| Abstract |
| Since the IMF crisis, with the help of increased sensual advertising, the 2000 presidential election, and the World Cup 2002, the importance of image-centered sensual advertising began to increase, and the focus has shifted from copy-centered advertising to visual-centered one. Many studies have reported superior effect of visual over verbal elements in advertising. Accordingly, the question that what kind of expression mechanism can be used for image-centered advertising to maximize such effect is emerging, while rhetoric figures of speech such as metaphor, metonymy, and simile are being widely used. Among these many rhetorical expressions, visual metaphor can be said to have a far more powerful effect in terms of the image delivered to the receiver. This is because interaction between two domains of visual metaphor is more explicit than verbal elements, and newly created similarities are emphasized and presented immediately. Moreover, it gives a strong impression to the consciousness of receivers, since it clarifies the meaning, rather than making them simply read it. This study examined responses of receivers of the message delivered by an advertisement through visual metaphor, from the notion that response of the receiver of an advertisement is much more important, although stimulation by an advertisement is important. In case of visual metaphor, cultural and social differences bring different understanding and interpretation on metaphor, when a receiver is exposed to metaphoric expressions. Therefore, verification analysis was conducted for the assumption that, along with these cultural and social differences, demographic differences of receivers such as age and sex also will make a difference in the understanding and interpretation of visual metaphor. As a result, it was found that receiver`s sex and age made a difference in the response to visual metaphor: men displayed better understanding on explicit types of advertising, while women showed better understanding on metaphor advertising of explicit and implicit type. Those who were younger responded better to explicit and formally similar advertisements, while those who were older did to implicit advertisements based on similarities of content, which is considered related to diversity and changes of media and social changes. Second, currently, receivers having positive concepts rather than passivity of the past showed positive understanding on formal aspects of similarities between original idea (the subject) and supporting idea (the image) of visual metaphor. Thus, starting from rhetoric, metaphor as one of the expression methods of advertising in terms of semiology, communication theories, and linguistics has high significance, and appropriate use of visual metaphor is highly effective. As advertising has a strong effect on companies, advertising producers and advertisers should be careful to use these rhetorical expressions. In this respect, it is necessary to examine cases of types of visual metaphor and receiver`s response to it. In addition, these results also imply that sex, age, occupation, and place of residence, as well as cultural experience should be taken into consideration in using visual metaphor, and more effective visual metaphor should be used. |
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| Key Words |
| Metaphor, Creative, visual Metaphor |
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