Multimodal Metaphors and Advertising: 

A Trilingual Comparison of the Use of 

Multimodal Metaphor in Bank 

Advertisements 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MASTER in English Linguistics, MASTER DISSERTATION 

Faculty of English Philology I, UCM, Spain 

Tutor: Dr. Juana I. Marín Arrese 

Student: Emeline Famelart 

 September 2010 



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RESUMEN EN CASTELLANO 

Metáforas Multimodales y el Discurso Publicitario: Una Comparación Trilingüe 

del Uso de la Metáfora Multimodal en la Publicidad Bancaria    

En los últimos años, se ha producido una proliferación de estudios creciente sobre la metáfora 

en Lingüística (ver, por ejemplo, Lakoff y Johnson, 1980; Lakoff y Turner, 1989; Lakoff, 

1993). Sin embargo, ha sido considerado durante mucho tiempo como un fenómeno puramente 

literario o retórico, es decir como una materia ornamental. Más allá de esta visión literaria, el 

punto de vista tradicional sobre la metáfora ha sido muy desafiado, en gran parte en el campo 

de la Lingüística Cognitiva donde ha sido considerado como una forma de pensamiento, y no 

solo una figura del lenguaje, y como una herramienta cognitiva muy poderosa y eficiente.  

Lakoff y Johnson (1980) han demostrado que las metáforas son omnipresentes y ocupan 

un lugar central en nuestras vidas, nuestros pensamientos y acciones, y que nuestro sistema 

conceptual es esencialmente metafórico. Explican que la metáfora concierne a la categorización 

de nuestra experiencia vital y que es generada por estructuras básicas de nuestro conocimiento 

encarnado previo. En este sentido, consisten en procesos de ‘proyección’ o ‘mapeos’ 

(mappings) desde un ‘dominio fuente’ (source domain) hacia un ‘dominio meta’ (target 

domain) en los cuales fenómenos complejos o abstractos están conceptualizados en cuanto a 

otros fenómenos más ordinarios y concretos (e.g. EL AMOR ES UN VIAJE). Desde entonces, 

la teoría de las metáforas conceptuales ha podido ser aplicada a otros campos, como a la 

ciencia (Boyd, 1993) y a la política (Charteris-Black, 2005).   

 No obstante, parece que la mayoría de los estudios tratando de metáfora se han centrado 

casi exclusivamente en sus manifestaciones puramente verbales, mientras Forceville (1996, 

2006, 2009) y Forceville y Urios-Aparisi (2009) afirman que se puede encontrar en diversas 

modalidades – como en el lenguaje oral, el lenguaje escrito, las imágenes estáticas o móviles, la 

música, los sonidos no-verbales, los olores, el gusto y el tacto – y que es particularmente 

dominante en el género de la publicidad. Forceville (2006, 2009) sugiere además que las 



 3 

metáforas pueden aparecer en más de una modalidad a la vez. Por lo tanto, si los dominios 

meta y fuente están enlucidos exclusivamente en la misma y sola modalidad, la metáfora se 

puede considerar como ‘monomodal’. Cuando una metáfora monomodal se produce en la 

modalidad pictórica, puede tomar cuatros formas principales – a saber, puede ser una ‘hibrida’, 

‘integrada’, ‘contextual’ o un ‘símil’ – correspondiendo a las maneras con las cuales la 

similitud visual está creada (Forceville, 2009; Lecture 2: 1-2). Por el otro lado, si los dominios 

meta y fuente están cada uno representados exclusivamente o predominantemente en 

modalidades diferentes, la metáfora se considera como ‘multimodal’ (Forceville, 2006: 384) – 

la variedad más común siendo el tipo ‘verbo-visual’ el más habitual – y se puede encontrar 

muy a menudo en anuncios, carteleras y spots publicitarios.  

Este autor también señala que en el discurso publicitario el dominio meta generalmente 

concuerda con el producto o servicio estando promocionado y que si uno de ellos está 

solamente construido en una modalidad, la meta tiende a estar presentada de modo visual 

mientras que la fuente estaría presentada por medios verbales (Forceville, 2009; Lecture 4: 8). 

Además, menciona que debería ser aparentemente posible categorizar tipos específicos de 

fuentes según otros tipos particulares de productos con respecto a lo que Kövecses (2005) 

llama la ‘gama’ (range) de metáforas. Estas observaciones podrían igualmente suponer 

diferencias cross-culturales significantes y, entonces, el análisis de las metáforas multimodales 

puede aparecer como una manera muy útil para examinar las connotaciones e inferencias 

interculturales asociados a varios grupos lingüísticos.  

Por lo tanto, a pesar de que este mecanismo cognitivo ha resultado ser muy ubicuo y 

efectivo cuando está utilizado en la publicidad contemporánea, las teorías sobre la metáfora 

multimodal todavía escasean relativamente. Adicionalmente, parece ser que poca atención 

había sido prestada a su uso en anuncios bancarios – en particular en los que han sido 

producidos durante la crisis económica actual – así como a las elecciones posibles de dominios 

fuentes y a las implicaciones cross-culturales surgiendo en consecuencia. Estos aspectos 



 4 

parecieron sacar cuestiones diversas y para poder resolverlas, se creo un corpus de sesenta y 

nueve anuncios bancarios. 

Por consiguiente, el objetivo de esta tesis ha sido hacer un estudio comparativo trilingüe 

del uso de la metáfora multimodal del tipo verbo-visual en publicidad bancaria inglesa, 

española y francesa, según las teorías y los métodos de análisis elaborados por autores como 

Lakoff y Johnson (1980) y Forceville (1996, 2009), a fin de determinar como bancos 

importantes y sus productos estuvieron conceptualizados en tiempos económicos muy instables 

y de definir las consecuencias lingüísticas y culturales principales que adquirieron. La 

publicidad estudiada fue primero dividida entre tres contextos lingüísticos y segundo entre sub-

categorías correspondiendo a dos niveles principales de análisis cualitativo y cuantitativo  – un 

análisis detallado de nueve anuncios en total, más un análisis selectivo de otros sesenta 

anuncios que pretendía identificar la gama de metáforas multimodales y reseñar los aspectos 

cruciales de los encontrados primarios y de sus consecuencias.  

El análisis detallado general ha demostrado que aunque los anuncios examinados todos 

compartían el hecho común de estar sumamente estructurados por metáforas multimodales, 

mayores diferencias podían también estar reveladas entre los tres idiomas. De hecho, el 

contexto inglés se ha podido distinguir de manera muy significativa de los dos otros contextos. 

Mientras que ha sido probado que los anuncios producidos en lengua inglesa se centran sobre 

todo en las cualidades de la entidad financiera y en los banqueros en general – o,  en cambio, 

en la deslegitimación de sus competidores – la publicidad española y francesa ha parecido 

centrarse principalmente en la conceptualización de productos bancarios muy específicos. Este 

contraste se ha podido encontrar también en las variaciones identificadas en términos de 

audiencia objetivo y de diferencias interculturales. Efectivamente, se han encontrado 

implicaciones lingüísticas y cross-culturales muy significantes en los anuncios españoles y 

franceses ya que hablantes de otros idiomas podrían ser incapaces de interpretar sus 

significados profundos y que las oportunidades de traducción directa se han visto reducidas. 

Los anuncios ingleses, por contraste, han parecido ser más globalmente accesibles. Esta 



 5 

característica podría ser debida a la expansión espectacular del inglés como lengua 

internacional hoy en día. Por eso se ha considerado que, por un lado, la publicidad inglesa 

podría ser dirigida hacia una audiencia internacional y que, por otro lado, las campañas 

publicitarias españolas y francesas podrían ser dirigidas de manera más nacional. Sin embargo, 

esta división principal entre los contextos no se ha producido con relación a las metáforas 

visuales puras encontradas porque se ha descubierto que los tipos principales identificados eran 

muy similares, siendo la metáfora monomodal contextual la variedad más común.   

Estos aspectos centrales han podido ser en su mayoría confirmados por el análisis 

selectivo. El estudio de los otros sesenta anuncios ha revelado otros resultados concluyentes. Se 

ha demostrado que unos dominios fuentes eran notablemente muy frecuentes en cada idioma y 

que patrones repetitivos podían ser destacados en la gama de metáforas establecida. Los 

dominios fuentes más recurrentes identificados han sido los siguientes tipos: personificación, 

animal, planta y cultivo, arriba y abajo, comida, deporte, entidad física, viaje, salud, luz y 

oscuridad, ligereza y peso, sexualidad y amor, heroísmo, y tiempo. Por ende, se ha determinado 

que correlaciones significativas podían ser sistemáticamente establecidas entre las diversas 

elecciones de dominio fuente por parte del creador de la metáfora y el género muy especial de 

publicidad bancaria dentro de cada contexto.  

Además, ha sido también revelado que estas características podían ser comunes a los 

tres contextos en general y por lo tanto reflejar un grupo cultural más amplio tal como una 

perspectiva más occidental. Por último, se ha indicado que había implicaciones significativas 

para las modalidades en las cuales los dominios están construidos ya que patrones recurrentes 

podían también estar identificados y que – en contraste con las sugerencias de Forceville (2009; 

Lecture 4: 8) – en caso de exclusividad, el dominio meta era lo que tendía a estar representado 

verbalmente mientras que el dominio fuente era principalmente sugerido de manera visual. 

Para concluir, los resultados han demostrado que sería en efecto posible categorizar tipos 

específicos de metáfora multimodal de acuerdo a la categoría de producto anunciado y, 

entonces, al género en el cual ocurren.                      



 6 

ABSTRACT 

 

This dissertation aims at analyzing the use of multimodal metaphor of the verbo-pictorial type in English, Spanish 

and French bank advertisements. Following Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) and Forceville’s (1996, 2009) 

approaches, it examines how a comparative study undertaken from a trilingual perspective can throw light on the 

way major banks and their products are conceptualized in times of unstable economy due to the current financial 

crisis, and the principal consequences thereof. The findings reveal that while the three languages are similarly rich 

in multimodal metaphors, significant differences also appear in terms of targeted audience, focus of 

conceptualization, individual objectives and cross-cultural connotations. The results furthermore demonstrate that 

systematic patterns and correlations can be identified in relation to the modes in which the main source and target 

domains are cued and to the range of metaphors ascertained, which shows that the overall implications are 

intrinsically linked to the specific genre of data investigated.  

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



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INDEX OF CONTENTS 

1. Introduction 

 1.1. Background and preview 

 1.2. Literature review 

  1.2.1. Purely verbal metaphors: the Conceptual Metaphor Theory 

  1.2.2. Metaphor in Semiotics and limitations of an exclusively verbal approach 

  1.2.3. Towards a theory of multimodal metaphor 

  1.2.4. Metaphor-related issues: source domain choices and cultural influences 

 1.3. Aim and hypothesis 

 

2. Data and methodology 

 2.1. Data: the corpora 

2.2. Procedure 

2.3. Coding 

 

3. Results and discussion 

3.1. Presentation: background and summary of results 

3.2. Multimodal metaphor in the English advertisements 

3.2.1. In-depth analysis of Advertisement A1  

3.2.2. In-depth analysis of Advertisement A2  

3.2.3. In-depth analysis of Advertisement A3  

3.2.4. Selective analysis and overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in Ads A4 to A23 

 



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3.3. Multimodal metaphor in the Spanish advertisements 

 3.3.1. In-depth analysis of Advertisement B1  

 3.3.2. In-depth analysis of Advertisement B2  

 3.3.3. In-depth analysis of Advertisement B3  

 3.3.4. Selective analysis and overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in Ads B4 to B23 

3.4. Multimodal metaphor in the French advertisements 

 3.4.1. In-depth analysis of Advertisement C1  

 3.4.2. In-depth analysis of Advertisement C2  

 3.4.3. In-depth analysis of Advertisement C3  

 3.4.4. Selective analysis and overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in Ads C4 to C23  

3.5. General discussion and analysis 

 

4. Conclusion 

 

Appendices 

 

References 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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1. Introduction 

1.1. Background and preview 

In recent years, there has been growing interest in metaphors, which have become a central part 

of linguistic studies (see, for instance, Lakoff and Johnson, 1980; Langacker, 1987; Lakoff and 

Turner, 1989; Croft, 1993; Lakoff, 1993). Yet, their study has long been the exclusive domain 

of literary scholars where they have been considered as mere figures of speech, traditionally 

found in poetry and rhetorical style (Ungerer and Schmid, 1996: 114). In this respect, metaphor 

– etymologically meaning ‘to carry over’, from the Greek roots meta and phorein – has been 

defined as an ornamental device which involves ‘similarities’ or ‘comparisons’ between the 

literal and the figurative meaning of an expression. Carver and Pikalo (2008: 2) have echoed 

this claim by stating that since the Aristotelian tradition metaphor has conventionally been 

viewed as a simple ‘deviant linguistic expression’ or ‘catachresis’, where a stand-in word or 

phrase, different from the one usually taken to be literal, is used to describe reality.  

Going beyond this literary aspect, the traditional view of metaphor has been strongly 

challenged by a large number of researchers, especially in the field of Cognitive Linguistics. 

Many studies have recently focused on the crucial role that metaphors have in everyday 

language, where they are then considered as powerful cognitive tools. In a pre-cognitive 

context, Max Black (1962: 37) already recognized metaphors as a way of thinking about things 

and not only one of expressing ideas by means of language, indicating that “metaphorical 

statement is not a substitute for a formal comparison or any other kind of literal statement, but 

has its own distinctive capacities and achievements”. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) have shown 

that metaphor is in fact omnipresent in humans’ life, thoughts and actions, and that our 

conceptual system is “fundamentally metaphorical in nature” (1980: 3). Formed at the level of 

cognition through a process of mapping from a source domain onto another target domain, 

metaphors have thus been proved to be ubiquitous mechanisms which involve an important 

range of unspoken assumptions and logical relations – also called entailments – and which 

allow language users to conceptualize complex or abstract phenomena in terms of embodied 



 10 

and ordinary experiences. Since then, this theory, often referred to as the ‘Conceptual Metaphor 

Theory’, has been applied to a variety of specific fields, such as the areas of science (Boyd, 

1993) and politics (Wilson, 1990; Lakoff, 1991; Chilton, 2004; and Charteris-Black, 2005).  

According to Forceville (2006, 2009), however, the vast majority of scholars interested 

in this trope would have focused almost exclusively on its purely verbal dimensions and would 

still largely disregard its non-verbal manifestations, which appear to be essential to an 

encompassing theory of metaphor as a cognitive phenomenon. Indeed, Forceville and Urios-

Aparisi (2009: 3) claim that conceptual metaphor is also very pervasive in pictures and in an 

important range of other communicative modes – more specifically, in printed advertisements, 

billboards and commercials – and that there seems to be an “inescapable trend toward 

multimodality”. Although there would not be substantive differences in the way verbal and 

pictorial metaphors are processed, as they are rooted in the same cognitive mechanisms, non-

verbal and multimodal occurrences may have the additional advantage to make salient certain 

aspects of metaphor which are not as clearly expressible in language (Forceville and Urios-

Aparisi, 2009: 8-9). Forceville (2009; Introduction: 21) furthermore indicates that their 

examination may highly contribute to a better understanding of culturally embedded beliefs and 

knowledge since dominant metaphors tend to both reflect and influence the values and ways of 

thinking of a culture or society. The signification and appreciation of a metaphor are hence 

very likely to vary depending on viewers’ prior endoxa which can lead to considerably 

different interpretations or, including, misinterpretations. Likewise, the mappings from source 

to target being mostly culturally determined, Forceville (2009; Lecture 4: 9) suggests that 

investigating metaphor’s range and scope (Cf. Kövecses, 2005) may provide very useful tools 

for the analysis of source and target domains’ intercultural connotations and inferences. 

Multimodal metaphors are thus becoming increasingly significant to researchers concerned 

with metaphor, multimodal discourse, image production, and communication studies. 

                                                
1 As Forceville’s (2009) Online Course on pictorial and multimodal metaphor does not include page numbers, this 
numbering was added so that citations may be more easily referred to. 



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 Nevertheless, although various scholars have recently aimed at analysing the use of 

visual or pictorial metaphor in artistic images and advertising (see, for example, Carroll, 1994; 

Forceville, 1994 and 1996), studies and applicable theories on metaphors assuming multimodal 

appearances are still relatively scarce (Cf. Forceville and Urios-Aparisi, 2009). Moreover, it 

seems that so far, little attention has been paid to the use of multimodal metaphor in bank 

advertisements – in particular to those released during the current crisis period – and to the 

source domain choices and cross-cultural issues stemming thereof. These last aspects raise the 

following questions:  

1- To what extent are topical bank advertisements delivered in English, Spanish and 

French structured by metaphors?  

2- What are the most recurrent types of multimodal metaphor involved to promote 

banking services in times of economic crisis?  

3- How are bank entities and products conceptualized through the use of this device and 

for which purpose?  

4- What sort of effects and messages does this convey? 

5- Are these previous characteristics likely to vary in the three languages investigated, 

hence reflecting important cross-cultural differences? 

6- Could systematic patterns be revealed from the range of multimodal metaphors 

identified, and would it entail significant correlations between possibly recurrent 

choices of source domain and the specific genre of bank advertising? 

7- Finally, are there further implications, in particular for the modes in which target and 

source are cued? 

Therefore, the aim of this dissertation is to make a trilingual comparative study of the use of 

multimodal metaphor of the verbo-pictorial type in English, Spanish and French bank 

advertisements, in terms of metaphor theories and analyses developed by authors such as 

Lakoff and Johnson (1980), and Forceville (1996, 2009). It is structured in the following way: 

after the introduction background and preview where the principal aim and research questions 



 12 

of this paper have been presented, Section 1 furthermore reviews the literature that may be 

relevant to the present investigation purposes, and outlines the main hypotheses and objectives 

involved. Section 2 introduces the data and methodology employed for the elaboration of this 

study. Section 3 deals with the analysis of data and the presentation and discussion of the 

results. And finally, Section 4 examines the main conclusions and implications that may be 

drawn from the analysis. 

1.2. Literature review 

1.2.1. Purely verbal metaphors: the Conceptual Metaphor Theory  

The crucial moment for the revolutionary cognitive conception of metaphor may be thought to 

have sprung from Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) publication, Metaphors We Live By. This major 

work challenges the common view of metaphor as “device of the poetic imagination and the 

rhetorical flourish” by demonstrating that human thought processes are in fact mostly 

metaphorical (1980: 6). Indeed, Lakoff and Johnson claim that metaphor can exist linguistically 

precisely because our conceptual system is metaphorically structured and defined – though we 

may not be aware of it – and thus, it plays a crucial part in defining our realities. They offer the 

following definition (1980: 5): “The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing 

one kind of thing in terms of another”2. Since then, many authors have recaptured this idea in 

their work. For instance, Ungerer and Schmid (1996: 118-121) explain that through a structural 

‘mapping’ process from a ‘source’ domain to a ‘target’ domain, metaphors allow us to 

conceptualize abstract phenomena by relying on models we have of the concrete world – that 

is, our experienced and stored knowledge:  

From a cognitive point of view, the crucial aspects of a metaphor are not only the 
properties inherent in the individual categories, but their role in the structure of an entire 
‘cognitive model’. […] What is transferred, then, by a metaphor is the structure, the 
internal relations or the logic of a cognitive model. […] In other words, from a cognitive 
perspective a metaphor is a mapping of the structure of a source model onto a target 
model3. (Ungerer and Schmid, 1996: 120) 

                                                
2 Italics are preserved, as present in the original version.  
3 In Cognitive Linguistics, the term domain being often favoured over the term model, it has been preferably used 
in this paper (Cf. Langacker’s Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, 1987 and 1991).  



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In order to illustrate their theory, Lakoff and Johnson (1980: 4) propose the example of the 

metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR, which is reflected by a wide variety of commonly used 

expressions: 

(1) He attacked every weak point in my argument. 

(2) His criticisms were right on target. 

(3) I’ve never won an argument with him. 

(4) If you use that strategy, he’ll wipe you out. 

(5) He shot down all of my arguments. 

We are not physically engaged in a battle; however, there is indeed a verbal battle and what we 

do while arguing is determined by our conceptualization of the notion of war: the concept, the 

activity and the language are metaphorically structured in a ‘systematic’ way. This proves that 

the metaphor presented above – in the form of [TARGET] IS [SOURCE] – is not poetic or 

rhetorical but ‘literal’; it is a fundamental and ubiquitous way of structuring the awareness of 

our social, emotional and intellectual experience. 

 These last properties are in fact applicable to all kinds of conceptual metaphor: that is, 

according to Lakoff and Johnson (1980: 14, 25-29), whether they are ‘structural’, when – as 

seen before – a concept is complexly and “metaphorically structured in terms of another” (e.g. 

ARGUMENT IS WAR, TIME IS MONEY, LIFE IS A JOURNEY); ‘orientational’, when a 

metaphorical concept “organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another”, most 

of which originating from our understanding of concepts in terms of spatial orientations, such 

as “up-down, in-out, front-back, on-off, deep-shallow, central-peripheral” (e.g. MORE IS 

UP/LESS IS DOWN, HAPPY IS UP/SAD IS DOWN); or ‘ontological’, when events, 

activities, emotions and ideas are viewed as intrinsically physical or living entities, substances 

and containers (e.g. THE MIND IS A MACHINE, INFLATION IS AN ADVERSARY, LOVE 

IS A CONTAINER). Metaphors are thus powerful cognitive tools which allow us to talk about 

things in the way we conceptualize and conceive of them, according to both our physical 

experience with the world and the culture we live by. 



