Living in a media-dominated age in which countless images circulate around the world, we are constantly faced with an environment that has become increasingly saturated by advertising. An emerging phenomenon that can be increasingly noticed in a global sense, but especially in Turkish advertising of 21st century which will be explored in this doctoral thesis, is infantilization.

Infantilization is the practice of treating adults like children and, thus, viewing them as if they have never grown up – an old concept which appears in a great number of fields, from natural sciences to social and cultural studies. However, infantilization received rarely attention until late 20th century, even processes of infantilization had been occurring for centuries in various areas of life from religion to politics. Although infantilization is not new, its contemporary range of development and its influence on consumers today is. Meanwhile it has reached its ultimate breakthrough in the realms of marketing and mass media culture in general.

Consumer infantilization increasingly becomes a technique to attract adults by approaching them like children with advertisements based on the imagination and level of a child. In this sense, the Turkish advertising landscape is rich in elements from children’s worlds which originally address children but actually are instrumentalized in particular for adult consumer purposes. Thus, the purpose of the thesis is to examine and improve a deeper understanding of infantilization as an emerging phenomenon in 21st century with regard to its implementation in Turkish advertising. The thesis will demonstrate how and why brands implement the concept of infantilization within the framework of their marketing strategy in advertisements.

Using the qualitative multiple-case study research design, the thesis adopts a psycho-semiotic method within the postmodern worldview by analyzing selected advertising campaigns (226 commercials and 52 Facebook posts) of 60 well-known brands in Turkey between 2004-2018. The overriding aim of the thesis is to reveal how the ideal postmodern consumer – the child-like adult – is attempted to create through infantilization within unconscious processes by activating psychic dynamics via childhood signs embedded in Turkish advertisements.

Excerpt

1. Introduction

1.1 Background and Motivation
1.2 Focus
1.3 Strategy
1.4 Purpose
1.5 Significance
1.6 Disposition

2. 21st Century Advertising

2.1 The Era We Live In: Key Features of 21st Century

2.1.1 Postmodern Times
2.1.2 Media Explosion
2.1.3 Massive Consumerism
2.1.4 Age of Uncertainty

2.2 Advertising

2.2.1 Definition and Key Characteristics
2.2.2 Postmodern Marketing Strategy in 21st Century Advertising

2.2.2.1 Why Postmodern Advertising Appeals
2.2.2.2 Features of Postmodern Advertising

2.3 Between Western Orientation and Eastern Tradition: Turkey

3. Infantilization

3.1 Definitions, Terminology, and Metaphorical Dimensions
3.2 Interdisciplinary Spectrum
3.3 Historical Background and Usage
3.4 Between Two Poles: Childhood Versus Adulthood

3.4.1 Childhood
3.4.2 Adulthood

3.5 Old Concept, New Twist

3.5.1 From Protestant Ethic to Infantilist Ethos: The New Spirit of 21st Century Capitalism

3.5.1.1 Ideological Shift
3.5.1.2 Core Traits
3.5.1.3 Economic Imperative
3.5.1.4 Formula of the Ideal Consumer: Kid + Adult = Kid-ult

3.5.2 Infantilization Becomes Mainstream: The Contemporary Media and Marketing Landscape

3.6 Response to a Changing Zeitgeist: Serious Concerns and Irresistible Charm of Infantilization

3.6.1 Serious Concerns: Infantilization in the Critical View
3.6.2 Irresistible Charm: Generational Motivations for Infantilization

4. Infantilization in Advertising Context: A Psycho-Semiotic Framework and Case Study Methodology

4.1 A Mass Cultural Desire for the Childlike: Psychological Dynamics Driving Infantilization

4.1.1 On the Freudian Couch: Psychoanalyzing Infantilization
4.1.2 Trip Back to Childhood: Consumer Regression, Infantilism, and Postmodern Nostalgia
4.1.3 Archetypal Traces: Jung’s Eternal Child and Mother
4.1.4 Parent-Child Ego States: Berne's Transactional Analysis
4.1.5 Cute at First Sight, Young at Heart: An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective on Infantilization

