Market solidarity for a neoliberal society: a social semiotic analysis of the discourse of the solidarity advertising

Abstract

In recent years, solidarity has become problematized on three major fronts: the weakening of the Welfare State and the growing hegemony of the neoliberal model, the question of social cohesion at the globalization of market society, and from critical questions about the role of the concept of solidarity in these social transformations. This article aims to contribute to the debate on the first two fronts from an investigation that began in this last front: the basic semiotic operations in the solidarity advertising promotes a solidarity that is akin to a neoliberal discourse and a form of social cohesion in the market society. For this we performed a sociosemiotic analysis of 598 solidarity ads, we describe the use of resources and strategies for brand advertising, that appropriate the semiotic field of solidarity, contributing to the creation of a market of solidarity, a solidarity a la carte and an altruistic consumer.