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1.2.2. Metaphor in Semiotics and limitations of an exclusively verbal approach 

Similarly to the perspective adopted in Cognitive Linguistics, in the field of Semiotics, tropes 

are thought to be essential to our understanding of everyday life. Peirce (1931) suggests that 

humans are driven by a desire to make meaning and that this is made possible through our 

creation and interpretation of ‘signs’. Indeed, he maintains that “we think only in signs” (1931-

58: 2.302), which can be classified into three main ‘modes of relationship’ between sign 

‘vehicles’ and their ‘referents’ or ‘objects’ (Hawkes, 1977: 129). Those include the iconic 

mode, in which the sign and the object are related through similarity or analogy – as is the case 

of a scale-model or a portrait; the indexical mode, in which the sign serves as a physical trace 

pointing to the object’s existence – such as a bullet hole or footprints; and the symbolic mode, 

in which the sign and the object are arbitrarily associated – this is the case, for instance, of 

traffic lights or national flags. Likewise, Saussure (1983) shows that signs play a key role in 

shaping our social realities. He views these latter as two-part models resulting from the 

association of a ‘signifier’ (signifiant), the form which the sign takes, and a ‘signified’ 

(signifié), the concept it represents. In this regard, tropes are said to “orchestrate the 

interactions of signifiers and signifieds” in discourse (Silverman, 1983: 87), and to be of major 

importance to our understanding if they are to be comprehended as a process of rendering the 

unfamiliar more familiar. Therefore, a metaphor may be defined – in semiotic terms – as a 

“shift in what is being referred to” where a signified acts as a signifier referring to a different 

signified (Chandler, 1995: 5). In other words, metaphors can be regarded as new signs, formed 

from the signifier of one sign and the signified of another, which are central to language and to 

the way we think.  

 However, as has been mentioned at the beginning of the introduction section, metaphors 

do not need to be verbal. To support this idea, several arguments might be set forth. First, a 

sign is obviously not only manifested in written or verbal texts. According to Peirce (1931-58: 

2.172), anything could be a sign (i.e. words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or objects) 

as long as it is invested with meaning – that is, if we interpret it as referring to or standing for 



 15 

something other than itself. This goes in line with Forceville’s (2009; Lecture 3: 7) claim that 

“whenever a percept is deliberately used by its producer to evoke specific meaning, it is a sign, 

and can hence be used in a metaphor”. Moreover, Peirce’s (1931) system of signs would reflect 

central properties of static and moving images, and of visual persuasion. On the one hand, 

Chandler (1995: 5) observes that metaphors may contrastively include both the iconic – as they 

involve a “basis in resemblance” – and the symbolic modes – in the sense that this resemblance 

is said to be ‘oblique’. On the other hand, Messaris (1997: 3, 10) also points out that ‘visual 

metaphors’ are particularly convincing devices, as pictures have the capacity of “capturing and 

conveying to our eyes the distinctive features that our brains need in order to be able to figure 

out what we are looking at”. Second, the issue of determining whether metaphor could assume 

non-verbal forms appears to have additionally stemmed from Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) own 

statements. While their claim that “metaphor is primarily a matter of thought and action and 

only derivatively a matter of language” (1980: 153) strongly suggests that many other media 

than language may comprise metaphors, the definition they give of this device as the 

understanding and experiencing of one thing in terms of another (1980: 5) would similarly infer 

that what we do with metaphors is in no way less important than what it is, and would thus 

allow for non-verbal manifestations as well (See, Forceville, 1996: 1 and Forceville, 2009; 

Introduction: 1). Forceville (1996) furthermore refers to the possible extension of Ricœur’s 

(1977) and Johnson’s (1993) perspectives to visual and pictorial phenomena:        

The modern world makes an increasing use of pictorial modes of conveying 
information, but theories of how this is achieved are still in their preliminary stages. 
[…] the link between linguistic metaphor and narrative as discussed in Ricœur (1977) 
and Johnson (1993) should be translatable to the realm of pictures and word and image 
texts. (Forceville, 1996: 211) 

Finally, Williamson’s (1988 [1978]) findings equally demonstrate that metaphor ought not to 

be restricted to verbal language, as she shows, in her discussion on ‘referent systems’, that 

advertising often borrows characteristics from ready-made domains of experience and 

transposes those to a certain product: “This is the essence of all advertising: components of 

“real” life, our life, are used to speak a new language, the advertisement’s” (1988 [1978]: 23). 



 16 

For that matter, Forceville (1996: 69) suggests that the arguments advanced by Williamson 

would in fact echo Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) numerous claims, and that the former would 

be unproblematically rephrasable in terms of metaphor. It hence follows that advertisers may 

often resort to this trope in order to ‘transfer’ qualities from one sign to another, and to 

associate the product advertised with a specific set of affective values by creating new and 

distinct signifieds for it. Besides, due to their implicitness, visual metaphors would confer to 

advertisements the ability of differentiating similar products or services and of eliciting a broad 

spectrum of emotional responses in consumers – in ways which might not be as easily 

accessible through non-pictorial means (e.g. association of products and celebrities; 

juxtaposition of images to create mental connections; reproduction of the appearance of reality 

to provide photographic proof) and which would indirectly convince people to adopt a 

proposition they themselves have been induced to construct – while avoiding the repercussions 

of expressing things in words, as well as leaving unspoken some assumptions or expectations 

that the audience may not want to explicitly confront (Cf. Chandler, 1995: 6 and Messaris, 

1997: vi-vii, xviii-xix).  

 In the same vein, Forceville (1996, 2009) and Forceville and Urios-Aparisi (2009) argue 

that metaphor is a central process in advertising. In the first place, Forceville similarly notes 

that not only does it forge a link between a product and another idea or entity that already 

possesses the properties desired to be claimed for this product, but it also significantly draws 

consumers’ attention by making ads attractive (1996: 69). In the second place, and in line with 

the above mentioned findings, he states that advertisements are often characterized by 

‘deliberate indeterminacy’ (1996: 103), also referred to by Tanaka (1994: 41) as ‘covert 

communication’. This technique – to the end of which metaphors are very effective tools – 

would allow advertisers to make the viewer forget that they are trying to encourage him or her 

to buy, and to ensure a shift of responsibility to the addressee in order to avoid the 

consequences of many implications arising from advertisements (Tanaka, 1994: 43-44). As 

Forceville (2009; Lecture 4: 9) points out, non-verbal metaphor in ads provides an alternative 



 17 

to explicit spelling out that may often sound “ridiculous and unbelievable”, and could 

simultaneously enable makers to deny their deliberate intentions of metaphorical interpretation, 

as well as to “get away with things that, if verbalized, might have been socially unacceptable or 

even illegal”. Therefore, despite the fact that so far, the vast majority of metaphor studies have 

been mostly interested in its exclusively verbal dimensions, it seems that if a theory of 

metaphor is to be complete, it cannot ignore the widespread pictorial and other manifestations 

of this cognitive device. 

1.2.3. Towards a theory of multimodal metaphor 

Preliminary notions 

Inspired by Black’s (1962, 1979) ‘interaction theory’ and Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) 

Cognitive Linguistics findings, Forceville (1996, 2006, 2009) claims that metaphors are key 

instruments in cognition, which do not only manifest themselves in language but also in 

pictures, music and a great array of other communication channels. The interaction theory – 

which pertains to the realm of verbal metaphor – has often been associated with the works by 

Richards (1965 [1936]), Black (1962, 1979) and Ricœur (1977), and may be considered as a 

pre-cognitivist variant of the influential CMT approach, examined in detail at the beginning of 

this theoretical review. Indeed, Black (1979: 28) explains that a metaphor always consists of 

two elements: a ‘primary’ subject, the term about which something else is said, and a 

‘subsidiary’ or ‘secondary’ subject, the “something else” used to convey information about the 

primary subject – corresponding respectively to Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) terminology of 

target and source, which has nowadays obtained broader currency (Forceville, 2009; Lecture 1: 

1) and which is the one being adopted in this dissertation. Black accordingly indicates that both 

primary and secondary subjects are part of a whole network of interrelated meanings he calls 

the ‘system of associated commonplaces’ (1962: 40) – later labelled the ‘implicative complex’ 

(1979: 28-29) – which is thought to involve the ‘projection’ of selected features. These 

properties, again, coincide with what has hence been referred to, within CMT, as the so-called 



 18 

mapping process from a certain source domain onto another target domain4. It should be 

furthermore noted that due to the structural nature of this mapping, the networks or domains to 

which target and source of a metaphor belong represent much more than mere concepts and 

their denotations, as they embody a significant range of other related concepts, popular or 

personal beliefs, superstitions, emotions, attitudes or endoxa, as well as cultural values and 

potential actions (Forceville, 1996: 35) – they may consequently “acquire ad hoc aspects that 

exceed, or even supplant, their conventional meanings”. Forceville (2009; Lecture 1: 2) 

elsewhere compares networks to Lakoff’s (1987) definition of categories, which are “anything 

but stable, closed, and objective units”, inferring that target and source domains necessarily 

require taking into account connotative parameters and pragmatic considerations.  

Through these major perspectives, Forceville (2009) draws together various 

observations. Firstly, while a single isolated feature may sometimes be uniquely triggered by 

metaphors, they most of the time involve the mapping of numerous elements which are not all 

projectable. In this respect, he argues that the choice of features to be mapped and the 

interpretation of a metaphor are not ‘self-evident’ (2009; Lecture 1: 4). Those would, instead, 

be ‘open-ended’, as they may often vary depending on the surrounding context and the 

interpreter’s prior knowledge and background – making metaphors “both suggestive and risky 

ways of communication”. Forceville then suggests that by associating a target with an 

unexpected source, metaphors have the capacity of being very creative and of eliciting and 

highlighting new characteristics that are not salient in the domains. He further calls these 

features ‘emergent properties’: 

Depending on the source domain with which a given target domain is metaphorically 
coupled, different features in that target domain are activated […]. The point is that 
different combinations will lead to different “emergent properties” – and here lies an 
important clue to describing creativity. (Forceville, 2009; Lecture 1: 10-11)5 

The idea of emergent properties appears to strongly remind of another concept deriving from 

blending theory or ‘conceptual integration’ – a basic cognitive operation humans are said to 

                                                
4 Cf. Sub-section 1.2.1 of this paper. 
5 The references to examples present in the original are removed from this citation. 



 19 

perform in order to construct meaning for local purposes of thought and action (See, 

Fauconnier and Turner, 1998, 2002) – namely, the ‘emergent structure’, representing a new 

content of its own which is developed in a ‘blended’ space. Coulson and Oakley (2005) refer to 

this framework as follows:  

Understanding meaning involves the construction of blended cognitive models that 
include some structure from multiple input models, as well as emergent structure that 
arises through the processes of blending. (Coulson and Oakley, 2005: 1512) 

In spite of the parallel drawn, the two approaches also importantly differ, in the sense that they 

do not employ the same architecture to model similar – but not identical – phenomena (Evans 

and Green, 2006: 435-436). Whereas, from a cognitive point of view, metaphors consist of 

unidirectional mappings across rather stable and pre-existing domains of knowledge, 

conceptual integration distinctly includes selective projection of structure from temporary and 

dynamic mental spaces. As a final observation – and of central importance to the present study 

– it should be anew indicated that language is only one amongst other communicative ‘modes’ 

in which a phenomenon that is to serve as a metaphorical target or source domain can be 

signalled. This reflects a major shift of academic studies in the humanities, which would still be 

relatively scarce but crucial to the progress of an encompassing Cognitive Linguistics theory of 

metaphor (Forceville, 1996, 2009). It follows that forms, textures, colours, and additional 

materials and manners of representation would also play a significant part in the mapping 

process and interpretation of this trope. 

Metaphor and monomodality 

According to Forceville (2009; Lecture 3: 6), a ‘monomodal’ metaphor may be defined as 

having its target and source exclusively rendered in the same and single mode. In order to fully 

comprehend what modes consist of, he suggests that a first approximation and useful strategy 

would be to equate them with senses, yielding the pictorial, the sonic, the olfactory, the tactile 

and the gustatory modes. However, they would not be entirely adequate, as various sources of 

information among the traditional five senses are usually differentiated – while we can hear 

verbal speech, music and sounds, we can see both linguistic and pictorial texts. Written and 



 20 

spoken discourses, besides, do not rely on the same conditions of understanding. Forceville 

consequently proposes to distinguish between the following modes: spoken language, written 

language, pictures, music, non-verbal sound, smell, taste and touch (2009; Lecture 3: 7). 

Additional subdivisions might be identified – such as, static and moving images, photographs, 

paintings or gestures – a substantial amount of further examinations would nevertheless be 

necessary for an exhaustive account to be provided. Forceville moreover points out that dealing 

with modes necessarily involves taking into account the material carrier of the message (e.g. 

Radio, TV, films, magazines, museums), for what constitutes a metaphor is partly affected by 

the ‘medium’ in which it occurs (2009; Lecture 1: 11). In this perspective, he argues that modes 

which are rarely encountered would remain more elusive than those occurring, for instance, in 

the visual channel: 

I speculate that our fast-growing “visually literacy” makes us increasingly alert to how 
images are (ab)used to influence our interpretations and evaluations of the world around 
us, but that the meanings of sound, smell, taste, and touch are less consciously 
interpreted – so that these modes constitute more subtle modes of rhetorical 
manipulation. (Forceville, 2009; lecture 3: 9) 

The idea of alertness seems both to contradict and complement the concept of deliberate 

indeterminacy which has been hitherto associated with the use of metaphor in advertising. 

Indeed, if pictorial manifestations of metaphor in ads are to be characterized by implicitness, 

the capacity of a layman, though visually educated, audience to perceive their influential 

aspects should be relatively limited. Yet, in contrast with Tanaka’s (1994) presentation of 

advertisers’ propensity for covert communication, Barthes (1986 [1964]: 22) shows that the 

signifieds of the advertising message must be conveyed in a very clear and explicit manner, and 

that the image’s signification is “assuredly intentional […] frank, or at least emphatic”. The 

distinctive features of these approaches nonetheless appear to be complementary – the fact that 

advertising represents a genre motivated by clear intentionality in which ‘conative components’ 

are understood by default (See, Cook, 1992: 171) would, in consequence, constitute a very 

valid reason to resort to such devices as metaphors since they allow for more tacit means of 

representation. 



 21 

 These various aspects lead Forceville (1996: 67-68) to acknowledge the advantages of 

focusing on a corpus of advertisements in order to investigate metaphor uses. First, as has been 

demonstrated, advertising is characterized by unambiguous purposes. As such, it is recognized 

as a body of texts and practices used to sell or promote products and services which is 

persuasive par excellence (See, Forceville and Urios-Aparisi, 2009: 6). Second, contemporary 

advertisements are thought to contain many metaphors since they are able to create maximally 

effective impact to capture customers’ attention in the limited amount of space advertisers 

possess, in particular within printed ads and billboards. When occurring in the pictorial mode, 

the construal of metaphor is governed by two main types of parameters (Forceville, 2009; 

Lecture 2: 5-6). On the one hand, it is invited or forced by textual-internal cues – an apparent 

anomaly or incongruity in the identity relation between two phenomena is associated to and 

balanced by some degree of formal similarity. On the other hand, it is also determined by extra-

textual properties that help to steer and constrain interpretations. Those include communicative 

and authorial intentions, contextual information and genre attributions. 

 Consequently, Forceville (2009) makes a fourfold distinction of the forms monomodal 

metaphors can take in pictures – that is, whether they are ‘hybrid metaphors’, ‘integrated 

metaphors’, ‘similes’ or ‘contextual metaphors’ – representing, in fact, the different ways 

through which pictorial similarity might be created. In the case of hybrids, the target and source 

of the metaphor are described as being homospatial and as involving the construal of a single 

and ‘noncompossible’ gestalt – namely, an object that should be impossible given the physical 

laws of the world within which it occurs (Cf. Carroll, 1996: 213). This first type may thus be 

broadly defined as a phenomenon that is experienced as a unified entity consisting of “two 

different parts that are usually considered as belonging to different domains, and not as parts of 

a single whole” (Forceville, 2009; Lecture 2: 1). Hybrids might be thought not to be very 

popular in advertising, as they seem to be averse to promoting a product. It follows that this 

class of metaphor would be exclusively used in advertisements when the product does not 

correspond with the target – or if the manipulation of ‘product-as-target’ is not clearly visible – 



 22 

and in cases when it represents an abstract idea or a service (2009; Lecture 3: 3-4). Yet, due to 

its striking, or even sometimes disquieting properties, a hybrid could possibly be very useful to 

advertisers aiming at delegitimizing or vilifying a given competitor. It could furthermore have 

the additional advantage of catching the consumer’s eye, as Shepard (1990: 202) indicates that 

the human perceptual system is finely tuned to pay special attention to unfamiliar objects, in 

particular when those are only slightly different from common expectations. Similarly to the 

hybrid type, the integrated metaphor also involves homospatial target and source as being 

perceived in a single gestalt, but does not include the noncompossible conflation of the former. 

According to Forceville (2009; Lecture 2: 2), it is characterized by the fact that a certain 

phenomenon is experienced as a unified whole which is “represented in its entirety in such a 

manner that it resembles another object or gestalt even without contextual cues”. The target 

strongly evokes in viewers the understanding of something different, but its identity is not 

violated; the product design is what constitutes the metaphor. By contrast, similes invite the 

construal of metaphor in a more naturalistic way. The target and the source represent two 

discrete entities that do not occupy the same space, and are both depicted – whether or not they 

occur in different frames. Forceville (ibid.: 2) defines this third type of pictorial metaphor as 

follows: “a phenomenon that is experienced as a unified object is juxtaposed with a unified 

object belonging to a different category in such a manner that the first is understood in terms of 

the second”. Contextual metaphor, then, may be thought to be similar to simile as it also 

consists of non-homospatial target and source, but differs from it in the sense that only one 

term is usually described in its entirety. The identification of one of the metaphor’s domains is 

triggered through the visual representation of the other, so that “a unified object or gestalt is 

understood as being something else due to the visual context in which it is depicted” (ibid.: 2). 

Contextual metaphors would thus come very close to the idea of a ‘collage’, in which the target 

most of the time corresponds to the entity that is visually represented in an unexpected context, 

and the source to the one that is visually suggested (See, Forceville, 1996: 121-122)6 – 

                                                
6 In Forceville (1996: Chapter 6) the target and source are referred to as primary and secondary subjects.  



 23 

although the opposite situation may also occur, and in fact frequently does so in the specific 

genre of advertising.  

It would be finally significant to mention that the depiction of two phenomena in any of 

the four ways delineated is not enough in itself to guarantee that a metaphor is to be 

recognized, as its identification necessarily depends on the construal of one thing in terms of 

another. Likewise, inasmuch as those do not constitute “hard-and-fast categories” (Forceville, 

2009; Lecture 3: 6), features of more than one type might often been displayed in a visual 

metaphor. 

Metaphor and multimodality 

Forceville (1996, 2006, and 2009), however, also maintains that metaphors are not uniquely 

monomodal, since pictures are mostly accompanied by language and in particular, 

advertisements which are rarely of a purely pictorial nature. Numerous messages nowadays 

combine various modes. A metaphor may subsequently be defined as ‘multimodal’ if its “target 

and source are each represented exclusively or predominantly in different modes” (2006: 384). 

In other words, multimodal metaphor involves a structural mapping process where target 

and/or source domains are cued in more than one mode simultaneously – the most common 

variety of which associating pictorial and verbal elements – and it is particularly pervasive in 

printed advertisements, billboards, films, cartoons and commercials.  

 From these definitions, a large number of implications may be outlined. In the first 

place, a multimodal metaphor can only be effective if the perceived source domain is identified 

and if it evokes one or more connotations to be matched to other elements in the target domain, 

which might often differ among individuals in the audience (Forceville, 2009; Lecture 3: 8-9). 

As for purely pictorial metaphors, the context and the genre are to help the interpreter to decide 

on the corresponding features thereof. Regarding multimodal metaphors of the ‘verbo-pictorial’ 

type, the linguistic message and visual framework also serve to co-determine and restrict 

possible interpretations. This idea pertains to what Barthes (1986 [1964]: 29) calls the 

‘anchoring’ function of language, referring to the fact that “the text directs the reader among 



 24 

various signifieds of the image […], it teleguides him towards a meaning selected in advance”; 

a role that, according to Forceville (1996: 76), can also be played by other pictorial elements. 

In the second place, Forceville (2009) suggests that in advertisements, the target generally 

coincides with the product being promoted or, on the contrary, with the competitor’s which has 

to be disparaged. In his discussion on multimodal metaphor in commercials, he furthermore 

observes that in cases when at least one of the domains is exclusively rendered in either the 

verbal or the pictorial mode, whereas the target tends to be visually cued, the source would be 

verbally manifested (2009; Lecture 4: 8). However, he recognizes that his claim suffers from 

serious limitations, as more analyses would need to be carried out in order to be able to confirm 

– or disconfirm – this hypothesis. Lastly, Nöth (1987: 279) argues that the convention of 

advertising should usually trigger positive features in ads: “typical among the consumer’s 

expectations about the text genre is that any evaluation of the commodity which the message 

might contain will always be positive”. In this respect, Messaris (1997: 40-41) shows that 

children and cute pets are very reliable ingredients of commercial advertisements in that they 

have the capacity to evoke strong feelings of affection in viewers. Forceville and Urios-Aparisi 

(2009: 6, 13) similarly note that humans, living organisms and animals are, for instance, 

attractive choices of source domains for companies and organisations, as visual 

personifications of commodities often encourage the inference of corporate qualities that are 

not verbalized. A sort of negative advertising via metaphor might nonetheless prove to be very 

helpful and efficient in contexts where advertisers intend to deliberately but subtly present their 

opponents in a negative light, so as to create poignant contrasts and to strengthen the 

advantageous aspects of their brands. 

