Cook, Guy (2001) The Discourse of Advertising, 2nd ed. Routledge,
paperback
ISBN 0-415-23455-7, xii+256pp

Review: Elisabeth Le, University of Alberta


BOOK SUMMARY

Introduction: the genre of the advertisement (Chapter 1)

The purpose of this book is to provide a framework for the analysis of
advertisements as a discursive genre. Concepts from discourse
analysis, semiotics, stylistics, and linguistics are applied to
examine the ads textual and contextual features in a bottom-up
approach that allows to identify their interactions and combinations.

Ads as a genre are not precisely defined from the outset. They include
"market ticket offering goods for sale in the most straightforward
terms ('Lovely bananas, 50p a pound')", and "multi-million pound
thirty-second TV mini-drama, or a pulsing 'pop-up' window on the World
Wide Web" (p.9).  Because of its toleration for fuzziness, prototype
theory (Rosh 1977) is helpful in dealing with cases of ads that are
disguised by advertisers as something else. However, this theory does
not enable one to take into account a tendency to consider something
as an ad because of its position (e.g. in a television schedule, in a
magazine) notwithstanding its content. The question of the genre of
advertisement is approached throughout the book, and a tentative
conclusion is drawn at the end (Chapter 10).

The book is divided into three parts: materials ("bottom"), text, and
people ("top").

Part 1: Materials

The first part deals with the materials of ads. Interactions between
ads (message), their substance (material support such as wrapping
paper, magazine, electronic chip, Internet etc.) and their
surroundings (e.g. news item appearing just before the ad on TV,
opposite page in a magazine) are discussed, and their influence on the
effectiveness of the ad is shown (Chapter 2). Furthermore, concrete
examples display how words (spoken or written) interact with music and
pictures to deliver the message.  Finally, in connection with
Saussurean semiology and Piercean semiotics, the role of paralanguage
(e.g. voice quality, choice of script, gesturing, facial expression)
in carrying meaning is illustrated with various examples in literature
and advertising (Chapter 3).

Part 2: Text

The second part examines the text of the ads. First, the meaning of
words and phrases is exemplified with the analysis of connotations in
several ads of perfume and cars, and with the analysis of an excerpt
from "Romeo and Juliet" (Chapter 5). Second, other ads are examined
for their prosody and their features of parallelism or deviation, and
this is put into perspective with Roman Jakobson's poetics that is
illustrated with the analysis of a stanza by Oscar Wilde (Chapter
6). And third, concepts of cohesion, pragmatic principles and
coherence are explained and applied in the analysis of pronouns in a
few ads (Chapter 7).

Part 3: People

The third part focuses on people, the "speakers" and the "hearers".
Speakers are represented by narrative voices, whose concept is
explained with different principles in discourse analysis (sentence
perspectives, shared assumptions as ideology, Bakhtin's theory of
voice, intertextuality). Narrative voices in literature (Fielding,
Austen) and ads are compared (Chapter 8). Hearers are considered in
the way ads are perceived by artists, writers, academics, and the
public. It is suggested that a number of their criticisms stem from
the ambiguity of ads as a genre (Chapter 9).

Conclusion: the genre of the advertisement (Chapter 10)

The conclusion reassesses the issue of the genre of advertisement by
listing 14 prototypical features (pp.218-219) that the preceding
chapters have underlined.

1. ads use a variety of substances, including some which are not used
in communication elsewhere (e.g. soap, vapour); 2. ads are embedded in
an accompanying discourse; 3. ads are presented in short bursts;
4. ads are multi-modal, ad can use pictures, music and language,
either singly or in combination, as the medium permits; 5. ads, in
their use of language, are multi-submodal, and can use writing, speech
and song, either singly or in combination, as the medium permits;
6. ads contain and foreground extensive and innovative use of
paralanguage; 7. ads foreground connotational, indeterminate and
metaphorical meaning, thus effecting fusion between disparate spheres;
8. ads make dense use of parallelisms, both between modes (e.g. the
pictures and music have elements in common), and within modes (e.g.
the words rhyme); 9. ads involve many voices, though they tend to be
dominated by one; 10. ads are parasitic: appropriating the voices of
other genres, and having no independent existence; 11. ads are often
heard in many contradictory ways simultaneously; 12. ads merge the
features of public and private discourse, and the voices of authority
and intimacy, exploiting the features which are common to these poles;
13. ads make extensive use of intertextual allusion, both to other ads
and to other genres; 14. ads provoke social, moral and aesthetic
judgements ranging from the most positive to the most negative (they
are 'harmful' or 'beneficial', 'bad' or 'good', 'not artistic' or
'artistic').

