The Effect of Highlighting and Hiding in a Multimodal Message. A Conceptual Blending Analysis of a TV Commercial for Momester®Nasal

Abstract

The objective of the proposed paper is twofold. Firstly, by adopting the claim that theultimate me aning of each multimodal message is more than the sum of modes used in the process of its creation, the author strives to offer a thorough analysis of the TV commercial for Momester®Nasal, using the tools as proposed in the Fauconnier and Turner Conceptual Blending Theory (2002). Secondly, assuming that a successful multimodal message “is achieved through all modes interacting both separately and simultaneously” (Pinar Sanz, 2015, p. 1), as well as pointing to the fact that multimodal approach to communication does not favour any of the modes applied in a message, but may, sometimes, highlight one of them (Winiarska & Załazińska, 2017, p. 7), the author poses a daring question to what extent the integration of distinct modes which occur in a multimodal message can be interpreted as the result of two cognitive operations, i.e. the effect of highlighting and hiding in the sense of Lakoff and Johnson (1980). The object in question is a TV commercial for Momester®Nasal where three modes: visual, linguistic and aural, are put under scrutiny. The analysis is to prove that alternate highlighting and hiding of elements belonging to three disparate modes also contributes to greater cross-resonance among the modes, which in turn strengthens the creative potential of the message (El Refaie, 2015).