Selling "Turkishness": Nationalism and globalization in Turkish advertising
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
;supervisor: Bauman, Richard
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Indiana University: United States -- Indiana
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
: 2010
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
241 pages
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
, Indiana University: United States -- Indiana
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
This dissertation examines the globalization of the Turkish advertising industry in an increasingly nationalist environment. Turkish firms such as Cola Turka, Mavi Jeans, Derby Razor and their advertising agencies work to speak explicitly to the national instincts of Turkish consumers within a context of neoliberalism and globalization. Relying on close textual analysis of advertisements for the aforementioned brands and ethnographic research among employees and other stakeholders involved in the Turkish advertising industry, the dissertation demonstrates that advertisers are not only strategically appealing to Turkish identity as a means of selling products, but also using these ads to construct Turkish identity, specifically, a global national identity, that I call "global Turkishness." In the dissertation, the process of constructing global Turkishness is demonstrated through analysis of the commercials of three Turkish brands as well as those of Benetton Condoms. These advertisements manifest the struggles to articulate a renovated Turkish identity which is formed from the new nationalism (neoliberal nationalism) as part of a neoliberal project of global capitalism. Neoliberal nationalism is a new form of nationalist ideology that has a strong modernist approach and tendency towards globalization. Humor plays an important role in the ads because the ads become a parody of the construction of identity through consumptive practices. The ads play off of so-called national and global identity of products as well as Turkish culture and the American way of life. This research, thus, illuminates the relationships linking nationalism, globalization and neoliberalism by examining the rapidly changing Turkish advertising industry and its ties to international capital. Circulation and consumption of these advertisements not only link Turkish advertising with the global advertising industry but also put Turkey into dialogue with other nations. Advertising campaigns for Cola Turka, Mavi Jeans, Derby Razor, and Benetton Condoms mark the transformation of the "Turkish" advertising industry into a global culture industry. In this context, I look at the ways the ads link distinctive aspects of Turkish society and culture to large scale political and economic formations, especially the Turkish nation-state, global branding and marketing.