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A discourse-analytical approach to intertextual advertisements:a model to describe a dominant world-view

Angelique van Niekerk

Department of Afrikaans en Dutch, German and French, University of the Free State, Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa

e-mail:

Abstract:The intertextual messages in advertising discourse can be regarded as generally-accepted shared knowledge between the marketer (sender) and the target market which is based on a certain dominant world-view. In order to determinethe intertextual domains regarded as general knowledge, a randomly selected sample of 200 intertextual advertisements from the print media in Afrikaans, English and Dutch was gathered. These examples were qualitatively tested for their acceptability by means of the criteria established by Harty (1985).The following hypernorms which describe our world were identified in this corpus of 200 advertisements based on the recurring intertextual domains and texts assumed as general knowledge by copy-writers.This includes that there are no subject taboos; physical appearance is important; health and fitness are important; life is depicted as leisure and work should be avoided; a distinction is made between women as sex symbols and emancipated women;men and women in society have new roles to play; we have national stereotypes of certain cultural groups; people from the entertainment world are as much part of our lives as family and friends;caring for the environment and animals is important; we have a materialistic and visual approach to life;sensitivity for minority groups (the deaf, disabled, etc.) is important; globalisation is a fact and our life and language are dictated by technology.

<A>Introduction

Advertising affects itstarget markets in many ways,and the implications of the values portrayed in advertising discourse are of specific concern (Wileset al., 1996).

An applied linguistic approach of intertextual advertisements is based in an interconnected interdisciplinary methodological framework, which I term ‘critical discourse analysis’ (Cutting, 2002) because of the empirical, inductive (analytical) focus on the use of meaningful semiotic elements (language and visual elements) in context. A description of the relevance of the interrelated theories such as semiotics, rhetoric, pragmatics, discourse analyses and interrelated concepts underlying this analysis can be found in Van Niekerk (2005).

An interest in intertextualityin advertising copy has developed because it is a strategy that is often used by copy-writers. Through analysing specifically intertextual advertisements much can be learned of the basis of what is taken from a media perspective as our shared knowledge and thus the dominant world-view.

The concepts of language, power and ideologyare relevant to datasets from the media, political discourse and the language of women. This article focuses on the language of the media and the hypernorms (ideology) of advertising discourse, because, as Ennaji (1999:151) states, ‘there is no ideology-free discourse’. In his discussion of the hermeneutic model of ideology, Visagie (1996) warns thatthe restricted view of ideologyis merely political.

The world-view of the media, as identified by the intertexts referred to in the randomly selected advertisements, can be seen as a hidden power. This ideology is very often that of the dominant socio-economic class; those who (can afford to) live according to the given world-view. It is a wellknown belief that the mass media tries to manipulate their target market according to specific (economic) aims (Ennaji, 1999).

Even though some people targeted by a certain advertisement may not live by (or believe in) the hypernorms of marketing discourse today, these values (depicted as objective truths) identified in the dataset offer a general and globalised view of the world – not that of an individual.

Roelofse (1996:164) points out that the dominant ideas of society are evident from the laws, customs, norms and institutions of society: ‘They determine the values, modes of behavior, fashions and life styles of society.’ These can be referred to as the hegemonic ideas and hegemonic power, which are also evident in advertising discourse.

<A>Objectives

Departing from the literature study and various relevant theories (discussed in Van Niekerk, 2005) such as semiotics, discourse analysis, rhetoric and ideology theory, this article aims to:-

  • Describe the character, risks and benefits of the concept (and language mechanism) of intertextuality as found in print advertising discourse in Afrikaans, English and Dutch
  • Identify the (contextual) domains used as sources of intertextuality in advertising discourse
  • List the hypernorms in print advertising discourse today by means of examples.

