ABSTRACT
Visual Symbolism in C oss-Cul u al
Ad e ising: A Compa a i e S udy o Sou h
A ica and Kenya
D . Al uğ Ocak
Depa men o Tou ism, T a el and Leisu e Se ices
Is anbul Beyken Uni e si y
Is anbul, Tu kiye (Tu key)
[email p o ec ed]
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-8018-4158
The Re ail and Ma ke ing Re iew
Volume 21, Issue 2, No embe 2025, Pages 87-105
Doi: h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17341523
This esea ch sc u inizes c oss-cul u al symbol use in ad e ising by unde aking compa a i e analysis o 60
Sou h A ican and Kenyan ads, wo economically impo an and cul u ally di e se A ican economies. Using quali a i e
con en analysis suppo ed by semio ics heo y and NVi o coding, he s udy es ablishes egional pa e ns and na ional
di e ences in symbolic epe oi es. Sou h A ican ads p omo e mode n iden i y, empowe men and mul icul u alism,
ypically depic ed h ough u ban, p o essional and echnology-in luenced images. Kenyan campaigns ea u e cul u al
he i age, amily and communi y alues communica ed in adi ional a i e, coun yside se ings and eligious icons. These
a e in line wi h b oade A ican ad e ising pa e ns, hyb id symbols ha a e he i age and mode n, ca alogued in ecen
Ghanaian, Nige ian and Egyp ian s udies. The esea ch adds o c oss-cul u al ad e ising heo y h ough he
de elopmen o he Visual Symbolism Decoding Model and si ing na ional pa e ns wi hin a con inen al semio ic con ex .
Manage ially, he esea ch p o ides ad ice o in e na ional and egional b ands in ques o cul u al luency, indica ing a
necessi y o symbolic s a egy aligning wi h local sub le y and common A ican isual codes.
Keywo ds: Visual symbolism, C oss-cul u al ad e ising, Ma ke ing communica ion, Semio ic analysis, Sub-Saha an
A ica
Visual Symbolism in C oss-Cul u al Ad e ising: A Compa a i e S udy o Sou h A ica and Kenya 88
1. INTRODUCTION
As global ad e ising campaigns become mo e dependen on isual communica ion, symbolism has eme ged as a
key mechanism o communica ing meaning and in luencing b and pe cep ion (I anghi e al., 2023; B an hwai e, 2002).
Knowing how symbolism ope a es wi hin a ious cul u al con ex s is c i ical o de eloping e ec i e and esona ing
campaigns. In he case o Kenya and Sou h A ica, wo economically impo an bu cul u ally dis inc A ican ma ke s,
a s udy o isual symbolism p o ides pe spec i e on he adap a ion o global s a egy o local s o y and alue, which is
a he hea o he aim o his esea ch. Images, om objec and se ing o colo and ges u e, a e no only a en ion
ge e s bu also ca ie s o cul u e ha con ey meaning, c ea e b and pe cep ion and shape consume beha io (Phillips
& McQua ie, 2004; Sco , 1994). Pa icula ly in mul ilingual and mul icul u al en i onmen s, o ins ance, Sub-Saha an
A ica, isual symbolism is a s a egic necessi y ha allows b ands o b idge linguis ic and e hnic di ides.
I makes a con ibu ion o ad e ising heo y h ough he in eg a ion o semio ic analysis and cul u al dimensions in
o de o desc ibe how isual symbols ope a e as bo h ma ke ing ools and cul u al ex s wi hin speci ic A ican ma ke s.
By i s concen a ion on Sou h A ica and Kenya, i akes c oss-cul u al ad e ising s udies in o less co e ed ma ke s,
p oposing a model, he Visual Symbolism Decoding Model, o desc ibing how b ands encode symbolic epe oi es o
cul u ally he e ogeneous audiences.