 Thus, although all varieties of metaphor appear to involve the same cognitive 

mechanisms and processes, multimodal and pictorial metaphors are very likely to convey 

different information and attitudes from purely verbal manifestations of the same trope (See, 

Forceville and Urios-Aparisi, 2009: 8 and Forceville, 2009; Introduction: 3). As a result, 



 25 

investigating multimodal occurrences provides a deeply rich way of analyzing the conceptual 

and influential force of metaphor in contemporary society.            

1.2.4. Metaphor-related issues: source domain choices and cultural influences 

To end this literature review, relevant issues in connection with metaphor should be 

highlighted. As has been demonstrated, the choice of source domain for the conceptualization 

of an advertised product or entity is particularly important since it is going to influence the 

consumer’s feelings and reactions to the brand or service in question. Moreover, the claim that 

metaphorical targets so often coincide with products in advertisements and commercials leads 

Forceville (2009; Lecture 4: 9) to observe that it would apparently be possible to categorize 

certain types of metaphor according to particular product categories – that is, to examine 

whether systematic patterns and correlations might be identified between specific source 

domains and sorts of products. Among other promising lines of studies, he lists the possibility 

of investigating the potentially recurrent choices of source domains for the promotion of 

alcoholic beverages – which is to be transferred to the realm of bank advertisements in the 

context of the present dissertation – and, conversely, of selecting a particular source domain in 

order to inventory the various products to which it could apply. These topical issues in fact 

relate to Kövecses’s (2005: 70-72, 122-123) concepts of metaphor’s ‘range’ – the sets of source 

domains used to metaphorize a given target domain – and ‘scope’ – the sets of target domains 

with which a certain source domain can be associated.  

 Nevertheless, considering the fact that the mappings from source to target domains are 

mostly culturally determined, and that the interpretation of a metaphor significantly depends on 

viewers’ prior embodied experience, the observations presented above may also involve 

important cross-cultural differences. More attention has indeed recently started to be paid to the 

interaction between culture and metaphor within Cognitive Linguistics (See, for instance, 

Shore, 1996; Gibbs, 1999; Kövecses, 2005). From this perspective, Forceville states that the 

understanding of culturally embedded knowledge and beliefs may highly benefit from the study 

of multimodal metaphor manifestations (2009; Introduction: 2). On the one hand, viewers from 



 26 

various cultural backgrounds might understand the same metaphor in drastically different 

manners, echoing Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980: 57) statement that “we experience our “world” 

in such a way that our culture is already present in the very experience itself”. This idea 

furthermore suggests that dominant metaphors would tend to reflect but also influence the 

values and ways of thinking of different linguistic, social and cultural groups. On the other 

hand, whereas advertisers might be relatively certain of triggering particular schemas or 

embodied aspects of metaphor in their audience – due to their presumable universality 

(Forceville and Urios-Aparisi, 2009: 7) – other individual and culturally-bounded schemas 

would remain beyond their control. Indeed, Lakoff and Turner (1989: 66) argue that knowledge 

about source domains is not merely a question of embodiment, but also of cultural connotations 

and correspondences. Numerous details in advertisements could consequently only be 

thoroughly accessed and appreciated by those viewers aware of very specific linguistic and 

idiomatic phrases, myths and beliefs of a culture or society.  

 Therefore, although theories on multimodal metaphor are still somewhat in their 

infancy, this cognitive device has proved to be particularly useful for the analysis of 

multimodal, visual or cross-cultural discourse and communication, and to be both pervasive 

and persuasive when used in contemporary advertising. 

1.3. Aim and hypothesis  

Thus, it seems reasonable to presume that the advertisements studied would all be very rich in 

multimodal metaphor. However, it is also hypothesized that significant cross-cultural and 

linguistic differences may be identified in terms of targeted audience and objectives. On the 

one hand, the English data would reflect a major interest in the conceptualization of bank and 

bankers in general. Indeed, in this context, multimodal metaphors seem to be mainly used in 

order to offer a positive image of the financial entities – or, conversely, to delegitimize their 

competitors – whereas the Spanish and French data would rather focus on the way certain 

banking products and their valuable characteristics are conceptualized. On the other hand, 

while the English ads seem to be quite easily accessible to other cultures and to be aimed at a 



 27 

more global audience, the Spanish and French advertisements would involve cross-cultural 

implications, as they appear to be more nationally directed and as such, they are less or non-

understandable to speakers of other languages. Furthermore, it is additionally speculated that 

the range of multimodal metaphors ascertained within the three contexts would involve 

systematic patterns and correlations between recurrent source domain choices and the 

particular genre of banking advertisements and that those would be very similar among the 

languages studied, hence reflecting very broad and general cultural groups or perspectives. It is 

finally expected that further repetitive patterns would also be observable in relation to the two 

modes in which target and source of the underlying multimodal metaphors are cued and that 

these implications might be intrinsically linked to the specific category of data studied.    

 Therefore, this paper continues the growing tradition of analysing the use of multimodal 

metaphor in printed advertising and expands the range of research already available on the 

topic through the utilisation of very recent advertisements. It examines how a comparative 

study undertaken from a trilingual perspective could illuminate the way major banks and their 

products are conceptualized in times of unstable economy due to the current financial crisis, 

and the consequences this may have. The results of this research would ideally help us to 

determine whether there would be important cross-cultural differences in the image of banking 

created in the three languages and further significant linguistic implications. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 28 

2. Data and methodology 

 2.1. Data: The corpora 

The corpus consists of sixty-nine static bank advertisements of the verbo-pictorial type that 

were first classified into three language contexts, and second divided into sub-categories 

according to two main levels of analysis. They were arranged as follows: 

(A) English context 

In-depth analysis 

 (A1) Advertisement for ANZ Bank, 2010 

 (A2) Advertisement for ING Bank, 2008 

(A3) Advertisement for Hampden Bank, 2008 

Selective analysis 

 (A4) - (A23) Review of advertisements for further Anglophone banks, 2007-2010  

(B) Spanish context 

In-depth analysis 

(B1) Advertisement for Banco Pastor’s mortgage ‘Hipotecal 049’, 2009 

(B2) Advertisement for Banco Guipuzcoano’s ‘Depósito BG Telefónica 2012’, 2009 

 (B3) Advertisement for Caja Sur’s mortgage ‘Hipoteca Ligera’, 2008 

Selective analysis 

 (B4) - (B23) Review of advertisements for further Hispanophone banks, 2008-2010  

 (C) French context 

In-depth analysis 

 (C1) Advertisement for Crédit Agricole’s bank insurance ‘Assurance Vie’, 2010  

  (C2) Advertisement for Société Générale’s free bank insurance diagnostic, 2008 

 (C3) Advertisement for Banque Populaire’s investment plans for cultivators, 2007 

Selective analysis 

 (C4) - (C23) Review of advertisements for further Francophone banks, 2008-2010  



 29 

These advertisements were selected taking several criteria into account. First, contemporary 

advertising represents a particular genre which is motivated by clear intentions of persuasion, 

and it is usually very rich in metaphors. Moreover, static and printed types of publicity were 

chosen for their relatively easy accessibility. Second, these recent data have not been 

investigated so far, and they appeared to provide a very interesting perspective due to their 

topicality in relation to the current economic crisis. And finally, the sixty-nine posters used for 

this research had the additional advantage to be homogeneous as they addressed similar topics, 

contexts and audiences. 

2.2. Procedure 

The first step carried out was to collect the data from various mediums and sources. For a start, 

over a four-month period of time, a considerable amount of bank advertisements for each 

language were randomly gathered from bank and advertising websites, bank offices (e.g. bill 

pictures, flyers and brochures), and English, Spanish and French magazines. Then, a first 

selection was made taking the following aspects into consideration: the advertisements all 

comprised two modes – namely, pictorial and verbal components – and a certain anomaly-cum-

similarity seemed to be created by word and image messages, which provided more 

opportunities for metaphors to be construed. Following a careful and preliminary examination 

of those, thirty printed advertisements were kept according to their dates – that is, all of them 

had been produced or released during the period of the 2007/2010 crisis – and to their possible 

relevance for a multimodal study of metaphor. Among these data, three ads per language were 

finally selected to be thoroughly and exhaustively analyzed considering their particular 

significance to the purposes of the present dissertation. 

 It was subsequently determined that additional materials should be gathered in the aim 

of testing and confirming crucial points of the research hypothesis. The second step was thus to 

repeat the procedure previously described and to decide on the remaining data. However, the 

criteria for selection which had been originally established appeared to reduce considerably the 

quantity of advertisements available and consequently, a maximum of sixty ads that were to be 



 30 

more succinctly examined could only be collected. It should be furthermore noted that between 

the three languages, printed posters from different banking entities were as far as possible 

chosen in order not to result with data that would have simply been mere translations of each 

other.  

 Once this corpus was built, the sixty-nine advertisements were firstly divided into three 

cultural and linguistic contexts and secondly classified into two main sub-categories, 

corresponding respectively to the levels of examination they were to undergo. Whereas the sub-

groups A1 to A3, B1 to B3 and C1 to C3 were planned to be deeply studied, the other ads A4 to 

A23, B4 to B23 and C4 to C23 were projected to be analyzed in a more selective manner since 

only very specific features were to be looked at – in particular, the review of recurrent source 

domains used for the conceptualization of banking products and entities. These data were lastly 

organized chronologically from most to least recent within each set. It was accordingly decided 

to undertake a qualitative study, as the focus was on identifying metaphors of the verbal and 

visual types, combined with a quantitative approach in the form of percentages so as to 

determine whether systematic patterns and correlations could be observed between source 

domain choices and the genre of bank advertising. 

 Before it was eventually possible to proceed to the analysis, the advertisements’ and the 

banks’ socio-historical contexts and backgrounds were examined in detail, from various 

internet websites7. It was interestingly found that the current crisis, which started in 2007 and is 

now called the ‘Great Recession’, has been considered by many economists to be the worst 

economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It has resulted in the collapse of large 

financial institutions, the suffering of stock and housing markets, and significant declines in 

economic activity. Causing massive concern and worry among consumers all around the world, 

it has also highly affected the image of banks which were prompted to create new advertising 

campaigns in order to reinforce their brands – no matter how strong they had formerly been – 

and to position themselves in a positive light. Several companies were nevertheless forced to 

                                                
7 For the detailed information about the sources used in relation to the context of the economic crisis and 
advertising, see the ‘References’ Section at the end of this paper. 



 31 

reduce their publicity budgets, hence providing their competitors with more opportunities of 

producing poignant and convincing impacts. While certain entities have recently gone back to 

basic and traditional types of advertising, due to the seriousness of the unstable economic 

times, others have conversely chosen to adopt a bolder approach to be able to paint themselves 

as different from their rivals. These topical consequences appeared to offer a very worthwhile 

perspective for the investigation of the various uses of multimodal metaphor in advertisements 

released during this dramatic period. Indeed, as a direct link seemed to be created between 

consumers’ confidence in financial institutions and advertising and marketing efforts, 

advertisers’ communication and persuasion strategies – such as resorting to these powerful 

cognitive mechanisms – were very likely to be influenced by their necessity to convey 

reassuring and trust-building messages.  

2.3. Coding 

In order to perform the ‘in-depth’ analysis of the primary group of data, each advertisement 

was first objectively described. The ways through which similarity was created between 

exclusively visual components was secondly examined, according to Forceville’s (1996) 

theory, so as to ascertain – when possible – the types of purely pictorial metaphor that could be 

construed. Then, Following Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) CMT perspective and Forceville’s 

(2009) method, multimodal metaphors were identified8 and arranged within tables with their 

corresponding mappable features and projections, based upon the association of verbal and 

pictorial elements and the identification of their source and target domains. The next step was 

to analyze the particular focus, objectives and types of messaging conveyed in each ad, and to 

interpret and explain the associated effects produced by the use of metaphor. It was 

consequently possible to explore the plausible cross-cultural implications and targeted-

audience differences that could be highlighted in the data, and to draw conclusions for each 

language context. 

                                                
8 The original language of the ads was preserved for the analysis. Only specific terms and expressions were 
translated into English for purposes of clarity in the ‘Results and discussion’ Section. 



 32 

 The ‘selective’ analysis, which consisted in reviewing a collection of further 

advertisements, was thus carried out in parallel. In the first place, it principally aimed at 

investigating whether certain source domains could be systematically associated with the 

promotion of bank services. For this purpose, the underlying multimodal metaphors were 

identified in the secondary group of data, in terms of the above-mentioned approaches, and 

were ordered within listing tables. The range of metaphor was subsequently examined – with 

the significant help of the ‘index of metaphors’ proposed by Lakoff (1994), the various types of 

metaphor were organized taking into account both levels of analysis and were then classified in 

tables from most to least frequent so as to identify possible recurrent patterns of source domain 

choices. In the second place, key aspects resulting from the primary sub-groups were briefly 

overviewed in the additional ads, with a view to validating the major findings and dissertation 

hypotheses. 

 The last step was therefore to proceed to the general discussion and interpretation by 

drawing conclusions for each set of data within the three main contexts, and for each language 

studied. The individual results obtained were finally compared in order to determine the 

significant differences and implications that could be revealed through the analysis.  

 It should be considered that this research involves some limitations, the size of the 

corpus being restricted due to important constraints of time, resources, data collection, 

analytical criteria and objectives. However, it could be taken as a basis to develop further 

similar studies on multimodal metaphor in advertising. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 33 

3. Results and discussion 

3.1. Presentation: background and summary of results 

The principal findings of this paper reveal that the advertisements studied are all very rich in 

multimodal metaphor which seems to be mainly used to counter the negative effects of the 

present unstable times on banks’ reputations. The crisis situation appears to have strongly 

influenced the types of messaging financial entities are nowadays striving to convey to reassure 

their customers and increase their trust in the safety and soundness of their institutions – which 

can even sometimes be achieved through negative advertising in order not to lose consumers’ 

loyalty to the advantage of other competitors. However, although the data examined mostly 

share the general aim of attracting potential buyers and praising the valuable qualities of the 

brands, important variations may also be found in terms of particular focus, intended audience 

and more specific objectives. These differences might additionally highlight further cross-

cultural and linguistic issues which create a significant contrast distinguishing the English data 

from the advertisements released in the two other languages. 

 Nevertheless, important similarities might also be revealed among the three contexts 

examined with regard to multimodal metaphors’ range and to major implications of modality 

cueing. This would in fact entail that it would apparently be possible to categorize certain types 

of metaphor according to particular data categories, and that the various choices of source 

domains for the conceptualization of a given product or entity would be largely influenced by 

the specific genre in which they occur. 

3.2. Multimodal metaphor in the English advertisements 

3.2.1. In-depth analysis of Advertisement A1  

Metaphor analysis 

The first poster analysed is an advertisement which was released in English in 2010 for the 

Australian and New Zealand bank ANZ, well-know for its new strategic campaign of 

Uncomplicated Banking.  It is composed of a large rectangular picture, on which a mass of 

people walking in the street of an apparently big city can be seen. Most of them look like 



 34 

business men and women and, whereas some have got a huge and high quantity of office and 

bank tasks (e.g. documents, calculators, e-mails, printers) and of daily accessories (e.g. alarm 

clocks, mobile phones) on the top of their head, others are only depicted with the blue symbol 

of the bank. The vertical image is accompanied by a caption situated in the top part: “Life is 

complicated, so we’re making banking simpler. We live in your world.”  

In this first advertisement, pictorial similarity is built through the elements going up 

from the head of the characters which seem to represent the content of their mind and to form a 

unified gestalt with their whole body. However, a sensation of anomaly is also created, as we 

cannot actually have access to the content of humans’ minds. The general situation gives the 

impression of a collage, and the pictorial metaphor identified is of the contextual type – a 

unified gestalt is understood as something different and its interpretation is given by the overall 

context. The visual scene enables the construal of the following metaphors:  

(1) THE MIND IS A CONTAINER 

(2) THOUGHTS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES 

(3) MORE IS UP / LESS IS DOWN 

(4) BANK AND DAILY PROBLEMS ARE UP/ LESS COMPLICATION IS DOWN 

Moreover, the light and dark colours of the key elements may be considered to create an 

important contrast. The blue symbol of ANZ Bank could possibly be associated to positive 

feelings of cleanliness and brightness, and the brown and grey colours of the accessories to the 

ideas of obscurity and dirtiness. This aspect leads to the creation of metaphors, such as ANZ IS 

BRIGHTNESS AND POSITIVE LIFE and OFFICE, BANK AND DAILY TASKS ARE 

DARKNESS AND PROBLEMS.  

 Associating pictorial and linguistic components shows that while the main target – ANZ 

Bank and bankers – is verbally suggested, various sources are depicted. Table 1 presents a 

summary of the analysis of multimodal metaphors used in Advertisement A1 and of the 

principal mappable features identified.  



 35 

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

COMPLICATED AND NEGATIVE ARE UP 

COMPLICATED IS QUANTITY 

NEGATIVE IS QUANTITY 

QUANTITY IS UP 

[ Connected to office/bank tasks and daily stuff ] 

-  Bank and daily tasks are complicated and thus, 
banking and life in general are difficult to handle. 

SIMPLICITY AND POSITIVE ARE DOWN 

SIMPLICITY IS LESS QUANTITY 

POSITIVE IS LESS QUANTITY 

LESS QUANTITY IS DOWN 

[ Connected to ANZ Bank ] 

-  ANZ Bank is uncomplicated and thus, people 
choosing this bank have a simpler and better life. 

SHARING VALUES IS LIVING IN THE SAME WORLD -  Living in one’s world is being understanding and 
empathetic. 

Underlying metaphor: BEING A CLIENT OF ANZ BANK IS HAVING AN  UNCOMPLICATED AND POSITIVE LIFE 
Table 1 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement A1 (English) 

Discussion 

The analysis reveals that Advertisement A1 is very much structured by multimodal metaphors 

which seem to be mainly used in order to attract new consumers to ANZ Bank and to sell them 

the very general idea of a service. Consequently this ad would exclusively focus on the 

conceptualization of the financial entity – namely, ANZ and its bankers – and not on specific 

banking products. First of all, ANZ is described as a safe and reassuring institution which is 

aware of life’s complexity especially in times of economic crisis, and is at consumers’ disposal 

helping them to have simpler and better living conditions. It is, then, depicted as possessing 

high capacities of understanding and empathy towards its customers. Moreover, the metaphors 

identified would also aim at offering a very positive image of the bank, while implicitly 

presenting their competitors as different and negative. Thus, the characters having ANZ’s logo 

above their head would be meant to have taken the right decision, while others would probably 

have chosen the path of complication from other banks. It should be furthermore noted that the 

understanding of positive features in terms of bodily experience of ‘down’ would create a 

surprising contrast with the commonly known metaphors of HAPPY IS UP and SAD IS 

DOWN, but would nonetheless remain very poignant in the particular context of this ad.  



 36 

 Finally, the multimodal metaphors construed do not seem to comprise cross-cultural 

implications, as they would be relatively understandable and accessible to people from other 

cultures, and could be directly translated into Spanish and French. Therefore, this 

advertisement seems to be aimed at a general and global audience.   

3.2.2. In-depth analysis of Advertisement A2  

Metaphor analysis 

Produced in 2008, Advertisement A2 has been released in English for ING Bank, which is a 

financial institution of Dutch origins operating in various countries at an international level, 

including Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. It is made up of a horizontal picture which is 

divided into two scenes: in the left frame, the driver of a Formula ONE car is having his wheels 

changed and his tank filled by a technical team in the course of a competition. Both car and 

team bear the logo of ING. In the right frame, a professional team of bankers is grouped around 

a meeting table, all of them holding notebooks with ING’s logo. At the bottom of Picture 1, the 

text “Whatever the future holds” can be read. It is complemented by the inscription “We are 

ready” which can be found at the bottom of Picture 2.  

 In this ad, pictorial similarity is created through the juxtaposition of the two pictures. 

Indeed, these are placed side by side within two different frames, in such a way that the shape 

of the whole scene in Image 1 strongly reminds of the shape of the scene in Image 2. For 

instance, the Formula ONE car is linked to the meeting table, and the technical team to the 

bankers who are depicted with corresponding body positions and movements. As a unified 

frame is juxtaposed to another unified frame belonging to a different category, the overall 

pictorial metaphor identified is a simile. Thus, the visual context cues the two metaphors 

presented in examples (5) and (6). 

 (5) ING BANK MANAGEMENT IS FORMULA ONE MANAGEMENT 

 (6) ING BANKERS ARE FORMULA ONE TECHNICAL TEAM 

The analysis of multimodal metaphor reveals that both target and source are depicted – the 

main target, ING banking expertness, is understood in terms of the technical properties of 



 37 

Formula ONE expertise. Table 2 offers a summary of the principal findings concerning the use 

of this device in Advertisement A2. 