4.1.5.1 Cuteness Sells! Why Consumers Are Attracted to the Infantile
4.1.5.2 Childlike Consumer Behavior and Psychological Neoteny

4.2 Semiotics of Infantilization: Reading Signs of Childhood in Advertising

4.2.1 Semiotics: What it Means and Why it Matters
4.2.2 Science of Signs: Origins and Features of Semiotics

4.2.2.1 Saussure’s Dyadic Sign: Signifier and Signified
4.2.2.2 Peirce’s Triadic Sign and Typologies
4.2.2.3 Barthes’ Mythical Sign and Orders of Signification

4.2.3 Advertising as a Sign-Creating System: Insights and Instruments
4.2.4 Infantilization via Signs of Childhood: A Theory Development

4.2.4.1 Instrumentalizing Childhood for Adult Consumer Purposes
4.2.4.2 The Kinder Surprise Effect: How Can We Reveal Infantilization?

4.3 Psycho-Semiotic Approach and Case Study Methodology

4.3.1 Research Design: Qualitative Case Study Methodology
4.3.2 Psycho-Semiotic as Research Method
4.3.3 Research Process of the Study

4.3.3.1 Cross-Sectoral Data Analysis and Selection of Brands
4.3.3.2 Identification of Infantilizing Design Elements and Techniques in Advertisements
4.3.3.3 Development of Multiple Cases Studies

5. Multiple Case Studies: Infantilization in Turkish Advertising

5.1 Reinventing Children’s Traditional Stories: Adults’ Adventures in the Fantasy Worlds of Brands

5.1.1 “I Have a Dream…”: Like Alice in Consumerland
5.1.2 Back to Idyllic Nature and Purity: A Heidi-fication with Rinso
5.1.3 Enchanted Brands Environments

5.1.3.1 From Ikea to Cif: How Brands Satisfy the Inner Princess
5.1.3.2 Enchanted Kitchen Ensemble: Sunlight Cif’s Beauty and the Beast

5.1.4 When Talking Animals Advise Adults in Financial Issues: Garanti Bank’s Fabulous Bremen Town Musicians
5.1.5 Following in the Footsteps of Nils Holgersson: Around the World with Turkish Airlines’ Wingo
5.1.6 Monstrous Insights into Brands’ Microworlds

5.1.6.1 Infantile Germ Wars with Domestos
5.1.6.2 Antibacterial, Tough, and Durable: Royal Halı and Düfa Boya
5.1.6.3 Organic Food Style with L’Era Fresca
5.1.6.4 Anadolu Sigorta’s Infantile Cyclopes: Nazar and Kısmet

5.1.7 Consumer-Driven Neverland and Peter Pan in Türk Telekom: Are Consumers the Lost Boys?

5.2 Revival, Remake, Reconnection: Infantile Brand Promotion with Children’s Entertainment Media for Adults

5.2.1 Retro Cartoons

5.2.1.1 “Money Must Be Funny in the Rich Man’s World”: Duck Tales in Enpara.com
5.2.1.2 Peanut’s Snoopy in MetLife
5.2.1.3 Betty Boop in Papia and Bernardo
5.2.1.4 Wannabe Garfields: The Cats of Türk Telekom and Alarko
5.2.1.5 Casper-ly Ghost: Türk Telekom’s Bulut

5.2.2 Vadaa, Moneygiller, Emocanlar: Infantile Heroic Brand Creatures
5.2.3 Classic TV Shows: Fragments of Sesame Street and The Muppets

5.2.3.1 If “Your Better Half” Infantilizes You: Spectres of Simulacra with Maximum Card
5.2.3.2 Seeing the World through Children’s Eyes: Secret Sides of the ING Bank’s Lion Puppet

5.2.4 Cartoonized and Animated: Infantile Inner Lifes of Products

5.2.4.1 Dyo’s Molecules, Margarine Girl & Co.: The Many Infantile Figures of Brand Spheres
5.2.4.2 Banvit’s Lezzetçibaşı: The Imaginary Friend of Housewives
5.2.4.3 Algida’s Ice Creams Making Propaganda: Political Election Spectacle as Infantile Infotainment
5.2.4.4 From Brush Man to Manga Girl Ajda Pekkan: Polisan Boya
5.2.4.5 Infantile Robotic Brand Character: Garanti’s Ugi
5.2.4.6 From Pepee-Oriented Characters to Stick Figures: Brand’s Preschool Approaches to Serious and Sensitive Issues

