The results of the elections to the European Parliament of 25 May 2014 marked a before and an after for Spanish politics. This influential European campaign took place at a moment when Internet use was well established as a tool, with political parties and candidates actively using social media. This article aims to research whether Spanish parties are using Twitter to develop interactive communication, or simply for broadcasting messages. Thus, the Twitter activity of various political parties during the 2014 European campaign is content-analysed. Results indicate that activity seems to depend on ideology, that parties are revealed to be committed to unidirectional communication/broadcasting, and that debate on Twitter is fundamentally between the politicians themselves. On a theoretical level, our data are in line with the idea that the normalisation hypothesis tends to prevail.

Es algo poco frecuente que alguien con la juventud del profesor Pineda Cachero aborde un proyecto de investigación tan ambicioso como el que se recoge en su libro. El que lo haga desde una documentación frondosa, pertinente, y con ideas muy claras del

The cultural aspects of brands, as well as their consideration as symbols in consumer cultures, are relevant elements of contemporary branding. This research relies on cultural branding as a theoretical framework that explains the role of brands as vessels of ideology. Such a role relates to the fact that brands can simultaneously reflect and smooth societal tensions – that is, the mechanics that turn brands into icons according to the theory of “iconic brands.” This article focuses on the Spanish fashion company Piel de Toro (“Bull Skin”) to illustrate the ideological role of brands, as well as the identity myths they convey to meet consumers’ anxieties. To study the way this brand formulated a patriotic identity myth in the context of the Catalonian separatist movement, Piel de Toro’s “Proudly Spanish” 2017 campaign is analyzed by putting together the brand genealogy method and different data sources. Results shed light on the scope and limits of the brand’s iconic status, and indicate the role of commercial brands as political–ideological actors in contemporary Spanish culture.

Following an extended tradition in cross-cultural research about individualism and collectivism as defining features of national cultures, this article aims to go in depth by taking into account the implications of these complex concepts. Under the premise that advertising is a product that reflects cultural values, this article focuses on a comparative content analysis of newspaper advertisements from the United States and Spain, two presumably different Western countries as far as the individualism–collectivism continuum is concerned. The conclusions obtained challenge some theoretical assumptions regarding this topic. The evolution of Spanish society as mirrored by advertising is discussed as well.

Este artículo parte de que la publicidad institucional es un fenómeno emitido por el Estado en los diferentes niveles de la Administración pública. Estas condiciones de emisión implican cuestiones interesantes para la Teoría de la Propaganda, derivadas de la peculiar naturaleza del Estado en tanto que instancia de poder. Consideramos que el Estado es un emisor fundamental de propaganda, pero también un ámbito generador de mensajes publicitarios variados que no persiguen necesariamente un fin propagandístico. En este contexto, manejamos dos conceptos básicos: por un lado, la idea de una publicidad institucional propagandística, guiada por fines partidistas e intención de poder; por otro, la noción de una publicidad institucional de servicio o interés público, antenta a los intereses generales.