Patriotism in Romanian Advertising – A Means to Recover National Identity
Patriotism in Romanian Advertising – A Means to Recover National Identity

Summary/Abstract: The way advertising campaigns develop patriotic feelings has become an interesting issue in Romania since 2010. In brief, the topic is connected to concepts such as national identity, responsibility, tradition, and national spirit. This study analyzes the way advertising messages express patriotism to encourage consumers to accept their own identity. Specifically, research reveals the way campaigns successfully appeal to consumers by using a local rather than global strategy. This market dynamic is investigated through a comparison between advertisements and the industry view on national consumer attachment; the former has become very different from the recent past, when public displays of patriotism were either denied or hardly expressed. The following paper aims to present patriotism in the context of advertising from two perspectives: interviews with professionals working in the Romanian advertising industry, and investigating the message of patriotic ads. The study concludes with the main features of a so-called “patriotic” advertisement: such ads are designed to revitalise and appreciate national conscience, local values, and belonging to a cultural space in the context of globalized communication.

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