Journl of A MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF COSMETIC ADVERTISEMENTS

A MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF COSMETIC ADVERTISEMENTS

 

Syarah Aisha

University of Sumatera Utara

Faculty of Culture Sciences, University of Sumatera Utara

 

 

 

Introduction

Advertising is an activity that relates to advertisement and as dissemination of information by non-personal means through paid media where the source is the sponsoring organization. It can be in the form of words, pictures, sounds, and action using a certain media (Vilanilam and Varghese, 2004:4). Advertising is an irrational system which appeals to our emotions and to anti-social feelings which have nothing to do with the goods on offer (Dyer, 2009:2). Based on media used, the advertisement can be classified into two kinds: printed and electronic.

The media used in printed advertisement are newspapers, magazines or brochures. Meanwhile, the electronic advertisement is the advertisement which uses electronic media such as television, radio or internet.  The purpose of advertisement is to get people's attention in order to make them choose it (Goddard, 2001:6). Electronic and printed advertisements have different ways in creating the messages.

One of the products are found on the internet is cosmetic. According to People Magazine’s Onetime, cosmetic have grown to take a part in many people’s lives. Cosmetic is one things that cannot be separated from women’s world. By using cosmetic, they will get beautiful face, healthy skin, increase attractiveness through make-up, self-confidence, ultraviolet rays protection, prevent aging, and more appreciate themselves. Since the cosmetic are important not only for the beauty but also the health, people start to aware of cosmetics necessities. From this, many cosmetic industries develop and create various kinds of cosmetic realized in various kinds of colours, packages and usages as well as the functions or benefits that contained in the cosmetic. (www.psychologytoday.com).

The advertisement of L’Oreal Paris is chosen as the subject of this research. According to Global Cosmetics Industry Magazine (2016), L’Oreal Paris is the world’s largest beauty Products Company owns more than 20 brands and number one of the fifteen are the best products in the world. L’Oreal is also number one product of the companies in the world to be awarded a triple “A” (http://www.loreal.com/media/press-releases/2016/). In the effort of L’Oreal Paris to broad its products, this company uses advertisement not only by printed media but also internet. This research finds two component i.e. visual element and linguistic elements (ideational functions).

Multimodal is choosen in this research because it is the new way to do the communication with other people. This study is interesting conducting the research entitled “A Multimodal Analysis of Cosmetic Advertisements”. Here this research takes ten products of L’Oreal Paris Advertisements;they are Glam Shine 6, New magicsmooth Souffle, White Perfect Pearl, Elvive Total Repair, Recital Preference, New Volumious Million Lashes, True Match, Liquid Foundation Revolutionzed, Colour Infalible and Colour Riche. The data are takenfrom internet (www.lorealparisusa.com).Furthermore, In this research wants to look at the kinds of the visual elements and ideational functions of cosmetic advertisementsin multimodal. In another analysis, how visual elements and ideational functions represented in the messages of cosmetic advertisements are. Here, this research displays New Glam Shine 6 of L’Oreal Paris as the example to analyze.

 

Review of Literature

Advertisement

Advertisement is a public announcement offering or asking for goods or services (Hornby, 1995:18). Advertising is a system consisting of distinct signs. It is a system of differences and oppositions which are crucial in the transfer of meaning. In the commodity market there are many products such as soap, detergent, cosmetics, breakfast cereal, margarine, beer and cigarettes which are essentially the same. Ads for these products have therefore to create differences and distinctions through the use of signs arranged in structures (Dyer, 1982:98).

Multimodal

Multimodality or multimodal discourse analysis provides the tools and techniques to analyze texts which employ more than one mode of discourse. It is interesting to see how different semiotic resources are deployed simultaneously in the process of making the intended meaning well-projected by the advertisement designers to the viewers, the potential buyers of the advertised product. As articulated by the work of Halliday (1985), Hodge and Kress (1988), and Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), multimodal communication is comprised of multiple “modes” or communicative forms (i.e., digital, visual, spatial, musical, etc.) within various sign systems that carry meanings recognized and understood by a social collective.

