Abstract
This research paper sets out to project an in-depth study of the advertising discourse by applying methodological approaches of Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis to the chosen “advertisements”. It aims at examining the ‘power relations and struggles’ among product-producers and product-consumers, to gauge the level of psychological dominance exercised through the advertising discourse. The study, fundamentally, presents a counter-analysis of ‘advertising strategies’, as to how far they influence the consumers’ attitudes and to what extent the consumers direct their ‘discourse’. In other words, this research attempts to answer the question: ‘who turns out to be more powerful by controlling the other’s mind, in advertiser-consumer relationship?’, whether it is the consumer who shapes the discourse of advertisements through their demands, or the advertiser who affects the consumers’ beliefs through their ‘discourse’! Thus, the current paper presents a comprehensive review of the relevant literature leading towards a theoretical framework of preferred DA and CDA approaches to be further applied on the discourse of advertisements. And towards the end, it states the final remarks concluding the entire discussion and reflecting upon the effectiveness of Critical Discourse Analysis in its application on the advertising phenomena.
Highlights
IntroductionA disciplined, goal-oriented field that tries to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time, advertising, makes ideas creative with the help of three characteristics which are socially-governed: relevance, originality and impact. (Wills, Burnett & Moriarty 1995:422)
A disciplined, goal-oriented field that tries to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time, advertising, makes ideas creative with the help of three characteristics which are socially-governed: relevance, originality and impact. (Wills, Burnett & Moriarty 1995:422)To ask “what is an advertisement?” is parallel to hit a question on the working of a society or the process of life itself, for the phenomena of advertising is highly familiar to the modern man that a question about its nature sounds to be out of question in today’s world
The study of social processes of a discourse is dealt under a contemporary approach of Discourse Analysis (DA) which is called Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
Summary
A disciplined, goal-oriented field that tries to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time, advertising, makes ideas creative with the help of three characteristics which are socially-governed: relevance, originality and impact. (Wills, Burnett & Moriarty 1995:422). A huge number of readers and viewers are implicitly involved in a distant communication with the advertisers, on daily basis. When it comes to visual discourse, the term “text” gets a multidimensional use including images, colors, artifacts and verbal behaviour. “At the root of the word ‘advertisement’ is the Latin word ‘advertere’, meaning ‘to turn towards’”, says Goddard (1998:6). Central to our idea of an advert appears to be the factor of conscious intention behind the text, with the aim of benefiting the originator materially or through some other less tangible gain, such as enhancement of status or image. In order to analyze the multidimensional discourse of advertisements, an eclectic approach such as Critical discourse Analysis can be applied for the achievement of well-integrated results
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