Conceptual Integration Theory of Social Issue Advertisements

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which conceptual integration theory can be applied to the analysis of social issue advertisements. Taking into consideration that we live in a visually-dominated culture, visual resources such as advertisements, cartoons, and memes have been used in crafting short, eye-catching messages, seeking the biggest impact with a limited amount of space and/or time. In recent years, there has been an enormous interest in the way conceptual integration theory can be used in explaining how the mentioned resources are formed, used, and what messages they can convey. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to examine the applicability of the theory in the study of social issue advertisements.