THE LINGUISTIC FEATURES AND PERSUASION
TECHNIQUES IN MARLBORO CIGARETTE
ADVERTISEMENT SLOGANS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKANTHESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Astriyani Sulistyowati Student Number: 111214161
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
THE LINGUISTIC FEATURES AND PERSUASION
TECHNIQUES IN MARLBORO CIGARETTE
ADVERTISEMENT SLOGANS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKANTHESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Astriyani Sulistyowati Student Number: 111214161
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
DEDICATION PAGE
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love
what you are doing, you will be successful.
(Herman Cain)
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
(Frederick Douglass)
We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But
you’re not your mistakes, you’re not your struggles, and you are here right now
with the power to shape your day and your future.
(Steve Maraboli)
I dedicate this thesis to:
1. The one and only, Allah SWT.
2. My beloved parents for praying, loving and supporting me.
vii ABSTRACT
Sulistyowati, Astriyani. (2017). The Linguistic Features and Persuassion Techniques in Marlboro Cigarette Advertiment Slogans. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
In order to convince the audiences, the advertiser uses linguistic features and persuassion techniques in the slogans to persuade people to buy the products. One of the products which use linguistic features and persuasion techniques is Marlboro cigarette. Although people know that cigarette consists of toxics and some dangerrouse substances which can cause some diseases, but the selling of cigarette is increased. This phenomenon interested the writer to analyze the language style and persuassion techniques in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans.
Thus, this study aims to solve two problems related to language style of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. They were (1) What are the linguistic features used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans published in the United States? (2) What kinds of persuasion techniques does Marlboro cigarette use in the slogans to influence the customers to buy the products?
The research method of this study was content analysis.The researcher analyzed ten slogan images from dirfferent variants of Marlboro cigarette which representatived among other slogans of Marlboro cigarette advertisement. The researcher analyzed the linguistic features which appear in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. The researcher used Grey’s (2008) theory to answer the first question. Then, the researcher also analyzed the persuasion techniques. The researcher used Kleppner’s (1986) theory in order to answer the second question.
The result of this study showed 16 out of 20 linguistic features appeared in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. The slogans were only had 31% of the whole of lexical features and 43% of the whole syntactic features. However, the advertiser used simple vocabulary to make the advertisement attractive and easy to remember by audiences. Besides, most of the slogans used two persuasion techniques for each slogan. Almost all of the slogans used pioneering stage and competitive stage as persuasion techniques to influence people to buy the products. This study could be an example in learning and teaching English language. Then, this study also could be a reference to advertisers in making creative and attractive advertisement.
viii ABSTRAK
Sulistyowati, Astriyani. (2017). The Linguistic Features and Persuassion Techniques in Marlboro Cigarette Advertiment Slogans. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Untuk meyakinkan orang, pengiklan menggunakan aspek linguistik dan teknik persuasi di dalam slogan untuk membujuk orang agar membeli rokok. Salah satu produk yang menggunakan unsur linguistik dan tehnik persuasi adalah rokok Marlboro. Meskipun banyak orang tahu bahwa rokok mengandung racun-racun dan beberapa zat berbahaya yang dapat menyebabkan beberapa penyakit, namun penjualannya meningkat. Fenomena ini menarik peneliti untuk menganalisa gaya bahasa dan teknik persuasi dalam slogan rokok Marlboro.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memecahkan dua masalah terkait gaya bahasa dalam slogan rokok Marlboro, yaitu (1) Apa saja aspek linguistik yang terdapat dalam slogan rokok Marlboro yang dikeluarkan di Amerika Serikat? (2) Apa saja teknik persuasi yang digunakan slogan rokok Marlboro untuk mempengaruhi orang untuk membeli produknya?
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian analisis isi. Peneliti mengambil data dengan menganalisa sepuluh gambar slogan dari beberapa macam rokok Marlboro yang berbeda yang mana sepuluh slogan tersebut mewakilkan beberapa macam slogan-slogan rokok Marlboro. Peneliti akan menganalisis aspek-aspek linguistik yang muncul dalam slogan rokok Marlboro. Peneliti menggunakan teori dari Grey (2008) untuk menjawat pertanyaan pertama. Kemudian peneliti juga menganalisis teknik pesuasi. Peneliti menggunakan teori milik Klepneer (1986) untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua.
Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan terdapat hanya sedikit aspek linguistik di dalam slogan rokok Marlboro, yaitu hanya 31% dari seluruh aspek berhubungan dengan bahasa dan 43% dari seluruh aspek yang berhubungan dengan sitaksis. Bagaimanapun pengiklan menggunakan kosa kata sederhana untuk membuat iklan menjadi menarik dan mudah diingat oleh pendengar/pembaca. Selain itu, sebagian besar slogan menggunakan dua teknik untuk setiap slogan. Hampir semua slogan menggunakan teknik persuasi perintisan dan persaingan untuk mempengaruhi orang untuk membeli produk mereka. Penelitian ini dapat menjadi salah satu contoh dalam proses belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris. Kemudian, penelitian ini juga dapat menjadi salah satu referensi untuk para pengiklan dalam membuat iklan yang kreative dan menarik.
