One day Seminar on Advertisement Studies

Date : 22 August 1998
Venue : Centre for Research, S.B College, Changanassery.

Post graduate students, teachers, researchers and cultural practitioners attended the seminar. The aim of the seminar was to introduce advertisement as a multi-disciplinary topic. We have made this point very clear in our announcement of the conference:
This is a world of advertisement. The business and media survive and flourish on them, while the consumers are sapped into their scheme of things. Advertisement (Ad) is a discipline in itself, which has a prominent place in the curriculum of the to-be executives.
Contemporary cultural studies, which is devoted to the analysis and interpretation of popular culture, also provides space for ad studies. Technological innovations surface through ad forms, dipped in local and natural culture.
From a hidden persuader, ads have turned into open persuader and they overtly exploit the situation to the fullest with some hidden agenda. In this angle ad has gained a political dimension.
Marginal formations of modern languages are taking place in ads and it serves as an edge for languages. Thus it has made an entry into the curriculum of modern linguistics.
The ads are targeted mainly at two segments of the society – women and children. Moreover they are used as instruments in the making of ad copy. Thus ad finds a place in women studies as well. Ad is also an active area of discussion in critical pedagogy.
We, invited those who are interested in Business Management, Poetics, Politics, Linguistics, Women Studies, Critical Pedagogy, Contemporary Cultural Studies to attend this seminar. The response was averwhelming and 100 delegates participated. Prof. Stephen Mathews, Dept. of Commerce, St. Berchman’s College, Changanachery delivered the Key note address. This lecture demonstration with visual aids on video projector was noted for the freshness of ideas, clarity of expression, aesthetic scheme of presentation and flavour of social commitment. Mr. Mathew Paul, well known producer of advertisement presented the producer’s point of view. In fact this developed as a dialogue session with the involvement of many enthusiastic participants. In the afternoon Dr. A. P. Andrewskutty, Prof. of Linguistics, University of Kerala presented a scientific analysis of the language of advertisement. His presentation shall be remembered for the unique blending of scientific rigour, representative choice of data and splash of humour. Ms. Suja Susan George, lecturer St. Mary’s College, Manarcaudu presented a paper on “Women in Advertisement”. Dr. Scaria Zacharia spoke on “The politics of Advertisement”. These presentations concentrated on the ideological analysis of advertisement in the light of the contemporary theories of cultural studies. We are extremely gratefully to Prof. Stephen Mathews, Prof. Josy Joseph and the academic community of St. Berchman’s College for the successful conduct of this programme