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

THE FUTURE IS A PERSON 

THE FUTURE IS A POSSESSOR 

CHALLENGES ARE PHYSICAL POSSESSIONS 

BANK UNFORESEEABLE ISSUES ARE FORMULA ONE 
UNPREDICTABLE INCIDENTS 

ING BANKERS’ ABILITY TO ACT IS FORMULA ONE 
TEAMS’ CAPACITY TO OPERATE 

ING BANKERS’ PROMPTNESS IS FORMULA ONE’S SPEED 

-  The future and banking are full of unexpected events, 
as Formula 1 competitions. 

-  However, ING bankers – as Formula 1 technical teams 
– stand ready to act to find solutions. 

- ING bankers’ knowledge and business capacities are as 
efficient and proficient as Formula 1 teams’ technical 
competence. 

Underlying metaphor:  BUSINESS EXPERTNESS OF ING BANKING IS TECHNICAL EXPERTISE OF FORMULA 1 

Table 2 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement A2 (English) 

Discussion 

The results show that multimodal metaphor is a very pervasive device in Advertisement A2, 

and that it would mainly aim at convincing consumers to choose ING Bank and selling them a 

very unspecific service. This last point suggests that this ad appears to focus entirely on the 

conceptualization of the financial entity – that is, ING in general and its bankers. As may be 

seen from Table 2, ING is presented as a very safe and solid institution. The future in times of 

economic crisis may be frightening and comprise unexpected issues; however, ING is 

explicitly depicted in a very positive light – it is a trustable bank which is always ready to face 

obstacles, whenever they happen, to protect and help its customers. 

 As was the case for the first advertisements analysed, Advertisement A2 would not 

comprise any cross-cultural implication. Indeed, the multimodal metaphors identified seem to 

be relatively accessible to speakers of other languages and could easily be translatable. 

Consequently, this ad seems to be intended for an international audience. 

 

 

 



 38 

3.2.3. In-depth analysis of Advertisement A3 

Metaphor analysis 

Advertisement A3 was released in English in 2008 and was part of the famous ‘Evolved’ 

Campaign, designed by the advertising agency Winstanley Associates for Hampden Bank, 

located in Western Massachusetts. The picture represents a merging of two distinct entities: the 

body of a velociraptor dinosaur and the head of an apparently old woman in profile. At the 

bottom-right corner, the title ‘VelociMerger’ may be read, and is accompanied by the following 

caption: “Banking has evolved beyond the battling corporate monsters. […] a better way to 

bank just around the corner.9” The Bank’s logo, telephone numbers and slogan “A Brighter 

Idea” are also presented. 

 The fusion between the human head and the dinosaur body creates a very striking 

anomaly. Nonetheless, this significant contrast is also balanced by some degree of similarity, as 

the two phenomena are experienced as a same and single whole. Therefore, two non-

compossible parts being composed as a unified entity, the pictorial metaphor is of the hybrid 

type and it enables the identification of the following visual metaphors: 

(7) HUMANS ARE DINOSAURS 

(8) HUMANS ARE MONSTERS 

The visual context moreover enables the construction of a pictorial blend. Indeed, features of a 

first ‘human’ input might be mapped onto paired counterpart elements of a second 

‘dinosaur/monster’ input, thus giving rise to emergent structure in a new blended 

‘VelociMerger’ space which might be further identified through lexical components. 

 The examination of multimodal metaphors in this ad suggests that target and source are 

presented in both modes – out of town competitors are conceptualized as monsters or 

dinosaurs. Table 3 presents the main results concerning this analysis. 

 

                                                
9 For the full text of this ad, see Appendix 6. 



 39 

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

PERSONIFICATIONS 

NATURE IS A PERSON; BANKS ARE PEOPLE 

BANKING EVOLUTION IS PREHISTORIC EVOLUTION 

OUT OF TOWN BANK COMPETITORS ARE PREHISTORIC 
CREATURES 

HAMPDEN BANK IS NATURE’S RESULT 

BANKING COMPETITION IS WAR 

HAMPDEN BANK IS THE LEADER 

OUT OF TOWN BANKING IS THE ENEMY 

CHOOSING A BANK IS A JOURNEY 

HAMPDEN BANK IS THE GOAL 

COMPETITORS ARE WRONG PATHS 

IDEAS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES 

POSITIVE IS LIGHT; HAMPDEN BANK IS LIGHT 

-  Competitors are aggressive and scaring: they are 
presented as a threat to human beings which is 
doomed to disappear, as velociraptors or dinosaurs in 
general.  

-  Contrastively, Hampden Bank represents the peaceful 
natural state of things – that is, it is genuine and 
authentic. 

Underlying metaphor:  OUT OF TOWN COMPETITORS ARE CORPORATE MONSTERS AND DINOSAURS 

Table 3 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement A3 (English) 

Moreover, there would be further possible interpretations, giving rise to two additional 

multimodal metaphors. First, the face of this VelociMerger could also remind of the face of a 

witch because of its haircut and crooked nose. The metaphor COMPETITORS ARE 

WITCHES may thus be identified and projects the associated features of danger, fear and 

disguise. Then, the body part of the creature and its overall shape could also remind of another 

imaginary monster, the Gerrymander, which was created in 1812 to refer to the salamander 

shape of an electoral district which had been manipulated by Elbridge Gerry’s party to assure 

the victory of the Democrats. Since then, gerrymandering has been used to refer to the 

deliberate adaptation of boundaries for any political advantages. Yet – following the definition 

of Princeton Dictionary – this term could also mean, in a broader sense, “to manipulate to 

one’s advantage”. This leads to the construction of the metaphor COMPETITORS ARE 

GERRYMANDERS, which reflects the ideas of corruption and manipulation. 

 

 



 40 

Discussion 

The results reveal that Advertisement A3 is also very rich in multimodal metaphors, which 

appear to be essentially used for the conceptualization of bank entities and bankers in general – 

that is, Hampden Bank, as compared to its major competitors. Thus, the major objective of this 

campaign would be to convince consumers that other banks are negative and that they ought to 

look for a better institution, Hampden Bank. According to Forceville (2009), Hybrid metaphors 

should not be very popular in advertising as they are averse to promoting a product. Yet, as this 

ad focuses exclusively on bank entities and not on their specific products, the multimodal 

metaphors identified based on this hybridization have proved to be very effective. Representing 

a type of ‘negative’ advertising, they aim at delegitimizing openly rival competitors through the 

highlighting of their fooling and scaring aspects, and lead potential consumers to be afraid of 

them. Meanwhile, Hampden bank is implicitly presented as superior (e.g. more adaptable, more 

accessible, committed to Massachusetts community), and thus, a very convincing contrastive 

effect is produced. Furthermore, the economic times being already worrying, creating an 

additional feeling of threat – through the dinosaur and monster features – and of corruption – 

through the Gerrymander connotations – appears to be even more efficient in order to persuade 

consumers to opt for a better bank. 

 The majority of multimodal metaphors identified for this advertisement do not seem to 

comprise significant cross-cultural implications, as we would all share the culturally-bounded 

knowledge of dinosaurs and Human evolution. However, the interpretation of the Gerrymander 

metaphor may appear to be more culturally and nationally influenced. This could be explained 

by the fact that Hampden Bank is, first of all, a community bank. 

 

 

 

 

 



 41 

3.2.4. Selective analysis and overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in Ads A4 to A23 

Similarly to the previous data examined, the selective analysis of the other twenty English ads 

shows that these are all highly structured by metaphor. Table 4 offers a summary of the 

underlying multimodal metaphors identified in Advertisements A4 to A2310. 

AD  UNDERLYING MULTIMODAL METAPHOR 

A4 PEACE OF MIND OF BARCLAYS’S CUSTOMERS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF THEIR ASSETS IS 
PEACE OF MIND OF PARENTS ABOUT A ZOO’S SAFETY POLICY FOR THEIR CHILDREN 

A5 BUSINESS EXPERTISE OF PINNACLE BANK IS AGRICULTURAL EXPERTISE OF FARMERS 

A6 BEING A CLIENT OF PINNACLE IS OBTAINING EASE, SECURITY AND MORE QUANTITY OF TIME AND MONEY 

A7 BEING A CLIENT OF BNP DURING THE CRISIS IS GETTING THE UNIQUE FLOWER GROWING IN AN ARID LAND 

A8 BEING A CLIENT OF COAST CAPITAL BANK IS HAVING A POSITIVE LIFE FREE OF STRESS 

A9 PRIDE AND ATTRACTION TOWARDS PRIME BANK’S NEW BRANCH ARE POSITIVE AND ATTRACTIVE ASPECTS OF 
A NEWBORN BABY CHICK 

A10 POSITIVE PROPERTIES AND FULFILMENT RESULTING FROM CHOOSING SIS’S BANK ACCOUNT ARE ATTRACTIVE 
CHARACTERISTICS AND PLEASURE RESULTING FROM EATING A DELICIOUS DOUGHNUT 

A11 BEING A CLIENT OF OHIO STATE BANK IS RECEIVING OUTSTANDING SERVICES AND UNIQUE CONSIDERATION 

A12 BARCLAYS BANK’S FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE INCREASE OF CUSTOMERS’ SAVINGS ARE GARDENING 
SOLUTIONS FOR THE GROWTH AND QUALITATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF FLOWERS 

A13 BUSINESS EXPERTISE OF ICB BANK IN UNSTABLE ECONOMIC TIMES IS SPORTIVE PERFORMANCE OF MVPs IN A 
PRESSURING BASEBALL GAME 

A14 BEING A CLIENT OF STANDARD BANK IS TRAVELLING ALONG A SUCCESSFUL PATH TOWARD A SUMMIT AND 
PERSONALLY ADAPTED DESTINATION 

A15 MONEY IS A PERSON WHO LABOURS AND CULTIVATES LANDS TO THE ADVANTAGE OF BANKMED CUSTOMERS 

A16 BEING A CLIENT OF 1ST SECURITY BANK IS HAVING A PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING WITHOUT THE 
NEGATIVE ASPECTS AND CONSEQUENCES THEREOF 

A17 CHOOSING RRSB BANK IS CHOOSING THE ONLY GOLDFISH FLOWING TOWARD THE RIGHT DESTINATION 

A18 BUSINESS AND BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF BROOKLINE BANK ARE PHYSICAL AND BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF 
GYMNASTICS 

A19 BUSINESS EXPERTISE OF ARTHAMONEY IS DRESSAGE EXPERTISE OF DOG TRAINERS 

A20 MAKING A FINANCIAL PROFIT IS SEXUAL REPRODUCTION 

A21 CONTROLLING FINANCES IS STRUGGLING WITH PRESSURING AND HEAVY FORCES 

A22 FIRST INDIANA BANK’S TAKING FINANCIAL DECISIONS AND RESOLVING ATM FEES ISSUES IS A SUPERHERO’S 
FIGHTING ON A MISSION AND SAVING THE PLANET 

A23 CHOOSING HSBC’S PLAN IS A POSITIVE JOURNEY TOWARD THE FULFILMENT OF ONE’S DREAMS 

Table 4 – Summary of the identification of multimodal metaphors in Ads A4 to A23 (English) 

As may be seen from Table 4, certain types of metaphor appear to be particularly pervasive and 

to coincide with the results found through the in-depth study. For instance, the concept of 

banking and the financial entities are both understood in terms of sportive activities in 

Advertisements A2, A13 and A18. Likewise, Advertisements A3, A4, A9, A17 and A19 may 

all be associated with the use of animal or dinosaur metaphors. Indeed, comparing the main 

                                                
10 For the full version of the analysis table concerning the identification of multimodal metaphors in Ads A4 to 
A23, see Appendix 1. 



 42 

findings from both levels of analysis reveals that very recurrent sets of source domains can be 

identified in the various ads. The examination of the range of multimodal metaphors in the 

English context is displayed in Table 5, which indicates that out of twenty-three posters 

studied, twenty different sources might be ascertained. Among those, personifications, animal, 

plant and journey metaphors have proved to be the most frequent, representing respectively 

15.9%, 11.4% and 9% of the total number of advertisements occurring in the different types. 

TYPE/ SOURCE AD N. % 

PERSONIFICATION/ LIVING ENTITY A2; A3; A4; A15; A16; A20; A21 7 15.9 
ANIMAL/FISH/BIRD/ DINOSAUR A3; A4; A9; A17; A19 5 11.4 

PLANT/FLOWER/CULTIVATION/GARDENING A5; A7; A12; A15 4 9.0 
JOURNEY/DISTANCE/MOTION A3; A14; A17; A23 4 9.0 

PHYSICAL ENTITY/ OBJECT A2; A3; A6 3 6.8 
UP/DOWN A1; A8; A11 3 6.8 

SPORTS/GAME/SPECTACLE A2; A13; A18 3 6.8 
LIGHT/DARK A3; A7 2 4.5 
WAR/FIGHT A3; A22 2 4.5 
QUANTITY A1 1 2.3 
WEALTH A6 1 2.3 

ALIMENTARY/FOOD/DRINK/COOKING A10 1 2.3 
CREATION/CONSTRUCTION/ARCHITECTURE A11 1 2.3 

PRESSURE A13 1 2.3 
LABOUR A15 1 2.3 

HEALTH/ILLNESS/MEDICINE/THERAPY A16 1 2.3 
SEXUALITY/LOVE A20 1 2.3 

FORCE A21 1 2.3 
LIGHT/HEAVY A21 1 2.3 

MISSION/HEROISM/SUPER-HEROISM A22 1 2.3 

TOTAL N. OF ADS OCCURRING IN THE VARIOUS TYPES: 44 (100%) 
TOTAL OF DIFFERENT SOURCE DOMAINS IDENTIFIED: 20  

TOTAL OF ADS ANALYZED: 23  
 

Table 5 – Overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in the English advertisements: 
classification of most recurrent source domains from the in-depth and selective analyses  

Thus, these results show that significant systematic patterns can be highlighted in these data 

and that there would be very salient correlations between the specific source domains chosen 

by the metaphor producer and the particular genre of English bank advertising. 

 Moreover, the review of further key aspects in the secondary category of ads 

demonstrates that the major claims that have been made so far for the English group may be 

generally confirmed. Table 6 presents a survey of the principal findings.  



 43 

MODES IN WHICH TARGET AND 
SOURCE ARE CUED 

AD 
N° 

PICTORIAL 
METAPHOR 

TARGET SOURCE 

FOCUS TARGETED AUDIENCE CROSS-
CULTURAL 

IMPLICATIONS 

A4 SIMILE Exclusively 
verbal 

Both modes Financial entity International NONE 

A5 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Financial entity Community + Professional FEW 
A6 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Financial entity International NONE 
A7 -  Exclusively 

verbal 
Both modes Financial entity International FEW 

A8 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Financial entity International NONE 
A9 - Exclusively 

verbal 
Both modes Financial entity International or National NONE 

A10 - Exclusively 
verbal 

Both modes Banking 
product 

International or National NONE 

A11 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively 
verbal 

Both modes Financial entity Community NONE 

A12 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Financial entity International FEW 
A13 - Exclusively 

verbal 
Both modes Financial entity National A FEW 

A14 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively 
verbal 

Both modes Financial entity International NONE 

A15 HYBRID Both modes Both modes Financial entity International NONE 
A16 - Exclusively 

verbal 
Both modes Financial entity International + 

Professional 
NONE 

A17 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Financial entity International or 
Community 

NONE 

A18 - Exclusively 
verbal 

Both modes Financial entity International NONE 

A19 - Exclusively 
verbal 

Both modes Financial entity International NONE 

A20 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Financial entity International NONE 
A21 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Financial entity International or 

Community 
NONE 

A22 CONTEXTUAL Mostly verbal Both modes Financial entity International NONE 
A23 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively 

verbal 
Both modes Banking 

product 
International FEW 

Table 6 – Selective analysis of Advertisements A4 to A23: review of key features (English) 

As shown by Table 6, the results are very similar to those found for Advertisements A1, A2 

and A3. First, the most pervasive purely pictorial metaphors identified – when those might 

occur – are of the contextual type. A simile and a hybrid can also be construed in Ads A4 and 

A15, but nonetheless remain quite rare. Second, as was the case of the in-depth analysis, this 

set of data would focus almost exclusively on the conceptualization of financial entities and 

bankers, and not on specific banking products – except for Advertisements A10 and A23. They 

would additionally tend to be aimed at an international and global audience and would 

comprise very few cross-cultural implications. As such, they seem to be generally accessible to 



 44 

people from different cultural groups and to be quite easily translatable into other languages. 

Finally, it may be interestingly observed that recurrent patterns also appear in relation to the 

modes in which target and source domains are cued. Whereas the main sources would all be 

suggested in both the pictorial and verbal modes, the underlying targets would be mostly 

rendered verbally. Furthermore, in contrast to Forceville’s (2009; Lecture 4: 8) suggestions, in 

cases when the target domains are exclusively construed in one mode, the former would 

essentially be connected with written language components instead of being solely presented 

through visual means.     

3.3. Multimodal metaphor in the Spanish advertisements 

3.3.1. In-depth analysis of Advertisement B1 

Metaphor analysis 

This analysis concerns an advertisement released in Spanish, in 2009, for Banco Pastor’s 

mortgage ‘Hipotecal 049’. Founded in 1776, it is the second oldest bank in Spain and is 

originally from Galicia. The picture is composed of a close-up on the top of a bald man’s face 

who is trying to look at his forehead which has been sunburnt and on which is written in capital 

letters ‘hipoteca’. A green box and tube of relieving burn cream ‘Hipotecal 049’ are also 

depicted. On the right side of the man’s head, the caption “¿Tu hipoteca te tiene quemado?” 

can be read. At the bottom of the picture, appears the following text: “Tu hipoteca te quemará 

mucho menos euros al mes […] sin efectos secundarios.11” The burn cream additionally 

includes the indication of “Hipoteca alivio – Para aliviar lo que te quema la hipoteca”. 

However, the bank’s logo is not represented. 

 The word ‘HIPOTECA’ seems to have been glued onto the man’s forehead and, thus, to 

be part of the burn so that to evoke its cause. The relieving ointment reinforces this point and 

evokes the idea of curing. Moreover, the shape of the tube and the name ‘Hipotecal 049’ 

remind strongly of the Spanish burn cream ‘Hipoglós’. But anomaly is also created as a 

mortgage does not have the literal capacity to burn and, in the real physical world, a burn 

                                                
11 For the full text of this ad, see Appendix 8. 



 45 

cream may not be used to heal banking issues. The image looks like a collage and the pictorial 

metaphor that can be identified is of the contextual type. Indeed, an idea is understood as 

something else due to the visual context and thus, the pictorial scene enables the construal of 

the metaphors in the examples (9) to (11). 

 (9)  BANCO PASTOR’S MORTGAGE HIPOTECAL 049 IS A PHYSICAL ENTITY 

 (10) BANKING MORTGAGE IS SUN BURN 

 (11) HIPOTECAL 049 IS RELIEVING MEDICINE/ BURN CREAM 

Associating pictorial and verbal elements, the research results reveal that both the principal 

target and source are represented. Table 7 offers a summary of multimodal metaphors used in 

Advertisement B1 and of the main projected features identified.  

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

BEING OVERWHELMED WITH MORTGAGE 
PROBLEMS IS BEING SUNBURNT 

HAVING PROBLEMS IS BEING BURNT 

BEARING A MORTGAGE IS GETTING BURNT  

BAD MORTGAGE IS DANGEROUS SUN 

-  Money issues related to mortgage are similar to bad 
consequences from sun exposure: they hurt and make 
people worried as when being sunburnt. 

SPENDING IS BURNING; MONEY EXPENSES ARE FIRE/ 
BURNING 

SAVINGS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES 

WASTING MONEY IS BURNING MONEY; MORTGAGE 
CONSUMING IS MONEY BURNING; LOSING SAVINGS IS 
BURNING SAVINGS 

-  Customers’ current mortgage – which is not from 
Banco Pastor – is making them lose money as if it was 
burning: that is, quickly, intensely, and unnecessarily. 

MORTGAGES ARE DRUGS 

MORTGAGE HIPOTECAL 049 IS MEDICINE 

DRAWBACKS OF MORTGAGE ARE SECONDARY EFFECTS 
OF MEDICINE 

UNDESIRABLE FEES FROM MORTGAGE ARE 
UNDESIRABLE EFFECTS FROM CURING CREAM 

STABILITY AND GROWTH OF SAVINGS ARE RELIEF AND 
RECOVERY FROM BURNS 

HIPOTECAL 049’S VALUABLE PROPERTIES ARE BURN 
CREAM’S BENEFICIAL EFFECTS 

-  Hipotecal 049 mortgage has the capacity to relieve 
consumers as a medicine or a good cream: it has all 
the positive advantages of it and enables customers’ 
savings to grow without any drawbacks or negative 
effects. 

Underlying metaphor:   BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF BANCO PASTOR’S MORTGAGE ARE RELIEVING AND 
CURING EFFECTS OF BURN CREAM 

Table 7 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement B1 (Spanish) 

 



 46 

Discussion 

As may be seen from Table 7, multimodal metaphors are very pervasive in this ad and aim at 

convincing consumers to choose Banco Pastor’s mortgage ‘Hipotecal 049’. This last aspect 

suggests that Advertisement B1 would put exclusive emphasis on the conceptualisation of a 

specific banking product and not only on the global entity, as was generally the case of the 

English data. Banco Pastor is presented as a helping and understanding bank which has the 

additional ability to relieve its customers. In unstable economic times, people are becoming 

increasingly overwhelmed with their mortgage and should consequently choose a bank which 

offers them a better life without complications and would have the capacity to make them feel 

better instantaneously. The underlying metaphors moreover appear to be very meaningful to 

Spanish viewers, as the topic of sun cream and protection is being nowadays particularly 

recurrent on TV and in commercials in this country. Banco Pastor is thus depicted as having all 

these qualities, however, the fact that the ad represents a very humorous scene – which may be 

thought not to be actually appropriate for the seriousness of the crisis situation – and that the 

bank’s logo has not been added to the poster also appear to involve important issues.  