In spi e o he ex ensi e usage o isuals in global campaigns, ma ke ing esea che s ha e demons a ed ha
symbol meanings a e highly cul u e-bound. A isual employed o ep esen empowe men in one cul u e may mean
a ogance in ano he cul u e (Zhou & Belk, 2004). This conside a ion indica es he need o cul u ally esponsi e
design, which demands no jus c ea i eness bu also cul u al li e acy (de Mooij, 2019). Howe e , al hough nume ous
s udies ha e analyzed he ad e ising appeal e icacy ac oss global egions, he e is s ill a conside able dea h o isual
con en s udies pa icula ly on A ican ma ke s and mo e so om a compa a i e and symbolic pe spec i e.
Sou h A ica and Kenya p o ide a g ea pai o compa ison. Sou h A ica, ha ing a s ongly de eloped economy
and pos -apa heid in es men in mul icul u alism, has a endency o engage wi h hemes o di e si y, mode n iden i y
and echnological inclusion in ad e ising (Bo nman, 2006). Kenya, meanwhile, is s ongly connec ed o adi ional
communi y s uc u es and eligious iden i y and ad e ising ends o ocus on amily alues, cul u al he i age and
communal g ow h (Owi i, 2017). A consciousness o how he logics o such di e en cul u es a e w i en in o
ad e ising's isual na a i e can enligh en heo y and p ac ice.
The pu pose o his esea ch is o compa e Sou h A ican and Kenyan uses o isual symbolism in ad e isemen s
h ough quali a i e con en analysis based on semio ic heo y and cul u al heo y. Based on he analysis o 60
ad e isemen s, ac oss media and indus ies, his s udy explo es he ways in which isual componen s, such as
image y, colo , composi ion and cul u al symbols, encode messages e lec ing o ein o cing na ional cul u al alues.
1.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To di ec he analysis, he s udy asks he ques ions:
• Wha kinds o isual symbols a e mos commonly u ilized in Kenyan and Sou h A ican ad e ising?
• In wha ways do hese isual elemen s esona e o di e acco ding o he cul u al and socio-economic
si ua ion o each coun y?
In wha ways do ad e ise s c ea e cul u ally app op ia e messages in isual design?
89 The Re ail and Ma ke ing Re iew: Vol21 Issue 2 (2025) ISSN:2708-3209
This s udy adds o c oss-cul u al ad e ising and isual communica ion s udies h ough p o iding a compa a i e
analysis g ounded in A ican cul u al con ex s, hus b oadening he geog aphical and concep ual bounda ies o isual
ma ke ing esea ch.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. VISUAL SYMBOLISM IN ADVERTISING
Visual symbolism allows ad e ise s o exp ess mul i ace ed cul u al, emo ional and ideological meaning ia image,
colo , composi ion and ges u e (Phillips & McQua ie, 2004; Sco , 1994). Symbols ca y bo h deno a i e (li e al) and
conno a i e (cul u al) meanings, in luencing consume in e p e a ion and b and iden i y (Ba hes, 1972; Dogan &
Dogan, 2025). In mul icul u al se ings, isual symbols a e especially po en as hey each ac oss linguis ic bounda ies,
engaging cul u ally embedded codes o in oke ecogni ion and esonance (Zhou & Belk, 2004).
In A ica, image y like u al scene y, adi ional d ess and amily pho os a e no jus aes he ic bu a e cul u ally
meaning ul and aspi a ional, b idging adi ion and mode ni y. Recen esea ch emphasizes how Kenya and Sou h
A ican ad e ising u ilize such symbols o encode iden i y and social alues, demons a ing ha hei meaning is always
con ex ual (Makau & Nyangena, 2024; Bo nman, 2006).
2.2. SEMIOTICS AND MEANING-MAKING
Semio ics p o ides a ich amewo k o how ad e isemen s c ea e meaning. Ba hes' (1972) di e en ia ion
be ween deno a ion and conno a ion is enligh ening ega ding how isual signs unc ion as ideological "my hs,"
na u alizing speci ic ideologies. Fo ins ance, he image o a Maasai elde clu ching a sma phone can conno a e
ha mony be ween adi ion and mode ni y.
