Medieval Allegory: Roots of Advertising Strategy for the Mass Market
探讨中世纪文学中的寓言传统如何影响现代广告，分析其在信息诉求、产品利益、目标受众和媒体设计中的应用，并建议未来研究方向。
The author examines the medieval literary tradition of allegory and relates it to contemporary advertising. Allegory is characterized by the use of metaphor, personification, and moral conflict. This tradition is the basis of advertisements that use fear to convey didactic instruction to mass audiences. The author describes the use of allegory in advertising strategy in terms of message appeal, product benefits, target audience, and media design. Five areas for future research are suggested: content analysis of allegorical advertisements, cross-cultural implications, fear and guilt appeals, taxonomy of personifications as presenters, and effects of metaphors and symbols on advertising recall and comprehension.