A critical discourse analysis of selected Promo-tional advertisements

Abstract EN

Advertisement (Henceforth, ad) is a public notice or announcement that aims to draw people's attention to the availability and desirability of a prod uct, service or brand.

(Woods, 2006: 1-2) Much of the power of the advertise in derives from language.

This paper aims to study the linguistic techniques that advertisers adopt in order to make their message effective and persuasive.

The researcher adopts Woods' model of analyzing advertising discourse in order to conduct the study.

Moreover, the researcher collects data of different online ads and slogans and applies the model to them.

The paper concludes that empty adjectives and descriptive words are heavily used by the advertise ers.

Some of these words exaggerate the real value and quality of the product.

Furthermore, advertisements tend to target certain audience: gender, class, age, and for this purpose the advertiser tries to use the right words and visual aids to attract the attention of that particular audience.