The Secret Power of Words: Using NLP in Advertising

Abstract Effective health communication requires more than transmitting accu-rate information: it demands messages that resonate with the symbolic and cultural categories of their audiences, thereby avoiding cognitive dissonance and enhancing persuasive impact. This article applies a socio-cultural profiling method, Emotional Text Mining (ETM), based on NLP procedures, to a corpus of interviews with univer-sity students. ETM reconstructs the symbolic universes underlying communication by examining both semantic and semiotic levels of discourse. The analysis reveals that student vulnerability is not only an individual psychological condition but also a socially constructed phenomenon shaped by institutional norms, family expecta-tions, and cultural logics of performance and failure, which can undermine wellbeing and educational effectiveness. The article argues that socio-cultural profiling offers a solid foundation for designing more effective social advertising campaigns in health and wellbeing. By engaging with students’ symbolic repertoires, ETM enables the creation of data-driven messages that are culturally resonant, emotionally engaging, and capable of supporting behavioral change in vulnerable populations.