Hall's (1980) encoding/decoding model in oduces an audience dimension, illus a ing how media ex s a e decoded
di e en ly based on cul u al codes. This is pa icula ly pe inen in mul icul u al A ican cul u es whe e di e en cul u al
logics exis . Recen empi ical analyses o ad e ising ac oss A ica illus a e his p ocess: TikTok ad e s in Kenya
u ilize olklo e-based humo o communica e wi h you h while being cul u ally sensi i e (Makau & Nyangena, 2024) and
Egyp ian ou ism ad e s u ilize me apho s based on na u e o ad oca e o en i onmen al conse a ion (Kamel, 2024).
2.3. CULTURE AND ADVERTISING STRATEGIES
C oss-cul u al s udies alida e ha cul u al alues a ec bo h message cons uc ion and in e p e a ion (Ho s ede,
2001; de Mooij, 2019). Indi idualis cul u es ocus on pe sonal success and independence, whe eas collec i is cul u es
p io i ize ha mony, con o mi y and in e dependence.
Sou h A ica's "Rainbow Na ion" iden i y blends mul icul u alism wi h u ban, i ual ways o li e o c ea e a a ie y o
c ea i e cues ad e ising (Bo nman, 2006). Kenyan ad e ising, howe e , aims o inco po a e communal alues,
eligious iden i y and u al he i age (Owi i, 2017). Cu en esea ch is no excep ion: e hnic and linguis ic isual signals
in Sou h A ican ad e isemen s add ess unique a ge segmen s and Kenyan elec ion campaigns u ilize sel -
isualisa ion ac ics on social media o con ey us and a ac i eness (Po gie e & Roux, 2024; Gakahu, 2024).
2.4. VISUAL SYMBOLISM IN AFRICAN ADVERTISING
Despi e inc easing s udies on A ican ad e ising, mos ha e been ex -based o single-na ion. Despi e p io s udies
indica ing Ghanaian consume s a o ably inclined owa ds local cul u al symbols and Nige ian consume s a o ably
Visual Symbolism in C oss-Cul u al Ad e ising: A Compa a i e S udy o Sou h A ica and Kenya 90
aluing local clo hing and communal image y, ecen s udies indica e changing symbolic s a egies in digi al
en i onmen s (Osei-Tu u e al., 2023; Nwoko o & Akwaowo, 2022).
Fo example, Kenyan Twi e mul imodal ac i ism combines image, ex and design o p oduce e ec i e symbolic
na a i es (Ondimu, 2025). B and ads in Sou h A ica make g ea e use o hyb id symbolism, mixing he i age music o
ashion wi h pos mode n u ban image y, o communica e he i age p ide and goals o he p esen (Makau & Nyangena,
2024). Egyp ian g een ou ism ads employ me apho ical images (i.e., ancien monumen s as p o ec o s o na u e) o
ma y cul u al p ide and eco ou ism ma ke ing (Kamel, 2024).
These ends highligh he need o compa a i e, semio ics-based analysis wi hin A ican con ex s, speci ically
isual, o iden i y how symbolic epe oi es shi wi h cul u al, echnological and gene a ional ans o ma ion.
3. METHODOLOGY
3.1. RESEARCH DESIGN
The esea ch adop s a quali a i e con en analysis design, u ilizing semio ic in e p e a ion and hema ic coding in
examining isual symbolism used wi hin Sou h A ican and Kenyan ad e isemen campaigns. A quali a i e design was
u ilized o allow o in-dep h, ich, con ex ual examina ion o symbolic meaning and cul u al na a i e in isual media
(K ippendo , 2018; Elo & Kyngäs, 2008).
The s udy was g ounded in cons uc i is epis emology, wi h he unde s anding ha meaning is no ixed in images
bu is a he c ea ed by media ex p oduce s and ecei e s (Hall, 1980). This is consis en wi h bo h Ba hes' (1972)
heo y o deno a ion and conno a ion o isual communica ion and Hall's encoding/decoding model, whe e he s ain
be ween message p oduc ion and audience ecep ion is highligh ed.
