Abstract:

Identified for the first time in a Chinese city called Wuhan at the end of 2019, Corona virus spread all over the world very rapidly in a short time and has become a serious health problem that affects all aspects of life. One thing that everybody has agreed regarding this pandemic is that the world has changed a lot since then. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be wrong to claim that Covid-19 pandemic has the potential to affect how individuals perceive the world, manage their lives and thinking processes just like all other globally influential developments. Thus, it might be foreseen that this change has also affected and will continue to affect advertising and marketing activities as well as consumer behaviors. Therefore, this study aims to determine audiences’ opinions regarding pandemic-related advertisement contents broadcasted during Covid-19 pandemic. To achieve this purpose, 444 audience comments about eight Covid-19 related advertisements broadcasted on YouTube in March 2020 were examined by using content analysis method. According to the results of the study, what audiences like most about these advertisements is that they are emotional. Also, it was found that the main issue voiced in the comments about advertiser brands is national values. It has also been reported that audiences expect advertiser brands to be sensitive about this pandemic and initiate some activities that will make social life and lives of individuals easier.

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