 Finally, the multimodal metaphors identified comprise many cross-cultural implications 

as they would not be easily accessible to people from other cultures. For instance, the 

interpretations of being overwhelmed as being burnt, and of spending money as burning 

money, may not be directly translatable into other languages, leading to possible problems of 

misunderstanding. Therefore, this ad would aim at an exclusive Spanish audience. 

3.3.2. In-depth analysis of Advertisement B2 

Metaphor analysis 

Advertisement B2 is a Spanish ad released in 2009 in order to promote the deposit ‘Depósito 

BG Telefónica 2012’ from Banco Guipuzcoano, a formerly regional Basque bank which is now 

acting in businesses and real estates at a national and international level. On the picture, a 

middle-age man is bouncing inside a colourful inflatable castle and looks like a happy child, 

smiling with his arms up. At the top of the image, the name of the deposit is presented, while at 



 47 

the bottom, the following text can be read: “Si las acciones suben usted lo celebra. Y si hay 

caídas, no duelen.” It is complemented by the caption of “Recuperación del capital al 

vencimiento” and the bank’s logo and slogan “¿quiere avanzar? Vamos juntos.” 

 Although the man jumping suggests that happiness and enthusiasm would be linked to 

the idea of altitude, it seems that at first sight, the image alone would give very few cues 

concerning possible pictorial metaphors. However, after deeper insight, a striking similarity 

may become very apparent. The bank’s logo, which is white, yellow and blue, parallels the 

colours of the inflatable castle, which is also made of white, yellow, and blue, but additionally 

of light green – a basic combination of these three colours. Therefore, the visual elements seem 

to infer that Banco Guipuzcoano is directly related to the inflatable game. Nevertheless, there is 

again anomaly, as children’s games have usually little to do with banking. Thus, as an object 

indirectly refers to another belonging to a different category thanks to the visual context, a 

contextual metaphor may be identified with the following pictorial metaphors: 

 (12) MORE IS UP / LESS IS DOWN 

 (13) HAPPY IS UP / SAD IS DOWN 

(14) BEING SPONTANEOUS WITHOUT EMBARRASSMENT IS BEING A CHILD 

 (15) BANCO GUIPUZCOANO IS INFLATABLE CASTLE 

As shown in Table 8, the analysis reveals that whereas the main source is mostly depicted 

visually, the targeted product is principally rendered verbally.  

 

 

 

 

 

 



 48 

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

SUCCESSFUL IS UP; SHARES ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES 

SHARES RISING IS UP; CELEBRATION IS UP 

SHARES FALLING IS DOWN; PHYSICAL FALL IS DOWN; PAIN IS 
DOWN 

-  Consumers who choose Banco Guipuzcoano 
have made the choice of a successful life. 

VALUABLE FEATURES OF BANCO GUIPUZCOANO’S DEPOSIT 
ARE ADVANTAGES OF AN INFLATABLE CASTLE 

ADULTS’ SECURITY THANKS TO THE DEPOSIT IS CHILDREN’S 
SAFETY THANKS TO THE INFLATABLE CASTLE 

STOCK MARKET INCIDENTS ARE CHILDREN ACCIDENTS 

ABSENCE OF RISK WITH THE DEPOSIT IS ABSENCE OF PAIN WITH 
THE INFLATABLE CASTLE 

EASINESS TO HANDLE THE DEPOSIT IS EASY GAME 

-  Whatever happens to the stock market, 
customers will be secured: if shares fall, they 
will not notice it; if they rise, they will be 
happy. 

-  Thus, if they choose this deposit, consumers 
will be as well-protected as children in an 
inflatable castle thanks to the soft walls and 
floor. 

- Managing this deposit is easy as kids’ stuff. 

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IS A JOURNEY 

BANKING CHOICES ARE CHOICES OF PATHS ON A JOURNEY 

PEOPLE ARE TRAVELLERS 

GUIPUZCOANO BANKERS ARE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS 

-  Banco Guipuzcoano is here to support its 
customers and to help them to reach their 
goals. 

Underlying metaphor:       STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF BANCO GUIPUZCOANO’S DEPOSIT ARE STRUCTURAL 
PROPERTIES OF AN INFLATABLE CASTLE 

Table 8 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement B2 (Spanish) 

Discussion 

The results indicate that Advertisement B2 is very rich in multimodal metaphors which reflect 

a particular focus on the conceptualization of a very specific banking product. Thus, this device 

would be mainly used in order to persuade consumers to choose the deposit of this bank. 

Indeed, the current economic crisis having made the value of shares even more uncertain than 

before, people are being increasingly reluctant and afraid to purchase stocks and to use bank 

deposits. However, by comparing this fear to the one parents may feel for their children, which 

is immediately lengthen thanks to the safe aspects of the inflatable castle, Banco Guipuzcoano 

depicts its product as a sable entity and offers an image of security and protections under any 

circumstances – such as, the guarantee of understanding of customers’ concerns, of support for 

procedures, and of happiness. This deposit appears to be particularly attractive to people who 

are probably currently suffering from having badly invested their money in times of financial 

instability. However, similarly to Advertisement B1, the humorous and quite ridiculous 



 49 

situation of the middle-age man having fun in a child’s structure may also make viewers 

doubtful concerning the seriousness of the bank and of this specific product. 

 Finally, the analysis reveals that only a few cross-cultural implications may be 

identified in Advertisement B2, as the knowledge of the inflatable castle and of falls would be 

globally shared. Yet, the idea of easy-handling could aim at a more national audience, as it 

would not be accessible to languages for which idioms such as “it’s kids’ stuff” do not exit. 

3.3.3. In-depth analysis of Advertisement B3 

Metaphor analysis 

Released in Spanish, Advertisement B3 has been produced in 2008 in order to promote the 

mortgage ‘Hipoteca Ligera’ of Caja Sur, which is a savings bank from the South of Spain. It 

presents the picture of a green yoghurt called ‘Hipoteca Ligera’, bearing the inscription of 

“Desde Euribor a un año +0,40%”, which is repeated on the right side of the product within 

the following caption: “HIPOTECA LIGERA. La hipoteca que no le pesa. […] ¡Que bien 

sienta esta hipoteca!12” 

 The shape and colour of the yoghurt, the form of the written characters, and the 

percentage signs strongly remind of famous bifidus yoghurts and their ‘0% low fat’ lettering. 

However, this association is very unusual as yoghurts are not normally called ‘hipoteca’. 

Similarly to the fourth advertisement studied, the picture recalls the idea of a collage and the 

pictorial metaphor identified is of the contextual type. Thus, the sole visual context cues the 

metaphors presented in examples (16), (17) and (18). 

 (16) BANKING PRODUCTS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES 

 (17) BANKING PRODUCTS ARE DAIRY PRODUCTS 

 (18) HIPOTECA LIGERA IS LIGHT BIFIDUS YOGHURT 

The analysis shows that the underlying target and source are present in the poster – while the 

target is especially cued verbally, but also suggested visually through the depiction of its name 

                                                
12 For the full text of this ad, see Appendix 10. 



 50 

on the yoghurt, the main source appears to be rendered in both modes. Table 9 recapitulates the 

main findings concerning multimodal metaphor in Advertisement B3. 

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

MORTGAGE’S INTEREST RATE IS YOGHURT’S FAT 
PERCENTAGE 

-  Fat percentages in yoghurts are usually low as they are 
used to promote slimming effects. Transferring these 
properties to the mortgage means that its interest rate 
is also low and thus advantageous. 

CHOOSING CAJA SUR’S MORTGAGE IS BEING LIGHT; 
CHOOSING CAJA SUR’S MORTGAGE IS BEING WORRY 
FREE 

WELL-BEING IS LIGHT; BEING WORRY FREE IS BEING 
LIGHT 

MONEY PROBLEM IS WEIGHT; BEING WORRIED IS 
BEING HEAVY 

-  ‘Hipoteca Ligera’ provides peace of mind. 

-  People choosing this mortgage have a life free of 
stress (e.g. quiet sleep; no stomach-ache due to 
anxiety; etc).  

HIPOTECA LIGERA’S ADVANTAGES FOR BANK 
CONSUMERS ARE BIFIDUS YOGHURT’S ADVANTAGES 
FOR THE DIGESTIVE PROCESS 

EASY CAPACITY TO PAY IS EASINESS TO DIGEST 

-  Having no problems to digest allow people to feel 
better and especially to sleep better at night. These 
positive physical and physiological sensations are 
mapped onto the positive psychological sensations of 
choosing Caja Sur’s mortgage. 

Underlying metaphor:     MORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF CAJA SUR’S MORTGAGE ARE HEALTH 
BENEFITS OF BIFIDUS YOGHURT 

Table 9 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement B3 (Spanish) 

Discussion 

As revealed by the results in Table 9, multimodal metaphors are also very pervasive in this ad, 

and mainly focus on the specific banking product Caja Sur is trying to sell. The current times 

do not seem to be really suitable to take a mortgage, however, the bank insists on the fact that 

theirs is different and that it would additionally help consumers to resolve their problems of 

anxieties due to money issues, and consequently, to have a life free of stress. Moreover, 

similarly to sun protection products, the key source domain chosen in this ad seems to be 

particularly relevant to Spanish customers and to involve a significant cultural point of view 

since advertisements for low fat food, alimentation and diets are becoming increasingly 

common and recurrent in Spain. 

 Although the dairy product metaphor does not seem to be restricted to a purely national 

audience, the multimodal metaphors of pesar and sentar bien appear to be less accessible to 

other linguistic groups. Therefore, they would be less easily translatable into other languages, 



 51 

and would reflect some cross-cultural implications – as is the case, for instance, of the image-

schematic source domain of ‘weight’ which is more culturally bounded and influenced. 

3.3.4. Selective analysis and overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in Ads B4 to B23 

The selective analysis of the additional Spanish data suggests that similarly to the previously 

examined posters, Advertisements B4 to B23 are all very rich in multimodal metaphor. Table 

10 presents a summary of the identification of this cognitive device13.  

AD UNDERLYING MULTIMODAL METAPHOR 

B4 FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF SANTANDER’S CARD ARE FITTING ADVANTAGES OF MADE-TO-MEASURE CLOTHING 

B5 POSITIVE ASPECTS OF BARCLAYS’S DEPOSIT FOR CUSTOMERS ARE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF A CHILD’S 
GROWTH FOR PARENTS 

B6 ATTRACTIVE FINANCIAL FEATURES OF BANCO PASTOR’S INVESTMENT FUND ARE TEMPTING ASPECTS OF AN 
ICE CREAM 

B7 FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF CATALAN SAVING BANKS’ ‘DEPÓSITO VITAMINA’ ARE HEALTH AND ENERGIZING 
BENEFITS OF EFFERVESCENT VITAMINS 

B8 CONVENIENT ASPECTS OF BARCLAYS’S MORTGAGE ‘HIPOTECA 35’ ARE COMFORTABLE ASPECTS OF A SOFA 

B9 SECURITY AND PROTECTION OF BANCO SANTANDER’S ‘SEGURO’ FOR CUSTOMERS’ HOUSES IS SAFETY AND 
PROTECTION OF A NEST FOR YOUNG BIRDS 

B10 CHOOSING CCM’S MORTGAGE ‘HIPOTECA ACTIVA’ IS FEELING HIGH AND LIGHT AND BEING WORRY FREE 

B11 BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES OF CAIXA TARRAGONA’S INSURANCES ARE PROTECTING PROPERTIES OF 
SUNSCREEN CREAM 

B12 EFFECTIVE AND POSITIVE PROPERTIES OF CAIXA TARRAGONA’S ‘DEPÓSITOS GARANTIZADOS’ ARE 
EFFECTIVE AND PERFORMANCE PROPERTIES OF BATTERIES 

B13 POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF CAIXA CATALUNYA’S DEPOSIT ARE SURPRISING EFFECTS OF AN OPTICAL 
ILLUSION 

B14 CAJA MEDITERRÁNEO MAKING CREDITS AVAILABLE IS HEATING OF A FROZEN ENTITY 

B15 INCREASING INTERESTS OF BARCLAYS’S ‘DEPÓSITO INTERÉS CRECIENTE’ ARE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 
OF A PLANT 

B16 CHOOSING CITIBANK’S ACCOUNT ‘NOMINOTERAPIA’ IS RECEIVING A WELL-BEING THERAPY 

B17 GETTING THE HIGHEST YIELD POSSIBLE OF SAVINGS THANKS TO RURALCAJA’S ‘DEPÓSITO RURALVÍA’ IS 
GETTING THE BEST QUALITY OF DRINKS THANKS TO A SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE 

B18 FINANCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BANCO SABADELL ATLÁNTICO’S DEPOSITS ARE REVOLUTIONARY 
PROPERTIES OF INVESTIGATORS’ CHEMICAL FINDINGS 

B19 GETTING IT OVER WITH NEGATIVE CONDITIONS AND CLAUSES OF MORTGAGES THANKS TO BANESTO BANK 
IS SMASHING AND DESTROYING A TENNIS GROUND 

B20 CHOOSING CAJA DUERO’S ‘DEPÓSITO GANADOR’ TO HAVE MORE MONEY IS CHOOSING THE RIGHT 
STRATEGIES AND PLAYERS TO WIN A FOOTBALL MATCH 

B21 CHOOSING CAJA GRANADA’S ‘EXTRA NÓMINA’ IS CHOOSING THE RIGHT STRATEGY TO WIN AT TIC-TAC-TOE 

B22 HELP OF BBVA’S DEPOSITS IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC CRISIS IS PROTECTION OF AN UMBRELLA IN THE RAIN 

B23 CHOOSING CAIXA CATALUNYA’S ‘PACK ANTICRISIS’ TO HANDLE MONEY ISSUES IS GETTING THE RIGHT 
MEDICINES TO RECOVER FROM A DISEASE  

Table 10 – Summary of the identification of multimodal metaphors in Ads B4 to B23 (Spanish) 

                                                
13 For the full version of the analysis table concerning the identification of multimodal metaphors in Ads B4 to 
B23, see Appendix 2. 



 52 

The findings demonstrate that very specific types of metaphor appear to be particularly 

frequent in these data and that they are strikingly similar to the ones ascertained in the primary 

group of Spanish ads. This is the case, for instance, of food metaphors which can be identified 

in Ads B3, B6 and B17, and of up/down sources which are equally pervasive in Ads B2, B5 

and B10. Thus, associating the principal results of both the in-depth and selective analyses 

shows that certain source domains are highly recurrent. Table 11 offers an overview of the 

range of multimodal metaphors in the second language context. It reveals that seventeen 

different underlying sources might be identified among the twenty-three ads examined, and that 

health, sports, weather, up/down and food metaphors are the most pervasive as they represent 

respectively 15.2%, 12.2% and 9.1% of the total number of times the ads appear in the several 

types. 

TYPE/ SOURCE AD N. % 

HEALTH/ILLNESS/MEDICINE/THERAPY B1; B7; B11; B16; B23 5 15.2 
SPORTS/GAME/SPECTACLE B2; B19; B20; B21 4 12.2 

WEATHER B1; B11; B22 3 9.1 
UP/DOWN B2; B5; B10 3 9.1 

ALIMENTARY/FOOD/DRINK/COOKING B3; B6; B17 3 9.1 
HOT/COLD/ FIRE/ FREEZE B1; B14 2 6.1 

LIGHT/HEAVY B3; B10 2 6.1 
PHYSICAL ENTITY/ OBJECT B10; B14 2 6.1 

JOURNEY/DISTANCE/MOTION B2 1 3 
SEWING/CLOTHING B4 1 3 

PERSONIFICATION/ LIVING ENTITY B5 1 3 
HOUSING/FURNITURE B8 1 3 

ANIMAL/FISH/BIRD/ DINOSAUR B9 1 3 
ELECTRICAL DEVICES/MACHINES B12 1 3 

SIGHT/OPTICS B13 1 3 
PLANT/FLOWER/CULTIVATION/GARDENING B15 1 3 

SCIENCE/RESEARCH B18 1 3 

TOTAL N. OF ADS OCCURRING IN THE VARIOUS TYPES: 33 (100%) 
TOTAL OF DIFFERENT SOURCE DOMAINS IDENTIFIED: 17  

TOTAL OF ADS ANALYZED: 23 

Table 11 – Overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in the Spanish advertisements: 
classification of most recurrent source domains from the in-depth and selective analyses  



 53 

Therefore, significant correlations can also be observed in these advertisements. The various 

source domain choices seem, in fact, to be systematically connected with and influenced by the 

particular genre in which they occur – namely, Spanish bank advertising. 

 Besides, as may be seen from Table 12, the examination of further key features in the 

secondary category of ads indicates that the major aspects highlighted in the deeply analyzed 

Hispanophone data can be mostly validated. 

MODES IN WHICH TARGET AND 
SOURCE ARE CUED 

AD 
N° 

PICTORIAL 
METAPHOR 

TARGET SOURCE 

FOCUS TARGETED AUDIENCE CROSS-
CULTURAL 

IMPLICATIONS 

B4 SIMILE Both modes Both modes Banking product International or National FEW 
B5 - Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product International or National A FEW 
B6 HYBRID Both modes Both modes Banking product National FEW 
B7 CONTEXTUAL Mostly verbal Both modes Banking product National FEW 
B8 CONTEXTUAL Mostly verbal Both modes Banking product International or National NONE 
B9 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product International or National NONE 
B10 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
B11 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B12 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B13 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B14 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B15 - Exclusively verbal Exclusively pictorial Banking product International or National FEW 
B16 - Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product International or National FEW 
B17 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B18 -  Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
B19 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B20 CONTEXTUAL Both modes  Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B21 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National MANY 
B22 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product International or National A FEW 
B23 - Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National MANY 

Table 12 – Selective analysis of Advertisements B4 to B23: review of key features (Spanish) 

Table 12 proves that the main findings are very similar to those resulting from the in-depth 

study. In the first place, contextual metaphors appear to be the most pervasive purely pictorial 

devices identified, as other types would remain very scarce. Indeed, out of the twenty-three ads 

reviewed, only one simile and one hybrid would have the opportunity to be construed. In the 

second place, similarly to Advertisements B1, B2 and B3, this group focuses entirely on the 

conceptualization of very specific banking products and not mostly on the financial entity, as 

has been the case of the English data. The underlying multimodal metaphors would moreover 



 54 

generally comprise quite a few cross-cultural implications since they would often be difficult to 

translate and to understand or access for speakers of other languages. As such, they may be 

considered to be more nationally targeted. Finally, the first and second language contexts seem 

nonetheless to be connected through their common implications with respect to the modes in 

which the domains are rendered. In this regard, the main targets and sources identified in the 

Spanish advertisements prove to be predominantly presented in both the pictorial and the 

verbal modes simultaneously. Yet, in cases when those are exclusively suggested in one mode, 

while the target would be the one that is verbally cued, the source would correspond to the 

visually manifested domain. 

3.4. Multimodal metaphor in the French advertisements 

3.4.1. In-depth analysis of Advertisement C1  

Metaphor analysis 

Advertisement C1 was released in French, in January 2010, and was part of the campaign 

‘Recommandé pour votre épargne’, designed for Crédit Agricole which is the largest retail 

banking group in France and the second largest in Europe. The picture represents a pink box of 

powdered milk for babies, on which can be seen several elements – the drawing of a cow, the 

insurance brand ‘Gamme Assurance Vie’, and the bank’s logo ‘CA’. A baby’s bottle full of 

milk with a light pink teat is placed next to the box. On the left side of the picture, the caption 

“Contribue au bon développement de vos projets” can be read, and at the right bottom corner 

appears the bank’s campaign slogan, which is followed by the following inscription: 

“Découvrez les avantages de l’assurance vie par abonnement”.    

 This picture is very similar to the one analysed in Advertisement B3, in the sense that a 

link between banking and dairy products is created. The insurance is associated to the 

powdered milk thanks to the collage of the bank product’s name and logo on the box. 

Moreover, the box itself is typically connected to the idea of infancy and babies, the pink 

colour reinforcing this claim. Yet, this association is also unusual, as babies and milk are not 



 55 

typically related to banking. Thus, the visual scene cues a contextual type of metaphor which 

may be illustrated by examples (19) to (21). 

 (19) BANKING PRODUCTS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES 

 (20) BANKING PRODUCTS ARE DAIRY PRODUCTS 

(21) CREDIT AGRICOLE INSURANCE FOR SAVINGS IS POWDERED MILK 

FOR BABIES 

The association of pictorial and linguistic elements proves that both target and source are 

presented in the ad. Table 13 offers a summary of the principal findings.  

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

PERSONIFICATIONS 

PROJECTS ARE BABIES; SAVINGS ARE BABIES 

-  Consumers need to look after their savings and 
projects as they would do for their babies. Thus, 
savings and projects require intensive, imperative and 
very meticulous care. 

