Suggestive techniques in modern social advertising about road safety: socio-cultural aspect

Pushkareva Tatiana Vitaljevna ORCID: 0000-0002-9139-6121 PhD in Philosophy Associate professor, Department of Design and Architecture, Synergy University 125190, Russia, Moscow, Leningradsky ave., 80, G ap-bib@yandex.ru Other publications by this author     Ashutova Tatiana Vyacheslavovna ORCID: 0000-0001-5093-7983 PhD in Pedagogy Associate Professor, Department of Design and Architecture, Synergy University 125190, Russia, Moscow, 80 Leningradsky Ave., of. g ashutova_tanya@mail.ru Ivanova Ekaterina Yuryevna PhD in Cultural Studies Associate professor, Department of Design and Architecture, Synergy University 125190, Russia, g. Moscow, pr. Leningradskii, 80, korpus G catherine.iva@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Gramakova Anna Aleksandrovna Master, Department of Design and Architecture, Synergy University 125190, Russia, Moscow, 80 Leningradsky Ave., building G anna.gramakova@yandex.ru

Introduction

The city has always, since the early stages of its formation in the Middle Ages, represented a territory with special conditions for the development of freedom, security and progress. However, the civilizational conquests of the urban lifestyle are still inevitably accompanied by new risks and restrictions. Such a new challenge for the urban lifestyle and the city as a whole was the invention of the automobile in the XIX century, the subsequent development of automobile traffic and the problem of its safety.

Road safety today is one of the acute social problems of our time, and ensuring road safety is becoming an important condition for ensuring human safety in the urban environment ^[1], as well as a condition for national security in general. ^[2] Among the most important factors in solving this social problem is the prevention of offenses on the road by promoting road safety ^[3], the use of social advertising about road safety is considered as an innovative means of solving this problem, and new technologies are gaining a special role. ^{[5, p.238; 6]}

Digital technologies of the last decade have brought completely new opportunities associated with the development of animation, augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), with a "culture of participation" (where the network interaction of network users creates a new cultural product) and other innovations. The field of social advertising related to road safety, thanks to new technologies, is discovering more and more new ways to attract the attention of a modern person to the problems of road safety, while paradoxically turning his consciousness to the archaic layers of culture, which turns out to be a justified method in solving this social problem of a modern city.

The object of the study is social advertising on the topic of road safety.

The subject of the study is suggestive techniques based on the use of new technologies in social advertising on the topic of road safety.

The purpose is to identify and evaluate suggestive techniques of new digital technologies in the dissemination and popularization of socially significant knowledge about traffic rules and safety.

Research objectives:

- Based on the analysis of modern Russian and foreign road safety videos, to identify representative examples;

- to propose a typology of techniques for the use of new technologies used in modern social advertising to increase the credibility of content and to enhance the socio-psychological effects of social advertising on road safety;

- to identify the socio-psychological and socio-cultural mechanisms of the impact of these techniques.

The empirical material of the study was domestic and foreign promotional videos about road safety posted in the public domain (a total of 128 videos, 43 of them Russian and 85 foreign).

The theoretical basis of the study was the work of A.N. Solodovnikova ^{[7, 8]} on social advertising, G.Nikolaishvili ^{[9, 10]} on the basic parameters of social advertising, the classic works of Yu.I.Semenov on primitive society ^[11], V.Ya.Propp on a fairy tale ^{[12, 13]}, E.S.Meletinsky on the myth ^[14]. The main research method was a qualitative, semiotic interpretation of the corpus of thematic video content collected by the authors.

Literature review

The problem of studying the role of new technologies in social advertising in general and advertising dedicated to road safety, in particular, has been repeatedly raised by researchers. A.N. Solodovnikova, in particular, indicates that road safety is one of the seven main topics of modern social advertising, ranking second in its social significance after the problems of a healthy lifestyle life ^{[6, p. 12]}.

Mayorov V.I., Voloshin P.V. define social advertising to promote road safety as "information disseminated in any form aimed at ensuring public interests by drawing attention to the problem of reducing road traffic accidents, forming a legal culture and stereotypes of law-abiding behavior when participating in road traffic" ^{[15, p. 27]}, noting difficulties in studying its real effectiveness and showing that the possibilities of this tool are not yet fully used. N.A.Anashkina, A.V.Koval address the question of the role of social advertising in solving the problem of road safety, demonstrating regional differences between Russian and foreign advertising of this type, noting that in terms of quantity and quality Russian road safety videos lag behind foreign ones. ^[16]

Researchers analyze in detail the language of commercial and social advertising in general ^{[17, 18]} and advertising suggestion in particular. ^[19] Study the effects of the shock effect of advertising. ^{[20, 21]} Analyze the specifics of audiovisual social advertising ^[22], however, studies of video content compared to studies of print advertising are still rare.