This quali a i e con en analysis wi h supplemen al chi-squa e es is he bes choice me hod o he cu en s udy
because i is he bes me hod ha allows a sys ema ic bu in e p e i e examina ion o symbolic con en s in ads.
Thema ic coding can de e mine he sub le cul u e associa ions ha a e passed h ough isual communica ion and he
chi-squa e es acili a es explo a o y es ing o c oss-coun y a ia ion in heme p e alence. Cumula i ely, hese
app oaches a e sui able o he esea ch goal o unco e ing di e ences in isual symbolism in Kenya and Sou h A ica
while ensu ing dep h o cul u al signi ica ion and empi ical uni o mi y o compa ison.
3.2. SAMPLING
Pu posi e sampling was used o choose 60 ad e s (30 Sou h A ican and 30 Kenyan) ha e lec ed a ange o
indus ies (e.g., banking, elecommunica ions and FMCG) and media channels (e.g., ele ision, p in and digi al).
Ad e s we e ga he ed om b and o icial Ins ag am pages, ele ision, digi al eposi o ies and b and campaign lib a ies
om he yea s 2022 o 2024.
Kenya and Sou h A ica we e chosen pa icula ly since hey a e wo o he la ges ad e ising ma ke s in sub-
Saha an A ica bu a e qui e di e en in cul u al make-up, media en i onmen and symbolic con en ions. Kenya
ep esen s a mainly collec i is , high-con ex communica ion cul u e, while Sou h A ica is a mo e combined collec i is
and indi idualis o ien a ion by way o being a mul ilingual and mul icul u al socie y. These jux aposi ions o e a i m
ounda ion o he explo a ion o he adap a ion o isual symbolism in di e en cul u al con ex s and hus di ec ly
add essing he c oss-cul u al compa a i e objec i e o he s udy.
91 The Re ail and Ma ke ing Re iew: Vol21 Issue 2 (2025) ISSN:2708-3209
Selec ion c i e ia we e; isual ichness and cul u al cues, na ional ele ance o ecognizabili y, inco po a ion o
symbolic o hema ic elemen s (e.g., adi ional d ess, ci yscapes, echnology) and balance o b ands and sec o s.
This heo e ical sampling enabled a b oad di e si y o isual communica ion s a egies o be aken wi hou s i ing
o s a is ical gene alizabili y (Pa on, 2015).
3.3. DATA COLLECTION
All ad e isemen s we e ca aloged in a s uc u ed da abase wi h me ada a ields including media ype, da e, b and,
indus y and na ion. Each ad e isemen was a chi ed as a JPEG image o sc een cap u e o a ideo and was iewed
mul iple imes o no e isual along wi h ex ual con en .
• E e y ad was anno a ed on a isual ca aloging shee ha no ed (Rose, 2016):
• Deno a i e con en (wha is being depic ed)
• Conno a i e meanings (cul u al associa ions and symbolic eadings)
• Emo ional one and appeal
• Dominan colo schemes and composi ion
• Use o adi ional s. con empo a y isual elemen s
This allowed o compa ison ac oss ads and na ions in a sys ema ic way wi hou losing in e p e i e dep h.
3.4. DATA ANALYSIS
Da a analysis was done wi h NVi o 14 so wa e, based on he c i e ia o quali a i e con en analysis (Sch eie ,
2012). I in ol ed:
• Open Coding: The gene al isual hemes we e de e mined induc i ely h oughou he da ase , such as
hemes o you h, amily, echnology, adi ion and u baniza ion.
• Axial Coding: The codes we e ca ego ized in o e en mo e abs ac hemes and ou la ge hema ic amilies
we e disco e ed: Visual Symbolism, Cul u al Themes, Emo ional Tone and B and Posi ioning.
• Thema ic Compa ison: Coded da a we e compa ed be ween Sou h A ica and Kenya o asce ain pa e ns
and di e gences.
• Ma ix Coding Ques ions and Wo d F equency Analysis: NVi o was u ilized o examine co-occu ences and
leading lexical wo ds wi hin he da a (Bazeley & Jackson, 2013).
