A Critical Discourse Analysis of Pakistani Edible Oil Companies Advertisements

Abstract

Media, nowadays, is an essential factor, and it evokes the feelings of the readers and viewers. People nowadays are more concerned about the issues and events happening in the country and worldwide. Media depicts the picture of the entire world to every individual, and it also shapes their ideas. This study aimed to analyze Pakistani edible oil company advertisements from the perspective of Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The study ascertained how advertisers convince customers to buy the products using certain linguistic choices in a specific context. In order to achieve this purpose, the researcher selected ads from a Pakistani edible oil company named Kashmir Premium Gold Oil. The theoretical framework opted for this study was Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (1993). This framework has been used as it shows the connection between social practices and the properties of language. Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework includes three levels of discourse: text, discursive practices, and social practices. The findings show how the ideology of the consumer can be changed by repetition of the advertisement in popular local TV channels and local magazines. The advertisements show an ideal lifestyle and manipulate the customers’ mindset that whatever they have been shown and said through advertisement is true as the advertiser makes them realize that the product was only for their health and better life. Thus, the current study revealed that the language used in the advertisements served as a tool to control the minds of the people.