The thesis at hand puts a special emphasis on the use of persuasive language in online native advertisements from The New York Times. After careful examination, the corpus will be compiled of three native advertisements from the field of technology, by the sponsors Intel, Dropbox and Slack. The limitation to these native advertisements and persuasive linguistic devices and techniques was necessary with regard to the scope of this thesis. As no linguistic analysis of native advertisements could be found, there also was no reference to follow. Therefore, the thesis at hand lays the foundation for further research in this area. The aim is to conduct a corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis in order to investigate and answer two main questions:
1. Do online native advertisements make use of the same persuasion methods as previously researched for other advertising types?
2. What are the most prominent persuasive linguistic devices and techniques in the online native advertisements from The New York Times?
In addition to the CDA, the corpus-based approach is expected to provide quantitative evidence of the existence of discourse and to identify repetitive linguistic patterns of persuasive language use in native advertising.
The thesis will be structured as follows. First, the theoretical framework provides general information about the functions and characteristics of advertising, while further focusing on native advertisement and the language of advertising. It continues with explaining the concept of persuasive language on the basis of ethos, logos and pathos and introduces some powerful persuasive techniques in advertisement. Further, linguistic devices of persuasive language on the phonetic, lexical, morphological and syntactic level will be defined. Additionally, the concept of Critical Discourse Analysis will be explained in detail, as the thesis at hand follows the CDA framework of Fairclough. The data collection method and data analysis procedure will be outlined in Chapter 3. This is followed by an analysis of three online native advertisements from the publisher The New York Times. After the analysis, the results will be presented and evaluated in order to assess the hypothesis. Finally, the conclusion provides a summary of the findings and suggests further research opportunities.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1 Advertising
2.1.1 Native Advertising Format
2.1.2 Objectives and Functions of Advertising as Form of Communication
2.1.3 Defining Advertising Language
2.1.4 Factors Influencing the Language of Advertising
2.2 Language of Persuasion
2.2.1 Modes of Persuasion: Ethos, logos, pathos
2.2.2 Persuasion Techniques in Advertising Language
2.3 Linguistic Devices of Persuasive Language
2.3.1 Phonetic level
2.3.2 Lexical and morphological level
2.3.3 Syntactic level
2.4 Critical Discourse Analysis
2.4.1 Key elements of Critical Discourse Analysis
2.4.2 Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis
2.5 Hypothesis
3. Methodology
3.1 Data Collection Method
3.2 Data Analysis Procedure
4. Analysis
4.1 Ethos, logos and pathos
4.2 Textual Analysis
4.3 Discourse Analysis
4.4 Social Practice Analysis
5. Results and Discussion
6. Conclusion
Research Objective and Key Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to investigate whether online native advertisements employ the same persuasive linguistic devices and techniques as traditional, extensively researched advertising methods, while specifically analyzing advertisements from The New York Times using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework.
- Linguistic analysis of persuasive devices in native advertising (phonetic, lexical, syntactic levels).
- Application of the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework by Fairclough.
- Examination of persuasive techniques such as ethos, logos, and pathos in a digital context.
- Investigation of the seamless integration of native advertising within editorial content and its impact on consumers.
- Exploration of ethical and regulatory challenges surrounding native advertising.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Advertising
Advertising has become an inevitable part of today’s capitalist consumer society as we are constantly surrounded by it in various forms such as product placements in series or movies, on television or on websites online (cf. Arens et al. 2010 [1982]: 8). Apart from the advertisements that we are exposed to in our homes through television or smartphones, it has become impossible to leave the house without being confronted with advertising. Whether while shopping in the mall or on the way to work in public transport, there is no way to escape advertising (cf. Cook 2001 [1992]: 1).
At this point, it must be clarified that the terms advertisement and advertising are typically used undifferentiated (cf. Fletcher 2010: 1). According to Goddard (1988), the word ‘advertising’ has its origin in the Latin verb ‘advertere’ which means ‘to turn toward’ (ibid.: 6). This is very suitable considering that companies want to achieve exactly this effect through their advertising: turning the consumer to themselves and their product. Dyer (1982) provides a simple but adequate definition of advertising, by stating that advertising means “drawing attention to something” or “notifying or informing somebody of something” (ibid.: 2). Similar to Dyer’s (1982) idea of advertising, Fletcher (2010) defines it as “a paid-for communication intended to inform and/or persuade one or more people” (ibid.: 2). The key information we get from these definitions is that advertising aims to inform, persuade and influence.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the research scope, highlighting the shift toward online native advertising and the lack of existing linguistic studies in this specific field.
2. Theoretical Framework: Provides foundational knowledge on advertising, persuasion strategies (ethos, logos, pathos), and the methodology of Critical Discourse Analysis.
3. Methodology: Details the corpus selection of three specific tech-related native advertisements from The New York Times and the procedure for applying the CDA framework.
4. Analysis: Executes an in-depth critical examination of the selected advertisements on textual, discourse, and social practice levels, applying linguistic devices and persuasion techniques.
5. Results and Discussion: Summarizes the frequency of linguistic devices and persuasive techniques, discussing the findings in relation to established advertising theories.
6. Conclusion: Synthesizes the results, confirming that native ads utilize the same persuasive strategies as traditional advertising, and suggests future research directions.
Keywords
Native Advertising, Critical Discourse Analysis, Persuasive Language, The New York Times, Advertising Linguistics, Ethos, Logos, Pathos, Digital Marketing, Corpus Linguistics, Fairclough, Consumer Psychology, Discourse Strategies, Linguistic Devices, Media Discourse.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research examines the linguistic characteristics and persuasive strategies used in online native advertisements to determine if they mirror those found in more traditional advertising formats.
Which specific advertising forms are analyzed?
The thesis focuses on online native advertising, specifically comparing how persuasive language is implemented in tech-sponsored articles within The New York Times.
What is the main hypothesis of the study?
The study hypothesizes that despite their seamless, non-obtrusive editorial presentation, online native advertisements rely on the same fundamental persuasive linguistic devices and techniques as traditional advertising.
What methodology is applied to the data?
The author uses a corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework, primarily based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional model, to analyze text, discourse practice, and social practice.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It covers definitions of advertising, detailed explanations of linguistic devices (phonetic, lexical, syntactic), and the interpretation of various persuasion techniques like Association, Experts, and Card Stacking.
Which keywords define this academic work?
Key terms include native advertising, Critical Discourse Analysis, persuasion, linguistic devices, and digital marketing strategies.
How does the study evaluate the 'deceptive' nature of native ads?
The thesis examines the social practice dimension, discussing how the lack of clear differentiation between editorial and paid content can potentially mislead consumers and impact media credibility.
What role do 'experts' play in the analyzed native advertisements?
The study finds that the inclusion of experts (like company leaders or researchers) is a core strategy to establish ethos and credibility for high-involvement tech products.
Are there differences between the three sponsors analyzed?
Yes, while all three (Intel, Dropbox, Slack) aim to persuade, the study highlights that Intel relies more on expert authority, while Slack and Dropbox emphasize real-life user stories and problem-solution formats.
- Citar trabajo
- Seda Evirgen (Autor), 2020, The Language of Persuasion in Advertising. A Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1010699