PROJECTS’ DEVELOPMENT IS BABIES’ GROWTH 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAVINGS ARE 
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BABIES 

VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CREDIT AGRICOLE’S 
INSURANCE FOR SAVINGS ARE VALUABLE PROPERTIES 
OF MILK FOR BABIES 

-  The insurance offered by this bank for consumers’ 
savings and projects has got all the valuable 
characteristics of powdered milk for babies – that is, it 
contributes to their positive development. 

-  Milk is essential for humans to have strong and solid 
bones. Similarly, a good insurance is necessary for the 
foundation of consumers’ projects and the stability of 
their savings. 

Underlying metaphor:   CREDIT AGRICOLE INSURANCE’S ADVANTAGES FOR CONSUMERS ARE POWDERED 
MILK’S BENEFITS FOR BABIES 

Table 13 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement C1 (French) 

Discussion 

The analysis reveals that the pervasiveness of multimodal metaphor reflects a particular 

emphasis on the conceptualization of the specific insurance promoted by Crédit Agricole. 

Although the economic crisis may lead consumers to think that they do not have to spend more 

money or to take any expensive insurance for their savings, Crédit Agricole is trying to make 

them realize that this would be a mistake. In the same way as they would never leave their 

babies without essential aliments, such as powdered milk, people should not leave their savings 

without essential security. Purchasing this insurance is thus an absolute necessity and by not 



 56 

doing so, customers could result with dramatic consequences on their savings, which could be 

conceptualized in terms of dramatic consequences for babies lacking milk.  

 Finally, Advertisement C1 appears to represent an exception to the hypothesis of this 

paper as it does not seem to involve any cross-cultural implications or differences, although it 

is actually part of the French context. Indeed, the multimodal metaphors identified are easily 

understandable to people from other nationalities. This could be explained by the fact that 

although Crédit Agricole is firstly a national bank, it is also very well-know and important in 

Europe and thus, it could expect to aim at a larger audience than the French population. 

3.4.2. In-depth analysis of Advertisement C2 

Metaphor analysis 

Advertisement C2 is a French ad released in 2008 in order to promote the free diagnostic of 

insurance offered by Société Générale, one of the oldest banks in France, which is also very 

important in the international financial world where it is often nicknamed SocGen. The picture 

represents a very dark scene which seems to take place in one of the bank’s offices or archives, 

at night. In the middle, a living thumb with two legs may be seen. He is wearing a headlamp 

which is switched on and seems to be followed by a banker in suit. The dark room is full of 

files and documents, which could be banking papers, and the pile on the right side is 

illuminated by the thumb’s light which stands out from the rest of the elements. At the top of 

the poster, there is a red rectangle where it may be read “Mois de l’Assurance – Auto et 

Habitation. Un Bilan Assurance gratuit pour y voir plus claire”. The bank’s logo and slogan 

“On est là pour vous aider” can be found right below this frame.  

 At first sight, this advertisement seems to be quite complicated to interpret when 

leaving the verbal elements aside, and to require more reflection on the living thumb. However, 

the piles of documents going up are easily linkable to the concept of quantity, and the light 

obviously relates to the idea of enabling better visibility. Thanks to this last point, it is now 

possible to associate the knowledge of assistance to see to the more general knowledge of help, 

in turn illustrated by the thumb character which could be the embodiment of the French 



 57 

expression donner un coup de pouce; that is, to nudge in the right direction or help. 

Nevertheless, once again, these similarities are completed by come degree of anomaly – given 

physical laws a thumb cannot be walking, wearing a headlamp, and living. Thus, a unified 

gestalt being used to refer to something else through the visual context, a contextual type of 

metaphor may be identified. Besides, features of a hybrid might further be observed since two 

non-compossible parts – the thumb and the legs – are experienced as a single whole. These 

aspects resulting from the combination of two purely pictorial types cue the following 

metaphors:    

 (22) MORE IS UP 

(23) A THUMB IS A LIVING ENTITY 

 (24) HELP IS A THUMB; HELP IS LIGHT 

The principal research findings on the use of multimodal metaphor in Advertisement C2 are 

presented in Table 14, which shows that while the main source is suggested in both modes, the 

principal target is exclusively rendered verbally. 

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

COMPLICATED IS UP; COMPLICATED IS DARK 

INSURANCE PROBLEMS ARE UP 

ISSUES OF INSURANCE UNDERSTANDING ARE OBSCURITY 

-  Trying to understand insurance stuff is as 
difficult as being unable to see in the 
darkness. 

UNDERSTANDING IS SEEING; SOLUTIONS ARE LIGHT 

UNDERSTANDING BETTER IS SEEING BETTER 

SOCIETE GENERALE’S FREE DIAGNOSTIC IS LIGHT 

-  The free diagnostic of insurance offered 
by Société Générale helps layman 
consumers to understand better difficult 
banking activities. 

-  Bankers of this bank are here to guide 
their customers – that is, to explain them 
problematic issues, and offer better 
services and transparency. 

Underlying metaphor:    HELP OF SOCIETE GENERALE’S FREE INSURANCE DIAGNOSTIC IS HELP OF A LAMP’S 
LIGHT IN THE OBSCURITY 

Table 14 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement C2 (French) 

Discussion 

The analysis reveals that the written text acts as an anchor which essentially cues the 

interpretation of the pictorial elements. The pervasive multimodal metaphors construed seem to 



 58 

focus exclusively on the specific insurance diagnostic offered by Société Générale. They would 

mostly aim at conveying a message of help and reassurance, and creating consumers’ 

confidence by depicting the bank as a transparent, devoted and unique entity. Indeed, banking 

insurance issues are often very complicated to layman consumers who nevertheless need to 

understand them to be able to take the right decisions for their savings, especially during the 

economic crisis. Thus, customers are invited to place their trust on Société Générale bankers, 

who are here to assist them, and on the free insurance diagnostic advertised. Darkness 

metaphors also evoke the idea of devotion, as being disposed to help consumers at night would 

not be proper of any bank. Furthermore, it should be noted that the use of a living thumb may 

first appear quite disturbing. However, this would be made intentionally in order to draw 

particular attention to the ad through the use of an unfamiliar entity. Likewise, the 

understanding of negative properties as being ‘up’ also seems to contrast with the common 

metaphor POSITIVE AND HAPPY ARE UP, but would yet remain easily understandable and 

particularly meaningful within the specific context of this ad. 

 In contrast to Advertisement C1 from Crédit Agricole, although Société Générale is 

also largely present on the international stage, the multimodal metaphors identified seem to be 

almost exclusively accessible to a French-speaking audience. Therefore, although people from 

other cultures may understand light and darkness metaphors without any apparent problems, it 

would be much more difficult for them to be able to interpret the meanings associated with the 

living thumb and thus, to have an exhaustive understanding of this data, which involves 

significant culturally-bounded connotations. 

3.4.3. In-depth analysis of Advertisement C3 

Metaphor analysis 

The last analysis undertaken in an in-depth and exhaustive manner deals with a French 

advertisement released in 2007 in order to promote the investment plans for cultivators offered 

by Banque Populaire – or BP – which is a group of cooperative institutions controlled by 

eighteen regional banks in France. The poster is composed of three superimposed squares. In 



 59 

the middle, a large blue square contains the caption “AGRICULTEURS. Pour faire fructifier 

tous vos projets”, and highly reminds of the bank’s logo which is situated in the very bottom 

right-hand corner and is presented with the slogan “Banque et populaire à la fois.” The two 

other squares are smaller and purple. The one at the top is accompanied by the following 

inscription: “Vous avez toujours aimé cultiver vos ambitions”. And the other, presented at the 

bottom, is the only one to contain an image. On this picture, a little boy dressed in red and blue 

is trying hard to drag a basket full of colourful fruits and vegetables. He looks exhausted as the 

size of this huge object is almost half of his. 

 Although the viewer logically knows that this is a banking advertisement and is 

consequently cued to look for a link between the bank, the product and the child’s basket of 

fruits and vegetables, it is apparently not possible to identify purely pictorial metaphors as such 

– that is, without taking into consideration the textual components. Nonetheless, when 

associating the verbal and pictorial elements, various multimodal metaphors may be made 

salient. The summary of analysis presented in Table 15 reveals that while the main source is 

cued in both modes, the principal target is only implied through verbal components. 

METAPHORS IDENTIFIED 
Association of the Verbal and Pictorial Elements  

INTERPRETATION 
Features Mapped and Projections 

AMBITIONS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES; AMBITIONS ARE LANDS [ Connected to cultivators’ projects/ambitions, and 
image of child’s efforts and cultivated products ] 

CULTIVATORS’ AMBITIONS ARE CHILDREN’S AMBITIONS 

CULTIVATORS’ EFFORTS TO DEVELOP THEIR PROJECTS ARE  A 
CHILD’S EFFORTS TO DRAG A HEAVY BASKET 

-  For cultivators, developing projects is a laborious 
undertaking. Equally, it is a very hard task for a 
child to carry a heavy object. Thus, although both 
are willing and ambitious, they need help. 

DEVELOPMENT OF AMBITIONS IS CULTIVATION OF LANDS 

USEFULNESS OF BP’S INVESTMENT PLANS FOR CULTIVATOR 
CONSUMERS IS UTILITY OF FERTILIZERS FOR FARMERS 

-  Both BP’s plans and fertilizers aim at 
complementing something already started, helping 
to grow, and providing more quality. 

 PROJECTS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES; MORE IS FRUCTIFYING [ Connected to the infinitive verb ‘fructifier’, and to 
the quantity and appearance of fruits in the basket ] 

PROJECTS AND RESULTS ARE FRUITS 

MORE PROJECTS AND RESULTS IS MORE QUANTITY OF FRUITS 

MORE PROJECTS AND RESULTS IS BETTER QUALITY OF FRUITS 

-  BP’s investment plans provide customers’ savings 
with what they need: that is, what agricultural 
products need from cultivators to be better and 
more abundant.  

Underlying metaphor:   CHOOSING BP’S INVESTMENT PLANS FOR THE SAVINGS AND PROJECTS OF CULTIVATORS IS 
CHOOSING THE RIGHT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FOR THE QUANTITATIVE  

AND QUALITATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 

Table 15 – Identification of multimodal metaphors in Advertisement C3 (French) 



 60 

Discussion 

The results indicate that Advertisement C3 is very much structured by multimodal metaphors 

which are mostly employed to present the unique and valuable properties of a specific banking 

product. Indeed, an impression of understanding and similarity between bankers and customers 

is meant to be construed, and suggests that choosing BP’s investment plans provide positive 

opportunities for cultivators’ projects and ambitions – namely, more possibilities and more 

quality. Moreover, the name and slogan of the bank also comprise important connotations. 

First, the bank as being popular may be understood in the sense of celebrity, which is 

connected to the idea of stability and trust as a cause of this effect – if a bank is said to be 

famous, then, it should be trustable and stable. Second, the bank as being popular could be 

interpreted as meaning for the people, and relates to the concepts of comprehension and 

proximity to the French population. However, this advertisement appears to be less about 

reassuring or freeing consumers from worries. This could be because the advertising campaign 

was released at the very beginning of the economic crisis and thus, at a time when people in 

France were not yet totally aware of the seriousness of the situation. 

 Although there do not seem to be significant problems of understanding for the children 

metaphors and the fruit and vegetable projections – except for languages that would not have 

direct equivalences to the cultivation or fructification of plans or ideas – the targeted audience 

of this advertisement is nevertheless very specific and explicitly addressed, as Banque 

Populaire is above all a national financial institution and, more specifically, a cooperative and 

regional bank.  

3.4.4. Selective analysis and overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in Ads C4 to C23 

As has been the case of the totality of data examined in this dissertation, the selective analysis 

of the additional French advertisements reveals that these are all highly rich in metaphor. Table 

16 presents a summary of the underlying multimodal metaphors identified in Ads C4 to C2314. 

                                                
14 For the full version of the analysis table concerning the identification of multimodal metaphors in Ads C4 to 
C23, see Appendix 3. 



 61 

AD  UNDERLYING MULTIMODAL METAPHOR 

C4 CHOOSING BNP’S SERVICES AND BUSINESS EXPERTISE IS CHOOSING A CLOCK MAKER’S TECHNICAL 
EXPERTISE 

C5 CHOOSING CRÉDIT MUTUEL’S CARD IS MAKING THE RIGHT PREPARATIONS TO UNDERTAKE A POSITIVE 
JOURNEY 

C6 SATISFACTION OF ING CUSTOMERS WHEN OPENING AN ACCOUNT IS SEXUAL PLEASURE OF PEOPLE MAKING 
LOVE 

C7 ADVANTAGES OF MONABANQ’S ‘LIVRET’ ON THE LONG RUN ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF WINE GETTING 
BETTER WITH TIME 

C8 IMPOSSIBILITY TO RESIST CETELEM’S ‘RÉSERVE LIVE’ IS BEING SMITTEN WITH CUTE CHIWAWA DOGS  

C9 SUITABLE SOLUTIONS OF C.A. FOR SAVINGS ARE MADE-TO-MEASURE MEANS TO MAKE GOOD-QUALITY 
COFFEE 

C10 CHOOSING BNP PARIBAS BANK IS BEING CERTAIN OF WINNING A MISSION 

C11 CHOOSING CETELEM’S CREDIT INFORMATION SERVICE IS BEING SURE OF FINDING ONE’S WAY AROUND IN A 
MAZE 

C12 SIMPLE AND POSITIVE PROPERTIES OF BP’S ‘HISSÉO’ SERVICE ARE ENCHANTED AND FREEING ASPECTS OF A 
DREAM COOKING RECIPE 

C13 CHOOSING BNP PARIBAS’S ACCOUNT IS BEING TREATED LIKE A COUNT 

C14 HELP OF BP’S INSURANCE FOR THE LASTING GOOD GOVERNANCE OF COMPANIES IS HELP OF A BRIGHT AND 
CLEAN CRYSTAL BALL TO APPREHEND THE FUTURE IN A POSITIVE AND SUCCESSFUL WAY 

C15 BRILLIANT AND STABLE ASPECTS OF C.M.’S PLAN ARE LIGHT OF A BULB AND BALANCE OF A TIGHTROPE 
WALKER 

C16 BEING ON CRÉDIT AGRICOLE’S ‘MISSION SERVICES’ IS HAVING A POSITIVE AND UNCOMPLICATED LIFE 

C17 FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF L.B.P.’S LIFE INSURANCE ARE FITTING ADVANTAGES OF MADE-TO-MEASURE 
CLOTHING 

C18 RELIEVING CUSTOMERS’ ASSETS FROM MORTGAGES THROUGH BP’S LOANS IS RELEASING BIRDS FROM 
THEIR CAGE 

C19 LA BANQUE POSTALE ‘VIVACIO’ OPTIONS’ CAPACITY TO MEET THE PECULIAR SAVINGS NEEDS OF EACH 
CUSTOMER IS NATURE’S ABILITY TO ADAPT TO THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF FLOWER GROWTH STAGES 

C20 BEING A CLIENT OF CAISSE D’ÉPARGNE IS BEING FULFILLED ONE’S EVERY WISH 

C21 FORESIGHT MEASURES FOR THE INSURANCE OF L.B.P. CUSTOMERS ARE CONTINGENCY MEASURES FOR THE 
PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED PANDA SPECIES 

C22 CHOOSING BCJ ACCOUNT ‘COMPTE ACTIONNAIRE’ IS GETTING THE LEADING ROLE IN A FILM 

C23 FINANCIAL ADVANTAGES OF CREEDIT AGRICOLE’S MORTGAGE LOANS FOR CUSTOMERS’ PROJECTS ARE 
GROWING BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FOR THE CULTIVATION OF LAND 

Table 16 – Summary of the identification of multimodal metaphors in Ads C4 to C23 (French) 

As can be seen from Table 16, specific types of metaphor seem to be particularly frequent and 

to coincide with the main findings of the French in-depth study. For example, while the posters 

C2, C14 and C15 are equally structured by light/dark metaphors, plant and cultivation sources 

appear to be very pervasive in Ads C3, C16, C19 and C23. Associating the results from both 

levels of analysis reveals that specific source domains are strikingly recurrent in the French 

data. The examination of the range of multimodal metaphors in this third context is presented 

in Table 17, which shows that among the twenty-three advertisements analyzed, twenty-three 

different sources might be distinguished. Since food and plant metaphors represent respectively 



 62 

11.1% and 8.9% of the total number of ads occurring within the several types, they have 

proved to be the most frequent source domains. 

TYPE/ SOURCE AD N. % 

ALIMENTARY/FOOD/DRINK/COOKING C1; C3; C7; C9; C12 5 11.1 
PLANT/FLOWER/CULTIVATION/GARDENING C3; C16; C19; C23 4 8.9 

PERSONIFICATION/ LIVING ENTITY C1; C2; C15 3 6.8 
LIGHT/DARK C2; C14; C15 3 6.8 

UP/DOWN C2; C7; C19 3 6.8 
ANIMAL/FISH/BIRD/ DINOSAUR C8; C18; C21 3 6.8 

PHYSICAL ENTITY/ OBJECT C3; C1 2 4.4 
JOURNEY/DISTANCE/MOTION C4; C5 2 4.4 

SEXUALITY/LOVE C6; C20 2 4.4 
BIG/SMALL C8; C20 2 4.4 

MISSION/HEROISM/SUPER-HEROISM C10; C16 2 4.4 
SPORTS/GAME/SPECTACLE C11; C15 2 4.4 

FICTION/ MAGIC C12; C14 2 4.4 
LIGHT/HEAVY C3 1 2.2 

QUANTITY C3 1 2.2 
WATCH-MAKING C4 1 2.2 

NOBILITY C13 1 2.2 
CLEANING C14 1 2.2 

CONTAINER C15 1 2.2 
BALANCE C15 1 2.2 

SEWING/CLOTHING C17 1 2.2 
IMPRISONMENT C18 1 2.2 

FILM/CINEMA C22 1 2.2 

TOTAL N. OF ADS OCCURRING IN THE VARIOUS TYPES: 45 (100%) 
TOTAL OF DIFFERENT SOURCE DOMAINS IDENTIFIED: 23  

TOTAL OF ADS ANALYZED: 23 

Table 17 – Overview of multimodal metaphors’ range in the French advertisements: 
classification of most recurrent source domains from the in-depth and selective analyses  

Therefore, these results demonstrate that systematic patterns can also be observed in 

Advertisements C4 to C23 and that there would be significant correlations between the various 

choices of source domains and the specific genre of Francophone bank advertising. 

 Moreover, the survey of further key features in the secondary group of ads reveals that 

the findings previously highlighted for the French context may be mostly confirmed. These 

aspects are displayed in Table 18. 

 



 63 

MODES IN WHICH TARGET AND 
SOURCE ARE CUED 

AD 
N° 

PICTORIAL 
METAPHOR 

TARGET SOURCE 

FOCUS TARGETED AUDIENCE CROSS-
CULTURAL 

IMPLICATIONS 

C4 HYBRID Both modes Both modes Banking product International FEW 
C5 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
C6 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively verbal Both modes Financial entity National MANY 
C7 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
C8 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product International or National A FEW 
C9 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product International or National NONE 
C10 - Exclusively verbal Both modes Financial entity National MANY 
C11 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product International or National A FEW 
C12 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
C13 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National MANY 
C14 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
C15 HYBRID Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
C16 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National A FEW 
C17 - Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National FEW 
C18 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product National MANY 
C19 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National FEW 
C20 CONTEXTUAL Mostly verbal Both modes Financial entity National MANY 
C21 CONTEXTUAL Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National NONE 
C22 - Exclusively verbal Both modes Banking product National FEW 
C23 CONTEXTUAL Both modes Both modes Banking product International or National A FEW 

Table 18 – Selective analysis of Advertisements C4 to C23: review of key features (French) 

Thus, the results seem to be very similar to those ascertained for Ads C1, C2 and C3. On the 

one hand, except for the hybrids construed in Advertisements C4 and C15, the majority of 

purely pictorial tropes created correspond to contextual metaphors. On the other hand, and in 

line with the major claims being presented in this dissertation, this secondary set would largely 

focus on the conceptualization of banking products and services. Moreover, similarly to the 

Spanish data, the posters C4 to C23 may be considered to be mostly nationally directed. In this 

respect, they would often involve issues of translatability and understanding for speakers of 

other languages as well as various cross-cultural implications, which appears to underline a 

significant contrast with the English context. The analysis finally shows that recurrent patterns 

may also be observed in relation to the modes in which the two domains are cued. As has been 

argued for the other language groups, while the main sources identified in the French 

advertisements would be largely represented in both modes, the underlying targets would tend 

to be either verbally and visually manifested or exclusively construed in the verbal mode. 



 64 

3.5. General discussion and analysis 

The general in-depth analysis has revealed that although the advertisements examined all share 

the common properties of being highly structured by multimodal metaphor, important 

differences have also been identified between the three languages. As can be seen from Table 

19, the English set of data may be significantly distinguished from the two other contexts. 