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank Allah SWT for everything so that I can
finish my thesis and get my Sarjana Pendidikan degree. Besides, I thank Prophet
Muhammad SAWwho has inspired me to be good person.
My special thankfulness goes to my beloved parents, Muh Robani and Watiwho always love, care, prayer and support me. They really mean to me.
My deepest gratitude goes to my advisor Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum. for spending her valuable time to criticize my writing and have discussion about my writing so that I can make better thesis writing. Besides, I
thank my previous advisor, Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd.for being patient in
guiding me. I thank her for her advice, guidance, support, and time at the
beginning of thesis to final paper writing process.
I would like to send my gratitude to Yohana Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum.,
M.A., Ph.D.for being a great chairperson and helping me in solving my problem so that I can finish my study.
My gratitude is also adressed to all English Language Education Study Program lecturers who inspire me during my study process in the English Language Education study program of Sanata Dharma University. I also thank all
of the stafffor helping me during the years of my study.
I would like to thank all my best friends, namely Sisca Meilin, Lia, Maya,
x
I also thank my boyfriend, who gives me support and encouragement so
that I can finish my thesis. I also thank him for being patient and awesome person
in my life.
Then, my thankfulness goes to Burjo family for helping and supporting
me. They are amazing best friends and I hope our concord friendship stay forever.
Thanks to all my friends from PBI batch 2011, especially class C for precious experinces and moments.
Last but not least, I also thank all who help and support me which I cannot
mention their name here.
x
1. Linguistic Features in Advertisement ... 12
xi
D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Techniques ... 28
E. Data Analysis Techniques ... 30
F. Reseach Procedure ... 32
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS A. The Linguistic Features of Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans... 34
1. The Lexical Features of Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans... 34
2. The Syntactic Features of Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans... 44
xii
LIST OF TABLES
Tables
4.1.The Lexical Features of Marlboro Cigarette
Advertisement Slogans... 36
4.2.The Syntactic Features in Marlboro Cigarette
Advertisement Slogans... 45
4.3.The Persuasion Techniques in Marlboro Cigarette
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This research is going to analyze the use of linguistic features in the
slogans of cigarette advertisement. This chapter consists of six parts. The first part
is research background, the second is research questions, the third part is problem
limitation, the fourth part is research objectives, the fifth is research benefits, and
the sixth part is definition of term.
A. Research Background
Advertisement, which is derived from Medieval Latin verb advertere, aims to direct one’s attention to the availability, qualities, and/or cost of the specific
commodities or services (El-daly, 2011). Advertisement focuses on how to gain
consumers’ attention toward the specific product(s). The form of advertisement
can be in visual or printed form and every advertisement has a slogan of the
product. A slogan sums up what one stand for, one’s specialty, the benefit: one’s
marketing position, and one’s commitment. The advertising slogan is always short
and epigrammatic in nature. It makes the advertisement more impressive and
memorable, Ding Xiaosong, (2003, P. 206). That is why advertisement slogan is
made brief, clear, and meaningful. The slogan of such merit of a product service
should be worthwhile and easy to remember in public. There are many
advertisement slogans use linguistic features in order to make the advertisement
linguistic features in advertisement shows the expression of emotion in order to
change customer’s opinions and to persuade them to buy the product(s).
Besides, cigarette companies need persuasion techniques to sell their
product to the customers. Ross (1994, P. 168) says, “Persuasion is a process of
skillfully and ethically using logical thoughts, effective appeals, credibility and
ethical proof to influence and motivate others to responds as you wish them to.”
In other words, persuasion technique is a strategy of persuading people. The
persuasion can change people’s mind but they can choose whether they want to
accept or not. According to Trimmer and Nancy (1984), persuasion is verbal
communication which makes people change their previous judgment to accept the
new one which people do not believe before. One of persuasion activity can be
found in advertisement. Advertisements can convince audiences by giving
statements, commands, suggestions, and rhetorical questions about the products
which shows the quality and guarantee of the products directly.
This phenomenon also happens in Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans. The company makes a slogan for each cigarette variety. Marlboro
cigarette has slogan come to where the flavor is. The word come means an
invitation. The use of the word comein Marlboro slogan means that the Marlboro cigarette company invites the customers to come and try to smoke their brand
product(s). Whereas, the meaning of the word flavor are smell and taste. In
Marlboro cigarette slogan, the word flavor means that they want to say that their product has different smell and taste from other cigarette brands. Then, the phrase
others. Therefore, the slogan means that the Marlboro Company wants to invite
people to come and try their products because they create the best cigarette flavor
and their products’ smell and taste are different from other brands of cigarette.
The slogan above uses linguistic features in order to make the advertisement more
attractive.
Actually, smoking cigarette is bad for health. Michelle Roberts as the
Health editor of BBC News (2012) says that in 2012, there were 967 million
people smoking every day compared with 721 million people in 1980. The data
was taken from 187 countries. Globally, an estimated 6.25 trillion cigarettes were
smoked by people during the year 2012 compared with 4.96 trillion in 1980.
