Foster’s Lager:from local beer to global icon
Leanne White
Centre for Tourism and Services Rearch,Victoria University,
Melbourne,Australia
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Abstract
Purpo –This paper eks to analy Foster’s Lager advertising since the early 1980s.In particular,it aims to focus on the Foster’s Lager “I Believe”integrated marketing communications (IMC)campaign launched in 2000and the u of “commercial nationalism”.
Design/methodology/approach –A clo textual analysis consisting of miotics,shot combination analysis,and content analysis is incorporated into the discussion of the Foster’s Lager advertiments examined.The methodologies are helpful for deconstructing mediated reprentations of this iconic beer brand.
Findings –Nationalism and humour have both played an important part in Foster’s Lager advertising ca
mpaigns.However,campaigns in more recent times have become more sophisticated and ironic.In examining a number of significant advertising campaigns for Australia’s flagship beer,the transition from national to global beer brand can be documented.Since 1888the brand name Foster’s has evolved from being just one of a number of beer brands in Australia to the international flagship product of the global beverage giant,and fourth largest brewing company in the world,Foster’s Group Limited.
Rearch limitations/implications –In particular,the Foster’s Lager “I Believe”campaign was an excellent example of the witty u of nationalism and patriotism to communicate a message.Practical implications –Examining how the Foster’s Lager brand evolved into a global brand provides lessons for marketers and educators,particularly in the effective u of commercial nationalism.
Originality/value –The paper brings a detailed analysis of the successful u of commercial nationalism.
Keywords Brands,Advertising,International marketing,Integrated marketing communications,Australia
Paper type Conceptual paper Introduction
This article undertakes a clo empirical analysis of Foster’s Lager advertising since the 1980s.In examining a number of significant advertising campaigns for Australia’s flagship beer –in particular the “I Believe”campaign –the transition from national to global beer brand can be traced.Belch and Belch argue that IMC “involves coordinating the various promotional elements and other marketing activities”(Belch and Belch,2007,p.9).Since 1888Foster’s Lager has been in the business of lling nationalism and patriotism (adopting commercial nationalism).Selling the Foster’s brand and what it has come to reprent has largely been synonymous with lling Australia.
Similarities and differences exist between “official nationalism”(principally generated from the federal government or government departments via significant public events and advertising campaigns)and commercial nationalism –the brand of
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From local beer to global icon 177Received October 2008Revid December 2008Accepted December 2008
Marketing Intelligence &Planning Vol.27No.2,2009pp.177-190q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0263-4503
DOI 10.1108/02634500910944977
天人合一道法自然nationalism generated by private organisations.Understanding the complex relationships and interconnections between the two discours of nationalism further develops earlier studies which identified commercial nationalism as a subject worthy of analysis (James,1983).This article both applies and develops the concept commercial nationalism as it relates to the prentation of Australian images generated by Foster’s Lager.
The term commercial nationalism was chon to describe the style of nationalism promoted by advertirs and advertising agencies as it encompass the suggestion that commerce and the nation are deliberately constructed entities.The term refers to the patriotic aspects in commercials but also alludes to the notion that the once clearer boundaries of the domains of official and commercial nationalism have been eliminated and that the broader concept of nationalism,which dea
ls with ideas and beliefs,has combined with the economic forces in the world of commerce which compete for the consumer dollar.Thus,commercial nationalism is esntially a paradox –two potentially conflicting ctors combining their influences and occupying the same space.Commercial nationalism is a continuation and extension of the overall theme,style and symbols of official nationalism as generated by the nation-state.The dual discours of commercial and official nationalism are directly related.Both contribute to the total discour on nationalism in a community –be it “imagined”(Anderson,1991)or real.The official and commercial strands of nationalism are not binary oppositions –there is a significant degree of overlap between the areas.Commercial nationalism operates like a paradigm –it continues the pattern that has been firmly established by the official body.It is not in the interests of the private company to create conflict between the two types of nationalism;they are merely ud for different purpos (White,2004,p.28).八组
This article attempts to refine and enhance the concept and surrounding theory of commercial nationalism.Commercial nationalism (often a more vociferous manifestation of official nationalism)manifests itlf in consumer-related us of national symbols,images and icons (signifiers).National signifiers such as the country’s flag or landmass are adopted by the world of commerce for consumption in the market.While “popular nationalism”and commercial nationalism ge
鸽了是什么意思nerally perform a different function to official nationalism,the nationalisms often overlap.Images of the nation and types of nationalism interct and change (depending on the u to which they are put).
