Advertising is one of the most influential sources of introducing new products and services to customers, nowadays. Whenever we visit a market or a grocery shop, we always buy products which we have seen on TV screens in commercials or any other source. We value that kind of advertisement more and consider it more effective because they have gone through our sight. (Urairak, 2017).

Discourse analysis is a procedure for examining the connected text, and it enlarges depictive language beyond the limits of attention on one fundamental sentence structure at a schedule. (Macaulay, 2002). The content of the commercial, as well as the environment in which it is created and read, make up the discourse of commercials. The discourse is made up of all these elements. Commercials are considered as a different type, utilizing distinct kinds of tactics to approach the general public, guide them, manipulate them, alert, or even mislead or dominate them to behave in a fixed action, e.g., to purchase a particular item, or to keep away from certain living style or to poll for some governmental institution. (Cook, 2001).

In the present scenario, it is quite hard to ignore the advertisement as it appears on a daily scenario whether it is on a signboard or billboard or on the TV screen or through the Newspaper. TV ads are the most important in our society as it is the only source for women to watch ads while sitting at home. Women cover half of the population of our state so they consider important because they run the household. They buy things like groceries for home more than men. TV advertisements are very influential and popular. The researcher personally considers the advertisement informing and influencing the perception of the audience to change their opinion and feelings about a particular product or service. Ads are the powerful sources through which people buy products otherwise these products are not desired or needed by anyone. Due to ads, people’s perception is very different than actualization. People prefer those products which they have seen in the advertisement. (Gupta, 2005).

We are entirely surrounded by advertisements. Advertisements are everywhere. Day by day, it has become more dominant because advertisers are finding new ways to grab the attention of customers and manipulate their minds to buy a particular product or service. The manufacturer companies use different strategies to meet the dreams of consumers and grab their attention towards the product.

In today’s world, every business is unbelievable without the touch of advertisement. Advertisement has become one of the dominating factors that determines living style in every aspect whether it’s a beauty product or an unhealthy choice like junk food. It has advantages as well as disadvantages over the people of society through manipulation for selling products. (Schmidt & Kress, 1986).

Many researchers have talked about the impacts of advertisements on people’s perception but are some products really beneficial and effective for them as they perceive it due to advertisements they have gone through, it’s a question that comes to one’s mind. This paper includes powerful linguistic features to grab customers to consume a particular product.

 

This study can be beneficial to understand the discourses used in advertisements to grab and attract customers to buy some particular product. It can give information about different strategies used by advertisers for advertising discourse. It tells us how people perceive advertisements. This study is very important to understand consumers’ perceptions of a product. It also covers the various aspects of customers’ perception of advertisements. And most importantly, it tells us that advertisement is not only used to bring awareness about the product or service but also plays a crucial role in perception, particular selection and preference of customers towards the product or service.

 

The following are the objectives of the current study:

§  to identify the influential use of language in Pakistani TV commercials related to tea

§  to know the impacts of commercials on the audience's perception.

 

1.       What are the linguistic features used in Pakistani TV commercials?

2.       How do such commercials affect or manipulate the perceptions of viewers?

 

Literature Review

This section reviews several previously completed studies that covered linguistic elements utilized in ads and critical discourse analysis of advertisements. Brief summaries of the research studies involving language features utilized in advertising are included in the study. The purpose of citing important works and contributions is to draw attention to the effects of the language used in advertisements.

According to Bisht (2013), TV advertisements have an effect on young people's purchase decisions and assist customers make direct decisions about brands and products. In comparison to other items or brands in the same category, some products or brands have a stronger psychological effect on consumers. The standing of a brand in the eyes of the consumer is always crucial. Advertising attempts to facilitate brand recognition and is beneficial for brand awareness.

Deepak Kumar and Satish Chandra (2017) found that the product’s benefit is the most important factor for a consumer’s perception of a particular product. Other factors of impact of advertising which also influence consumer perception consist of; ingredients of which the product is made, product quality, product quantity, product cost, celebrities used in the advertisements as a model, product references given by other customers who have previously used that product, product packing, product name and product colour. They investigated how advertising works successfully for the minds of customers, towards the brand and achievement of its goals. It was noted that the mental state of the customer towards the advertising, the brand and purchasing expectation is of great importance for the viability of the service mark. The importance of advertising is developing in today’s world of media. The media of social messages have its awesome effect all around, comparably publicizing, which utilizes media as its instruments, is a convincing and great power that is forming conduct and state of mind in the public arena. Social Advertisements are continuously trying hard to influence individuals for social motivation like leaving their medications or quitting smoking and so on.

