The specifics of creolized text in VTB Bank commercials based on works of Russian literature: "Dowerless girl", "Mumu"

Dvorak Elena Yur'evna PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Department of Journalism, Media Communications and Advertising; A.S. Griboyedov Moscow University 66A Zeleny ave., Novogireevo district, Moscow, 111396, Russia elenadvorak22@yandex.ru

Grinberg Tat'yana Eduardovna Doctor of Philology Professor; Faculty of Journalism; A.S. Griboyedov Moscow University 66A Zeleny ave., Novogireevo district, Moscow, 111396, Russia elisabeta.astra@yandex.ru

In today's society, where the amount of visual data is rapidly increasing, researchers are increasingly interested in studying non-verbal ways of transmitting information. The analysis of the features of creolized texts attracts the attention of linguists, philologists, psychologists, journalists, advertising and public relations specialists, etc. The reason lies in the fact that this type of text is a peculiar phenomenon that is interdisciplinary in nature and one way or another is in demand in various fields.

The term "creolized text" ^{[1, p. 180]} was introduced at the end of the 20th century by Russian linguists Yu. A. Sorokin and E. F. Tarasov. The lexical meaning of the concept of creolization was considered by scientists by analogy with the Creole language, which arose from a combination of local and introduced colonial language. Later, this new (crealized) language became the main means of communication in a certain social group.

However, semiotics laid the foundation for the scientific study of the creolized text structure. Based on Lotman's definition, semiotics is "the science of signs used in the communication process" ^{[2, p. 6]}. Signs are divided into types and types. The most famous is the second trichotomy proposed by the American scientist Ch. A pier that includes: an index sign, an iconic sign, and a symbol ^[3].

The first type is directly related to a specific object and acquires its significance through the actual influence of this object on it. Visual similarity for the index sign between it and the object is not a necessary condition for its existence. For example, a weather vane on a house will indicate the direction of the wind, but its appearance does not correlate in any way with its function. And although this type of sign is also used in promotional videos, its role in them is insignificant.

As for the other two characters, both of them are basic elements of the creolized text, are part of its structure, and therefore are necessary for a more detailed analysis.

In the concept of Ch. According to J. Pierce, an iconic sign is "one that possesses a number of properties inherent in the object it designates, regardless of whether this object actually exists or not" ^[4]. This is a rock drawing of primitive people, a modern photograph or a drawing of an airplane. The main thing is that he has a visual connection with the object.

However, the modern realities of the 19th century led to a transformation of the definition of the iconic sign. The essence of the paradox lies in the fact that sometimes the line between the original and its display is blurred in the perception of the audience. That is, she "temporarily" forgets that image and reality are not the same thing. It can be assumed that historically, magical and religious rituals were based on this conditional "forgetting". (For example, the belief that damaging a portrait harms the person depicted on it. This is also where occult practices such as Voodoo come from). It should be noted that this effect is especially pronounced in modern audiovisual and advertising communications, where the television image of a person is perceived as the person himself, and not as his representation.

Tsch. Pierce believed that studying an iconic sign was comparable in value to studying the object itself. He believed that the direct transmission of an idea is possible only through an iconic sign. The scientist also gave an important role to the iconic sign in communication, believing that only this sign is capable of evoking vivid sensory images. This theory is partially confirmed by the use of this type of signs in modern video advertising.

The third type, the sign-symbol, is the most multifaceted and difficult to perceive. Again, based on the interpretation of H. According to J. Peirce, its meaning is determined from the agreement (convention) between those who interpret symbols and those who perceive them. This explains the artificial nature of this sign. There are generally accepted symbols that have specific meanings. For example, the white dove is a symbol of peace, and the laurel wreath has been a symbol of success since the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece.

However, a number of signs and symbols are richer and more diverse, which have many interpretations and interpretations. Moreover, their understanding will depend on various factors: geographical, cultural, traditional, religious, socio-economic, as well as personal experience interpreting the sign. For example, the rose symbol in Russia means beauty, in China – wealth, success, in Europe – romantic love, and in India – spiritual enlightenment. In addition, the interpretation of the symbol is also influenced by the color of the plant. So a white rose in Christian culture means purity of thought and innocence, such flowers are often given to the bride at the wedding. However, in India, despite the sacred attitude towards this plant, no one would dare to present a rose of this shade as a gift, since the white color for Hindus is a symbol of mourning and death.

Considering the creolized text, it should be emphasized that it is directly related to the study of the language and its features. It is quite natural that the first definitions of this phenomenon were made by linguists. For example, E. E. Anisimova in her work "Linguistics of text and intercultural communication (based on the material of creolized texts)" gives the following definition: "a creolized text is a text whose texture consists of two heterogeneous parts: verbal, that is, linguistic and non–verbal, that is, belonging to other sign systems than natural language" ^{[5, p. 12]}.