M.N.Veselova suggests using the urban installation as a carrier of social advertising. ^[23] O.O.Savelyeva notes that the techniques and technologies borrowed from contemporary art and used in the installation can reduce the negative reaction of people to the dominance of advertising in the city. ^{[24, p.70]}

However, researchers rarely focus on the topic of the role and significance of new technologies in social advertising, primarily because the speed of development of new technologies outstrips the possibilities of their comprehension. S.A.Evenko directly analyzes the features of the use of modern information technologies in the promotion of road safety, showing the advantages of Internet networks and also states that the cruel road safety advertising is the most effective. ^[5] E.A.Voitenkov, referring to the study of forms and methods of road safety propaganda, on the contrary, emphasizes that the method of intimidation cannot be considered dominant ^[6], and the formation of a positive behavior pattern should be considered the optimal strategy of social advertising. ^[25] In general, we see that the problematization of issues related to social advertising on road safety, the role of new technologies and strategies for their implementation requires the expansion of scientific research.

Special effects of transformation

By suggestive techniques (from lat. suggestio - suggestion), we understand here techniques that are focused primarily on sensory-emotional impact, rather than on rational comprehension. Based on the analysis of the corpus of videos collected by us, it can be seen that these videos can be used both as independent, for showing on television, on the Internet, and as part of large social projects. The video may contain a visual plot of documentary authenticity or a metaphorical story of varying degrees of complexity, in both cases suggestive techniques can be used.

There were more complex metaphors in the case of foreign commercials than in the case of Russian ones. So, for example, in the foreign video "Drive Sober" ("Drive sober"), drivers who got behind the wheel in a drunken state are depicted driving in a car filled with liquid, which is poured out during the stop and punishment of the offender (Fig. 1). In a domestic video on the same topic, "Sober up, and then get behind the wheel" (Fig. 2), the driver, having experienced a number of difficulties with placement in the car (got into someone else's car by mistake, tore his clothes, first lost, then broke the key, then decided to fall asleep in the luggage compartment of the car until alcohol will not disappear from the blood). We see that the use of new technologies is connected here with the use of metaphor, whereas the documentary plot here dispenses with their use.

Fig. 1. "Drive Sober". NHTSA - Drive Sober or Be Pulled Over /Drive Sober or You will be Stopped. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX2jc9RMe2c (accessed: 05/28/2023)

Fig. 2. Sober up, and then get behind the wheel. Source: https://yandex.ru/video/preview/16023402485560990645 (accessed: 05/28/2023)

In the Russian video "Jaws", which has become the central element of the large-scale social campaign "Distance", conducted by the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Russian Union of Motor Insurers (RSA) and the expert center "Movement without Danger", there is a direct metaphor: to convey the danger that has arisen for the driver when reducing the distance from the rear window of the car in front of the aquarium "jumps out"a fish, turning into a real shark with its mouth open. Rice.3. Keep your distance. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhXEhTBf9mE (accessed: 05/28/2023)

The artistic technique of transformation, through which a suggestive effect is achieved here, can cause a feeling of sudden fear, or can be used as a calmer metaphor. So, in the video "Life is fragile" (Life is fragile), the figure of a child crossing the road is shown as a glass figure that is destroyed not only from a collision with a car, but also from a fall, thus emphasizing how vulnerable human life is (Fig. 4). The video "Belt of Life" from Latvia, designed for a youth target audience, explains how not to become a random killer. Thanks to special effects, we see how during an accident the head of an unbuckled person turns into a dangerous heavy stone.

Fig. 4. Life is fragile/Life is fragile. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K23aIcaMrg (accessed: 05/28/2023)

Fig.5. Lifebelt/The belt of life. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uefg1k_3MlY (accessed: 05/28/2023)

Animation elements have been used in feature films since the 70s of the XX century, today the same technique can be increasingly seen in social advertising. The purpose of the Russian video "Pictograms" of the social campaign "Slow down" (organizers: the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Russian Union of Motor Insurers with the information support of the expert center "Movement without Danger") there has been a reduction in the number of accidents that occur due to drivers violating the rules of passage of unregulated pedestrian crossings. In the video "Pictograms" with the help of video and animation, the idea is conveyed that it is very important to reduce the speed in advance before the zebra. In the video, schematic little men suddenly come to life on road signs and then jump onto the roadway in order to then jointly slow down a car that violates speed limits and help transfer an elderly lady across the road. There is also a moment of "transformation" here, and the transformation has a touch of animation. Several suggestive techniques can be used simultaneously in videos, which is what we see in the "Pictograms" video.

