The Multimodal Analysis of Television Commercials

This book is the first of its kind entirely dedicated to the multimodal analysis of television commercials. A multimodal approach to TV ads, which integrate multiple semiotic modes, is not only useful but absolutely necessary if we are to fully grasp how they attempt to inform and persuade viewers. Nonetheless, it is no less certain that multimodal analysis should not be seen as an end in itself but as an essential tool or heuristic that feeds into and informs further avenues of enquiry. True to this principle, the eight chapters that make up the present volume look at advertising on TV from different perspectives. These can be variously described as ideological, discourse analytical, rhetorical, argumentational, and narratological. The theoretical diversity contained herein is matched by the assortment of languages in the ads under scrutiny, namely, Catalan, Danish, English, German, Italian and Spanish. We are confident that this collection of articles will help readers gain a better understanding of how TV ads convey meaning and will also provide valuable insights into how to carry out research in the field of multimodality.