Multimodal in Advertisement

            Advertising is the area of marketing concerned with the communication of information by the company to the market or the market participants. At the centre of marketing is the commercial or private customer with his purchasing decision. The basis of purchasing decisions is information. Advertising tries to communicate this information in such a way that the company positively distinguishes itself from its competitors so that customers are motivated to make the purchase.

 Generic Structure of Potential (GSP)

The theories used in this research are based on Halliday’s (1994) Systemic Functional Grammar and Cheong’s (2004) Generic Structure Potential (GSP) of print advertisements. Furthermore, this analysis is focused on ideational metafunction that is concerned with understanding the environment (Halliday, 1994:xiii), and enabling people to represent of what goes on around and inside them (Halliday, 1994:106). In addition, the elements of printed advertisement are devided into two. Those are visual and linguistic elements. Halliday’s transitivity is used to analyze the texts in the linguistic elements. It is to find what verb processes are used in the advertisements. Meanwhile, Cheong’s GSP of printed advertisement is used to reveal the elements of the advertisements. Cheong proposed the Generic Structure Potential of printed advertisement as follows:

         Lead^(Display)^Emblem^(Announcement)^(Enhancer)^(Tag)^(Call-and Visit-Information)

2.5.1 Visual Elements

            According to Kress and Van Leeuwen (in Baldry and Thibault, 2006) say that various visual elements in the text are moralized to indicate attitude and evaluative stances, visual elements can be moralized just as much as linguistics elements. Halliday (1985: 101) says that visual images as a form of non – verbal communication that can be studied and understood in similar ways to language and can be analyzed using grammatical texts. There are three visual elements in multimodal, they are:

            2.5.1.1 Lead

            Lead is the main part of an advertisement. This element plays an important role in print advertisements, displayed in the size, position and/ or colour which should have the potential to create an impression and meaning for the user. Cheong (2004: 165) classifies the components of Lead into the Locus of Attention (LoA) and Complement to the Locus of Attention (Comp. LoA). LoA serves as the core of advertising messages, displayed in the size and colour with distinctive quality compared with other visual components while Comp.LoA functions as a liaison and to focus public attention on specific parts in LoA. (cited in O’Halloran, 2004:163).

            2.5.1.2 Display

            Cheong says that Display is visualization of product or service in the advertisement” (cited in O’Halloran, 2004:171). The visual component Display serves to describe the product in a real and explicit way, but the implicit function shown here is the realization of products or services that are not real to become real through another medium. Meanwhile, the visual component display Congruent serves to realize a product without going through symbolization and display Incongruent realizes a product through symbolization. (cited in O’Halloran, 2004:171).

            2.5.1.3 Emblem

            The visual element Emblem is visually realized through the advertised product logos of the product. Emblem provides identity or status for the product lying on any side to adjust the proportion of the advertisement texts. The emblem position is anywhere in the advertisements.

2.5.2 Linguistic Element

            According to Cheong (2004: 165-174) provides further explanation about The Generic Structure of Potential (GSP). Following Cheong’s analysis (2004:173), the main linguistic elements which reveal and give the essence of the meaning cointained in an advertising message text are announcement in an advertisement text is to provide three possible explanations: announcement of the only advertisement message, the most important interpersonal aspects of the among other messages in the text, and aspects of the catch – phrase. There are five linguistic elements, they are :

            2.5.2.1 Emblem

            Linguistic realized through form of a brand name or trademark. Emblem provides identity or status for the product lying on any side to adjust the proportion of the advertisement texts. The emblem position anywhere is in the advertisement.

            2.5.2.2 Announcement

            The most important linguistics component in an advertisement text is Announcement. Primary Announcement contains three meanings, that is: 1. Asthe only one advertisement message, 2. Important part interpersonally between the other messages in a text, 3. As a catch – phrase. Secondary Announcement has a meaning interpersonally that is not really important in an advertisement text (Cheong, 2004: 173).

