The Structures And Strategies Of Advertising Discourse From The Perspective Of Speech Act Metonymy

The present thesis aims to explore the structural components and strategies of English commercial advertisements from the perspective of the theory of Speech Act Metonymy. The major function of commercial advertisements is to persuade customers to use a product or choose a service. Sometimes, they are more informative than persuasive in that they just impress potential buyers. Therefore, the text structure used and the strategies explored are essential to the success of advertisements. Based on the theory proposed by Panther and Thornburg (1997,1998), the present research attempts to analyze the structural components of the advertising discourse and the strategies utilized for promotional purposes.In the present study, 157 samples of English cosmetics advertisements are collected from famous fashion magazines. The researcher carries out a descriptive analysis in terms of the combination patterns of the phases in the action scenario and figures out the frequencies of these patterns. Moreover, the strategies expressed in these phases are also illustrated.Within the framework of the theory of Speech Act Metonymy, the speech act scenario is composed of four phases, including the BEOFRE phase, the CORE, the RESULT and the AFTER phase. It is found that of all the BEFORE phases utilized in the data, the introduction of the ingredients of products appears most frequently. The BEFORE phase is also realized by hypothetical questions or problems caused by natural factors to the skin. The key expression form of the CORE is the benefit of the advertised product to potential buyers, and its magic effects to the movie stars after the use of the cosmetics, which is highly persuasive. In the RESULT phase, an affirmative to stimulate customers and the website for further information or inquiries are included. Of all the 157 samples, one RESULT phase is made up of the bonus the consumers could gain and the guaranteed time for refunding. As the AFTER phase is loosely connected with the CORE, the emergence of this part is not indispensable. The AFTER phase is only expressed by a direct persuasion in one sample. It is also discovered that the first three combination types of the phases in the action scenario are CORE + RESULT, CORE, BEFORE + CORE, the frequencies of which in the data are 37%, 27% and 17% respectively. There are also some types which appear less frequently such as BEFORE + CORE + RESULT, BEFORE + CORE + BEFORE, BEFORE, RESULT, etc. In the strategic perspective, the BEOFRE informs potential buyers of the existence of the product, the CORE is the explanation of the benefits it provides. Though the advertising discourse can not exemplify the actual decision of the consumers to purchase the merchandise, the website and phone numbers in the RESULT provide motives for inquiries and online orders. The AFTER phase is the direct persuasion for actual purchase, which rarely appears in the body copy of the advertisements.