This article discusses advertisement postcards that are distributed, free of
charge, at special stands in public places. In addition to their primary
function (they are rarely used, thus defining them as almost ?non-post?
cards), the postcards serve those who take them as a collector?s item, a
conversation piece, a sign of belonging to a particular group (being ?in?) and
as a component in structuring cultural and social frameworks. Taking these
postcards as an example, the article attempts to define the spatial, social
and linguistic characteristics of the discourse of postcards. The author
examines the specific nature of the discourse that develops between the
creators of these postcards and their audiences. A certain indirect
dialogue takes place, almost devoid of feedback, in which the medium
revolves and changes its function when different receivers and diverse
locations create new definitions for it. The analysis of the audience
demonstrates an inclination towards a particular social group of skilful
consumers, who consume the ?best? advertisements as cultural products in
themselves. This group is expressed by virtue of their active decision to
detect and choose a specific postcard and use it in a variety of ways. |