AD N° - 
ORIGINAL 

LANGUAGE 

UNDERLYING 
MULTIMODAL 

METAPHOR 

PICTORIAL 
METAPHOR 

FOCUS  TARGETED 
AUDIENCE 

CROSS-
CULTURAL 

IMPLICATIONS 

A1 - 
English 

BEING A CLIENT OF ANZ BANK 
IS HAVING AN 

UNCOMPLICATED AND 
POSITIVE LIFE 

CONTEXTUAL Financial 
entity 

International NONE 

A2 - 
English 

 

BUSINESS EXPERTNESS OF ING 
BANKING IS TECHNICAL 

EXPERTISE OF FORMULA 1 

SIMILE Financial 
entity 

International NONE 

A3 - 
English 

 

OUT OF TOWN COMPETITORS 
ARE CORPORATE MONSTERS 

AND DINOSAURS 

HYBRID Financial 
entity 

International FEW 

B1 - 
Spanish 

 

BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF 
BANCO PASTOR’S MORTGAGE 
ARE RELIEVING EFFECTS OF 

BURN CREAM 

CONTEXTUAL Banking 
product 

National MANY 

B2 - 
Spanish 

 

STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF 
BANCO GUIPUZCOANO’S 

DEPOSIT ARE STRUCTURAL 
PROPERTIES OF AN 

INFLATABLE CASTLE 

CONTEXTUAL Banking 
product 

National A FEW 

B3 - 
Spanish 

MORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL 
BENEFITS OF CAJA SUR’S 
MORTGAGE ARE HEALTH 

BENEFITS OF BIFIDUS 
YOGHURT 

CONTEXTUAL Banking 
product 

National A FEW 

C1 - 
French 

CREDIT AGRICOLE 
INSURANCE’S ADVANTAGES 

FOR CONSUMERS ARE 
POWDERED MILK’S BENEFITS 

FOR BABIES 

CONTEXTUAL Banking 
product 

National or 
International 
[Exception] 

NONE 

C2 - 
French 

 

HELP OF SOCIETY GENERALE’S 
FREE INSURANCE DIAGNOSTIC 
IS HELP OF A LAMP’S LIGHT IN 

THE OBSCURITY 

CONTEXTUAL 
+ 

HYBRID 

Banking 
product 

National MANY 

C3 - 
French 

 

CHOOSING BP’S INVESTMENT  
PLANS FOR THE SAVINGS AND 
PROJECTS OF CULTIVATORS IS 

CHOOSING THE RIGHT 
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 

FOR THE QUANTITATIVE AND 
QUALITATIVE DEVELOPMENT 
OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 

- Banking 
product 

National + 
Professional 

A FEW 

Table 19 – Summary table of the in-depth analysis, highlighting similarities and differences 
between the three language contexts 



 65 

Whereas the English advertisements seem to focus almost exclusively on the qualities of the 

banking entity and bankers in general or on the delegitimization of their competitors, the 

Spanish and French data appear to place the emphasis on the conceptualization of the specific 

products they promote. This contrast could also be made apparent through the variations which 

have been ascertained in terms of targeted audiences and intercultural issues. Indeed, cross-

cultural and linguistic differences have been clearly highlighted in the Spanish and French sets 

of data, as speakers of other languages could be unable to interpret the deep meaning of some 

of the advertisements studied. Many linguistic expressions and metaphors identified within 

these contexts would be mostly culturally-bounded and thus, their possibilities to be directly 

translated into other languages would be reduced. The English data have contrastively been 

shown to be more globally accessible. This aspect may be due to the spectacular expansion of 

English as the international language today. The advertisements released in English may 

consequently be thought to aim at an international audience, which is facilitated by the 

increasing use of the internet. The Spanish and French advertising campaigns would, on the 

other hand, be more nationally directed. However, this major division would not be applicable 

to the results found in relation to the various purely pictorial metaphors employed since the 

major types identified within the three contexts have proved to be quite similar. The extent of 

variety of use determined would besides be relatively limited for, in the great majority of cases, 

contextual metaphors have been uniquely construed. 

 These major aspects have been mostly confirmed and validated by the key findings 

resulting from the selective analysis of the sixty additional advertisements, which has also 

demonstrated that very specific source domains appear to be strikingly frequent in the language 

groups examined. As presented in Table 20, the comparison of the individual results obtained 

through the overview of multimodal metaphors’ range could moreover highlight further 

repetitive patterns as regards to the entirety of data studied.  

 



 66 

LANGUAGE CONTEXT TYPE/ SOURCE 
A. ENGLISH (n.) B. SPANISH (n.) C. FRENCH (n.) N. % 

1. PERSONIFICATION/ LIVING ENTITY 7 1 3 11 9.1 
2. ANIMAL/FISH/BIRD/ DINOSAUR 5 1 3 9 7.4 
3. PLANT/FLOWER/CULTIVATION/GARDENING 4 1 4 9 7.4 
4. UP/DOWN 3 3 3 9 7.4 
5. ALIMENTARY/FOOD/DRINK/COOKING 1 3 5 9 7.4 
6. SPORTS/GAME/SPECTACLE 3 4 2 9 7.4 
7. PHYSICAL ENTITY/ OBJECT 3 2 2 7 5.7 
8. JOURNEY/DISTANCE/MOTION 4 1 2 7 5.7 
9. HEALTH/ILLNESS/MEDICINE/THERAPY 1 5 - 6 4.9 
10. LIGHT/DARK 2 - 3 5 4.1 
11. LIGHT/HEAVY 1 2 1 4 3.3 
12. SEXUALITY/LOVE 1 - 2 3 2.6 
13. MISSION/HEROISM/SUPER-HEROISM 1 - 2 3 2.6 
14. WEATHER - 3 - 3 2.6 
15. WAR/FIGHT 2 - - 2 1.6 
16. BIG/SMALL - - 2 2 1.6 
17. FICTION/ MAGIC - - 2 2 1.6 
18. SEWING/CLOTHING - 1 1 2 1.6 
19. HOT/COLD/ FIRE/ FREEZE - 2 - 2 1.6 
20. QUANTITY 1 - 1 2 1.6 
21. FORCE 1 - - 1 0.8 
22. WEALTH 1 - - 1 0.8 
23. CREATION/CONSTRUCTION/ARCHITECTURE 1 - - 1 0.8 
24. PRESSURE 1 - - 1 0.8 
25. LABOUR 1 - - 1 0.8 
26. WATCH-MAKING - - 1 1 0.8 
27. NOBILITY - - 1 1 0.8 
28. CLEANING - - 1 1 0.8 
29. CONTAINER - - 1 1 0.8 
30. BALANCE - - 1 1 0.8 
31. IMPRISONMENT - - 1 1 0.8 
32. FILM/CINEMA - - 1 1 0.8 
33. HOUSING/FURNITURE - 1 - 1 0.8 
34. ELECTRICAL DEVICES/MACHINES - 1 - 1 0.8 
35. SIGHT/OPTICS - 1 - 1 0.8 
36. SCIENCE/RESEARCH - 1 - 1 0.8 

TOTAL N. OF ADS OCCURRING IN THE VARIOUS TYPES: 122 (100%) 
TOTAL OF DIFFERENT SOURCE DOMAINS IDENTIFIED: 36  

TOTAL OF ADS ANALYZED: 69 

Table 20 – Identification of multimodal metaphor’s range for the overall genre of bank 
advertising: comparison of the three language contexts 

Indeed, the identification of the recurrent types of metaphor used for the conceptualization and 

promotion of banking products, services and entities has principally revealed that significant 

correlations could be systematically established between source domain choices and the 

particular genre of bank advertising within each linguistic group. Nonetheless, Table 20 

furthermore shows that the sets of source domains determined are additionally very similar 

among the languages studied. In this regard, personifications, animal, plant, up/down, 



 67 

alimentary, sports, physical entity, journey, health, light/dark, light/heavy, sexuality/love, 

heroism and weather metaphors have proved to be the most pervasive categories. It 

subsequently follows that in spite of the considerable cross-cultural differences ascertained 

between the three main contexts the overall range of multimodal metaphors identified could go 

even beyond a purely national distinction and, thus, reflect a broader cultural group or focus – 

that is, a general Western perspective. Therefore, the general analysis of data has demonstrated 

that it would be actually possible to categorize certain types of multimodal metaphors 

according to particular advertised product categories. 

 Finally, concerning the various implications for the modes in which target and source 

are cued, the research results have shown that important similarities could also be revealed 

among the three languages studied. Indeed, while the principal source and target domains 

identified have been mostly rendered in both modes simultaneously, in cases of exclusivity of 

cueing, the target has proved to be the one which is verbally presented and the source the one 

being visually suggested. This major finding appears to disconfirm Forceville’s (2009; Lecture 

4: 8) claims as he suggests that the reverse situation should arise. Yet, once again, this could be 

mostly due to the very specific genre and medium in which the metaphors have occurred – that 

is, static and printed bank advertisements.  

 Nevertheless, to close this section, it would be interesting to note that considering the 

pervasiveness of the multimodal metaphors identified and the main types of metaphors 

construed, the overall findings seem to accord with those of Forceville (1996, 2006, 2009), and 

Forceville and Urios-Aparisi (2009). Furthermore, the various cross-cultural and linguistic 

implications which have been highlighted and the range of multimodal devices which have 

been eventually ascertained also appear to relate to further major works and suggestions by 

Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Kövecses (2005), and Forceville (2009).                       

 

 
  



 68 

4. Conclusion 

This dissertation has aimed at analysing the use of multimodal metaphor in sixty-nine bank 

printed advertisements released in English, Spanish and French during the current financial 

crisis. Following Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) and Forceville’s (1996, 2009) approaches, it has 

sought to demonstrate that a trilingual approach could throw light on the way major banks and 

their products were conceptualized in times of unstable economy, and the consequences this 

would involve. It has been generally proved that while the three languages were similarly rich 

in the device studied which had been mainly used in order to counter the undesirable effects of 

the current unstable economic times on banks’ reputations and images, significant differences 

also appeared in terms of intended audience, focus of conceptualization, particular objectives 

and cross-cultural implications.  

 Whereas the English advertisements have reflected a central focus on the 

conceptualization of bank entities and bankers or competitors, the Spanish and French data 

have revealed a major interest in the representation of very specific products or services. 

Moreover, the English data were shown to be aimed at an international audience since they 

appeared to be globally accessible to speakers of other languages and to be relatively easily 

translatable. By contrast, the two other contexts involved a considerable amount of cross-

cultural and linguistic differences, as well as important issues of access, appreciation and 

translatability. That is why they have been considered to be more nationally directed.   

 Then, it has been ascertained that repetitive and systematic patterns could be 

highlighted in relation to the range of metaphors identified and source domain choices within 

and between the three contexts, and to the modes in which the central domains were rendered. 

Indeed, the several targets and sources found appeared to be cued in a very similar manner 

among the three languages studied. They additionally comprised the same implications in 

respect to possible exclusivity of modality cueing – that is, the verbal mode tended to be 

associated with the principal target domain, while the pictorial mode was more largely 

employed so as to suggest the source domain. Furthermore, certain sources have proved to be 



 69 

strikingly pervasive and recurrent. Figure 1 offers an overall summary of the multimodal 

metaphor’s range which has been determined, with the frequencies being organised by main 

types, and demonstrates that it seemed to be possible to categorize the different sources 

according to the particular data and medium in which they occurred.  

 
Figure 1 – Summary of multimodal metaphors’ range for the specific genre of bank 

advertising: comparison of recurrent source domains within the three contexts 

Therefore, the analysis undertaken in this dissertation has revealed that significant correlations 

existed between source domain choices and the specific genre of bank advertising, which could 

furthermore be the reflection of a very broad cultural group or perspective. 

 However, this research also involves important limitations since the examination has 

been carried out with the use of a relatively limited corpus due to major constraints of data 

collection and theoretical objectives. Thus, it seems rather difficult to reach greater 

generalisations. The difficulties in analysing data from other languages should also be 

acknowledged since possible cultural and linguistic influences might also have sometimes 

interfered with the main findings. Nevertheless, the results could be taken as a basis to develop 

further similar studies on multimodal discourse. A promising line of study would be to 

examine, in more detail, if the present suggestions could be applied to additional banking 

advertisements produced in the same period. It would also be interesting to try to determine 

whether these claims could also be applied to moving images – in particular, to bank 

commercials – and if this would entail further intercultural and cross-linguistic implications. 

 



 70 

APPENDICES  

ANALYSIS TABLES 

APPENDIX 1: Identification of multimodal metaphor in the advertisements A4 to A23 
(English - Selective analysis) 

AD 
N° UNDERLYING MULTIMODAL METAPHOR 

A4 PEACE OF MIND OF BARCLAYS’S CUSTOMERS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF THEIR ASSETS IS PEACE 
OF MIND OF PARENTS ABOUT A ZOO’S SAFETY POLICY FOR THEIR CHILDREN 
FINANCIAL ASSETS ARE CHILDREN 
FINANCIAL RISKS ARE DANGEROUS FELIDS 
FINANCIAL PROTECTION IS ZOO SCREEN CAGE  
TRUST UPON SECURITY MEASURES FOR ASSETS IN TIMES OF CRISIS IS TRUST UPON SAFETY MEASURES FOR CHILDREN IN A ZOO 
 

A5 BUSINESS EXPERTISE OF PINNACLE BANK IS AGRICULTURAL EXPERTISE OF FARMERS 
PINNACLE BANKERS ARE FARMERS 
BANKS ARE AGRICULTURAL FIELDS 
BANK NOTES ARE AGRICULTURAL HARVESTS 
FINANCIAL SUCCESS IS AGRICULTURAL SUCCESS 
GETTING MORE MONEY IS GETTING BETTER HARVESTS 
 

A6 BEING A CLIENT OF PINNACLE BANK IS OBTAINING EASE, SECURITY AND MORE QUANTITY OF TIME AND MONEY 
TIME IS MONEY 
CLOCKS ARE COINS 
GETTING MORE TIME IS SAVING MONEY 
TIME IS A VALUABLE ENTITY THAT MAY BE COLLECTED IN A SAFE MONEY-BOX 
 

A7 BEING A CLIENT OF BNP PARIBAS DURING THE CRISIS IS GETTING THE UNIQUE FLOWER GROWING IN AN ARID 
LAND 
NEGATIVE IS DARK  
MONEY AND PROJECTS ARE FLOWERS 
THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IS AN ARID AND LIFELESS LANDS 
IDENTIFYING UNIQUE FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES IS FINDING THE UNIQUE CULTIVABLE LAND  
 

A8 BEING A CLIENT OF COAST CAPITAL BANK IS HAVING A POSITIVE LIFE FREE OF STRESS 
MORE IS UP/ LESS IS DOWN 
MORE FEES AND STRESS ARE UP/ LESS FEES AND STRESS ARE DOWN 
NEGATIVE IS UP  
POSITIVE IS DOWN  
 

A9 PRIDE AND ATTRACTION TOWARDS PRIME BANK’S NEW BRANCH ARE POSITIVE AND ATTRACTIVE ASPECTS OF A 
NEWBORN BABY CHICK 
BANKS ARE ANIMALS 
OPENING AND DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW BANK’S BRANCH IS HATCHING AND GROWTH OF A NEWBORN CHICK 
LEVEL OF ATTENTION NEEDED FOR THE OPENING OF THE NEW BRANCH IS LEVEL OF CARE REQUIRED FOR THE NEWBORN 
CHICK 
 

A10 POSITIVE PROPERTIES AND FULFILMENT RESULTING FROM CHOOSING SIS’S BANK ACCOUNT ARE ATTRACTIVE 
CHARACTERISTICS AND PLEASURE RESULTING FROM EATING A DELICIOUS DOUGHNUT 
BANKING PRODUCTS ARE FOOD 
SIS’S BANK ACCOUNT IS A DOUGHNUT 
IMPOSSIBILITY TO RESIST THE URGE TO OPEN SIS’S ACCOUNT IS IMPOSSIBILITY TO RESIST THE URGE TO EAT A DOUGHNUT 
 

A11 BEING A CLIENT OF OHIO STATE BANK IS RECEIVING OUTSTANDING SERVICES AND UNIQUE CONSIDERATION 
MORE IS UP 
ESTEEM AND CONSIDERATION ARE UP 



 71 

SUPERIOR AND OUTSTANDING ARE UP 
POSITIVE IS UP 
BANKING IS ARCHITECTURE 
PEOPLE ARE STATUES 
BANKERS ARE ARCHITECTS 
BANKING RELATIONSHIP IS CREATION 
BEING PAID SPECIAL ATTENTION AND BEING UNIQUELY CONSIDERED IS BEING PUT ON THE TOP OF A PEDESTAL 
 

A12 BARCLAYS BANK’S FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE INCREASE OF CUSTOMERS’ SAVINGS ARE GARDENING 
SOLUTIONS FOR THE GROWTH AND QUALITATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF FLOWERS 
MORE IS UP 
GROWTH IS UP 
BANKING IS GARDENING 
FINDING FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS IS WATERING FLOWERS 
MORE QUANTITY OF MONEY IS GROWTH OF A FLOWER 
 

A13 BUSINESS EXPERTISE OF ICB BANK IN UNSTABLE ECONOMIC TIMES IS SPORTIVE PERFORMANCE OF MVPs IN A 
PRESSURING BASEBALL GAME 
BANKING IS A BASEBALL GAME 
HANDLING BANKING ISSUES IS MANAGING A BASEBALL GAME 
ICB BANKERS ARE BASEBALL MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS 
MONEY WORRIES ARE BASEBALL ‘BOTTOM OF THE NINTH’ AND ‘3-2 FULL COUNT’ 
CUSTOMERS’ WORRIES AND ANXIETY ABOUT MONEY ISSUES DURING THE ECONOMIC CRISIS ARE HITTERS’ HARD POSITION 
AND PRESSURE ABOUT THE LAST OPPORTUNITY TO SCORE DURING A BASEBALL GAME 
SECURITY OF FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS IS CONFIDENCE IN WINING A BASEBALL GAME 
 

A14 BEING A CLIENT OF STANDARD BANK IS TRAVELLING ALONG A SUCCESSFUL PATH TOWARD A SUMMIT AND 
PERSONALLY ADAPTED DESTINATION 
BANKING IS A JOURNEY 
STANDARD BANK BANKERS ARE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS AND GUIDES 
STANDARD BANK CUSTOMERS ARE TRAVELLERS 
TAKING FINANCIAL DECISIONS IS FORWARD MOTION 
CONNECTING THOUGHTS TO ACTION IS MOTION 
OPPORTUNITIES AND RESULTS ARE MOTION 
FINANCIAL DECISIONS ARE CHOICES OF PATHS AND CONNECTIONS ON A JOURNEY 
BANKING RESULTS ARE DESTINATIONS AND SUMMITS 
 

A15 MONEY IS A LIVING PERSON WHO LABOURS AND CULTIVATES LANDS TO THE ADVANTAGE OF BANKMED’S 
CUSTOMERS 
MONEY IS A LIVING PERSON 
BANKING IS CULTIVATION 
THE BANK SPHERE IS A LANDSCAPE 
MONEY IS A LIVING CULTIVATOR 
BANKING IS MANUAL LABOUR OF LAND 
MONEY IS A LIVING LABOURER 
 

A16 BEING A CLIENT OF 1ST SECURITY BANK IS HAVING A PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING WITHOUT THE NEGATIVE 
ASPECTS AND CONSEQUENCES THEREOF 
BUSINESSES ARE PEOPLE 
BUSINESSES ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY SICK PEOPLE 
THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IS A DISEASE 
ECONOMIC ISSUES ARE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS 
BANKING IS PSYCHOTHERAPY 
BANKING SOLUTIONS ARE PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENTS 
BEING OVERWHELMED WITH MONEY ISSUES IS HAVING PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AND DISORDERS 
BANKING NEEDS ARE PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS 
1ST SECURITY BANK’S HELP IS PSYCHOTHERAPISTS’ SUPPORT WITHOUT DRAWBACKS 
 

A17 CHOOSING RRSB BANK IS CHOOSING THE ONLY GOLDFISH FLOWING TOWARD THE RIGHT DESTINATION 
BANKING IS A JOURNEY 
BANKS’ DECISIONS ARE MOTION 
FINDING THE RIGHT BANK AND PRODUCTS IS A JOURNEY 



 72 

RRSB’S OFFERS AND DECISIONS ARE RIGHT PATHS AND DIRECTIONS 
OTHER BANKS ARE WRONG TRAVELLING COMPANIONS 
BANKS ARE GOLDFISH 
RRSB BANK IS A GOLDFISH FLOWING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION 
OTHER BANKS ARE GOLDFISH FLOWING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION   
 

A18 BUSINESS AND BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF BROOKLINE BANK ARE PHYSICAL AND BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF 
GYMNASTICS 
BANKING IS SPORTS 
BANKING IS GYMNASTICS 
BANKERS ARE SPORTS COACHES AND PARTNERS 
FINANCIAL SOLIDITY, STABILITY AND ADAPTATION CAPACITY ARE BODY STRENGTH, BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY 
FINANCIAL SATISFACTION IS PHYSICAL WELL-BEING 
 

A19 BUSINESS EXPERTISE OF ARTHAMONEY IS DRESSAGE EXPERTISE OF DOG TRAINERS 
MONEY IS A DOG 
CUSTOMERS’ DIFFICULTIES TO HANDLE THEIR OWN MONEY ARE PEOPLE’S DIFFICULTIES TO RAISE AND CONTROL THEIR OWN 
DOG; 
NEED FOR MONEY EXPERTS IS NEED FOR DOG TRAINERS  
 

A20 MAKING A FINANCIAL PROFIT IS SEXUAL REPRODUCTION 
MONEY IS A LIVING ENTITY 
BANK NOTES ARE PEOPLE 
MAKING MONEY IS MAKING LOVE 
MONEY ATTRACTION IS SEXUAL ATTRACTION 
MONEY BENEFITS ARE OFFSPRING 
 

