A SPEECH ACT ANALYSIS OF ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS OF CLOTHING BRANDS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The fashion industry is among the most profitable in the world. The primary factor that contributes to the success of the clothing industry is its way of advertising; therefore, it is important to analyze its advertisements that influence customers in various aspects. Recognizing the speech act patterns used by Pakistani online clothing brands provides us with information on how these brands structure their descriptions and promotions of clothes in the field of advertising. The texts are analyzed primarily on speech acts theory by Austin (1962) &Searle (1969). Simona & Dejica-Cartis (2014) identified 16 types of speech acts used in written advertisements: assertion, information, claim, suggestion, denial, accusation, evaluation, directions, offer, promise, persuasion, surprise, thinking, and warning. This study discusses the patterns of speech acts used in online advertisements and their intended effects on consumers. The data for this qualitative research were obtained from advertisements of 8 Online Clothing brands that do not have any outlets and offer worldwide delivery. We analysed the advertisements of eight brands: Shahjahan, Iznik, Jahaan, Xenia, Laam, J. Embroiza, Inara, and Dastaan. We chose 4 advertisements from each brand. The findings revealed that Assertive and Directive Speech acts are predominantly used in online advertisements of Clothing brands that operate via electronic media. These included claiming and explaining uniqueness, giving directions, and evoking a sense of excitement in customers. They often claim and even promise the brands ‘reliability. As the language is dynamic, the speech act patterns used in advertisements might change over time.