As it is not always clear when these features are text dependent or
receiver dependent, their presence in a specific ad might give rise to
disagreements. In fact, it seems that the only characteristic that
everybody would agree on is that ads provoke controversy. To complete
the preceding list, the following prototypical features (p.221) are
proposed in a speculative way.

1. ads have the typical restless instability of a new genre;
2. ads are a discourse on the periphery of attention;
3. ads constantly change;
4. ads follow a principle of reversal, causing them to change many
features, as soon as they become established, to their opposite;
5. ads seek to alter their addressee's behaviour but this is
understood by
default, and need not occupy space or time;
6. ads are identified by their position in an accompanying
discourse, and
need not use space or time to establish their identity as an ad;
7. ads use their space and time in an attempt to give pleasure;
8. ads use code-play;
9. ads answer a need for display and repetitive language;
10. ads are unsolicited by their receivers;
11. ads, as verbal art, are detrimentally constrained by the need
to obey
the orders of their clients.

COMMENTARY

Ads are a very interesting genre, whose complexity might very well
increase with the use of each new technology. Their purpose is to make
an impact on people's mind, but their time and space are limited, as
is human attention.  Thus, "anything goes" and will be tried. They are
perfect examples for the study of discourse, as their use of
interactions between various textual and contextual features must be
maximized. Moreover, they are short, sometimes "fun" or aesthetically
pleasant, and their analysis always functions as good mind-openers for
students. In our consuming society, we are surrounded by ads, and it
is important to know how to "read" them, if we want to keep some of
our independence. However, as argued by Guy Cook, we should not try to
see more in them than what there really is.

"The Discourse of Advertising" is a very readable book that is well
suited for undergraduate students whatever their academic background
(literature, linguistics, cultural studies, communication studies,
etc.). As stated in the first chapter, it could serve as a practical
introduction to discourse analysis, semiotics, stylistics, and
linguistics. Indeed, major concepts >from these fields are explained
in clear and simple terms, and as they are illustrated with concrete
examples in order to reach a specific goal (the characterization of
ads / the critical reading of ads), their usefulness is very
apparent. The balance between theory and practice is excellent.
Advertising examples are mostly recent, and taken from a variety of
supports (e.g. billboards, Internet, TV, magazines). British ads are
given a clear preference, but there is an effort to include ads from
other cultures. In any case, if this book were to be used outside of
the UK, local ads could be the object of analyses by students. The
application of theoretical concepts to ads and literature provides a
better understanding of these concepts, and especially allows for the
distinction between the two genres. Chapters build on each other; as
some of the ads are analyzed in different chapters, the interaction
and combination of textual and contextual features are
underlined. However, this also precludes the reading of one chapter
independently from the others. Important technical words are in bold
type. Although they are defined in the text, it would be practical for
students to find them in a glossary at the end. Each chapter is
followed by a set of exercises that either complete it or anticipate
the next one, but their interest is variable. Further readings (with a
comment on each) are also indicated.

In conclusion, this second edition of "The Discourse of Advertising"
takes into account the latest developments in advertising, and as
such, updates very well the first edition (1992) in a field where
rapid changes are the norm. This also means that a new edition will
probably be needed in a few years from now. In the meanwhile, this one
is an excellent introductory tool not only to the field of advertising
but also to the larger field of discursive studies in general,
provided that instructors complete it with examples of ads
particularly meaningful for their students.

About the reviewer: Elisabeth Le is Assistant Professor of Applied
Linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
at the University of Alberta (Canada). Her main research interests are
in Discourse Analysis.  Her present research project deals with the
representation of intercultural relations, national identity and
ideology in French, American, and Russian newspapers.