People also know that cigarette consists of toxics and some dangerous substances
that can cause some diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, tuberculoses, sterility,
and impotent, but the selling of cigarettes is increased. The slogan of cigarette
advertisement influences the consumers indirectly. There are many smokers in the
world, even the smokers are growing every year.
There are many discussions about language style in advertisement. In this
research the researcher is going to discuss the linguistic features and persuasion
techniques of Marlboro cigarette advertisement. The researcher takes some
varieties of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans which are published in the
United State. Marlboro cigarette was created by Philip Morris there. The research
focuses on discussing the linguistic features and persuasion techniques of
Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. Linguistic feature refers to language
unconscious choices of expression, inspired or induced by particular context. In
this research, the language style is a general term that refers to linguistic features
used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. It deals with the use of
linguistic features which consist of lexical features and syntactic features in
Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans, such as hyperbole, weasel words,
imperative and long noun phrases.
Besides discussing linguistic features of Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans, the researcher is going to discuss the use of persuasion technique in
Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogan. In selling the products, a company needs
a strategy to advertise their products. There are many techniques which are used
to persuade the customers to buy the product(s). Ross (1994: 168) says,
“Persuasion is a process of skillfully and ethically using logical thoughts, effective
appeals, credibility and ethical proof to influence and motivate others to responds
as you wish them to.” In other words, persuasion technique is a strategy of
persuading people. Based on Kleppner’s (1986) theory, the classification of
persuasion techniques is divided based on marketing situation and human
characteristics. There are three persuasion techniques. They are pioneering stage,
competitive stage, and retentive stage. In order to make an advertisement, the
producers should know the classification of the persuasion techniques to get
attention from the public easily. In this research, the use of persuasion techniques
in Marlboro cigarette slogans is to invite and convince people to buy the products.
The researcher chose Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans because
by Philip Morris in the United States. Besides, the language of the slogans uses
English. Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans cover language style,
especially linguistic features. The researcher wants to know the influence of
linguistic features and the persuasion techniques used in Marlboro cigarette
advertisement slogans to the audiences. Smoking is not good for people’s health
but the selling products are growing.
B. Research Problem
Based on background, this research is conducted to answer two questions.
1. What linguistic features are used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans
published in the United States?
2. What kinds of persuasion techniques does Marlboro cigarette used to
influence the customers to buy the products in the slogans?
C. Problem Limitation
The research attempts to discover the answer to the two research problems.
The researcher is going to analyze the linguistic features which appear in
Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. The reason for choosing Marlboro
cigarette as the data is because Marlboro is the biggest cigarette company in the
world. Besides, the researcher prefers to use Marlboro cigarette advertisements
which are published in the United States because the language that is going to
analyze uses is English. In this research, the researcher uses Grey’s (2008) theory
categorizes the linguistic features of Marlboro advertisement slogans into two
parts; they are lexical and syntactic features. There are many persuasion
techniques theories but the researcher uses Kleppner’s (1986) theory in order to
answer the second question. In analyzing the research, the researcher uses images
of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans.
D. Research Objectives
Based on the problem formulation, the aim of the research divided into
two parts.
1. To analyze the linguistic features used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans published in the United States.
2. To identity the kinds of persuasion techniques used in Marlboro cigarette
advertisement slogans to influence the customers to buy the products.
E. Research Benefits
This part presents the benefits of the research for advertisers, English
teachers, English language learners and the future researchers.
1. Advertisers
Nowadays, the advertising field has been developed quickly. It raises
many companies that want to make the best advertisement and slogan for their
product(s). That is why the competence of making advertisement, especially
help advertisers to create the best quality of advertisement which can attract
consumers to buy the product(s).
2. English Teacher
This findings research is expected useful for English teachers. They can
use this research as a material to teach the students about language style,
especially linguistic features and advertisement. It will help teachers to develop
their authentic material in linguistics course by using advertisement. This research
is expected can contribute as one of material which is used by English teachers in
learning process related to analyzing the advertising language.
3. English Language Learners
From this study, the researcher wishes that this research can give some
benefits for English language learners. The English language learners are expected
to understand about linguistic features deeper. They can learn about linguistic
features through advertisement slogans which are widely published. Besides, this
research will help English language learners as the reference for them in learning
linguistics course.
4. Future Researchers
Linguistics and advertisement are widely used in the society because they
are related of each other. From this research, the researcher hopes that it will
useful for the future researchers. They can conduct the research about linguistic
feature in advertisement. Therefore, the research expects that in the future
F. Definition of Terms
In conducting the research, definition of the terms are needed to explain
the terms that are used in the research so it helps the reader in understanding the
terms. This section defines the terms that are used in the research. They are
definition of advertisement, slogan, Marlboro cigarette, linguistic features, and
persuasion techniques.
1. Advertisement
El-daly (2011) said that advertisement is derived from Medieval Latin
verb advertere, aims to direct one’s attention to the availability, qualities, and cost
for the specific commodities or services. While, Gilson and Berckam (1986)
define advertisement as the persuasive media of communication to help
companies achieve marketing objectives. Advertisement is one way to attract
consumers’ attention. The product companies make the best advertisement with
the most suitable language style. In this research, the researcher chooses Marlboro
cigarette advertisement slogans published in United States. The researcher
analyses the language style that consists in those slogans. The linguistic features
and the persuasion techniques of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans are the
main subjects that are going to be analyzed.