Syeda Rabeea Fatima, Noreen Aslam, Muhammad Azeem, Hafiza Sobia Tufail, Asad Afzal Humayoon and Rabia Luqman (2019) found that the advertising strategies of different telecom companies like Warid and Jazz have positive impacts on the mind of people. This tells that if Mobilink and Warid's advertising plans are so fine then the audience perception about their goods and services is also excellent. The result of this study shows that all the hypotheses are acceptable and have a positive impact on Customer thought. This also explains why Mobilink and Warid's advertising campaigns helped them sell more products and win over satisfied, steadfast customers.

Dr Amrit Kumar (2017) found the impact of advertisements on consumers by their favourite celebrity, or model is very influential nowadays. In this age of competition in every stage of life, every company whether they have a connection with the product provider or with service provider all of them utilized advertising tools for the expansion of selling items. Based upon the discovery of the research one essential thing emerges that sales expand when the company bears the additional expenses on behalf of the advertising tools. One important thing is that customers think that celebrities also use the product which they promote in ads, but they don’t use that. But the customers who are watching the ads like the actors surely buy the particular item because of their favourite model.

Priyanka Kardam and Dr Kavita Dua's (2021) studies suggest that media shows that it has a significant impact on consumers' subconscious thoughts. Every form of media has a distinct kind of impact. TV and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc. Because of the presence of hearing and visual mediums for the transmission of data, YouTube, etc., has more influence than print media and is also much more related to the present generation. As we have the knowledge, the majority of things that needs to be working currently are done electronically, increasing our indulgence with technology (phones, laptops, tablets), which has a direct impact on our desire to use social media platforms. In addition to this, we are drawn into the media web because of celebrity impact because it grows customer trust. 30- to 45-year-old mothers are more likely to buy the same things that television actors utilize to look like them or to portray their styles. Intermittent media advertisements cause unwanted purchases since consumers are drawn in by the discount strategy or occasionally do it in their free time.

RejieliLiligeto, Gurmeet Singh and Rafia Naz bring important information for marketers and advertising companies in Fiji who all too frequently believe that simply running an advertisement in the media will fantastically convince customers to buy their goods. Contrary to this, however, the importance of customer perception towards advertising in influencing their reaction or behaviour to buy or not to buy is demonstrated by research findings. Marketers and advertisers of firms in Fiji should take careful consideration when choosing the sort of medium to be used in promoting their products and services. This may influence their purchase choices. Future attention may be given to less expensive but equally effective substitute media.

There are many variables that affect how customers perceive and respond, including their diverse personalities, the environment in which they live, unforeseen events, and culture. As a result, it is crucial for marketers and advertisers to implement changes quickly and forcefully. As necessary and keeping in mind what customers think is crucial. Additionally, one must think imaginatively and beyond the box that fits society that the advertisements are being projected into the value of television and newspapers towards the advertising sector. It suggests that the two media will continue to provoke scholarly curiosity and interest. This study aimed to show how TV and newspapers have changed throughout time and affect how buyers see things. While the discovery of this study is distinct from the other research findings, it does not indicate that the mediums have lost their relevancy and value as the test result is only compounded to Fiji, but could alter with, the advertising sector time. However, this work serves as a foundation for further research that will build upon and broaden a local institution. This will give Fijians a more positive understanding of consumers and obtain better outcomes in the marketplace.

Spyros Angelopoulos (2013) found that companies should spend money on such features and make an effort to develop campaigns with their workers because Facebook is a platform that primarily serves to connect people and promote social interactions. According to the study findings, Facebook has become a promising medium for advertising goods and services. Even though some of the outcomes don't offer significance, a lot of users are aware of the occurrence and have access to knowledge about the mechanism's future. For a social media marketing strategy to be successful, social pressure is a crucial component. Social media platforms serve as the channel between a brand and its customers. Facebook can be utilized on its own as a channel for advertising, but it is unknown whether doing so will be advantageous for the company. Combining Facebook with traditional advertising media and creating an environment where customers and brands can connect before making a purchase is a safer strategy.

Saeed et al. (2014) investigated how celebrity and non-celebrity advertisements affected consumers' perceived products. A 200-person sample size was used with the convenience sampling approach. Data is gathered and analyzed using an organized questionnaire and SPSS. Results show both celebrity advertisements and non-celebrity advertisements have good effects on consumer perception, but celebrity advertisements had a stronger positive impact than non-celebrity advertisements.

