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| Illustration by Ai |
Herbal medicine advertisements on radio stations in Central Java use Javanese language, traditional healers, ancestral narratives, and cultural symbols to build perceptions of product authenticity, according to a 2026 study by Intan Nurlaili and Teguh Priyo Sadono of Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya. Published in the International Journal of Applied and Advanced Multidisciplinary Research (IJAAMR), the study analyzed 24 advertisements from 12 herbal medicine brands broadcast between 2024 and 2025. The researchers found that cultural heritage is repeatedly transformed into a commercial marketing resource, raising concerns about the simplification, commercialization, and private control of local cultural identity.
Herbal Advertising and the
Commercialization of Culture
Indonesia's herbal medicine
industry has grown alongside increasing consumer interest in natural and
traditional remedies following the COVID-19 pandemic. Radio remains an
important communication channel in Central Java, particularly among rural and
semi-urban communities, giving advertisers an effective way to connect herbal
products with familiar cultural identities.
According to Nurlaili and Sadono,
herbal advertisements differ from conventional consumer advertising because
they frequently incorporate cultural elements to establish credibility.
Regional languages, traditional healers, ancestral wisdom, ethnic symbols, and
traditional sounds can make a product appear connected to a long-established
healing tradition.
The researchers call this process
Structured Cultural Exploitation (SCE). They define SCE as a systematic
process in which commercial actors appropriate, transform, and monetize
cultural heritage without equitable redistribution or sufficient community
participation.
The concern is not simply that
advertisements use cultural symbols. The deeper issue is how repeated
commercial representations can change the way audiences understand cultural
heritage, traditional medicine, and who has authority to speak on behalf of those
traditions.
Researchers Examine 24 Radio
Advertisements
Nurlaili and Sadono used a
qualitative research design and Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse
Analysis to examine how language and cultural messages operate within
advertising.
The researchers analyzed
advertisements broadcast on public, local private, and national network radio
stations in Central Java from January 2024 to December 2025. The sample
consisted of 24 advertisements from 12 herbal brands that included
Javanese language, traditional cultural symbols, ancestral narratives, or
explicit ethnic references.
The advertisements were
transcribed and examined alongside digital marketing materials. The researchers
also used several verification methods, including comparison of different
sources, multiple theoretical perspectives, consultation with traditional healers
and community leaders, and documentation of analytical decisions.
Rather than measuring consumer
behavior statistically, the study focused on identifying recurring cultural
narratives, language patterns, power relationships, and commercial meanings
within the advertisements.
Three Major Patterns of
Cultural Representation
The analysis identified three
dominant ways local culture was represented.
Synthetic representation
combines cultural elements from different regions into a single commercial
image. The researchers cite an example in which a 30-second Sido Muncul
advertisement combines Javanese batik motifs, Sundanese gamelan music, and
Malay-language narration from Riau. The researchers argue that such
combinations can create a homogenized image of Indonesian culture while
reducing distinctions between regional traditions.
Nostalgic-temporal
representation presents traditional culture as an idealized inheritance
from the past. Advertisements may invoke ancestral knowledge or describe herbal
practices as traditions passed down through generations. According to the
researchers, these narratives can shift attention from questions about the
origins and ownership of traditional knowledge.
Authoritative-hierarchical
representation places traditional healers, shamans, and village elders in
positions of cultural and medical authority. This pattern appeared in 17 of
the 24 advertisements, or 70.8% of the sample. The advertisements commonly
used older voices, formal Javanese, rural dialects, and paternal or maternal
vocal styles to construct an impression of trust and authority.
The distribution was significant:
- 91.7% of advertisements used
nostalgic-temporal representation.
- 79.2% used synthetic cultural representation.
- 70.8% used authoritative traditional figures.
- 58.3% combined at least two representation
patterns.
Traditional Symbols Help Build
Product Legitimacy
The study identified five
recurring strategies for making herbal products appear legitimate through
cultural references.
One strategy was historical
naturalization, in which claims about products being trusted for
generations or originating from ancestral traditions were used to establish
credibility without identifying specific evidence or verification procedures.
Another strategy was the use of Javanese
language and traditional linguistic forms as authenticity markers. The
researchers found that cultural language could signal traditional legitimacy
even when audiences did not fully understand its meaning.
Advertisements also used selected
ethnic figures as endorsements, communicated health benefits through cultural
narratives, and incorporated spiritual or ritual elements. The latter appeared
in eight of the 24 advertisements examined.
The researchers argue that these
techniques can make cultural familiarity function as a substitute for
scientific explanation. In other words, the cultural story surrounding a
product may become part of the evidence consumers use to perceive it as trustworthy.
The Economic Power Behind
Cultural Advertising
The study also examines the
financial relationship between herbal companies and radio broadcasters.
