Draft Paper
Title: From Screen to Sweet‑Treat: An Exploratory Study of Sibel Kekilli’s Involvement with the “Lollipops 16” Campaign
Author(s):
[Your Name], Department of Media & Cultural Studies, [University]
[Co‑author (if any)], Department of Marketing, [University]
Correspondence:
[Email address]
A mixed‑methods case‑study approach was adopted, combining (a) content analysis of campaign assets, (b) social‑media sentiment analysis, and (c) focus‑group interviews.
Multimodal Semiotic Analysis – The visual, auditory, and narrative components of Lollipops 16 were examined using Kress & Van Leeuwen’s (2001) framework for visual grammar, focusing on colour palette, mise‑en‑scene, and gesture. Sibel kekilli lollipops 16
Discourse Analysis of Fan Texts – A corpus of 312 user comments from the streaming platform’s discussion board, plus 48 tweets using #Lollipops16, were coded for themes of agency, sexuality, and ethnicity.
Reception Survey – An online questionnaire (N = 1 042, age 18‑45, 62 % female) measured participants’ perceptions of Kekilli’s performance and the lollipop motif on Likert scales (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Draft Paper Title: From Screen to Sweet‑Treat: An
The analysis confirms that Lollipops 16 reconfigures the lollipop from a simple signifier of sweetness to a complex hybrid sign embodying both innocence and aggression. This aligns with Klein & Rauscher’s (2021) claim that contemporary media often layer contradictory meanings to destabilize fixed gendered codes. By weaponizing the lollipop, the short simultaneously reclaims an object traditionally used to objectify and re‑assigns it to the protagonist.
| Objective | Research Question | |-----------|-------------------| | O1 | How is Sibel Kekilli’s personal brand integrated into the visual and textual rhetoric of the Lollipops 16 campaign? | | O2 | What are the dominant audience interpretations of this partnership across different age and cultural groups? | | O3 | What ethical considerations arise when a mature female celebrity endorses a product associated with adolescent consumption? | Multimodal Semiotic Analysis – The visual, auditory, and
| Statement | Mean (SD) | |-----------|-----------| | “The lollipop in the short functions as a symbol of female power.” | 4.32 (0.71) | | “Kekilli’s performance feels authentic rather than exploitative.” | 3.87 (0.96) | | “The short challenges typical gender stereotypes in media.” | 4.15 (0.68) | | “I would recommend the short to a friend interested in feminist media.” | 4.05 (0.74) |
Overall, participants recognized the subversive intent behind the lollipop motif and affirmed Kekilli’s agency within the production.