Faces in Popular Advertising: Aspirational Consumption in Peru
Rostros en la publicidad popular: Consumo aspiracional en el Perú
Rostos na publicidade popular: Consumo aspiracional no Peru
| 2025 | |
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popular consumption Gamarra popular advertising semiotics race consumo popular Gamarra Publicidad popular semiótica raza consumo popular Gamarra publicidade popular semiótica raça |
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| Español | |
| Universidad ORT Uruguay | |
| RAD | |
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https://revistas.ort.edu.uy/inmediaciones-de-la-comunicacion/article/view/4097
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11968/7691 |
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| Acceso abierto |
| Sumario: | The aim of this article is to analyze the representation and use of faces in popular advertising in Lima (Peru). While previous literature has examined how aspirationality is constructed in major brand advertising campaigns, it has left a gap in the study of popular consumption and vernacular advertising. To address this, a qualitative approach was employed, analyzing 143 faces in 73 images collected from Lima’s Gamarra commercial emporium. The analysis identified four types of faces: concentrated, which look straight ahead with rigidity; conformist, which also look straight ahead but in a relaxed manner; maintained, which avert their gaze with a relaxed attitude; and effortful, which avert their gaze with rigidity. These facial representations construct consumer narratives and show how aspirationality, associated with Caucasian faces, permeates the visual strategies of popular commerce. Whiteness is linked to immediate consumption and ostentation, while mestizo (“cholo”) faces are more often oriented toward attracting purchases, frequently in a sexualized manner. The scarcity of Afro-descendant faces and the limited presence of everyday life discourses in the analyzed advertising suggest that popular consumption prioritizes direct sales and heightened provocation toward the act of purchase, leaving asiderepresentations of rest, social interaction, or reflection. |
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