2. Slogan
Slogan is important tool in advertisement because slogan is one element of
advertisement. Tom Altstiel (2008: 165) states that slogans are usually in the form
of a short phrase or sentence, which gives space for readers to explore the
product(s). Therefore, the advertiser chooses the interesting and creative words to
be the language of the slogan. Tom Altstiel (2008) said that slogans are usually
the catchphrases that appear after the logo in a print ad or at the end of the
commercial, and, in most cases, they are very forgettable. The slogan must be
communicative to make people easy to understand the message. Slogan is a tool to
create the product offered being interesting. This research is going to analyze the
slogans of Marlboro cigarette advertisement to know the linguistic features and
persuasion techniques that are used.
3. Marlboro Cigarette
Terry Martin (2014) states a cigarette is a cyndrical roll of shredded or
ground tobacco that is wrapped in paper or another substance that does not contain
tobacco. Many manufactured cigarette have filter on the one end intended to trap
some of toxic chemicals contained cigarette smoke. Cigars contain nicotine, the
substance in tobacco that makes people addicted.
Marlboro is the largest of cigarette selling brand in the world. This brand is
created by Philip Morris from the United States. He launched Marlboro brand in
1924. At the first time, Morris launched Marlboro cigarette as woman’s cigarette
based on the slogan “Mild as May” in the 1920s. The marketing targets on that
time were women, so the image of that cigarette was a woman. In 1950s, Philip
Morris repositioned Marlboro as men’s cigarette in order to fit a market niche of
men who were concerned about lung cancer. The red and white package was
designed by the designer Frank Gianninoto. The purposed company was to
construction worker. The first series of Marlboro cigarette was cowboy. The
Marlboro cigarette became best-selling brand. Now, Marlboro cigarette has many
varieties such as; Marlboro Red Label, Marlboro Gold Pack, Marlboro Silver
Pack, Marlboro Black, Marlboro Blend, and so on. This research focuses on the
language style of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. The images of the
slogans will be the data source during gathering data and data analysis.
4. Linguistic Features
Linguistic feature refers to language style. According to Verdonk (2002),
style in language is a set of conscious or unconscious choices of expression,
inspired or induced by particular context. It deals with the use of linguistic
features which consist of lexical features and syntactic features in Marlboro
cigarette advertisement slogans, such as hyperbole, weasel words, imperative and
long noun phrases. In this research, the research will analyze the linguistic
features used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans which influence the
customers through the use of persuasion technique.
5. Persuasion Techniques
Ross (1994: 168) says, “Persuasion is a process of skillfully and ethically
using logical thoughts, effective appeals, credibility and ethical proof to influence
and motivate others to responds as you wish them to.” In other words, persuasion
technique is a strategy of persuading people. In this research, the use of persuasion
techniques in Marlboro cigarette slogans is to invite and convince people to buy
used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans in influencing people to buy the
12 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter tries to explain the theories related the research. This chapter
consists of two parts, which are theoretical description and theoretical framework.
The theoretical description explains the theory of linguistic features, advertising
and also persuasion techniques which are become the foundation of the research.
The theoretical framework explains the main theories used in this research to
solve the problems of the research.
A. Theoretical Description
This part is going to explain two major theories which are description of
the linguistics features and advertising, and persuasion techniques theory. The
theoretical theory begins from the definition of the linguistics features. The
advertising theory discusses about theory which are related to advertising term
namely; the definition, the function, and the type of advertisement.
1. Linguistic Features in Advertisement
An advertisement usually uses linguistics features to make the
advertisement more interesting. According to Grey (2008) in his Language in Use, linguistic features of advertisement language style divided into two parts.
a. Lexical Features
The use of lexical features in advertisements is to make advertisements
become more unique. Advertisers use lexical features in advertisements to grab
consumers’ attention and willingness through the dictions they make. There are
ten lexical features based on Grey’s (2008) theory. They are hyperbole,
neologism, weasel word, familiar language, repetition, euphemism, humor,
glamorization, and potency.
1) Hyperbole
Hyperbole is used to vary the expression of personal feelings and opinion.
Leech (1972) says that “hyperbole concerned with personal values and
sentiments.” Hyperbole is used to exaggerate something, especially in describing
something in exaggerating manner. For example, more, new, real, fresh, and improved. Those words are often used in advertisement slogans.
2) Neologism
According to Grey (2008), a neologism is an expression or new word
which is created by joining two or more word parts together to create a new word.
For example,Volvocracy. It is a neologism of people in the government who deal with democracy and control Volvos.
3) Weasel Word
Grey (2008) says, “a weasel word suggests a meaning without being
specific. Some words which use weasel words, such as help, like, virtually,
about the product, what aspect which differentiates the product from other
products but the question will not be answered.
