Shockvertising: Beyond Blunt Slogans and Drastic Images. A Conceptual Blending Analysis

The present paper discusses the application of Conceptual Blending Theory (henceforth: CBT) as proposed by Fauconnier and Turner (cf. Fauconnier and Turner 1998, 2002) to the analysis of shockvertising that appears in social campaigns. Assuming that the main objective of the so-called shockvertising is to startle the audience and thus draw their attention to the most burning social problems, usually overlooked when presented in the form of typical posters, CBT proves a successful tool in decoding messages comprised in such ads. Of particular importance is a conceptual blend which dynamically emerges as a result of various blending processes activated while decoding both visual and verbal components recalled in shock advertisements.