<A>Theoretical framework

This research can be regarded as multidisciplinary because of the relevance of the dataset (intertextual advertisements) and the interconnectedness of many disciplines, especially in the humanities; for example: psychology, philosophy, communication theory, culture studies and especially language theory (semiotics e.g. De Saussure (1964), pragmatics e.g. Levinson (1983), discourse analysis e.g. Brown and Yule (1983), deconstruction theory e.g. Derrida (1977)). The term discourse archaeology (used by Visagie 2004) is useful for studying this dataset and a concept such as ideology. Although multidisciplinary research is very often the norm, it often requires an expert from each of the above-mentioned disciplines. If this is not the case, the researcher deliberately decides to limit the study to a certain specialised theory or set of criteria, as is the case in this study. Criteria by Du Plooy (1990), Harty (1985) in Van Niekerk (2005) and especially Jenny (1982) are usedin this article. Visagie (2004) compares discourse archaeologyto a series of concentric circles in which one departs from the broadest methodological-theoretical context and moves on to specialised theory, takes a few steps back to explain the broader context and then narrows the perspective further in order to meet the set objectives.

It is also evident from tables of contents in advertising (copy-writing) textbooks,for example,that advertisements cannot be studied from one disciplinary perspective alone, even though the focus of study may be the language mechanisms evident in advertising discourse. A knowledge of disciplines such as pragmatics, morphology, phonology, semantics, syntax and socio-linguistics is relevant for studying the linguistic or social character of advertising discourse.

From a discourse analytical approach, relevant theories such as rhetoric, semiotics, discourse analysis and relevant concepts such as text, context, intertext and ideology(discussed in Van Niekerk (2005)) are now applied to meet the aforementioned objectives in analysing (print) intertextual advertising discourse.

<A>Methodology

Du Plooy's criteria (1990) for ideology and Harty's (1985) criteria for textuality discussed in Van Niekerk (2005) were applied in selecting the examples for this article.

Students in the undergraduate copy-writing course (2003–2006) at the University of the Free State (UFS) were asked to sample data of intertextual advertisements from different commercial magazines as part of their formal assessment. A selection for analysis in this article was made based on the criteria by Jenny (1982). In this article, different intertextual advertisements (drawn from Van Niekerk(2005))are analysed to show the different formations (tracks) of intertextuality. The different signifiers (linguistic and visual) are specified in order to identify the domains of intertextual advertising discourse. Based on the recurrence of signifiers, the hypernorms of modern society portrayed in the advertising media are identified.

The criteria used to identify intertextual advertisements are in accordance with Jenny’s(1982) description of what the process of intertextuality entails. She differentiates between verbalisation (the putting into words of the signifying system – including visual signifiers), linearisation (the process whereby material from one text is transformed on a continuous basis, the meaning of which is only gradually accessible), and embedding (intertextual harmonisation of texts with heterogeneous origins by means of syntactic bridges), (Van Niekerk,2005).

The data analysis departs from a working definition on intertextuality based on the thorough literature study.The discourse analytical model used in this article to analyse each intertextual advertisement makes provision for:

  • The identification of the domain/content of the intertext; that which is regarded as shared knowledge by the media
  • The denotative meaning of the intertextual message
  • The identification of the relevance of the linguistic elements (signifiers) of the advertising text in terms of the intertextual message
  • The identification of the contribution of the visual images (signifiers) to the intertextual message
  • The implicit (indirect) marketing message, based on knowledge of the intertextual message.

Although this is not a quantitative study, the researcher’s interpretation based on the above-mentioned model was confirmed by the interpretation of third-year students in copy-writing at UFS. The response group are a diverse target market in terms of cultural and language background. Analysis of the examples was part of the module assessment in the UFS course. This multicultural group at the UFShad an average age of 21 years when the study was undertaken. The Dutch examples were also analysed by a Dutch mother-tongue speaker and literary translator in order to ensure the correct interpretation of the texts written for a different target market. The article is the result of a research paper delivered at a conference of the Linguistics Society of SouthernAfrica.

<A>Intertext(uality)

According to Harty (1985), the methodological field of the intertext is advanced as the site of interaction between text, context and the critic’s re-citing of the text; or, in the case of this article, the marketer's re-citing of the text.(intertextuality is not the origin of the text).

