Much of the advertising that is done in Ireland relies on nationalist concepts. It’s not surprising that Murphy’s or Guinness make use of such kind of discourse, given that Irish stout is indeed a legitimate source of pride for every Irish. But it should be surprising that such a multinational company as MasterCard employs nationalistic advertising in Ireland.
A man in his thirties walks on the streets of a typical Irish town. He watches tourists wearing Irish symbolic garments — a leprechaun hat or green trousers –, as the voice-over tells us the price of each item. The main character finally sits alone in front of his stout in a typical Irish pub and stares in the distance, meditatively: ‘Knowing what it really means to be Irish: Priceless.’ And finally, we read the conclusion of the clip: ‘There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there is MasterCard.’
The ad itself is crafted amazingly well, and is legitimately considered a peak in the advertising industry. Its message is explicit: symbols of Irishness can be superficial; any foreigner can buy them for money. But there is a ‘thing,’ an essence in the form of ‘knowing something,’ which only Irish natives can grasp.
Löfgren’s paradox becomes conspicuous when one realises that MasterCard employs a similar advertising campaign in the USA (know as the ‘Priceless’ series), although – to the best of my knowledge – the American versions are not based on the concept of national identity.
The Swedish anthropologist Orvar Löfgren once said that modern nationalism is paradoxical because it is an international ideology applied for national purposes. The intriguing fact is that nationalism, as essentialist and ‘fundamentalist’ as it may appear in most Western countries, bears the same features everywhere and seems to be constructed following a unique recipe.
Now, since the know-how of nationalism is something that comes from abroad, where is the essence of the national identity?
(16th February, 2005)