            2.5.2.3 Enhancer

            Enhancer only consists of linguistics component, usually in the form of paragraph. Enhancer function to develop or modify a meaning which is comes frominteraction between Lead and Announcement. Ideationally, Enhancer functions to show the power of the product so that it is deserved to be consumed. Interpersonally, Enhancer functions to influence the public. Because of that, Enhancer contains words emotionally and culturally, the words that contains values in a social system. Logically, Enhancer explains the relationships among clauses (Cheong, 2004: 173).

            2.5.2.4 Tag

            Certain elements of information about a product/service that are not included in the Enhancer are captured in the Tag. The Tag is usually in the form of one-liners in small print and is typically non-Salient as illustrated in preceding labelled advertisements. Grammatically, Tags are usually realized as non-finite(cited in O’Halloran, 2004:174).

            2.5.2.5 Call and Visit Information

            Cheong describes that Call-and-Visit Information consists of contact information as to where, when, how the product/service is available to the consumer (cited in O’Halloran, 2004:174).

Transitivity System

            Six process types are distinguished in transitivity system of English, namely; material, behavioural, mental, verbal, relational and existential. Table below indicates a summary of categories of processes and their participants.

Table 2.2 Process, types, their meanings and participants

 (adopted from Halliday, 1994:143)

No	Process Types	Their Meanings	Participants
1.	Material: Action Event	‘doing’ ‘doing’ ‘happening’	Actor, Goal
2.	Behavioural	‘behaving’	Behaver
3.	Mental: Perception Affection Cognition Desideration	‘sensing’ ‘seeing’ ‘feeling’ ‘thinking’ ‘wanting’	Senser, Phenomenon
4.	Verbal	‘saying’	Sayer, Receiver, Verbiage, Target
5.	Relational: Attribution Identification	‘being’ ‘attributing’ ‘identifying’	Carrier, Attribute, Token, Value
6.	Existential	‘existing’	Existent

 

Research Method

This study was conducted by employing a descriptive research with qualitative method.. According to  Miles and Huberman (2014 : 1), Qualitative data are a source of well-grounded, rich descriptions and explanations of human processes. With qualitative data, one can preserve chronological flow, see which events led to which consequences, and derive fruitful explanations. Qualitative research is conducted through intense and/or prolonged contact with participants in a naturalistic setting to investigate the everyday and/or exceptional lives of individuals, gFindings

After analyzing the data deliberately, there are some findings found. The findings of the research are as follow:

1.      In the finding the research finds the elements of visual and linguistic elements. It represents the process of generic structure of potential (GSP). In the visual elements consist of 10 Lead (38,46%), 10 Display (38,46%) and 6 Emblem (23,08%). The totals of visual elements are 26. There are four advertisements have no emblem, there are Glam shine 6, New Magic smooth Souffle, Recital Preference and True Match. It means that are no logos of advertisements.

2.      In linguistic elements consist of 11 Announcement (17,74%), 22 Enhancer (35,48), 10 Emblem (16,13%), 13 Tag (20,97%), 6 Call and Visit Information (9,68%). The totals of linguistic elements are 62. There are two advertisements have no call and visit information. It means that are no message put in the advertisement and no address to know about product.

Conclusion

1.      Visual is represented by images.The visual images consist of three elements. They are lead 10 (38,46%), display 10 (38,46%) and visual emblem 6 (23,08%) which are found in cosmetic advertisements.Lead and display are dominant in visual elements. They take 38,46% from total visual elements. Linguistic is represented by text. The linguistic elements consist of five elements. They are announcement 11 (17,74%), enhancer 22 (35,48), linguistic emblem 10 (16,13%), tag 13 (20,97%), call and visit information 6 (9,68%) which are found in cosmetic advertisements.. The dominant linguistic is enhancer. It takes 35,48% from total linguistic elements.

2.      In the visual text of L’Oreal Paris advertisement found the ideational process consists of setting, conversion, accompaniment, phenomenon, call and visit information: actor and goal. The analysis of linguistic of advertisement constructs the ideational function components to have the potential message that it is said by advertiser. it can be shown through dominant processes were carried by them, such the following : the dominant ideational function in L’Oreal Paris advertisement were material. It takes 67,24 % from total linguistic of ideational function.

References

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