Governmental Discourses in Advertising on Iran's State

In their article "Governmental Discourses in Advertising on Iran's State Television" Azra Ghandeharion and Morteza Yazdanjoo apply a comparative cultural studies approach to examining Iran's State television (IRIB) advertising directions under two distinct political eras: Conservative era (2011-2013) and Moderate Reformist era (2013-2015). The transition from the former to the latter is reflected in Iran's national and international diplomacies, where the influence of this shift can be traced both at macro and micro levels. Ghandeharion and Yazdanjoo analyze this shift at the micro level by comparing IRIB's beauty-product advertisements broadcasted during the two political eras. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) enables the identification of two political parties' approaches toward crucial issues which determine IRIB's mode of advertising. Focusing on the discursive categories of characterization and brand, the authors find that IRIB employs quite different strategies to reflect Conservative and Moderate Reformist approaches to gender issues, national identity and political independence in Iran.