M. B. Voroshilova, a specialist in the field of intercultural communication, supports this point of view, believing that "the information capacity and pragmatic potential of a creolized text is formed through the synthesis of verbal and non-verbal means of textual components" ^{[6, p. 134]}.

However, there is another interpretation of the concept of "creolized text". For example, the modern Russian linguist V. E. Chernyavskaya suggests the term "polycode text" ^{[7, p. 89]}. According to the researcher, creolization is more metaphorical and covers only two linguistic components of the text: verbal and non-verbal. In contrast, polycode text includes not only heterogeneous parts, but also communication (verbal element), visualization (image) and audio components (for example, sound, musical accompaniment in video ads).

Thus, we identify two types of definitions that explain the phenomenon of creolized text. The first relates the terms "polycode" and "creolized" as interchangeable terms. The second one presents creolized texts as a specific kind of polycode. Based on the above, the most important task is to find the optimal solution. We are inclined to the first, synonymous interpretation of the concept of a creolized text. Let's explain why.

Y. M. Lotman wrote about the polycode nature of the text in the article "The artistic nature of Russian folk pictures". In his scientific research, the scientist considered the lubochny text as a changeable interaction of visual elements and a verbal component in folk art. By "text", Yu. M. Lotman understood not only the verbal, linguistic part, but "interpreted it as a set of multilingual elements that make up a single structure" ^{[8, p. 314]}. He emphasized the "scenic" nature of the woodcut, as well as the unique process of audience interaction with the text during its interpretation.

This proves the use of several codes (verbal, non-verbal, and audiovisual) in the creolized text. Accordingly, we can conclude that the concepts of creolized and polycode texts are synonymous. This is most evident in video ads. The modern creolized advertising text is a combined fusion of various sign systems (mainly iconic and symbolic), which contributes to the creation of multi-layered semantic structures and semiotic connections within the advertising message.

I would like to emphasize that regardless of the degree of awareness of the fact of creolization by the audience, the process of perception and comprehension in the human mind occurs not through verbal constructions, but through visualization of the information received. In addition, all these processes unfold beyond our conscious perception, i.e. on an unconscious level. In other words, any attempt to put thought into form is accompanied in our consciousness by elements of creolization.

Based on this concept, an advertising creolized text ideally meets the needs of today's consumer: it attracts attention, creates associative connections with well-known images, and convinces of the values introduced by the authors of the advertising message. The key function is flexibility in using a variety of semiotic systems and the freedom to choose the optimal sign in a given situation.

Let's consider a series of VTB Bank commercials based on works of Russian literature that appeared on screens in 2024. The entire cycle is under the slogan: "VTB is a classic!" ^{[9, 11]}. And although this phrase is the connecting link, but the "key", the turning point to the whole narrative is another one: "If there were VTB then...!". ^{[9, 11]}. It is after her that the storyline is transformed, the well-known literary narrative is replaced by a new advertising reality.

To date, the advertising series based on Russian classics has included 10 videos: "Crime and Punishment", "Onegin", "The Twelve Chairs", "Dead Souls", "Woe from Wit", "Penniless", "Cherry Orchard", "Mumu", "The Queen of Spades", "The Master and Margarita." In this article, we will analyze two videos from this series, based on the play "Penniless" ^[9] and the novel "Mumu" ^[11].

The main characters of A.N. Ostrovsky's play "The Dowerless": Larisa Ogudalova and four men: Paratov, Karandyshev, Knurov, Vozhevatov. Only one of them, according to the author's plan, is ready to marry the heroine, while the rest look at her as a thing and are ready to offer only the role of a kept woman. In the promotional video, a fragment from the final fourth act of the play is played. After a picnic and a walk along the Volga, Paratov announces to Larisa that he is engaged. The heroine has two paths before her: either to marry Karandyshev, or to be kept by Knurov. However, as you know, it ends more tragically.

What do we see in advertising? The girl, as in the play, runs to the river to drown herself, when suddenly ... At this point of action there is a transformation of the narrative, the "author", (in life – senior vice-president of the bank), Dmitry Breitenbicher utters the sacramental phrase: "If VTB had been then ...!" ^[9]. After that, she appears in the advertising reality, offering the heroine to open her own business by taking out a loan from VTB.

Then another story appears before the viewers. Successful Larisa, the owner of a hat salon, sails to the forum in St. Petersburg. Accordingly, the VTB card is a symbol of freedoms. In this context, freedom is like the financial independence it gives. The color of the card (as well as the main color of the bank), blue, echoes both the heroine's dress – blue, and the shade of the river.

