Metaphorical Modeling in Medical Public Service Advertising

This study is devoted to the specifics of metaphorical modeling as the main tool for creative activity in polycode texts of medical public service advertising (donation, combating bad habits, prevention, etc.). The empirical base was made up of a corpus of 217 creolized texts of Russian and foreign public service advertising, selected by the method of directed sampling according to the criterion of the presence of explicit metaphorical transfer in the verbal and/or visual component. The use of a comprehensive technique combining frame analysis (decomposition of metaphors into slots and frames), conceptual mapping, and semiotic deconstruction made it possible to determine dominant metaphorical models: anthropomorphic (attributing human properties to abstract concepts, diseases, organs, etc.) and artifactual (comprehension of social problems through man-made objects). Important is the role of visual metaphor, which synergistically combines the advantages of nonverbal impact (speed of perception, overcoming “banner blindness,” eliminating language barriers, emotional involvement, memorability) with the effectiveness of metaphorically packaged information. Particular attention is paid to polycode synergy: the types of interaction between verbal and visual metaphors (complementarity, autonomy, duplication) and their role in increasing frustration are systematized. The author highlights the contradiction between the stereotyping of frequent models (e.g. smoking = death; donation = life) and their pragmatic effectiveness: the use of typical models ensures understanding but reduces originality. As a result, alternative models have been proposed to increase creativity (expanding the frame structure of dominant models, integrating alternative models, strategic combination of code types, original visualization, etc.).