The processing of sports theme in advertising film posted by brads marketing sports products on a social media sharing site

Commercial films have undergone significant changes over time in terms of their constructed narratives and structural strategies. These contents are not only tools for directing consumption but also narratives that carry cultural and social traces. The frequent exposure of individuals to advertisements through both traditional and digital media environments increases the influence of such content on the construction of identity, the transmission of values, and the reinforcement of social norms. The question of how consumer behavior is shaped—what, how, and why individuals consume—constitutes the primary point of departure for this study. In this context, the study aims to analyze commercial films on both structural and semantic levels in order to reveal how they construct social representations and how these representations are interpreted by viewers. To this end, three commercial films selected through criterion sampling were first subjected to structural analysis within the framework of Roland Barthes' semiotic theory. These films were then shown to 20 voluntary participants with an average age of 28.85, followed by semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data obtained from the interviews were thematically analyzed using MAXQDA 24.4.1 software. The comparative findings demonstrate a strong alignment between the denotative and connotative layers identified in the structural analysis and the themes emerging from the participant responses. Although the commercials differ in their narrative forms, visual symbols, and aesthetic codes, they commonly address themes such as identity construction, gender roles, belonging, individual transformation, and cultural representation. Ultimately, this study offers a theoretical contribution by demonstrating the applicability of semiotic theory in the context of new media as well as traditional media.