• In e code Reliabili y: To add c edibili y, a second code coded 20% o he ads. We ob ained a Cohen's
Kappa o 0.79, which e lec s subs an ial ag eemen (Landis & Koch, 1977).
Final indings we e iangula ed agains esponses om semio ic heo y and cul u al dimensions models in o de o
place indings in he wide social and cul u al con ex s (Ho s ede, 2001; de Mooij, 2019).
Visual Symbolism in C oss-Cul u al Ad e ising: A Compa a i e S udy o Sou h A ica and Kenya 92
By si ua ing he coding amewo k wi hin bo h semio ic heo y and p io A ican ad e ising schola ship, his s udy
posi ions i s indings in a b oade con inen al con ex . P e ious esea ch om Ghana (Osei-Tu u e al., 2023), Nige ia
(Nwoko o & Akwaowo, 2022) and ecen digi al campaigns in Kenya, Sou h A ica and Egyp (Makau & Nyangena,
2024; Kamel, 2024) demons a es ha while symbolic epe oi es a y locally, hey sha e ce ain pan-A ican
endencies, such as he in eg a ion o he i age mo i s wi h mode n echnological image y. The cu en s udy’s
compa a i e design enables hese na ional pa e ns o be ead alongside wide A ican ad e ising ends, c ea ing a
b idge be ween coun y-le el and con inen al pe spec i es.
F om a p ac ical s andpoin , his me hodological app oach also in o ms global b ands seeking en y in o A ican
ma ke s. By mapping he isual-symbolic codes ha esona e in dis inc cul u al se ings and showing whe e hey
con e ge, he analysis o e s a s a egic ool o balancing local cul u al speci ici y wi h scalable b and na a i es. This
dual insigh , ecognizing bo h sha ed A ican symbolic pa e ns and coun y-speci ic nuances, can guide in e na ional
campaigns in selec ing isual elemen s ha achie e cul u al luency wi hou sac i icing b and cohe ence.
4. DATA ANALYSIS
Da a analysis comp ised a igo ous quali a i e eading o 60 ad e isemen s, 30 Sou h A ican and 30 Kenyan,
coded and in e p e ed h ough semio ic heo y and suppo ed by NVi o 14 so wa e. The objec i e was o e eal how
isual componen s embedded in ad e isemen s o ies mi o cul u ally posi ioned subjec s, emo ional opes and
symbolic sys ems.
4.1. CODING FRAMEWORK AND NVIVO STRUCTURE
Coding was conduc ed using an induc i e-deduc i e me hodology. Open coding e ealed epea ed mo i s and
design elemen s ha we e clus e ed unde ou pa en nodes: Visual Symbolism, Cul u al Themes, Emo ional Tone
and B and Posi ioning. The pa en nodes we e u he segmen ed in o elabo a e child codes. Visual Symbolism, o
ins ance, included sub-nodes o T adi ional D ess, U ban Se ings, Technology Image y and Religious Icons.
In e code eliabili y was checked on a 20% subsample. A Cohen's Kappa o 0.79 was ob ained, e lec ing
subs an ial code ag eemen (Landis & Koch, 1977).
4.2. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION AND CODE SATURATION
The coding acili a ed by NVi o unco e ed unique hema ic pa e ns in he Sou h A ican and Kenyan ads. Table 1
p esen s he six mos p ominen ecu ing hemes in he da a se , demons a ing a s a k di e ence in symbolic
o ien a ion be ween he wo na ional en i onmen s.
Among he Sou h A ican sample, he mos p e ailing hemes we e Mode n Iden i y (n = 9), Mul icul u alism (n = 6)
and Empowe men (n = 5). These hemes we e mos ly con eyed h ough ci y skylines, young people d essed in
p o essional a i e and sho s o digi al connec edness, depic ing a p og essi e and cosmopoli an na ional b anding
discou se.
