Marketing Animals - Antennae The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture

Fig. 4.
different? How do Joe's meanings, as an animal,
compare to the meanings of the human
Marlboro cowboy? The meanings of many existing
animal characters could be explored using these
methods. The use of the word association method
has applications beyond trade character
research. McCracken (1989, p. 319) calls for the
creation of an instrument to "detect and survey"
the cultural meanings that are present in celebrity
endorsers. Scott (1994) states more generally that
an exploration of how symbolic advertising
images are interpreted in consumer culture is
needed to advance consumer behavior
research.
18
Given its success in eliciting the cultural meaning
of animals, the word association method seems
suited to explore the cultural meanings of
celebrities and symbolic images in advertising as
well.
In conclusion, this study has shown that
consumers associate shared cultural meanings
with animal characters. These meanings can be
elicited through the word association method,
and contain common themes that can be used
to further advertising theory and practice.