Catalan Corporation of Digital Audiovisual Media CCMA). The purpose was to adapt the law to the changes brought about by digital communication technologies, that is, the digitalization of existing television channels.

5 3XL was broadcast on a regular basis until its disappearance on October 1st, 2012. Also from that date, the 33 and Super 3 channels have shared different time slots on the same frequency. The justification for the changes was the economic crisis and the need to cut down on public spending. It is predicted that these measures will save twelve million euros a year. (“El Super3 i el 33 compartiran el mateix canal a partir de l’1 d’octubre”. In www.ara.cat, 12/09/2012).

6 The same could be said, in general terms, of generations of Valencian citizens who were able to receive Tv3 from its inception until quite recently. This possibility ended abruptly in February 2011 when the Valencian government won its court case against Acció Cultural, the owners of a series of transmitting towers that retransmitted the Tv3 signal. Tv3 has had a sustained influence on the Valencian Community, that is, beyond the natural limits of its influence.

7 The length of ads on Tv3 is regulated by the Norma de Publicitat (CCMA, 2011), which, in turn, follows the dispositions laid down in the Llei de la Comunicació Audiovisual de Catalunya (DOGC, 2006). In this respect, we find ads that last from a minimum of 5 seconds to 180 seconds. In any case, Tv3 fixes the length of a standard ad at 20 seconds. Figures on the exact number of ads broadcast have not been made public.

8 This number was found in the 2009 report drawn up by the General Association of Advertising Firms and the National Federation of Advertising Companies (Asociación General de Empresas de Publicidad, AGEP; Federación Nacional de Empresas de Publicidad FNEP) and details the different subsectors within the advertising industry: advertising agencies, media agencies, agencies for advertising abroad. AGEP and FNEP represent 90% of the sector in Spain.

9 Throughout the twentieth century half of the advertising agencies in Spain are based in Barcelona (Fernández-Poyatos 2010: 52).

10 Although more than 90% of TV ads are dubbed into Catalan (Tv3, 2009), some companies, El Pozo or Pachá Colonia, do not dub their ads or use mixed formats. When the actor or actress is a Spanish speaker, like Lola Herrera in an ad for Actimel, the original version is maintained, although on-screen text in Catalan is sometimes found. In other ads there are versions in Spanish with subtitles in Catalan as in the case of Corega.

11 What is of interest here are the relations that hold between these aspects and others such as synergy, holism, or objective as they have formed part of the general theory of systems for four decades (Von Bertalanffy, 2003: 54). However, taking into consideration all the concepts or axes that integrate the theory (types, purposes, growth, mechanization, centralization, etc.) seems excessive given the objectives of this chapter.

12 My analysis of the ads broadcast on Tv3 the 22nd and 23rd of May and the 11th and 12th of September 2012 showed that almost all were also broadcast –in Spanish– in the rest of the Spanish State. Out of a sample of thirty ads, I found 26 were broadcast outside Catalonia: Michelin, Gallina Blanca, Ikea, Regal, Galp, Max Factor, Danone, Font Vella, o Nissan.

13 It is quite common for ads to include special effects or animation: Festival de Sitges, Somatoline Cosmetic, Estrella Damm-Barça, etc. but I have only found one that was 100% animation: Michelin Energy Saver.

14 Digital communication technologies have slowly redefined the professional profiles in the audiovisual sector. These new professions, in most cases, are related to content types. De Vicente (2011) has drawn up a detailed report in which he talks about a new generation of advertising professionals who attempt to find the best audiovisual procedures for advertising in digital contexts.

15 It is worth pointing out that Catalonia and Andalusia are the only autonomous communities that have an audiovisual advisory body (Consejo del Audiovisual). Among its functions is the responsibility to make sure that legal norms applicable to public and private television channels are complied with.

16 A slogan for FC Barcelona.

17 A list of abbreviations is provided in the appendix.

18 The Advertising Code (Norma de Publicitat CCMA, 2001: 5) specifically regulates the possibility of repeating an ad in the same block: “The minimum duration of an ad is five seconds. The same ad cannot be broadcast within the same block. In exceptional circumstances, as long as it is justified from an artistic viewpoint, shorter ads will be permitted” (“La durada mínima d’un anunci serà de cinc segons. Un mateix anunci no es podrà repetir dins el mateix bloc. Excepcionalment, sempre que creativament estigui justificat, s’admetran anuncis de menys durada”).