'Calm' in an Ever-Increasing Chaos

In today's society, it is normalised and expected that individuals are constantly digitally connected and available. In this online space, there is a constant influx of information and a constant appeal to the consumer's senses. This is partly cultivated by advertising practices that are competing for the consumer's attention and therefore increasingly appealing to all their senses. As a result, there is a great sense of overwhelm in society, which is reflected in the growing interest in the trend towards digital disconnection. Advertising is known for not only influencing society but also constantly adapting to it. It seems that this trend of disconnection has currently been adapted by advertising, as visuals express a greater sense of 'calm' and serenity to connect with the consumer, creating a small moment to unwind. This phenomenon has not yet been studied, but it is very influential on advertising practices as it creates an aesthetic strategy that is quickly adapted. Therefore, this study proposes the concept of 'calm advertising', which focuses on the operationalisation of the trend of digital disconnection and aims to discover what elements construct this strategy. To explore this topic, this study proposed the research question: ‘How is the imaginary of calm constructed in advertisements promoting automotive brands?’. To answer this research question and construct the proposed concept of 'calm advertising', this study draws on a theoretical foundation established by the theories of digital disconnection, sensory calm and aesthetics. This formed the basis for the visual analysis of automotive advertising, to uncover the elements that play a role in the construction of the imaginary of 'calm'. The resulting three themes: Visual Calm, Sensory Calm and Symbolic Calm, express how 'calm advertising' creates a greater sense of smoothness, serenity and escapism, making aesthetic choices that appeal to different sensory layers in a less intrusive way. In all of these elements of the strategy, the car is presented as an element that fits in with a digitally disconnected lifestyle, and can even embody or assist in this process. This is in stark contrast to what the product actually embodies. Taken together, this expresses how 'calm advertising' reflects and plays with the tension between connection and disconnection in today's highly connected society and adds to an inability in society to digitally disconnect.