Zafar & Rafique (2012) examined the effects of celebrity endorsements on consumers' perceptions of brands and buy intentions in relation to their physical beauty, source legitimacy, and congruence. 103 respondents responded to a questionnaire that was used to gather data. The conclusion that celebrity endorsements do affect consumers' perceptions and purchasing intentions was supported by significant findings. By altering the respondent demographics and broadening the scope of the study, additional research may be done to determine the importance of media in marketing and promotion.

Zafar Iqbal Bhatti said that the research shows that using these goods makes consumers more at ease and knowledgeable. To put it another way, advertisers present the ideal and creative criteria of advertising items. Thus, by using persuasive strategies, people are coerced, both consciously and unconsciously, into purchasing the relevant product. To capture people's attention, advertisers use a variety of linguistic strategies, including eye-catching language, euphemisms, and bombastic jargon. These advertisements use jargon that is philosophically conflicted and contrasting. These advertisements transmit the precise message of how one should seem in order to be accepted by others. Using the pronoun "You" gives the customer the utmost importance, tremendously influencing them.

According to Ali, Naz, Aftab, and Danish's (2014) analysis, women are portrayed in commercial advertisements for the international soap brand Lux as an embodiment of new identification. The article tells how depictions of women in advertisements go against cultural norms and feminist thought in Pakistani traditions and culture. Through the semiotic study of a few chosen TV commercials, we attempt to uncover the hidden meanings generated in our cultural landscape. The LUX 2014 commercial featuring Indian celebrities was chosen. This paper looked at how the global luxury brand Lux is reshaping customary Pakistani ladies into gorgeous, fearless, modern women. According to a study, these advertisements are polluting Pakistani culture and social standards by showcasing foreign culture.

According to British consumers, TV advertising is exciting, more distinctive, underappreciated, innovative, and educational. As correspondence designs have been closely linked to socioeconomic norms in every market, according to Hong Kong and Korean consumers, perceptions of TV advertising are influenced by their socioeconomic background (Moon & Chan, 2005; Hong, Muderrisoglu, & Zinkhan, 1987). According to consumers in Belgium and Poland, advertising acts as a lure for consumers to spend money. However, consumers in Belgium and Poland consider advertising as an effective instrument for generating interest in and reinforcing favourable opinions.

Muhammad Toufiq Ur Rahman conducted research on how people's opinions of various media for the current sample tell a few ideas for using advertising. According to the study, respondents' perceptions of all forms of media were primarily good, with some minute negative perceptions being discovered. Most customers have said that advertisements don't accurately depict the products they're promoting and believe that most advertising insults their intelligence. As a result, attention must be paid to respondents' perceptions of advertising media. When advertisers concentrate more on fostering favourable perceptions, they must also be aware of the elements that frequently foster unfavourable perceptions. Therefore, it becomes essential for advertising to have a thorough understanding of consumer perception. If the business or advertising fixes the problem by following the advice given, they may win the support of the typical customer. at order to improve the sincerity of advertising, this inquiry may need to be revised, or portions of it may need to be revised. These revisions may be made at state offices or by other interested organizations.

According to Dr Prasanna Kumar's 2012 research, advertisements are a potent method of communication that can effectively reach the intended audience. Additionally, he said that commercials should not be in a medium range neither too long nor too short. Advertisements need to be able to grab consumers' interest and keep them involved. Ali Hassan (2015) discovered a favourable association between emotional response and customer purchase behaviour with respect to television advertisements.

The study by Kushagra Pal focused on how advertisements affect customer behaviour. In the research, several things were examined which consist of advertising on the internet, product friendliness, brand image, advertising style, etc. Advertising proved to be crucial in marketing names of brands, products, and services. Consumer purchasing decisions are significantly influenced by advertising.  Concessions and discounts, followed by costing and item knowledge, are major factors that influence consumer behaviour. This study may be useful to marketers in helping them choose the most effective approach for grabbing the majority of people while marketing their items.

Van Dijk (1997), opines that critical discourse analysis is also called the analytical discourse. The main component of it is society, the practice of power, discrimination, and supremacy. The basic purpose of critical discourse analysis is to analyze, so it is called analytical discourse as well. In the critical discourse analysis of commercials, these are evaluated and analyzed from every aspect in terms of ideology and power. The major aspects of commercials that are to be focused on and analyzed are the product, its features, audience, setting, ideology, etc.

 

The method of research used in this study is descriptive and qualitative. For the analysis of advertisements, the framework of Fairclough (2015) which has been named a three-dimensional model has been employed by the researchers because its focal point is to study text as well as social practices.