4) Familiar Language
In advertisement, the advertisers usually use the pronoun youit is because the advertisers want to feel more friendly and close to the customers. Grey (2008)
states that by using pronoun in advertisements, it makes the audience feel that
they are involved within the advertisement. The example is Hyundai’s slogan,
Drive You Away. Pronoun youshows a friendly attitude to Hyundai’s consumers.
5) Simple Vocabulary
The language of advertisements must be simple, brief, and clear in order to
make audience remember easily. Besides, the simple vocabulary should be
attractive, too. For example, a sloganScott makes it better for you.That slogan is easy to be understood by the audience because the slogan is simple. They know
what Scott is.
6) Repetition
In order to make a slogan more interesting, the advertisers use repetition.
Usually, repetition appears in written slogan. Based on Grey’s theory, repetition
has three types. They are alliteration, rhyme, and rhythm. First, alliteration is the
repetition in the initial consonant sound of a word to produce rhythmical and
musical effect. Example: finger of fudge the best four by four by far uses the repetition of /f/ sound to make it more interesting. Second, rhyme is a pattern of
identity of sound between words extending from the end to the last fully accented
varying the stressed and unstressed syllables of the words. “drinka pinta milka
day”is rhythm example.
7) Euphemism
Grey (2008) explains that euphemism is a figurative language type which
brings connotative meaning. The example of euphemism is, body odor.People use the words body odor because they want to avoid the use of unpleasant words.
Using body odorsounds better instead of bad smell
8) Humor
Humor is useful to attract and entertain the audience. The use of humor
makes something funny. By using humor, the customers will be more interesting
and happy. They prefer humor advertisement instead of serious advertisement. For
example, the use humor word in the word wonderfuel. Actually, the word wonderfuel is wonderful. Moreover, the advertiser wants to make humor from that
word and it makes customers more interested to the product.
9) Glamorization
Grey (2008) gives an example of glamorization; old house becomes
charming, characterful, olde, worlde or unique house. The use of those words will make thehouse become more valuable. By saying charming house instead ofold
house will make the house more valuable.Glamorization is used to give excessive effect for the advertisement.
10) Potency
Grey (2008) states that potential words are words which are able to give
Ogilvy as is quoted by Grey (2008) identifies the words free, now, how to,
suddenly, announcing, introducing, it’s here, just arrived, important development, improvement, amazing, sensational, remarkable, revolutionary startling, miracle,
magic,andofferas the potential words.
b. Syntactic Features
According to Grey (2008), syntactic features of advertisement based on
emergence of similar grammatical structure in the form of phrase. It means that
syntactic features deal with categories of words which have similar grammatical
properties. The language of advertising is simple. It can be easily seen from the
syntactic features of advertisement.
1) Short Sentence
The purpose of the use short sentence in advertisement is to grasp
audiences’ attention. Short sentence makes advertisement clearer to be understood
by audiences. For example, a slogan of insurance company is always listening, always understanding. That slogan language is short and simple. Moreover, the
audience gets clearness and they want to know more about the advertisement.
2) Long Noun Phrase
Based on Grey (2008), the advertisement product uses a long noun phrase
in three or more words or two or more independent phrases to catch the
audiences’ attention. For example, a description of a product saysFirst automatic
has special automatic chronograph. Besides, audiences’ perception is the product
is better from other products because the advertisement uses long phrase that is
not used in other product advertisements.
3) Ambiguity
A phrase or a sentence which has more than one cognitive meaning is
called an ambiguous phrase or sentence. According to Leech (1972), there is
contradiction between lexical ambiguity and grammatical ambiguity. Lexical
ambiguity consists of lexical homonymy and lexical polysemy, while grammatical
ambiguity consists of grammatical homonymy and grammatical polysemy. While
according to Grey (2008), ambiguity maybe syntactic or semantic (puns for
example). The use of ambiguity is to make a phrase memorable. The example of
ambiguity is the Electrolux slogan, “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux”The word sucks sounds negative but it is positive in this slogan because sucks is the primary
function of vacuum cleaner. The use word sucks is to grab audiences’ attention.
4) Use of Imperative
Many advertisers use an imperative to make the audience act or do
something, like buy or use the advertised product. The use of imperative is to
order something. For example, the imperative which is used in LA cigarettes
slogan, talk less, do more. That imperative suggests the audience to buy the product.
5) Simple and Colloquial Language
Grey (2008) defines that colloquial expressions do not bear the meaning
example, It ain’t half good. That sentence uses simple and colloquial language
because the word ain’tis informal word.
6) Present Tense
Grey (2008) says that a present tense implies a universal timelessness. The
use of present tense in advertisement is to make the advertisement looks real
whenever the audience sees or hears. Example of present tense is the slogan of
Rossini, Time always follows me. From that slogan whenever the audience sees or hear, they will feel like in the real time.
7) Syntactic Parallelism
The use of syntactic parallelism is to interest audience. Leech (1972) says
that parallelism is a repetition of formal patterns of two or more similar ideas in
similar structural forms. Example,stay dry, stay happy. From the example people can see the repetition in similar pattern of word stay. The word stay makes the
phrase more interesting.