A diagram and explanation of the relationship between official nationalism,popular nationalism and commercial nationalism is outlined in Figure 1.Official nationalism is the civic,formal and ceremonial nationalism such as the Australian Federal Government’s planning of the Bicentennial celebrations in 1988or the Centenary of Federation celebrations in 2001.National anthem,flag and official symbols are part of official nationalism.The concept of popular nationalism was introduced by Rusl Ward (1966)and can include nationalist messages and images as depicted in popular culture texts such as Australian film,television drama,popular songs and sport.Ward’s archetypal text The Australian Legend attempted to “trace the historical origins and development of the Australian legend or national mystique ”(Ward,1966,p.v).Commercial nationalism refers to consumer-related us of the national symbols,images and icons.It is the material,everyday nationalism reprented by companies and brands such as Foster’s Lager,Qantas and Vegemite.For many years,
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the phenomenon of commercial nationalism has been evidenced in advertising slogans that occasionally develop into popular jingles such as Aussie Kids are Weet-Bix Kids ,I’m as Australian as Ampol and Football,Meat Pies,Kangaroos and Holden Cars .While popular and commercial nationalism generally play a subrvient role to official nationalism,the forms of nationalism occasionally overlap.An example of all three forms of nationalism intercting in Australian culture would be former Prime Minister John Howard’s admitting to being a “cricket-tragic”,the widespread popularity of the Australian cricket team (particularly after the convincing 2006/2007Ashes victory),and the lling of green and gold merchandi to cricket fans so that they can overtly show their support for Australia and the team.
Methodology
A clo textual analysis consisting of miotics (examining how signs generate meaning);shot combination analysis (shot-by-shot analysis)and content analysis (a counting strategy)is incorporated into the discussion of some of the Foster’s Lager advertiments (texts).The methodologies are helpful for deconstructing mediated reprentations of this iconic national and global beer brand.A combination of primary and condary rearch has also been integrated to analy the way in which this celebrated beer has been imagined,created and relayed around the w
orld.
In the process of analysing the Foster’s Lager advertiments,it is uful to begin with a detailed shot combination analysis to gain a better understanding of the syntagmatic relations that exist in a text.A shot is considered to be the length of time that the camera remains with a fixed or moving image.Types of shots include establishing shot,long shot,clo up,wide angle,low angle,pan,tracking and zoom.A shot is comprid of individual frames,a group of shots compri a scene,while a number of scenes is considered a quence.In examining the texts each shot was numbered and described,obrving both the denotative and connotative content of the Figure 1.行政复议怎么申请
Official nationalism is the
dominant pool of
nationalism that primarily
emerges from the
nation-state
From local beer
to global icon 179
shot under examination.The shot combination analysis provided the opportunity to scrutini the text in order to identify signifiers,examine the structure of the narrative in detail,and detect other aspects
of the text that may not have been detected with a “normal viewing”.Having completed the shot combination analysis,a clo analysis of the visual and acoustic channels was then undertaken (a miotic analysis).The visual channel
includes pictorial information such as the object most in focus or most prominent in the frame,the tting or background,and the colours ud in a particular shot.Also contained in the visual channel is the written language that may appear on the screen –and rving to anchor the intended meaning of the text.Barthes developed the concept of “anchorage”,where the caption under a photograph provides crucial information for understanding the intended meaning.The words effectively anchor the preferred reading of a text by rving to eliminate other possible readings.In the ca of writing on the screen,the words “fix the floating chain of signifieds”(O’Sullivan et al.,1994,p.13).The acoustic channel can be divided into spoken language,music and sound effects.
Semiotics is the study of signs,codes and culture,and a qualitative methodology for reading soft data.The word “miotics”is derived from the Greek name for an interpreter of signs –“meiotikos”(Cobley and Jansz,1999,p.4).Semiotics is integrated into this analysis as it is a uful tool for examining the sometimes multi-layered images of a text.Semiotics originated in the early twentieth century and is esntially the study of how signs operate in society or “the study of the soci
al production of meaning”(O’Sullivan et al.,1994,p.281)generated from sign systems.A message consists of a sign or a “string of signs”(Sebeok,1991,p.23).Meaning in this context is the dynamic interaction between the reader and the message.Meaning is influenced by the reader’s socio-cultural experiences,and the reader undoubtedly plays a central role in any miotic analysis.
The Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure is considered to be the founder of the European tradition of sign system analysis referred to as “miology”(although “miotics”has since become the term favoured by most writers on the subject).Saussure argued that it was “possible to conceive of a science which studies the role of signs as a part of social life”(Krampen et al.,1987,p.244).While Saussure’s principle object of study was language,he also argued that a miotic analysis could be applied to a vast array of texts including human activities such as music,architecture,fashion and advertising (Culler,1988,p.96).He put forward the theory that the sign was a two-sided entity consisting of the key components –a signifier (the physical form of the sign)and a signified (the mental concept of the sign).
The signifier and signified are divided for the purpos of analysis but are like two sides of the one coin –they are not detached from one another.There is also no logical association between the signifier and signified as the relationship between them is arbitrary.There is always a constant intera
ction between the signifier and signified,and together they compri what is known as the sign.The interpreted meaning (the signification)can be nothing other than culturally specific.Visual texts clearly evoke different meanings for different readers –even tho who esntially share similar cultural experiences.
Semiotics is an especially uful tool for analysing small and large texts –from advertiments to impressive cultural productions.Semiotics is also a valuable
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methodology for deconstructing aspects of cross-cultural reprentations and experiences.As Gillian Ro stated,miotics“offers a very full box of analytical tools for taking an image apart and tracing how it works in relation to broader systems of meaning”(Ro,2001,p.69).John Fiske,Bob Hodge and Graeme Turner were some of the earlier rearchers to examine signifiers of Australianness.They argue that Australia can be signified by“kangaroos,theflag,Alan Bond,the map,images of landscape,the Sydney Opera Hou,and so on”(Fiske et al.,1987,p.xi).Fiske,Hodge and Turner also claim that advertiments are texts which frequently aim to connect their products with the signified Australia.
Needless to say,the readings of the signifiers examined in this article have taken place within a particular context by one particular rearcher at a particular time in history.Thus the approach is partly one of reflection and reflexivity,yet focussing on particular signs,scenes,narrative structures and meaning systems that may generate a wider resonance.There are some critics of the miotic model who would argue that the quality of the analysis is almost entirely dependent upon the experti and the cultural positioning of the particular analyst(reader)undertaking the study.Some may also argue that miotic readings are largely qualitative impressions.This is where some quantitative analysis(such as content analysis)can provide a uful balance to miotics.Both qualitative and quantitative rearch methodologies have particular strengths and using both methods strengthens thefinal rearch outcome.
Content analysis is a rearch methodology that is concerned with the frequency of content contained in a particular data t.Bernard Berelson defined content analysis as “a rearch technique for the objective,systematic and quantitative description of manifest content of communications”(Berelson,1952,p.15).Content analysis carried out effectively aims to be reliable and valid.Reliability in this n means that repeating the analysis by a different rearcher will produce the same result–that is, that results are reproducible,whereas validity refers to whether or n赞叹不已
ot the rearcher is measuring what they think they are measuring(Hornig Priest,1996,p.87).Content analysis is integrated into this analysis as it is a uful tool for examining the larger picture.
Content analysis has been employed by rearchers for nearly a century but became a popular form of analysis in the1950s and is ud in a variety of academic disciplines including media studies,journalism,politics,literature,history and marketing.George Gerbner ud content analysis to illustrate particular patterns that existed across a range of media products.He examined how cultural values(such as violence)are transmitted through an entire message system and not just one particular television program(Fiske,1990,p.143).
In quantitative content analysis,the rearcher“us objective and systematic counting and recording procedures to produce a numeric description”of what is contained in the text(Neuman,2006,p.323).Content is discovered through a more systematic analysis of the text–such as a newspaper or a television program–than an ordinary reading of the text.Content analysis is effectively a counting strategy and is put forward as an objective method for counting content.It is a uful rearch tool for identifying,categorising and describing trends.At its most basic level,“content analysis simply entails inspection of the data for recurrent instances of some kind”(Wilkinson,2004,p.184).However,a more developed aim of content analysis is to From local bee
r to global icon
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