5.2.5 Childlike Video Games and Virtual Reality

5.2.5.1 Retro Video Games in Axe and Duracell
5.2.5.2 When Life Becomes a Video Game: Street Fighter Legend in Anadolu Sigorta
5.2.5.3 Avea’s Teletubbied Virtual Reality
5.2.5.4 Opedo as the Turkish Mega Man

5.3 Renaissance of Toy Stories, Tastes, Places & Co.: Branded Adult Versions of Childhood Symbols and Motifs

5.3.1 Brand New Toy Stories

5.3.1.1 Consuming Barbie Worlds with Maximum Card and Axe
5.3.1.2 Toyota Auris’ Car Story
5.3.1.3 Commercial Teddy Bears
5.3.1.4 The Lego Life of Aras Kargo

5.3.2 From Children’s Day to Dirt: Childhood Habits as Reminders

5.3.2.1 Promoting Children’s Day as Adult’s Inner Child Day
5.3.2.2 Products as Symbolic Mothers: How Vitra and Selpak Cares
5.3.2.3 Dirt is Good: Omo for Inner Child Development

5.3.3 Kindergartened and Schoolish Symbols

5.3.3.1 Like a Kindergarten Celebration: The Hopi App
5.3.3.2 Brand’s School Time for Adults
5.3.3.3 Adultified Babies and Babified Men in Bruno’s Kindergarden
5.3.3.4 From Nursery Rhymes to Bubble Play: Traditional Children’s Games for Adults

5.3.4 Milk, Ice-Cream & Candy: Childhood Tastes as a Ticket Back to Childhood

5.3.4.1 Pınar, Torku, and İçim: Milk as Reconnector to Childhood
5.3.4.2 Returning Back to Childhood with Panda Ice-Cream
5.3.4.3 Candies Make Children Happy – But Adults Even More!: Haribo and The Gummy Bear Cult in 118 80

5.3.5 Baby Alarm: Striving for Infanthood

5.3.5.1 The Baby Within the Adult: “Live Young” with Evian
5.3.5.2 Striving for Infantile Appearances with L’Oréal

6. Conclusions and Discussion

6.1 General Evaluation of Multiple Case Study Analysis
6.2 Key Findings and Discussion: Infantilization in 21st Century Advertising

Objectives and Key Themes

This doctoral thesis examines the phenomenon of infantilization in 21st-century Turkish advertising. The study aims to understand how and why brands employ infantilization as a marketing strategy, exploring the underlying psychological and semiotic mechanisms. It analyzes a large corpus of advertisements across various product categories to uncover patterns and techniques used to evoke childlike associations in adult consumers.

The manifestation of infantilization in Turkish advertising.
The psychological mechanisms driving consumer response to infantilized advertising.
The semiotic analysis of childhood signs and symbols in advertising.
The role of nostalgia and the infantilist ethos in shaping consumer behavior.
Comparative analysis of Turkish advertising trends with those in Western countries.

Chapter Summaries

1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the concept of infantilization and its growing prominence in 21st-century advertising, particularly within the Turkish context. It outlines the research questions, methodology (qualitative multiple-case study with a psycho-semiotic approach), and the significance of addressing this under-researched area. The chapter highlights the shift from a "Protestant ethic" to an "infantilist ethos" in contemporary capitalism, emphasizing the role of advertising in shaping consumer behavior.

2. 21st Century Advertising: This chapter establishes the context for the study by examining key features of the 21st century, including postmodernism, the media explosion, and massive consumerism. It analyzes the evolution of advertising from its modern, informative style to its postmodern, creative and often ironic approach. The chapter also provides a detailed overview of the Turkish advertising landscape, its unique characteristics, and its relevance in relation to infantilization.