8) Association
Sometimes, an advertisement uses words like and as. It is because the
advertisement should associate a positive side toward the product and other.
Example, fresh as a mountain stream. That example shows that freshness is
associated with a mountain stream although they are two different things.
9) Ellipsis
Goddard (2002, p. 123) describes ellipsis as “the omission of part of a
structure.” While according to Cook (1996), one of ellipsis purpose is to create the
understood to make advertisement more interesting and simple, (Grey, 2008). The
example is the utterance Nespresso, what else? Actually, the grammatical rules should be “You’ll take Nespresso. Then, what else would you like to drink?”If the
slogan uses grammatical rules it will become long sentence and it looks too
formal so the advertiser uses ellipsis to make the slogan interesting and simple.
10) Incomplete Sentence
Sometimes, the audience does not pay attention carefully to the sentence
of the advertisement. Grey (2008) says that an incomplete sentence is one kind of
the linguistic features of advertisements. The use of incomplete sentence is to
make audience grasp the main point of the advertisement. An example of
incomplete sentence is in L’Oréal slogan, “Because you’re worth it”. The slogan
is more interesting in an advertisement instead of the use of complete sentence
“We want you to use L’Oréal products as your make up products because you are
worth it.”
2. Advertising
This part is going to explain about advertising and advertisement. There
are several things which related to advertising and advertisement. They are the
definition of advertisement and the functions of advertisement.
a. The Definition of Advertisement
“Advertising is the non personal communication of information usually
paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services, or ideas by
That is why advertisement and advertising cannot be separated. Advertisement
should be made as the public communication by involving companies as a
message sender in order to persuade the consumers as a message receiver. While
according to Leon Quera (1973), “Advertising customarily considered as an effort
to present a persuasive message about a product by an individual company.” It can
be said that advertisement is form of communication used to persuade or attract
the audience. This part is going to explain about advertising and advertisement.
There are several things which related with advertising and advertisement. They
are the definition of advertisement, the functions of advertisement and types of
advertisement.
b. The Functions of Advertisement
Bovée and Arens (1986, p. 9) divide the function of the advertising into
five functions. The first function is marketing function, this function is to increase
the sales or profit, to make money, sell products and also companies develop
marketing strategies. Second function is communication function, this function had beginnings in ancient civilization. Communication of information is one of
the basic functions of the advertising. The third function is education function, people learn from advertising. People learn about the product, selling, and
marketing. Moreover, advertising must be educational to be successful. Fourth,
economic function, advertising promotes sales and commerce is to make people aware of the products, services, and ideas. The last function is social function,
countries around the world. An advertisement can also motivate people to buy the
products through give an attractive picture of the product.
c. Types of Advertisement
Based on Gilson and Berkman (1986) the classification advertisement is
divided into four types. They are printed media (e.g.: newspaper and magazine),
broadcasted media (e.g.: television and radio), direct and special media (e.g.:
catalogue, mail package, pen, and calendar), and out-of-home and directory media
(e.g.: poster in the bus shelter).
3. Persuasion Techniques in Advertisement
“Persuasion is a symbolic activity whose purpose is to effect the
internalization or voluntary acceptance of few cognitive states or patterns of overt
behavior through the exchange of message.” Ross (1994, p. 8). It can be said that
people have a choice toward the persuasion. The persuasion can exchange
people’s mind but they can choose whether they want to accept it or not. Besides,
Hornby (1995, p. 864) defines that “persuasion refers to the action of persuading
or being persuaded.” It means that a persuasion have a characteristics to spurred
people to act or do something. The persuasion has to have a quality in persuading
people.
According to Kleppner (1986), the classification of persuasive techniques
is divided marketing situation and human characteristics. There are three
persuasive techniques. They are pioneering stage, competitive stage, and retentive
a. Pioneering Stage
Pioneering stage technique is used to introduce a new variant product
which has been released in the market. This technique is used by advertisers to
convince customers that their products have good quality and it can satisfy the
customers. The advertisers also show their products to the customers and they
can find their needs by using the products. Based on Kleppner’s (1986) theory,
there are some purposes of pioneering stage, they are; to educate consumers
about new product or service, to show that people have a need they did not
appreciate before and that advertised product fulfill their need, to show that a
product now exist although it already had been recognized but previously cannot
have been fulfilled. It can be said that this technique aims to convince the
consumers about their new variant product which can fulfill consumers’ need
instead of their previous product in market. The example is Nike shoes. At the
first time Nike sold running shoes with sonar detectors which could tell them
how far and fast they had run. Then, Nike introduced Nike + shoes system of
running which had sensor to calculate the speed of runners.
b. Competitive Stage
Many advertisements compete with others’ products. They want to make
people interested with their product. In competitive stage, the advertisers guide
the people to choose their product which is available in the market. Then, people
will think which the best one product so they will choose it. The advertisers have
to show their product quality and uniqueness to make customers buy their
communicate the products’ position or differentiate it to consumers. It means that
the advertisers tell their products’ position in the market to the consumers and also
tell their superiority of their products from other products so the consumers will
choose their products. For instant, there is a better way to smooth your skin (Nivia Lotion). So Nivia lotion claims that their product is better from other product to
smooth skin.
c. Retentive Stage
Retentive stage is used to remind the customers about the product which
still exists in the market. The product usually exists for long time, so that the
advertisers have to remember their product. This technique is to maintain the
existence of a product because over the year, many successful product companies
stop their advertising and it makes the public forgot about their product quickly.
