Abstract
The article examines the representation of Armenianness within television advertising in Armenia. The aim of the study is to identify, through semiotic analysis of advertisements, the signs that construct “Armenianness. The analysis focuses on commercials produced by Grand Candy, Armenia Wine, and Team Telecom Armenia from 2002 to the present. Claiming to depict the Armenian environment, familial structures, products, and values, advertising creates a network of references that collectively construct a generalized image of the “Armenian.” For advertisements that emphasize the national character of their products, it is common to explicitly assert claims that unify the entire society, both past and present, and to delineate Armenianness within specific discursive boundaries. Advertising tends to circumscribe the contexts, histories, and symbols associated with the depicted places and times. The aspiration to evoke national identity frequently generates contradictory images and messages. The connotations of Armenianness conveyed through imagery and narratives originate initially from the sector being represented, then from the fact that the product is Armenian. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism operates similarly to the broader framework of advertising, as extensively described by scholars. The signs utilized in advertising simultaneously transmit meanings related to consumption. In this interplay between the consumer and the nation, the national is frequently transformed into a myth of equivalence.