Con e sely, Kenyan ads ocused on Communi y Uni y (n = 10), Family Values (n = 7) and Cul u al He i age (n = 9)
hemes. Images o u al scene y, amily g oups and adi ional clo hing we e used, poin ing owa d a cul u ally based
and ela ional o ien a ion o message de elopmen .
93 The Re ail and Ma ke ing Re iew: Vol21 Issue 2 (2025) ISSN:2708-3209
These indings a e in line wi h ea lie esea ch in sugges ing ha ad e ising mo i s a e pa o unde lying cul u al
logics as well, indi idualis ic and mode n in mo e u banized cul u es and collec i is and he i age-based in mo e
adi ional cul u es (Ho s ede, 2001; de Mooij, 2019).
Mo eo e , hema ic sa u a ion was eached on he 22nd ad o bo h coun y samples, which is a sign o good in e nal
consis ency and edundancy o new codes he ea e . This p o ides e idence ha he unde lying symbolic epe oi es
o each ma ke a e compa a i ely s able and cul u ally ing ained (Gues e al., 2006).
TABLE 1: DISTRIBUTION OF ADVERTISING THEMES BY COUNTRY (N = 60)
Theme
Sou h A ica (n)
Sou h A ica (%)
Kenya (n)
Kenya (%)
To al (n)
To al (%)
Mode n Iden i y
9
30.0
0
0.0
9
15.0
Mul icul u alism
6
20.0
0
0.0
6
10.0
Empowe men
5
16.7
1
3.3
6
10.0
Cul u al He i age
0
0.0
9
30.0
9
15.0
Communi y Uni y
2
6.7
10
33.3
12
20.0
Family Values
1
3.3
7
23.3
8
13.3
O he /Uncoded
7
23.3
3
10.0
10
16.7
To al
30
100.0
30
100.0
60
100.0
No e. Table 2 excludes 12 ad e isemen s ha did no ea u e a symbolic heme om he six ocal ca ego ies. Pe cen ages a e calcula ed wi hin each coun y’s
symbolic ad subse (Sou h A ica: n=17; Kenya: n=31).
4.3. CHI-SQUARE TEST OF THEME DISTRIBUTION
To ind ou i hema ic a ia ion was s a is ically signi ican , a chi-squa e es be ween six p ominen hemes by
coun y was done. The es p oduced χ² = 22.34, d = 5, p < .001, showing a high and s a is ically signi ican ela ionship
be ween coun y and mos common ad e ising heme (Field, 2018; Neuendo , 2017). This con i ms he in e p e a ion
ha symbolic encoding in ads is shaped by cul u al en i onmen .
• Independen a iable: Coun y (Sou h A ica, Kenya)
• Dependen a iable: Thema ic code used (e.g., Mode n Iden i y, Cul u al He i age)
TABLE 2. SIMULATED CONTINGENCY TABLE FOR ADS WITH SYMBOLIC THEMES (N = 48)
Theme
Sou h A ica (n)
Sou h A ica (%)
Kenya (n)
Kenya (%)
To al (n)
To al (%)
Mode n Iden i y
9
52.9
0
0.0
9
18.8
Cul u al He i age
0
0.0
9
29.0
9
18.8
Empowe men
5
29.4
1
3.2
6
12.5
Communi y Uni y
2
11.8
10
32.3
12
25.0
Religious Re e ences
0
0.0
4
12.9
4
8.3
Family Values
1
5.9
7
22.6
8
16.7
To al
17
100.0
31
100.0
48
100.0
No e. Table 2 excludes 12 ad e isemen s ha did no ea u e a symbolic heme om he six ocal ca ego ies. Pe cen ages a e calcula ed wi hin each coun y’s
symbolic ad subse (Sou h A ica: n=17; Kenya: n=31).
