Semiotic Analysis of Persuasion Elements in Lung Cancer and Colorectal Cancer Posters

Abstract

The study examines the persuasion elements of the textual and visual contents of lung cancer and colorectal cancer posters. Aristotle’s (1954) rhetorical appeals and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2021) social semiotic visual analysis were employed for analysing posters produced by the National Cancer Institute, Malaysia Ministry of Health, and NGOs. Results show that a focus on the location of cancer, symptoms, risk factors, and screening methods. Textual content analysis identified 143 rhetorical appeals with a predominant focus on logos (79.7%), emphasising factual information about cancer risks, signs, and treatment. Ethos elements (14.7%) are present in seven posters, primarily in the form of the official logo of the organisation and source credits to enhance the credibility of the poster. The study revealed the sparing use of pathos (5.6%), which was found in only two posters, in the form of questions to get the audience to think about their own risk. The social semiotic visual analysis highlighted the similarity of the posters in representing the cancer site, risk factors and signs using visuals and text. The lung cancer and colorectal cancer posters are also similar in the compositional dimension in terms of the use of clipart and diagrams. As for the interactive dimension, the posters engage the audience through close-up views of the cancer site and long and medium shot of human figures. The paper concludes with principles for the message design of the health posters based on rhetorical appeal and social semiotic visual frameworks.