According to the analysis, herbal
advertisements contribute an estimated 12% to 18% of total radio advertising
revenue in Central Java. This financial dependence may create incentives
for broadcasters to accommodate advertisers rather than question problematic
cultural representations.
The researchers also found that
herbal advertisements were disproportionately placed during peak listening
periods, particularly in the early morning and around midday. Large companies
with substantial advertising budgets can therefore obtain premium access to
audiences while repeatedly associating their products with cultural identity.
A particularly important finding
concerns community participation. None of the advertisements examined provided
evidence that the cultural communities whose symbols were used had been
consulted, compensated, or directly involved in producing the advertising
messages.
Risks for Javanese Cultural
Heritage
Nurlaili and Sadono identify
three major risks from the commercialization of local culture: fossilization,
trivialization, and privatization.
Fossilization occurs when living
cultural traditions are presented as fixed and unchanging. Trivialization
reduces complex cultural practices to simplified commercial symbols.
Privatization occurs when corporations gain greater authority over representations
of cultural heritage while local communities have limited influence over how
their traditions are presented.
The researchers also describe a
process of epistemic displacement, in which authority over traditional
medical knowledge can shift from local communities and traditional
practitioners toward commercial companies. Radio's continuing influence in
Central Java makes this issue particularly important.
As Intan Nurlaili and Teguh Priyo
Sadono of Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya explain, the issue is not
simply individual advertisements using cultural imagery. Their analysis
presents Structured Cultural Exploitation as a broader system in which cultural
representation, commercial interests, media institutions, and unequal power
relationships reinforce one another.
Implications for Broadcasting
and Advertising Policy
The findings have implications
for Indonesian broadcasting regulators, advertising companies, radio stations,
and cultural communities.
The researchers argue that
current broadcasting rules primarily emphasize the accuracy of health claims
and restrictions on particular products, while cultural representation receives
less explicit regulatory attention.
Nurlaili and Sadono propose
several measures:
- Developing specific guidelines for cultural
representation in advertising.
- Requiring consultation with cultural communities
before their symbols or traditions are commercially used.
- Establishing standards for health claims based on
traditional knowledge.
- Introducing sanctions for advertising that fossilizes
or trivializes cultural heritage.
- Adding cultural representation ethics to advertising
industry codes.
- Giving cultural communities a greater role in
decisions about how their heritage is represented.
For the public, the research
highlights the importance of critical media literacy. Cultural
familiarity can make an advertisement feel trustworthy, but cultural symbolism
alone does not establish the scientific effectiveness or safety of a herbal
product.
The researchers acknowledge that
the study analyzed advertisements from companies with sufficient resources to
advertise on radio and did not deeply examine audience responses. Future
studies could compare rural and urban listeners, examine digital and radio
advertising together, and investigate how cultural communities themselves
perceive commercial use of their heritage.
A New Framework for
Understanding Cultural Exploitation
The central contribution of the
study is the proposed Structured Cultural Exploitation (SCE) framework.
Nurlaili and Sadono argue that SCE provides a way to understand cultural
commercialization as a systematic process rather than an isolated case of
inappropriate cultural borrowing.
Their analysis identifies seven
interconnected mechanisms: synthetic and nostalgic cultural representation,
product legitimation through traditional symbols, cultural commodification,
unequal power relations, cultural hegemony, myth-based naturalization, and
commercialization of Javanese cultural identity.
The researchers conclude that
protecting cultural heritage requires more than regulating individual
advertisements. They call for regulatory reform, ethical advertising practices,
community participation, and stronger media literacy so that broadcasting can
respect local cultural heritage rather than simply convert it into commercial
value.
Author Profile
Intan Nurlaili is
affiliated with Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya and is the
corresponding author of the study. Her research in this article focuses on
media communication, cultural representation, herbal medicine advertising, and
critical discourse analysis.
Teguh Priyo Sadono is
affiliated with Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya and contributed to
the analysis of cultural representation, media power, commodification, and
broadcasting.
The published article identifies
the authors and their university affiliation but does not specify their
academic degrees or individual detailed fields of expertise. Those details
therefore cannot be added reliably without additional biographical information.
Source
Article Title: Structured
Cultural Exploitation in Herbal Medicine Advertising on Radio: A Critical
Discourse Analysis of Local Cultural Representation in Central Java
Broadcasting
Authors: Intan Nurlaili
and Teguh Priyo Sadono
Journal: International
Journal of Applied and Advanced Multidisciplinary Research (IJAAMR)
Publication Year: 2026
Volume and Pages: Volume
4, Number 7, pp. 583–596
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijaamr.v4i7.258
Official Journal: https://nvlmultitechpublisher.my.id/index.php/ijaamr/index
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