3. Infantilization: This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the literature on infantilization, examining its diverse manifestations across various fields such as religion, clinical medicine, gerontology, education, employment, and politics. It distinguishes between the active process of infantilization and the passive state of infantilism, exploring the psychological dynamics involved, and finally addresses the debate surrounding the serious concerns and irresistible charms of infantilization in contemporary society.

4. Infantilization in Advertising Context: A Psycho-Semiotic Framework and Case Study Methodology: This chapter lays out the theoretical framework for the research, integrating psychological (Freudian, Neo-Freudian, and evolutionary psychology) and semiotic perspectives (Saussure, Peirce, and Barthes). It details the chosen qualitative multiple-case study methodology, outlining the data collection process and the development of the psycho-semiotic analytical framework used to interpret advertisements.

5. Multiple Case Studies: Infantilization in Turkish Advertising: This chapter presents the core empirical findings, analyzing a range of Turkish advertising campaigns across different product categories. It uses the psycho-semiotic framework to interpret the identified infantilizing techniques, examining the use of childhood stories, entertainment media, symbols and motifs to target adult consumers.

Keywords

Infantilization, Advertising, Postmodernism, Psychology, Semiotics, Turkey, Consumer Behavior, Marketing, Brand Communication, Childhood, Nostalgia, Kidult, Neoteny, Uniage.

Frequently Asked Questions: Infantilization in 21st Century Turkish Advertising

What is the main topic of this text?

This text is a doctoral thesis preview exploring the phenomenon of infantilization in 21st-century Turkish advertising. It investigates how and why brands use infantilizing marketing strategies, analyzing the psychological and semiotic mechanisms involved.

What is infantilization in the context of this research?

Infantilization, in this context, refers to the marketing strategy of employing childlike imagery, themes, and appeals to target adult consumers. The research examines how brands evoke childlike associations to influence purchasing decisions.

What is the scope of the research?

The research analyzes a wide range of Turkish advertisements across various product categories. It uses a qualitative multiple-case study approach with a psycho-semiotic framework to interpret the findings.

What methodologies are used in this research?

The research employs a qualitative multiple-case study methodology. The theoretical framework integrates psychological perspectives (Freudian, Neo-Freudian, evolutionary psychology) and semiotic theories (Saussure, Peirce, Barthes) to analyze the data. A psycho-semiotic approach is used to interpret the advertisements.

What are the key psychological theories used in the analysis?

The research draws upon Freudian and Neo-Freudian psychoanalysis, evolutionary psychology, and Berne's transactional analysis to understand the psychological mechanisms driving consumer responses to infantilized advertising. The concept of neoteny (retention of juvenile features) is also explored.

What semiotic theories are applied to the analysis?

The research utilizes Saussure's dyadic sign model, Peirce's triadic sign model, and Barthes' concept of mythical signs to analyze how childhood signs and symbols are used in advertising to create meaning and influence consumer perception.

What are the key findings of the research (as previewed in this document)?

The preview highlights the pervasive use of infantilization in Turkish advertising, revealing various techniques employed by brands. These include leveraging children's stories, retro cartoons, and childlike brand characters to appeal to adults' nostalgic feelings and desires for simpler times. The analysis shows how brands instrumentally use childlike symbols and motifs for adult consumer purposes.

What are some examples of infantilization in Turkish advertising, as mentioned in this preview?

Examples include using characters from classic children's literature (Alice in Wonderland, Heidi), retro cartoons (DuckTales, Snoopy), and creating childlike brand mascots. Brands are also observed to utilize imagery associated with childhood experiences, such as playing games, eating candy, and the feeling of being cared for.

How does this research contribute to existing knowledge?

The research addresses an under-researched area by focusing on the specific manifestation of infantilization in Turkish advertising. It contributes to understanding cultural nuances in marketing strategies and provides insights into the broader phenomenon of infantilization within the context of postmodern consumerism.

What are the key themes explored in this research?

Key themes include the manifestation of infantilization in Turkish advertising, the psychological mechanisms driving consumer responses, semiotic analysis of childhood signs, the role of nostalgia and the “infantilist ethos,” and a comparative analysis with Western advertising trends.

What are the keywords associated with this research?