Besides, there are other products challenge the leadership position so this
technique has to use as long as possible to maintain the products. Example of
retentive stage is Coca-Cola product. Coca-Cola has effectively used magazine advertisement for years. Some of Coca-Cola advertisement only shows the bottle
of coke and company logo but it reminds the readers of the product and then they
buy it.
B. Theoretical Framework
This section provides the theories used to answer the research questions. In
this research, the researcher used theories about linguistic features in cigarette
used theory from Bovée and Arens, (1986, p. 5) “Advertising is the non personal
communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature
about products, services, or ideas by identified sponsors through the various
media.”
Hence, in advertising the companies used linguistic features in order to
make the advertisement more interesting. This way was effective because by
watching, reading, or listening the advertisement the consumers would influence
to buy the product(s) through the advertisement which was made. Besides, the
researcher used Grey’s theory (2008). His theory had specific description about
linguistic features which were used in advertisement and the researcher did not
find the theory as complete as Grey’s (2008) theory about linguistic features.
Grey (2008) said that linguistics features of advertisement language style
divided into two parts. The first part was lexical features and the second part was
syntactic features. The lexical features were hyperbole, neologism, weasel word,
familiar language, simple vocabulary, repetition, euphemism, humor,
glamorization, and potency. While syntactic features consisted of short sentence,
long noun phrase, ambiguity, use of imperative, simple and colloquial language,
present tense, syntactic parallelism, association, ellipsis, and incomplete sentence.
Advertisement is a form of communication used to persuade or attract the
audience. It was why the advertisement used linguistic features to attract the
consumers.
Additionally, linguistic features were needed in cigarette advertisement
Basically, cigarette is bad for health but by using interesting advertisement, it can
influence audience to buy the product(s). The other theory was from Bovée and
Arens, which was about the function of advertisement.
Second, the researcher used Kleppenes’s (1986) theory. This theory could
answer the second question about persuasion techniques. According to Kleppner
(1986) there are three persuasion theories. They are pioneering stage, competitive
stage, and retentive stage. Kleppner (1986) divided the persuasion techniques
based on the marketing situation and human characteristics. The researcher used
this theory because Kleppner’s theory had clear explanation about the type of
26 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of six parts. The first part is research method
implemented to conduct the research. The second part is research setting or the
place and the time that the research was conducted. The third is research of data.
The fourth is research instruments which were collected data. The fifth is data
analysis. The last subtopic is the procedure of the research.
A. Research Method
This research had two questions. They were (1) What are the linguistic
features used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans published in the United
States? (2) What kinds of persuasion techniques does Marlboro cigarette use
through the slogans to influence the customers to buy the products? In order to
answer these questions, the researcher conducted qualitative research. Brown and
Rodgers (2002, p. 12) state that qualitative research is “research which is based
on non-numerical data predominantly, it can be subdivided into various different
non-numerical qualitative research techniques for gathering data, for example
observations/field notes, case studies, diaries, etc.” Moreover, this research did not
deal with numerical data because this research focused on descriptive research.
Best and Kahn (1989) state that a type of research describes what are the
describing, recording, analyzing, interpreting conditions that exist. This research
The research method was content analysis. According to Fraenkel and
Wallen (2008), content analysis is “a technique that enables researchers to study
in human behavior indirect way through an analysis of their communication” (p.
472). In this research, the content analysis was indirect research. The researcher
took the data by analyzing slogan images. According to Ary, Jacobs, and
Razevieh (2002), the material can be taken from public records, textbooks, letters,
films, tapes, diaries, reports, themes, and so on. Impinging this study, the
researcher wanted to analyze the content of Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans. In this research, the data sources were Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans which were published in the United States.
B. Research Setting
The research was conducted from September 2014 to March 2017. The
researcher looked for the data sources on September 2014 until October 2014.
After finding the data sources, the researcher gathered the data and then analyzed
the data. This part took the longest time because the data analysis needed to be
rechecked and revised for several times. It was from October 2014 until March
2017. The researcher selected ten Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans which
are published in the United States to be the sample of this research.
C. Research Subject
Ten Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans were the subject of this
There were many cigarette advertisement slogans used linguistic features.
However, the researcher chose ten Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans from
different variants. Those ten slogans were the most representative among other
slogans of Marlboro cigarette advertisement. They are Mild as May (Marlboro 1924), The filter cigarette with the unfiltered taste (Marlboro 1950), Come to
where the flavor is, come to Marlboro country (Marlboro 1977), The Longhorns come to Marlboro country (Marlboro Gold Pack 100’s), Open the new world of
fresh taste (Marlboro Blue Ice), Cool menthol cool finish (Marlboro skyline), Be bold be black (Marlboro black), The spirit of Marlboro in a low tar cigarette (Marlboro Lights), Mother earth needs you (Marlboro Earth), and Richer, bolder
(Marlboro Blend No. 54)
According to Leedy and Ormrod (2005), purposive sampling is the most
appropriate method to select the appropriate sample because the samples should
yield the greatest amount of information about the topic under the research. Those
ten representatives of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans were used as
purposive sample in this research. The purpose of choosing those ten samples
was to analyze the linguistic features and persuasion techniques were contained in
those cigarette advertisement slogans deeply. The researcher chose the written form of Marlboro cigarette slogans as the data of the research.
