Gamechangers: A content and semiotic analysis of Super Bowl commercials during recession and non-recession years

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in symbolic content of Super Bowl commercials during recession and non-recession years. Another aim was to find out if humorous commercials were more common in recession year commercials as opposed to non-recession year commercials. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied. The study examined the topic through both content analysis and semiotic analysis. For the content analysis, commercials were viewed and coded to address the question of whether commercials change based on economic conditions. For the semiotic analysis, one commercial from each of the four selected years was chosen to be analyzed. The principle conclusion was that although the results are not significant, the findings are indeed significant. . It found that neither tone, product references, symbols, celebrity inclusion, or product type were affected by the economic climate. This indicates that the ads agencies are not adjusting sales strategies based on the economy.

Name thesis:degree_name

MS

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Reed College of Media

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Smithson, Joshua

Contributors dc:contributor

• Steve Urbanski
• James Ebel
• Jensen Moore
• Tom Stewart

• Journalism
• Mass communication

Identifier

https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/361

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1364