Fig. 6. Pictograms. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfXikeWiO8 (accessed: 05/28/2023)

The development of three-dimensional animation has expanded the possibilities of social advertising dedicated to road safety, as it allows you to naturalistically show the consequences of violations of safety rules, which cannot be done in a regular video for physical and ethical reasons. In the animated video "Seat Belts Save Lives" (Seat Belts save lives) (Fig. 7), there is a detailed display of not only the accident, but anatomical plans of multiple fractures and internal injuries of one passenger who did not fasten his seat belt during the trip and died after flying out of the car. There is no place for metaphor in this video, there is documentary authenticity, brought to naturalism thanks to three-dimensional animation. At the same time, we see how the human body "turns" into its anatomical model, on which you can see in detail all the damage.

Fig. 7. Seat Belts Save Lives /Seat belts save lives. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYuqLZxcz3A . (accessed: 05/28/2023)

The motive of transformation, which is somehow present in the videos, combines these plots with the plots of fairy tales, where, according to the classical study of Vladimir Propp, there are actions (according to Propp – functions) associated with transformation, as well as with the actions of magical assistants. ^{[12, 13]} The similarity of advertising and fairy-tale discourse has been noted more than once researchers, however, mainly concerned the analysis of the verbal part of commercial advertising, where the concept of "magic" becomes the dominant motive for promoting goods and overcoming obstacles and challenges. ^[25] In social advertising about road safety, we meet the motive of magic assistants in the video "Picograms", and in a number of other videos, the motive of transformations is closely related to danger and is designed to cause a strong negative and even shock reaction from the audience.

The effect of presence

We see an ever-increasing personalization of new technologies that tune in to the interests and needs of each person, this process is reflected in social videos about road safety.  In the modern world, a wide variety of media platforms (including AR and VR) are involved, which allows us to talk about the trend for transmedia, this also affected social advertising about road safety. The use of different media, as well as the interactive experience of the audience, become the means of ensuring the effect of personal presence in social advertising of the chosen topic. 

The Australian project "Graham", which received the 2017 bronze award of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the effectiveness of creativity, is an interactive sculpture, also presented in augmented reality and has its own website. A large interdisciplinary team, including trauma surgeons, car testers, engineers, artists, created a physical model of a "man", a mannequin Graham, capable of surviving a car accident by its physical properties. Graham has a very large skull in order to place a larger amount of cerebrospinal fluid around the brain (this reduces the risk of serious injury in an accident). Additional elements appeared between Graham's ribs, which work the same way as airbags in a car during an accident. Graham's knee joints are able to bend in both directions, and the lower parts of the legs are made on the principle of hooves. Thanks to this, a person with a similar anatomy would be able to jump away from the car in case of a collision. The skin of the mannequin is also different from human skin – it is thicker, which avoids abrasions. Elements of augmented reality help the audience to see the homunculus from the inside and realize the fragility of the real human body, its inability to resist the machine. A very complex metaphor and the motive of "transformation" became the basis of this project, which has gained popularity in all countries.

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Fig. 8. Meet Graham, the only person to survive on our roads/Meet Graham, the only person who can survive on our roads. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r9u7Rn-nm0 . MEET GRAHAM - Cannes Lions 2017(accessed: 05/28/2023). Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQpjCauL0w (accessed: 05/28/2023)

The interactivity of social advertising about road safety, as a rule, accompanies transmedia projects. For example, in Hong Kong, the Volkswagen representative office held an action "Eyes on the road" (Attention to the road), deliberately showing how mobile phones make you look away from the road and what are the consequences of this. The audience who came to the cinema was shown a first-person video with a man driving a car. Then, at one point, a message was sent to everyone present via a local provider, people were distracted by reading, and at that moment an accident occurred on the screen.

Fig. 9. Eyes on the road/Look at the road. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R22WNkYKeo8&t=4s (accessed: 05/28/2023)

An unusual interactive project "Crush The Speed Project" (Speed Reduction Project) was carried out in 2013 in Moscow (Fig. 10). On the roads of Moscow, several cars crashed in accidents were exhibited every week, their appearance invariably forced drivers to slow down. Moreover, the project participants themselves made the choice to demonstrate the location of such a car based on analytics that detects the most dangerous and busiest sections of urban roads, thereby reducing the risk of new accidents.

In Mexico, a small experiment was staged and recorded in a public ladies' room, which shocked the girls who preened in front of the mirror. At some point, an imitation of an airbag was triggered with the inscription that everything has its time and place. This was done in order to remind you once again that you can't wear makeup while driving. (Fig. 11)

Fig. 10. "Crush The Speed Project". URL: https://vimeo.com/75483080 (accessed: 05/28/2023)

Fig. 11. "Vision Automotriz MINI Don't make up and drive". URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uer-JAZVDI (accessed: 05/28/2023)

Thus, modern social advertising about road safety often goes beyond television and the Internet, synthesizes art, is introduced into public spaces, turning into interactive actions. In general, the visual suggestive techniques highlighted above can be placed in the corresponding matrix (Fig. 12).

