Resilience and Anti-Stress during COVID-19 Isolation in Spain: An Analysis through Audiovisual Spots

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Nov 29;17(23):8876. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17238876.

Abstract

This study analyses broadcasted advertising spots during the COVID-19 isolation period in Spain. It aims to identify the narrative communicative resources and messages spread by companies/brands under the background of a global pandemic, where a common pattern highlighting the social function of brands is supposed, specifically regarding stress and resilience. We propose a mixed method based on the combination of qualitative analysis of the content of a compendium of 71 commercials and statistical analysis to group and test the correlations between some key variables, thus incorporating multivariate analysis with a quantitative method. Our main finding is the collective trend and communicative behaviour in the advertising of companies/brands during isolation, in which a change in the traditional role of advertising communication has occurred, where advertisers have become a key support in combatting the disease and a key support for health and psychological management in the Spanish population. In fact, they act as guardians of resilience and promoters for alleviating stress.

Keywords: COVID-19; confinement; coronavirus; corporate ads; health communication; isolation; public health; resilience; risk communication; stress.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Advertising*
  • COVID-19 / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Physical Distancing*
  • Resilience, Psychological*
  • Spain / epidemiology