Contemporary newspaper advertising: exploring the role of language awareness in confronting foreign domination

Abstract

This paper takes a close look at contemporary newspaper advertisements and shows how cultures interface in these ads. As text, most display ads printed in newspapers contain both a visual (or graphic) and a verbal (or linguistic) component. The study explains how these two complement each other in ads to bring about the message, which, on the surface, only sells a product but which, in reality, promotes a culture. Recent samples of newspaper ads for cigarettes across brands are examined, focusing on the visual and verbal signifiers, thus decoding the socio-cultural dimensions of the ads. One specific area that the paper addresses is how ads propagate foreign domination by powerful nations and influence the formation of other nations. A careful reading of the language of these newspaper ads heightens one's awareness of issues pertinent to advertising by unraveling representations embedded in the texts.