Figure 12. Matrix of visual suggestive techniques based on new technologies in modern social advertising about road safety

The presence effect, which appears in social advertising about road safety, along with special effects of transformations, as the main suggestive techniques, allows the audience to identify themselves with the heroes of advertising to the greatest extent. Such an acute identification, according to the researchers, makes advertising related to the myth. ^[26] However, if the identification in commercial advertising is positive, the audience should feel as happy as the characters in the video, then the identification offered in social advertising about road safety is extremely negative. Suggestive techniques are aimed at ensuring that the audience experiences a kind of traumatic experience of violating traffic rules, passes tests that end in damage or death in order to fully realize the inadmissibility of violations.

Interaction of visual and verbal series

As we can see, social advertising about road safety can come in different forms – an urban art object, a social action, a long-term project, an advertising video itself, however, the video format becomes a universal part of any social advertising about road safety, it is it that allows you to replicate the main ideas and suggestive images.

The video consists of a visual and verbal part, involves two channels of human perception: visual and auditory, which in itself creates a synergistic effect of impact. ^[22] Moreover, the verbal part can be present both in the audio track and in the form of a visual slogan. The verbal presentation of the main idea in the videos is usually extremely concise, appears at the end of the plot in audio and visual format, half of the endings of the analyzed videos are formulated in imperative form or close to it (Fig. 13).

Fig. 13. Slogans, concluding videos.

The mechanism of the impact of the video, in our opinion, is as follows. The highlighted visual suggestive techniques cause the audience to feel discomfort of varying degrees, up to shock. As modern researchers note, shock creates a blank "white sheet" in the mind, which is easy to fill with anything, for a moment a person seems to be deprived of stereotypes, getting the opportunity to look at the world with a fresh look. ^[21] It is this state that becomes a favorable ground for the suggestion of a verbalized idea in the audio track and the final slogan of the video. The researchers note that negative emotions in themselves in social advertising about road safety make a strong impression and contribute to the consolidation of correct patterns of behavior.

The use of this socio-psychological mechanism has cultural and historical roots. In our opinion, a similar mechanism underlies the cultural universality of primitiveness – the initiation rite. The suggestiveness of the initiation rite was ensured by severe physical trials of a young man or girl, which were accompanied by stories about the history of the genus, the rules of life in the collective, taboos, and the physical part of the initiation was extremely painful and served to prevent zoological individualism. ^{[11, p.394]} At the beginning of the initiation rite, there is often a symbolic violation of the norms of the social order, which then seem to be removed in a new birth, in the transition of a person to adulthood. The rite itself as a whole demonstrated symbolic death (in a situation of chaos) and a new birth (in a situation of order. ^{[27, p.544]} The structure of initiation is reflected in a fairy tale. ^[13] The phenomenon of a fairy tale itself is considered by researchers as originating from a myth ^{[14, p.262]}, which in turn often acted as a verbal "programming" accompaniment of the rite, complementing its exhausting physical part. ^{[14, p.226]}With the development of civilization and culture, the physical part of initiation is reduced and then turns into an emotional and informational impact. In our opinion, the revealed suggestive techniques in social advertising about road safety refer us to the practices of initiation rites, initiation, which, thus, are preserved in some areas of modern culture.                                                  

Conclusion

We reviewed ten representative examples selected from the corpus of collected videos (128 videos were analyzed in total, 43 of them Russian and 85 foreign) dedicated to social advertising about road safety, in which suggestive techniques were used.

It was found out that some of the suggestive techniques are based on a vivid metaphor, some are documented, often naturalistic. Most of these videos are focused on evoking negative emotions associated with fear, and only one video uses a pattern of positive behavior.

Two main types of suggestive techniques used in modern social advertising are identified: 1. special effects aimed at creating the illusion of transformation (transformation from one being into another, animating inanimate objects, changing the environment, changing the body); 2. the effect of presence (created through interactive projects, VR and AR). These techniques are complemented by a concise verbal presentation of the rules of the road, often in the imperative mood, which together creates a special socio-psychological effect, probably similar to the effect of the initiation rite. By causing the audience to feel varying degrees of discomfort, the creators of this advertisement prepare a favorable ground for the suggestion of a verbalized idea in the audio track and the credits of the video.

It was found that the suggestive techniques used draw the audience to some of the motives of a fairy tale, which is characterized by various kinds of transformations, the action of magical assistants, and also to a direct emotional experience of what is happening and identification with the characters.

Thus, in modern social advertising about road safety, there is a mental construction of the image of the city in the spirit of archaic fairy-tale models, closely connected, in turn, with the practices of initiation rites, initiation, designed at the beginning of human history to socialize the younger generation through cruel trials. Based on the conducted research, it can be concluded that modern social advertising about road safety through the use of suggestive techniques becomes a reduced high-tech form of initiation, thereby contributing to the effective development of traffic rules by a modern citizen.