 

This study is qualitative in nature because it explores the phenomenon of language and power in advertising discourse. Discourse analysis is used in this research study because the information is presented in the form of slogans, pictures or other words from commercials.

Nurbakti (2016) said, "Discourse analysis itself studies linguistic units to examine the relationship between words and their meanings." Another author said that discourse analysis is a wide term for the study of how language is used in texts of different situations, also called discourse studies. So, the research used this technique of analyzing data.

The key goal is to thoroughly comprehend the slogan in order to develop a type of theory. Discourse analysis is thus one method for delving further into the meanings of texts or words. It is sometimes contrasted with quantitative research, which employs numerical data to identify broad patterns and quantitative procedures to assess comparative and causal links between variables.

Because it makes use of numbering data to identify wide trends, quantitative research is frequently framed as contrasting with qualitative research. While qualitative research regularly focuses on the micro-level of social interaction, quantitative research centres on macro-level movement and existence.

Modern society is shaped by a variety of elements. The universe and what is inside it, as we are aware now it was created in large measure because of advertising. Because advertising is so pervasive around us, we probably have no idea what no longer conscious of the effects of the numerous commercials we see every day. The number of chances available to everyone increased dramatically as society and technology developed. After a company's product is ready for sale, advertisements are released. There is always a product to sell in advertising, and they are designed to grab attention or provide information about the goods.

 

The sampling technique of Purposive sampling is applied because the research is exploring only tea commercials. Data is taken from tea commercials randomly selected from the internet and television. These commercials are about tea and green tea. 10 advertisements of different products of tea are taken to fulfil the purpose of this study.

 

Norman Fairclough is considered the founder in the field of CDA. In his research from 1989, he is the only one who goes into detail on the relationship between power, language, and ideology. In 1989, Fairclough proposed a model, which was updated in 1995 and later in 2015. His model is regarded as the main point around which critical discourse analysis revolves. He established the first theoretical framework for CDA and provided instructions for text interpretation.

The three-step analysis procedure in Fairclough's approach is connected to the three interconnected discourse dimensions listed below. Due to the language and social practices, they use, advertisements are viewed as media discourse. The relationship between social practices and the features of language is demonstrated using this framework. Discourse as text (micro level), discursive practices, and social practices are all parts of Fairclough's three-dimensional framework. Its goal is to understand how advertisements persuade consumers to purchase items.

 

 

The analysis of the following tea ads has been through Fairclough's 3D model. The analysis of the study is as followed:

 

The textual analysis offers a micro-stage description of analysis that takes into account language features including vocabulary, grammatical sentences, and rhetorical devices used in the advertisements of tea. 'Text' does not just refer to written or spoken rather it goes beyond language signs to include all forms of language use, including signs, colours, sounds, and images. Using textual analysis of the advertisements, the first research question of this paper which is about the usage of language has been addressed.

 

The terminology used in advertisements to promote advertisers' ideologies about individuals and events is very important. These advertisements use both official and colloquial language for the most part. In commercial discourse, grammar is a crucial tool for expressing ideological meanings. It includes various verbs, pronouns, emotive words, models, nominalization, and tenses. Investigation of each of these qualities greatly aids in showing reality. The description of how linguistic features are used in advertisements is as follows:

 

The usage of adjectives in these advertisements is one of the features of using words. Adjectives are used by advertisers to show the qualities of their products. Following is the use of adjectives:

 

Personal pronoun usage by advertisers is also popular in advertisements. They attempt to convey both pragmatic and ideological justifications by speaking directly to the audience.

Considering people on an individual basis is called ‘synthetic personalization’ (Fairclough, 1989, pp. 62). The term “synthetic personalization” proposed by the linguist Norman Fairclough talks about the artificial friendliness that powerful institutions use to strengthen their power. He referred to it as “a direction to give the impression of treating each of the people handled as masses as an individual.”

Individual communication is more valuable than group communication. In its advertisements, Tapal Tea used pronouns to make direct addresses. The following ads for Tapal and Lipton tea have examples of how to utilize pronouns and possessions that are highlighted under:

Advertisers also attempt to persuade their audience to make a purchase or take specific activities. They frequently employ imperatives in commercials to achieve this. Imperative sentences are a type of sentences that express commands, requests or instructions. They are used to give some kind of order or tell what to do. The specifics of the frequent imperatives employed in tea advertisements have been as follows:

It is common knowledge that the next step of Fairclough's paradigm involves discourse interpretation. This part addresses the processes involved in the creation, reception, and consumption of discourse. It tries to draw attention to discursive strategies by businesses that use advertising to influence consumer decisions. This study's discursive techniques include celebrity endorsement and contextual circumstances. The second study question has been addressed through the interpretation of the advertisements.