The term intertext(uality) is very often used in a literary sense (Kristeva, 1980; Van Boheemen, 1981). Kristeva (1980:36) argues that ‘it is a permutation of texts, and intertextuality: in the space of a given text several utterances taken from other texts, intersect and neutralize one another’ (to give a (new) intertextual meaning). In spite of the literary focus, Kristeva’s definition of the concept of intertextuality is in accordance with the use in advertising discourse.

In accordance with the use of the concept here, Van Boheemen (1981) also reinforces the fact that the author of the text is placedin the background and the only source of the (literary) text is the medium with all its structures.

Hoek (1978:69) defines intertextuality from another angle, as he focuses on the different relations of intertextuality in a certain society and such an intertext also includesa view on the history of a certain society:

... de intertextualiteit fungeert als graadmeter voor de wijze waarop een verhaaltekst in de maatschappij is geïntegreerd en waarop de varianten van het maatschappelijk bepaald taalgebruik in deze tekst vallen af te lezen, dat wil zeggen de manier waarop deze tekst de maatshappelijke geschiedenis verwoordt.

Thus, the intertextual context (space) is not only the textual context, but leads to the context (space) of society (religion, politics, aesthetics, etc.) (Hoek, 1978).

Departing from these mainly literary definitions of intertextuality, the applicability of these definitions to advertising texts will be shown. According to Myers (1994), a copy-writer and author of acopy-writing textbook, intertextuality can be described as the way in which linguistic features of one text are interpreted in relation to those in other texts. He explains this definition by pointing out that language in advertisements comes to us used, since ‘all ads even those making no explicit allusions, carry associations from other texts, ads, movies, novels, everyday talk’ (Myers 1994: 4).

In the words of Harty (1985:10): ‘These considerations (of text, context) lead to the idea of intertext.’ The Latin word intertexo means ‘to interweave’ or ‘intertwine’. Similarly, Derrida (1977:158) states that ‘everything relevant to reading, to textual analysis, including the context, is contained within the intertext’. Refer also to the definition of intertext and the extensive literature study regarding this concept by Carstens (1997).

<A>A working definition

In terms of the focus of the article,it is necessary to refer to two working definitions of intertext(uality). The first definition is especially important since it makes it clear that intertextuality is not only a literary phenomenon. Degenaar (1990:4) focuses on the interrelatedness of signs and texts within a historical contex – a contex of which books only form a small part when he says: ‘Intertekstualiteit dui op die oneindige interbetreklikheid van tekens en van tekste, dui op die historiese ruimte ... en waarvan boeke ‘n klein bestanddeel uitmaak.’Jenny (1982:61) reinforces this idea that intertextuality ‘extends beyond books to all social discourse’.

I refer to a definition of intertextuality by Goddard (1998:124): ‘[Intertextuality is] the way in which one text echoes or refers to another text. For example, an advertisement, which stated “To be in Florida in winter, or not to be in Florida in winter” would contain an intertextual reference to a key speech in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Intertextuality canoperate at many different levels of language, from phonological and lexical references in titles and slogans to visual aspects such as layouts and images.’

<A>The benefits of intertextuality in advertisements

For copy-writers there are several benefits tousing intertextuality in advertisements. It is certainly an attention-getting device in the sense that the recipient has to work out the (embedded) meaning of the advertisement because there is more than one message and there is more than one text (the advertisement and the intertext). In this sense, intertextual advertisements can be regarded as interactive advertisements. Furthermore, intertextual advertisements make provision for animportant principle in copy-writing: more (information) is less (text). From one text, the knowledge of two or more other (inter-) texts is activated. Jenny (1982:45) remarks:‘Intertextuality speaks a language whose vocabulary is the sum of all the existing texts.’The literal reading based on the linearity of texts is destroyed and the reader thus becomes the active participant in creating the new text. This is one of the reasons why intertextuality is used so often in advertising – it is one way to get the attention of the target market that very often feels ‘rewarded’ when it is able to reconstruct the message (it is an intellectual game). Jenny (1982:44) refers to this game as ‘a paradigmatic element that has been displaced, deriving from a forgotten structure’.