The e is a s a is ically signi ican ela ionship be ween he na ion and he ad e ising heme employed. This
indica es; heme dis ibu ion is no a bi a y and cul u al en i onmen hea ily de e mines which hemes a e employed
in ad e ising. Empi ical implica ion o hese indings is Kenyan ma ke e s employ collec i e, he i age-based, o
Visual Symbolism in C oss-Cul u al Ad e ising: A Compa a i e S udy o Sou h A ica and Kenya 94
eligious image y, whe eas Sou h A ican ad e ise s emphasize indi idual success, di e si y and inno a ion (see
Table 2).
4.4. MATRIX CODING AND VISUAL CO-OCCURRENCE
NVi o's ma ix coding ques ion was u ilized in o de o analyze he co-occu ence o symbolic images wi h heme
codes, enabling he esea ch o shi om heme equencies in isola ion o an unde s anding o how isual o ms
ac i ely suppo meaning. I was ound h ough analysis ha he Empowe men heme was mos commonly coupled
wi h images o ci yscapes, new echnology and you h, speci ically in Sou h A ican ads. These pho og aphs exp essed
u u ism, human agency and mode n aspi a ion, quali ies undamen al o he new Sou h A ican na ional iden i y.
Con e sely, he Cul u al He i age heme in Kenyan comme cials consis en ly in e sec ed wi h images o adi ional
d ess, eunions o amily membe s, a ming scene y and u al landscape. All hese symbolic choices a i m collec i e
alues, in e gene a ional espec and con inui y o cul u al p ac ice.
This co-occu ence pa e n o he isuals ein o ces he heo y o isual logic, he p emise ha an image's o m
lends o i s na a i e and ideological e ec i eness. Fo Ba hes (1972), media ex signs a e ne e neu al bu a e
"my hologized" o signi y b oade social meanings. Likewise, Rose (2016) con ends ha he s uc u e o isual
componen s in an image is undamen al in ancho ing hema ic con en . Symbolic images we e no andomly used in
his esea ch bu we e ins ead cul u ally salien ancho s ha suppo ed he desi ed emo ional and hema ic pi ch o he
ad.
Figu e 1 illus a es co-occu ence o ad e ising hemes and symbolic isual ypes. Raw equency as well as
pe cen age o each heme's o al symbolic associa ions a e p esen ed in e e y cell. As an example, You h & Inno a ion
co-occu s wi h con empo a y isuals mos o en (6 imes, 75%) and Cul u al He i age co-occu s wi h con en ional
isuals mos o en (5 imes, 50%).
These indings a e indica i e o he ac ha isual and hema ic codes a e s a egically synch onized on he pa o
ad e ise s o align wi h audience expec a ions and cul u al alues, a p ac ice ha op imizes he symbolic
dis inc i eness and a ec i e salience o b and messages.
95 The Re ail and Ma ke ing Re iew: Vol21 Issue 2 (2025) ISSN:2708-3209
FIGURE 1. HEATMAP
This hea map illus a es he equency o co-occu ence o salien ad e isemen hemes and symbolic isual ypes
in 60 Sou h A ican and Kenyan ad e isemen s. Da ke cells e lec g ea e co-occu ence, o example, be ween
Empowe men and Mode n Visuals in Sou h A ican ad e isemen s and Cul u al He i age and T adi ional Visuals in
Kenyan ad e isemen s. The analysis illus a es how isual aspec s a e p ope ly composed wi h hema ic meaning o
ep esen cul u ally salien na a i e (see Figu e 1).
4.5. WORD FREQUENCY AND SEMANTIC PATTERNS
Along wi h he isual coding and hema ic analysis, a wo d equency sea ch was un on he ex con en o he
ad e isemen s, such as slogans, cap ions and on-sc een head lines. The pu pose o he analysis was o unco e
seman ic pa e ns consis en wi h o complemen a y o he symbolic hemes in he isual coding.
Figu e 2 is a wo d cloud o he mos common wo ds acco ding o he ex o ads in Kenya and Sou h A ica. Visual
p ominence h ough wo d size indica es ela i e equency o each wo d and dominan seman ic ends in he b and
discou ses a e easy o spo .