 

TV advertisement ads use contextual situations to grab it customer's attention. These circumstances are shown distinctively. The details of the contextual states are given under. The following two Television commercials out of ten have been chosen for the discussion of contextual situations:

 

In Lipton’s TV commercial, the well-known actor Hamza Ali Abbasi adapts an anonymous appearance to hide his celebrity look while selling the product to a woman who is doing groceries in a grocery shop, purely on the basis of its quality, cleverly telling that Lipton Yellow Tea is a much more “Ziaqedaar” (tastier) type of tea than Danedar. It's slogan “Lipton AikBaar, Bhool Jaogey Danedar.” The new part is perhaps the strategic balance between the actor power and the brand as the whole scene lets Lipton Tea takes the front seat as Abbasi endorses it while being in another look so no one can recognize him but when he removes his appearance, the woman is shocked and seems more convincing to buy the product. This is also called celebrity endorsement. People attract to their favourite TV celebrities and buy their promoting products more frequently.

 

This ad shows a bond between a married sister and her brother. When he comes to her home to give her some items and she forces him to stay for a cup of tea otherwise he has no intention to stay inside, he was standing at the door and making excuses to leave. Here, the advertiser uses a tact of sibling and family bonding through a cup of tea, how a blended cup of tea unites and cherishes the bond of sister and brother when he stays and takes tea and it brings us all together. The role of the sister is played by famous Pakistani actress Iqra Aziz. This is about all togetherness.

 

The last step of Fairclough's CDA model is an explanation, which brings to light the social groups, and social norms that control the text-creating process. A discourse makes some hearing when it is analyzed in light of its social context. The social environment plays a significant role in how discourses make sense, and language use in discourses is rooted in the situation's context. As a result, in this situational context, utterances can be understood. Macro themes and our everyday views of the social environment are explored at this level.

The text is written in this research as the television ads are the basis for the analysis. Analysis of this study consists of the use of tea particularly in Pakistan. The under-analysis ads of Supreme, Danedar, Lipton and Vital are famous commercials nowadays on TV. Their use has an essential role in people’s daily life.

Tea serves as a mean of drinkable item among people. It has evolved into one of the fundamental aspirations of life. Its usage cannot, therefore, be rejected. When it comes to the issue of its excessive use, it is a serious worry. It is strange that it has become unnecessarily necessary in Pakistan. Its extra use causes anxiety, headaches, digestive issues and disrupted sleep patterns and sometimes even insomnia. On the other hand, it can be the reason for the togetherness of relatives, friends and family.

Men and women are developing identities due to these advertisements. The advertisements make it clear that only tall, slim ladies with fair skin complexions may be considered gorgeous. In this sense, advertisers manipulate the audience's understanding of the world. Although the women in these tea advertisements are dressed according to their cultural traditions, the religious element of dress that characterizes Pakistani women is quite missing. The advertisements portray women without stoles. Pakistani society is heavily focused on religion, and the insufficiency of religious components is developing a new identity for women.

 

Every day, we watch or read advertisements, which are widely popular but carefully made to attract buyers. To develop an understanding of commercial analysis, numerous theoretical works might be used. The placement of the actors in an advertisement conveys a particular message; occasionally this message is about leverage or power. In addition to the language used, which conveys a strong and powerful meaning, the colours utilized also convey a different communication. Advertisements not only promote items but also the beliefs of the people. It suggests that it has a significant impact on consumers' subconscious thoughts. Every form of media has a distinct kind of impact, especially TV commercials.

Due to the presence of both sound and visible mediums for the transmission of data, YouTube, etc., has more effect than print media and is also much more relevant to the current regeneration. Advertising compels consumers to utilize goods and services that will help them reach their goals in life. Semiotics and linguistic-rich discourse are strong directions for persuading audiences and forming beliefs. This research centred on tea TV commercials to know how the advertisers of ads utilized their language to manipulate ordinary people to purchase their item. This is done ideologically not purely by force. It seems that an absolute connection between language and power and reality is represented in a false way in ads to manipulate people’s choices.

This research also helps advertisers to make the best technique for grabbing the majority of the audience while advertising their items and services. It used various linguistic devices like pronouns, use of imperatives, adjectives and many more to attract the audience through the manipulative use of language.