Thus, we can conclude that the VTB card is both an iconic sign, as it visually coincides with the real product of the bank and a symbolic sign. The color coding gives a sense of stability, confidence in the financial capabilities of the bank, as it conveys stability, inviolability of the slowly rolling waves of the Volga. The viewer not only perceives the information, but also begins to associate the brand with certain values and emotions. The stylized text in the commercial based on the "Penniless" is manifested in a combination of images of famous characters, music, sound effects and the slogan of the bank, which is organically woven into the visual sequence.

Based on E. A. Elina's classification, "... creolized texts are divided into two types:

1) partially creolized

2) completely creolized" ^{[10, pp. 49-50]}.

In the first case, verbal and visual elements (iconic signs) are in equal interaction. At the same time, the verbal part is relatively independent, and the graphic elements are optional. In other words, deleting them will not significantly affect the understanding of the language message. In the second case, we are talking about texts with full creolization, they have a closer integration of components.

Consequently, we come to the conclusion that the "text" in the bank's video based on the play "Penniless" is completely creolized. Since removing any of the components will lead to a change in the entire structure of the advertising message and disrupt the formed emotional connection between the brand and the consumer.

The following video, which we have chosen for analysis, is based on the novel by I. S. Turgenev "Mumu". As in the previous case, the creators of this advertisement limited themselves to a brief retelling of the relationship between a little serf janitor Gerasim and a small dog named Mumu. After that, the end of the story immediately appears before the viewers – the hero's farewell to his beloved, a stingy tear and…The "author" reappears (he is also a representative of VTB Bank), who rescues the dog and offers Gerasim to become self-employed.

The "key" to the transformation of the literary narrative of the work is once again the phrase: "If there were VTB then...!" ^[11]. After that, an alternative version of the plot appears before the audience (which young modern readers of I. S. Turgenev's story, grieving over the innocently drowned dog, secretly dreamed of), in which the hero founds his boat rental company ("Gerasim and Mumu").

The video advertisement based on the novel "Mumu" is also a completely creolized text, as the visual series, characters, slogan and key phrase of the bank harmoniously combine into a single structure. The isolation and removal of any of the components will negatively affect the perception of the advertising story by the viewer. Therefore, we can conclude that the combination of verbal, non-verbal, and audiovisual components of the creolized text in video ads play an informational and expressive role.

Analyzing the bank's advertising products, we identified common, characteristic features for the entire series of videos created under the slogan: "VTB is a classic!". This is a two-dimensional plot and a circular composition. Moreover, both of these structural elements overlap with each other.

The circular alignment of the videos in this advertising series is noticeable almost immediately. Each "story" begins with reading a blue book (color as a symbol) by one of the classics of Russian literature. The viewer is literally dragged into the maelstrom of a well-known plot, which at the climax begins to develop according to a new scenario. Each of the commercials ends with a return to modern reality, along with the conditional "author" and the characters of the works. The latter appear to the viewer in the guise of modern people, while maintaining their identity. The bank's slogan crowns the entire composition: "VTB is a classic!".

Based on the definition of two-dimensional, there are two parallel worlds: the ideal, created by text, and the real, modern one. The transfer of the characters of the works into our reality blurs the boundaries between them, and as a result, between the iconic signs that these characters are.

Consequently, we have identified one of the ways to form a semiotic connection within a creolized text, between the conditional past and the present. Moreover, the past is interpreted based on the changed present. Accordingly, the whole story appears as a text that the audience interprets based on today's understanding of the world, based on symbolic codes.

In addition, within the semiotic connection, the past and the present enter into a kind of dialogue. Modernity appears as a space susceptible to the influence of historical narratives. However, the narrative itself was changed in the secondary reality of the commercials. Consequently, under the influence of transformed modernity, the past undergoes changes and appears to the audience in a different light (using the example of promotional videos based on "Penniless" and "Mumu").

Thus, the combination of classical literary images with modern realities in creolized texts creates new contexts that allow the audience to perceive and interpret well-known iconic signs and symbols in a different way. This property can be attributed to polymodaneity, according to researcher V. S. Grigoriev, "... the ability of heterogeneous signs to interact in verbal communication, which affects the semiotic properties of each other and generates new meanings in the text." ^{[12, p. 4]}. The combination of various semiotic codes in one commercial allows you not only to attract and retain the viewer's attention, but also to convey key messages to your audience.

In conclusion, we conclude that this approach, the use of literary images for commercials based on works of Russian classics, allows the VTB brand to stand out from its competitors. It also helps to form stable associations among consumers, which is an important aspect for creating a unique image of the bank.