The indings e eal dis inc lexical p io i ies wi hin each na ional con ex . The mos equen wo ds in he Kenyan
da a we e "communi y", " oge he " and " adi ion", e minology esona ing wi h collec i is alues, in e dependence and
cul u al con inui y. These e ms encapsula e he dominan hemes o Cul u al He i age and Communi y Uni y and we e
o en suppo ed by images depic ing amilies, elde s and u al li e.
Con e sely, Sou h A ican ads used aspi a ional and o wa d-looking language mo e o en. The op wo ds we e
" u u e", "connec " and "you h", which aligned wi h Empowe men , Mode n Iden i y and Mul icul u alism hemes. These
wo ds we e used in conjunc ion wi h ci yscapes, mul icul u al p o essional indi iduals and mobile o digi al
echnologies.
Visual Symbolism in C oss-Cul u al Ad e ising: A Compa a i e S udy o Sou h A ica and Kenya 102
o Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin and o he s. Al hough he esea ch shows p e ailing na ional ad e ising discou ses, in a-
na ional cul u al di e si y may be downplayed.
7.4. FUTURE RESEARCH
The p esen s udy emphasizes he heo e ical ele ance o isually embedded cul u ally embedded ma ke ing
app oaches bu also e eals a hos o a gumen s o b oadening he concep ual amewo k.
F om he heo y o c oss-cul u al ad e ising, ollow-up esea ch may c oss- alida e he supposed Visual Symbolism
Decoding Model in o he A ican coun ies, e.g., Nige ia, Ghana, Egyp , o E hiopia, o see i analogous semio ic
pa e ns p e ail o al e na i e symbolic epe oi es a ise. An expanded mul i-coun y s udy ac oss bo h Sub-Saha an
and No h A ica would u he he ideas o symbol adap a ion e sus s anda diza ion ega ding isual codes a he
egional le el and his would ad ance he ypology.
F om a dynamic cul u al ans o ma ion iew, longi udinal s udies migh ollow changes in symbolic epe oi es o e
long pe iods and hus me ge cul u al e olu ion heo y and semio ics. Following a pe iod o one decade, o ins ance,
ad e ising symbolism migh illumina e he ways in which socio-poli ical change, echnological change and alue
change be ween gene a ions shape b ands' use o semio ic esou ces.
F om an audience heo y o ecep ion, i would inc ease explana o y powe o also encompass Hall's (1980)
encoding/decoding model in he wo k. Focus g oups, in-dep h in e iews, o eye- acking a e some audience esea ch
me hods ha could ace empi ically p e e ed, nego ia ed and opposi ional eadings o isual symbols, heo e ically
pu ing meaning nego ia ion in mul i-cul u al ma ke s on he mo e.
F om a media a o dance heo y lens, addi ional s udies would con as how pla o m-speci ic capabili ies (e.g.,
Ins ag am S o ies' empo a iness, algo i hmic so ing o TikTok, pee - o-pee sha ing on Wha sApp) in luence he
densi y, complexi y and he o ical s uc u e o ad e ising symbols. This s udy would expand semio ic heo y by
si ua ing i in he con ex o a media-ecology.
Las ly, based on a mic o-cul u al segmen a ion heo y poin o iew, in a-coun y esea ch may examine how
iden i y ma ke s, gende , e hnici y, class, eligion, a e o e lapping in he decoding o isual symbols o p oduce
in e sec ional pe spec i es on ad e ising semio ics. C oss-compa a i e esea ch ac oss u ban and u al cul u es o
you h and olde cul u es migh ease he cul u al dimensions app oach by s udying subcul u al a ia ion wi hin na ional
ma ke s.
One p omising a enue o u u e esea ch is he in e connec ion o symbolic con en and ad e ising e ec i eness.
Blending isual con en analysis wi h quan i a i e me ics, such as ecall o ad e isemen s, b and pe cep ion me ics,
click- h ough a es, o in en ion o pu chase, may be a mo e impac -measu ed assessmen o symbolic ma ke ing
ini ia i es.
DATA AVAILABILITY
The da a used in he s udy a e a ailable on eques om he co esponding au ho .
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