Fantastic Narrative Use In Advertisements: An Analysis of Nike’s 2022 World Cup Ad

Abstract

Purpose – Given the vast potential of sports events like the World Cup for advertising, this study aims to analyzes the use of fantastic narratives in the advertisement “Nike FC Presents the Footballverse”, which Nike created for the 22nd FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar in 2022. Design/methodology/approach – The universe of the study consists of commercials broadcasted for an international sports competition within the scope of sports marketing. The Nike brand makes extensive use of sports marketing and was the shirt sponsor of 13 national teams in the 22nd FIFA World Cup. For this reason, their commercial constituted the sample of the study. Semiotic analysis was used as the methodology. The semantic analysis was carried out in the context of Saussure and Peirce's concepts of signifier and signified, and the plain meaning and connotation that Barthes put forward as the basic concepts in the analysis of advertisements. Findings – After the semiotic analysis of this advertisement, it was revealed how and in what way the elements were used and as a conclusion it was seen that fantastic narrative was used. The elements of plain meaning and connotation created by the fantastic narrative are described, and the intergenerational unity created by the perception of time is explained. Discussion – Advertisements, which are designed to convey the brand message to the target audience, continue to be one of the most widespread mass communication publications. In terms of attracting the attention of consumers, fantastic narrative has been widely used in commercials. In terms of international sports marketing, the World Cup, the European Football Championships, Olympic Games are the most important of these opportunities. According to the findings, fantastic narrative is also used in sports activity advertisements today.