Lexicometric analysis of the advertising messages of the big brands in Spain in the face of an unpublished crisis

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis is a social, political and economic crisis, but above all it is an international and unprecedented crisis. Faced with this difficult situation, the big brands have been forced to seek changes in all senses. From an advertising perspective, this research is proposed to find out the exact changes that may have occurred to adapt their advertising messages to the new pandemic scenario. Using a methodology based on content analysis, a lexicometric review of the messages of about twenty brands very relevant to the Spanish economy is carried out, and the copies used by these during 2019 are compared with those of 2020, from the moment in which the alarm state is decreed. The objective is to verify the existence of a tendency to change, which is perceived as peculiar, since it is based on the hypothesis that the communication strategies of the brands under study adopt a double purpose: social and commercial, combining both in his messages, to show his empathy to the public in the face of new circumstances of crisis, while his messages continue to be a faithful reminder of his business work for the consumer. The perseverance of these brands in the face of uncertainty and adversity has resulted in very diverse messages that, once analyzed, attest to their great capacity for change and adaptability, betting on advertising as a safe value in the face of this unprecedented moment.