A21 CONTROLLING FINANCES IS STRUGGLING WITH PRESSURING AND HEAVY FORCES 
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS ARE WEIGHT 
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS ARE PRESSURING FORCES 
A WALLET IS A PRESSURING AND STUBBORN LIVING ENTITY 
 

A22 FIRST INDIANA BANK’S TAKING FINANCIAL DECISIONS AND RESOLVING ATM FEES ISSUES IS A SUPERHERO’S 
FIGHTING ON A MISSION AND SAVING THE PLANET 
BANKING IS A SUPERHERO’S MISSION 
FIRST INDIANA BANK BANKERS ARE SUPERHEROES 
FINANCIAL ISSUES FOR BANKERS ARE MISSION CONDITIONS FOR SUPERHEROES 
BANKING IS A SUPERHERO’S FIGHT 
ATM FEES ARE THE ENEMIES OF A SUPERHERO 
 

A23 CHOOSING HSBC’S INVESTMENT PLAN IS A POSITIVE JOURNEY TOWARD THE FULFILMENT OF ONE’S DREAMS 
INVESTING IS A JOURNEY; INVESTMENTS ARE MOTION 
INVESTING SYSTEMATICALLY IS CREATING OPPORTUNITIES 
FULFILLING ONE’S DREAMS IS TRAVELLING ALONG A PATH; HSBC INVESTMENT PLAN IS THE RIGHT PATH ON A JOURNEY  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 73 

APPENDIX 2: Identification of multimodal metaphor in the advertisements B4 to B23 
(Spanish - Selective analysis) 

AD N° UNDERLYING MULTIMODAL METAPHOR 

B4 FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF SANTANDER’S CARD ‘NEGOCIOS’ ARE FITTING ADVANTAGES OF MADE-TO-MEASURE 
CLOTHING 
BANKING IS SEWING; SANTANDER BANKERS ARE TAILORS 
SANTANDER’S CARD ‘NEGOCIOS’ IS MADE-TO-MEASURE GARMENT 
SANTANDER BANKERS’ WORK SCHEMES ARE TAILORS’ BASE PATTERNS 
BANK CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS ARE MADE-TO-MEASURE CUSTOMERS’ DEMANDS 
 

B5 POSITIVE ASPECTS OF BARCLAYS’S DEPOSIT FOR CUSTOMERS ARE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF A CHILD’S GROWTH FOR 
PARENTS 
MORE IS UP 
FINANCIAL GROWTH IS UP 
MONEY IS A CHILD; BARCLAYS’S DEPOSIT IS A CHILD 
HANDLING FINANCIAL TOPICS IS TAKING CARE OF CHILDREN 
BARCLAYS’S DEPOSIT GROWTH IS A CHILD’S HEIGHT DEVELOPMENT 
CALCULATING A DEPOSIT’S INTEREST RATE IS MEASURING A CHILD’S HEIGHT 
 

B6 ATTRACTIVE FINANCIAL FEATURES OF BANCO PASTOR’S INVESTMENT FUND ARE TEMPTING ASPECTS OF AN ICE 
CREAM 
GOLD IS FOOD 
GOLD’S DENSITY IS FOOD’S UNIT OF WEIGHT 
BANCO PASTOR’S INVESTMENT FUND IS ICE CREAM 
FINANCIAL ATTRACTION IS FOOD TEMPTATION 
 

B7  FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF CATALAN SAVING BANKS’ DEPÓSITO VITAMINA ARE HEALTH AND ENERGIZING BENEFITS 
OF EFFERVESCENT VITAMINS 
DEPOSITS ARE MEDICINES 
DEPOSITS ARE VITAMINS  
SAVINGS ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES 
DEPÓSITO VITAMINA’S VALUABLE PROPERTIES ARE VITAMINS’ BENEFICIAL EFFECTS 
SAVINGS’ GROWTH AND STABILITY FROM A GOOD DEPOSIT IS HUMANS’ ENERGY AND CONSTANCY FROM EFFERVESCENT 
VITAMINS 
EASINESS TO HANDLE A DEPOSIT IS EASINESS TO USE EFFERVESCENT VITAMINS 
 

B8  CONVENIENT ASPECTS OF BARCLAYS’S MORTGAGE HIPOTECA 35 ARE COMFORTABLE ASPECTS OF A SOFA 
MORTGAGES ARE HOUSING FACILITIES 
A MORTGAGE IS A SOFA 
FINANCIAL CONVENIENCES ARE HOME COMFORTS 
FINANCIAL PEACE OF MIND IS HOME TRANQUILLITY 
 

B9 SECURITY AND PROTECTION OF BANCO SANTANDER’S SEGURO FOR CUSTOMERS’ HOUSES IS SAFETY AND 
PROTECTION OF A NEST FOR YOUNG BIRDS 
HOUSES ARE FLEDGLINGS AND YOUNG BIRDS 
 

B10 CHOOSING CCM’S MORTGAGE ‘HIPOTECA ACTIVA’ IS FEELING HIGH AND LIGHT AND BEING WORRY FREE 
MORE IS UP; POSITIVE IS UP 
POSITIVE IS LIGHT; NEGATIVE IS WEIGHT 
A MORTGAGE IS A PHYSICAL ENTITY THAT MAY BE WEIGHED   
 

B11 BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES OF CAIXA TARRAGONA’S INSURANCES ARE PROTECTING PROPERTIES OF SUNSCREEN 
CREAM 
HOUSE AND CAR PROTECTION IS SUN PROTECTION 
MONEY ISSUES ARE DANGEROUS SUN 
INSURANCES ARE SUNSCREEN CREAM 

B12 EFFECTIVE AND POSITIVE PROPERTIES OF CAIXA TARRAGONA’S ‘DEPÓSITOS GARANTIZADOS’ ARE EFFECTIVE 
AND PERFORMANCE PROPERTIES OF BATTERIES 
HUMANS ARE BATTERY-OPERATED MACHINES 



 74 

DEPOSITS ARE BATTERIES 
FINANCIAL SKILLS ARE BATTERIES’ PERFORMANCE  
 

B13 POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF CAIXA CATALUNYA’S ‘DEPÓSITO DOBLE EFECTO’ ARE SURPRISING EFFECTS OF 
AN OPTICAL ILLUSION 
A DEPOSIT IS AN OPTICAL ILLUSION 
FINANCIAL INTERESTS’ POSSIBILITY TO BE FIXED AND RISE ARE OPTICAL ILLUSIONS’ CAPACITY TO BE FIXED AND MOVE AT THE 
SAME TIME 
 

B14 CAJA MEDITERRÁNEO MAKING CREDITS AVAILABLE IS HEATING OF A FROZEN ENTITY 
MONEY UNAVAILABILITY IS FREEZE 
FINANCIAL INACTIVITY IS FREEZE 
CREDITS AVAILABILITY AND DISPOSAL IS HEAT 
 

B15 INCREASING INTERESTS OF BARCLAYS’S ‘DEPÓSITO INTERÉS CRECIENTE’ ARE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A 
PLANT 
MORE IS UP 
GROWTH IS UP 
A DEPOSIT IS A PLANT 
 

B16 CHOOSING CITIBANK’S ACCOUNT ‘NOMINOTERAPIA’ IS RECEIVING A WELL-BEING THERAPY 
BANKING IS THERAPY 
DIRECT DEBIT FROM A BANK ACCOUNT IS WELL-BEING THERAPY 
 

B17 GETTING THE HIGHEST YIELD POSSIBLE OF SAVINGS THANKS TO RURALCAJA’S ‘DEPÓSITO RURALVÍA’ IS GETTING 
THE BEST QUALITY OF DRINKS THANKS TO A SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE 
COINS AND SAVINGS ARE ORANGES 
GETTING HIGH FINANCIAL YIELD IS SQUEEZING ORANGES 
 

B18 FINANCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BANCO SABADELL ATLÁNTICO’S DEPOSITS ARE REVOLUTIONARY PROPERTIES 
OF INVESTIGATORS’ CHEMICAL FINDINGS 
BANKS ARE LABORATORIES 
BANKING SOLUTIONS ARE CHEMICAL FORMULAS 
BANKERS ARE INVESTIGATORS  
 

B19 GETTING IT OVER WITH NEGATIVE CONDITIONS AND CLAUSES OF MORTGAGES THANKS TO BANESTO BANK IS 
SMASHING AND DESTROYING A TENNIS GROUND 
BANKING IS SPORTS; BANKING IS TENNIS 
BANESTO BANKERS AND CUSTOMERS ARE TENNIS PLAYERS  
 

B20 CHOOSING CAJA DUERO’S ‘DEPÓSITO GANADOR’ TO HAVE MORE MONEY IS CHOOSING THE RIGHT STRATEGIES 
AND PLAYERS TO WIN A FOOTBALL MATCH 
BANKING IS A FOOTBALL MATCH 
CAJA DUERO BANKERS ARE FOOTBALL PLAYERS 
BANKING DECISIONS ARE FOOTBALL STRATEGIES 
 

B21 CHOOSING CAJA GRANADA’S ‘EXTRA NÓMINA’ IS CHOOSING THE RIGHT STRATEGY TO WIN AT TIC-TAC-TOE 
BANKING IS A BOARD GAME 
FINANCIAL DECISIONS ARE TIC-TAC-TOE STRATEGIES 
 

B22 HELP OF BBVA’S DEPOSITS IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC CRISIS IS PROTECTION OF AN UMBRELLA IN THE RAIN 
THE CRISIS IS BAD WEATHER 
NEGATIVE FINANCIAL SITUATION IS RAIN 
FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS ARE WEATHER PROTECTIONS 
 

B23 CHOOSING CAIXA CATALUNYA’S ‘PACK ANTICRISIS’ TO HANDLE MONEY ISSUES IS GETTING THE RIGHT 
MEDICINES TO RECOVER FROM A DISEASE  
THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IS A DISEASE 
MONEY ISSUES ARE INCAPACITY TO BREATHE 
BANKERS ARE PHYSICIANS 
 



 75 

APPENDIX 3: Identification of multimodal metaphor in the advertisements C4 to C23 
(French - Selective analysis) 

AD N° UNDERLYING MULTIMODAL METAPHOR 

C4 CHOOSING BNP PARIBAS’S ‘SECURITIES SERVICES’ AND BUSINESS EXPERTISE IS CHOOSING A CLOCK 
MAKER’S TECHNICAL EXPERTISE 
BANKING IS WATCH-MAKING 
BANKING KNOW-HOW IS WATCH-MAKING KNOW-HOW 
KNOWLEDGE IS PROXIMITY 
COINS ARE CLOCKS 
MONEY COMPLEXITY IS CLOCK COMPLEXITY 
BNP PARIBAS EFFICIENT BANKERS ARE SKILLED CLOCK MAKERS 
 

C5 CHOOSING CRÉDIT MUTUEL’S CARD ‘CARTE AVANCE SANTEE’ IS MAKING THE RIGHT PREPARATIONS TO 
UNDERTAKE A POSITIVE JOURNEY 
LIFE IS A JOURNEY 
BANKING IS A JOURNEY 
HEALTH ISSUES ARE IMPEDIMENTS TO MOTION 
CRÉDIT MUTUEL BANKERS AND PRODUCTS ARE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS AND FACILITIES 
 

C6 SATISFACTION OF ING DIRECT CUSTOMERS WHEN OPENING AN ONLINE ACCOUNT IS SEXUAL PLEASURE OF 
PEOPLE MAKING LOVE 
BANKING IS SEXUAL ACT 
BANKING SATISFACTION IS SEXUAL PLEASURE 
OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT IS MAKING LOVE 
 

C7 ADVANTAGES OF MONABANQ’S ‘LIVRET CROISSANCE’ ON THE LONG RUN ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF WINE 
GETTING BETTER WITH TIME 
MORE IS UP 
BANKING IS WINE SCIENCE AND PRODUCING 
A SAVINGS ACCOUNT IS WINE 
INTEREST RATES ARE WINE’S AGES  

 

C8 IMPOSSIBILITY TO RESIST CETELEM’S ‘RÉSERVE LIVE’ IS BEING SMITTEN WITH CUTE CHIWAWA DOGS  
ATTRACTIVE IS SMALL 
BANKING PRODUCTS ARE ANIMALS 
MONTHLY PAYMENTS ARE CUTE CHIWAWA DOGS 
 

C9 SUITABLE SOLUTIONS OF CRÉDIT AGRICOLE FOR CONSUMERS’ SAVINGS ARE MADE-TO-MEASURE MEANS TO 
MAKE GOOD-QUALITY COFFEE 
SAVINGS ARE COFFEE GROUNDS 
HANDLING SAVINGS IS MEASURING COFFEE 
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAVINGS ARE RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE COFFEE 
 

C10 CHOOSING BNP PARIBAS BANK IS BEING CERTAIN OF WINNING A MISSION 
BANKING IS A HERO’S MISSION 
BNP PARIBAS IS A HERO PROTAGONIST 
MONEY ISSUES ARE A HERO’S DIFFICULTIES 
TRUST UPON BNP PARIBAS BANKING IS TRUST UPON BLAKE AND MORTIMER’S DETECTIVE SKILLS 
 

C11 CHOOSING CETELEM’S CREDIT INFORMATION SERVICE IS BEING SURE OF FINDING ONE’S WAY AROUND IN A 
MAZE 
CREDITS ARE MAZES 
CREDITS’ COMPLEXITIES ARE MAZES’ MEANDERS 
 

C12 SIMPLE AND POSITIVE PROPERTIES OF BP’S ‘HISSÉO’ SERVICE ARE ENCHANTED AND FREEING ASPECTS OF A 
DREAM COOKING RECIPE 
BP BANKING WORLD IS DREAM WORLD/WONDERLAND 
BP BANKING IS COOKING; SOLUTIONS FOR SAVINGS ARE COOKING RECIPES 
BANKING PRODUCTS ARE ALIMENTARY PRODUCTS 



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C13 CHOOSING BNP PARIBAS’S ACCOUNT IS BEING TREATED LIKE A COUNT 
BNP PARIBAS BANKERS ARE SERVANTS 
BNP PARIBAS CUSTOMERS ARE EARLS/COUNTS 
BNP PARIBAS’S CARD IS A VERY VALUABLE ITEM 
BANKING ADVANTAGES ARE NOBLES’ PRIVILEGES 
BNP PARIBAS’S SERVICES ARE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENTS 
 

C14 HELP OF BP’S INSURANCE FOR THE LASTING GOOD GOVERNANCE OF COMPANIES IS HELP OF A BRIGHT AND 
CLEAN CRYSTAL BALL TO APPREHEND THE FUTURE IN A POSITIVE AND SUCCESSFUL WAY 
POSITIVE IS LIGHT/BRIGHT 
HELP IS LIGHT 
POSITIVE IS CLEAN 
POSITIVE FUTURE IS BRIGHT AND CLEAN FUTURE 
BANKING IS MIND READING 
BP BANKERS ARE FORTUNE-TELLERS 
 

C15 BRILLIANT AND STABLE ASPECTS OF CRÉDIT MUTUEL’S INSURANCE PLAN ARE LIGHT OF A BULB AND 
BALANCE OF A TIGHTROPE WALKER 
THE MIND IS A CONTAINER FOR IDEAS 
BRIGHT IDEAS ARE LIGHT BULBS 
ACHIEVING A FINANCIAL INSIGHT IS SHINNING A LIGHT 
GETTING AN IDEA IS LIGHTING A BULB IN ONE’S BRAIN 
SAVINGS ARE PEOPLE 
FINANCIAL STABILITY IS BALANCING ACT 
GOOD SAVINGS ARE GOOD TIGHTROPE WALKERS 
 

C16 BEING ON CRÉDIT AGRICOLE’S ‘MISSION SERVICES’ IS HAVING A POSITIVE AND UNCOMPLICATED LIFE 
PROVIDING SERVICES IS A MISSION 
SERVICES ARE FLOWERS 
C.A. BANKERS ARE FLORISTS 
RANGE AND QUALITY OF SERVICES ARE BOUQUETS OF FLOWERS 
CREATING AND PROVIDING SIMPLE, QUALITY AND EFFICIENT SERVICES IS SELECTING AND COMBINING THE BEST 
FLOWERS TO MAKE A BOUQUET 
 

C17 FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF LA BANQUE POSTALE’S LIFE INSURANCE ‘CACHEMIRE’ ARE FITTING ADVANTAGES 
OF MADE-TO-MEASURE CLOTHING 
BANKING IS SEWING 
LA BANQUE POSTALE BANKERS ARE TAILORS 
LA BANQUE POSTALE’S INSURANCE ‘CACHEMIRE’ IS MADE-TO-MEASURE GARMENT 
 

C18 RELIEVING CUSTOMERS’ ASSETS FROM MORTGAGES THROUGH BP’S LOANS IS RELEASING BIRDS FROM 
THEIR CAGE 
MORTGAGES ARE CAGES 
HAVING MORTGAGE PROBLEMS IS BEING CAUGHT IN A CAGE 
FINANCIAL ASSETS ARE BIRDS 
FINANCIAL RELIEF IS BIRD’S RELEASE 
 

C19 LA BANQUE POSTALE ‘VIVACIO’ OPTIONS’ CAPACITY TO MEET THE PECULIAR SAVINGS NEEDS OF EACH 
CUSTOMER IS NATURE’S ABILITY TO ADAPT TO THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF FLOWER GROWTH STAGES 
GROWTH IS UP 
HUMANS ARE FLOWERS 
HUMAN LIFE IS FLOWER GROWTH 
PHASES OF HUMAN LIFE ARE STAGES OF FLOWER GROWTH 
HUMANS’ INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL NEEDS ARE FLOWERS’ NATURAL NEEDS TO THRIVE   
 

C20 BEING A CLIENT OF CAISSE D’ÉPARGNE IS BEING FULFILLED ONE’S EVERY WISH 
POSITIVE IS LITTLE/SMALL 
POSITIVE IS SMALL CARE 
BANKING IS LOVE RELATIONSHIP 
BANKERS ARE CARING LOVERS 
BANKING SERVICES ARE LITTLE ATTENTIONS 
CAISSE D’ÉPARGNE IS WELCOMING AND WARM-HEARTED PLACE  



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C21 FORESIGHT MEASURES FOR THE INSURANCE OF LA BANQUE POSTALE CUSTOMERS ARE CONTINGENCY 
MEASURES FOR THE PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED PANDA SPECIES 
HUMANS ARE ANIMALS 
HUMANS ARE PANDAS 
HUMAN FAMILIES ARE ENDANGERED SPECIES 
LA BANQUE POSTALE CUSTOMERS ARE PROTECTED SPECIES 
 

C22 CHOOSING BCJ ACCOUNT ‘COMPTE ACTIONNAIRE’ IS GETTING THE LEADING ROLE IN A FILM 
BANKING IS FILM SHOOTING 
BCJ BANK IS A FILMMAKER 
ACCOUNTS ARE MOVIES 
FINANCIAL INTERESTS ARE SPECIAL EFFECTS 
THE ECONOMIC SPHERE IS THE FILM STAGE 
BCJ SHAREHOLDERS AND CUSTOMERS ARE FILM ACTORS 
 

C23 FINANCIAL ADVANTAGES OF CREEDIT AGRICOLE’S MORTGAGE LOANS FOR CUSTOMERS’ PROJECTS ARE 
GROWING BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FOR THE CULTIVATION OF LAND 
BANKING IS CULTIVATING 
PROJECTS ARE LANDS 
DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECTS IS CULTIVATION OF LANDS 
MORTGAGE LOANS ARE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 
C.A. BANKERS AND CUSTOMERS ARE CULTIVATORS  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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DATA: BANK ADVERTISEMENTS 

APPENDIX 4: Advertisement A1 

 

 



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APPENDIX 5: Advertisement A2 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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APPENDIX 6: Advertisement A3 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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APPENDIX 7: Advertisements A4 to A23 

A4. 

 

 

A5. 

 



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A6. 

 
 

A7. 

 
 

A8. 

 



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A9. 

 
 

 

A10. 

 
 

 

 



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A11. 

 
 

A12. 

 



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A13. 

 
 

A14. 

 
 



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A15. 

 
 

A16. 

 
 



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A17. 

 
 

A18. 

 
 



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A19. 

 
 

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APPENDIX 8: Advertisement B1 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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APPENDIX 9: Advertisement B2 

 

 

 

 

 



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APPENDIX 10: Advertisement B3 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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APPENDIX 11: Advertisements B4 to B23 

B4. 

 
 

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B6. 

 
 

 

B7. 

 
 

 



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B8. 

 
 

B9. 

 
 



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B10. 

 
 

B11. 

 



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B12. 

 
 

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B14. 

 
 

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B16. 

 
 

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B19. 

 
 

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B23. 

 

 

 
 



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APPENDIX 12: Advertisement C1 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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APPENDIX 13: Advertisement C2 

 

 

 

 

 



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APPENDIX 14: Advertisement C3 

 

 



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APPENDIX 15: Advertisements C4 to C23 

C4. 

 
 

C5. 

 



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C6. 

 
 

C7. 

 
C8. 

 



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C9. 

 
 

 

C10. 

 
 



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C12. 

 



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C13. 

 
 

C14. 

 



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C15. 

 
 

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C17. 

 
 

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C19. 

 
 

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son-offre-services-a-la-personne-%289490%29.cml. Consulted 15-07-2010. 

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banque-postale-francaise.html. Consulted 05-05-2010. 

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ensemble-vos-projet-1265/. Consulted 15-07-2010.