<A>Criteria for intertextuality

Given the many different levels that intertextuality operates on, Jenny (1982) statesthat the condition for the use of intertextuality is found, on the one hand, in the code, and, on the other hand, it can be explicitly present in the content of the text. This raises the question about the degree of presence required for a text to qualify as intertextual. In order to list such criteria and to be able to identify an intertextual advertisement, one needs to have a clear understanding of the different ‘formulations’ of the intertext; such as the shortened repetition of a text (ellipsis), an alteration of the original text in terms of the sound by altering the spelling (paronomasia), etc. Jenny (1982:40) expresses this problem as follows: ‘At what point can one begin to speak of the presence of a text within another in terms of intertextuality?’

Jenny (1982) offers a qualifying definition in this regard, which seems useful in this article: ‘ … only when there can be found in a text elements exhibiting a structure created previous to the text, above the level of the lexeme, of course, but independently of the level of that structure.’

In accordance with Jenny (1982) the selected sample of advertisements referred to in the article in the section on text gave an indication of the types of traces (text elements) that were used to identify intertextual advertisements.

<A>Risks of intertextuality

The cost of advertising space urges copy-writers to be certain that the chosen intertext and the intertextual advertisement created are familiar to their target market. If the target market is unable to work out the net of connections, it will not comprehend the message.

Interestingly enough, it can sometimes be regarded as positive when a certain unintended target market does not comprehend the message, since it enforces the idea of exclusivity of either the product or the target market. Take, for example, the Sovietbrandadvertisement (number 4 in the dataset). The fact that some people may not know what is being advertised is intended and positive. Teenagers do not like to wear the same brands as elderly people. The intended market knows what Sovietis.

Jenny described this risk as follows:‘… the problem of intertextuality is to bind together several texts in one without their destroying each other and without the intertext being torn apart as a structured whole’ (Jenny, 1982:45).

<A>Intertextual advertisements as a mirror of society

Ennaji (1999:150) defines ideology as ‘the system of beliefs and ideas held by an individual or society, especially as forming the basis of an economic or political system’.In the case of advertisements, ideology is the basis of an economic system. It is, for instance, a big contributing factor in the fact that people are willing to pay large amounts of money for designer brands.In paying more for designer brands, the individual regards the authority of the system as legitimate and willingly functions within the set framework. Jhally (1987:134) endorses this perspective of advertising discourse as exploiting the values of the target market when he says that‘advertisers conventionalise our conventions’.

Based on these observations by Jhally (1987) and Ennaji (1999), the following explanation can be given for intertextual advertisements as a mirror of society. Firstly, the dominant values in terms of morals, religion, perspectives and norms are all reflected in the dataset. Things common to our society are, for example:1 free and open sexual relationships, as is seen in the general reference to phone sex (MTN example 2), the importance of brand names (Soviet jeans example 4), the need to stay and look healthy (Woolworths [chicken] example 6).

Secondly, the advertisements are reality based, as they show real people (famous spokespersons) in real-life settings saying or doing something which reinforces a certain ideology.

Thirdly, even if you as the target market do not ‘practice’ a certain ideology, you believe it to be true of the world you live in. For example, it is acceptable in the modern media to use sexually suggestive and explicit portrayals of men and woman or to use the Bible as intertext to sell one’s product/service.

Fourthly, the advertising media is only one of many vehicles which are used to realise a specific purpose. The same kind of ideology is communicated in modern literature, TV programmes, films, music lyrics, etc.

The fifth and last characteristic of ideology is evident in the fact that many intertextual advertisements communicating a certain ideology are totally incomprehensable to the out group (non-intended target market) and whether you do or do not understand a certain intertextual (ideological) advertisement characterises you. For example, the Cell C(1) (cellphone) advert is typically South African; you have to know the rituals and cultural beliefs of the indigenous people of South Africato understand this advert. Also the PierreCardin(3)(clothes)advert with the bitten apple in the dataset of (Van Niekerk,2005) is incomprehensible if you are unable to trace the Biblical context to the fruit (apple) as a symbol of seduction in Genesis. You would not be able to make sense of the advertisement that showed an apple with a Pierre Cardin tag. This would imply ineffective communication and wasted marketing expenseif the receiver did not know the business of Pierre Cardin.