D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Technique
In this research, the researcher used two instruments. The instruments are
a. Researcher as the Human Instrument
Merriam (2002) says that in qualitative research, “the researcher becomes
the primary instrument for data collection and data analysis. It means that the
researcher is the key person to conduct the research.” In this research, the
researcher chose ten slogans of Marlboro advertisement to be analyzed.
b. Images and Written Forms of Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans as Document Instruments
According to Ary et al. (2002), in qualitative research, especially in
content analysis, the material of analyzed can be in the form of public records,
textbooks, letters, films, tapes, and many more. In this research, the document was
the images and written forms of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans which
gathered from www.google.com. Those ten slogans of Marlboro cigarette
advertisement were used to answer the research questions. The images and written
forms were useful to obtain the research data. The researcher analyzed the slogans
which were written in the Marlboro cigarette advertisement.
The research was qualitative. In gathering data, the researcher took the data
from www.google.com. The technique of gathering data in online sources was
similar to Merriam’s study that “...with the advent of computer technology and the
World Wide Web, data can also be collected on-line” (Merriam, 2002). The
researcher used ten slogans of Marlboro cigarette advertisement to solve those two
research questions by analyzing those ten Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans. In this research, the researcher conducted some steps in collecting data.
www.google.com. Then, the researcher chose some data to be analyzed the linguistic features and persuasion technique contained in Marlboro cigarette
advertisement slogans.
E. Data Analysis Technique
The research of the study was qualitative research and the type of the
research was content analysis. Ary et al. (2002) said that content analysis learned
about the phenomena by studying the documents. The phenomenon was linguistic
features and persuasion technique used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans. The data used in this research were linguistic features and persuasion
technique case used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. The research
began from collecting the data from online source, www.google.com. After
selecting ten Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans the researcher prepared
two tables to analyze the linguistic features and persuasive techniques. The first
that was table 3.1 prepared to categorize the linguistic features were going to be
analyzed. It consisted of 10 lexical features and 10 syntactic features. Those
features were based on Grey’s (2008) theory about linguistic features in
advertisement. Those linguistic features were hyperbole, neologism, weasel word,
familiar language, simple vocabulary, repetition, euphemism, humor,
glamorization, potency, short sentence, long noun phrase, ambiguity, use of
imperative, simple and colloquial language, present tense, syntactic parallelism,
association, ellipsis, and incomplete sentence. The second table was table 3.2
advertisement slogans. The researcher used Kleppner’s (1986) theory about
classification persuasion technique to answer the second research question.
After preparing two tables (table 3.1, and 3.2), the researcher analyzed the
linguistic features and persuasion techniques of the Marlboro cigarette
advertisement slogans. The researcher explained the meaning of the linguistic
features for each slogan. Then, the researcher explained the persuasion technique
used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. By explaining the meaning of
the linguistic features in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans the researcher
knew the reason of linguistic features and persuasion technique in cigarette
advertisements which influenced consumers.
Table 3.1 The Checklist of (Feature X) in Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans
Slogan Variants (Feature X)
Table 3.1 was used to answer first research problem regarding the
linguistic features used in the data. The linguistic features are based on Grey’s
(2008) theory. There are ten lexical features and ten syntactic features for
Table 3.2 The Checklist of Persuasion Techniques in Marlboro Advertisement Slogans
Variety
Persuasion Techniques
Pioneering Stage Competitive Stage Retentive Stage
Table 3.2 was to check persuasion techniques used in Marlboro cigarette
advertisement slogans. The researcher analyzed the persuasion techniques based
on the theory from Kleppner (1986).
F. Research Procedure
There were six steps done by the researcher to accomplish the study in
conducting this research. They are:
1. Deciding the topic
The researcher decided the topic that was going to be discussed. The
researcher chose to analyze the linguistics features used in Marlboro cigarette
advertisement slogans.
2. Formulating the problems
The researcher formulated the problems regarded the topic. The researcher
3. Searching the theories
After formulating problem, the researcher searched theories which related
to the topic. The researcher selected some appropriate theories that could support
the research.
4. Collecting data
The researcher collected the data from internet. The website address was www.google.com. The researcher chose ten Marlboro cigarette advertisement
slogans published in the United States. The form of the slogans was written form.
5. Analyzing the data
After collecting the data, the researcher analyzed the data. The researcher
analyzed the linguistic features and persuasion techniques used in Marlboro
advertisement slogans by preparing the tables and checklist. The use of tables and
checklist were very helpful for the researcher to analyze the linguistic features and
persuasion techniques used in Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans. In order
to answer the research questions, the researcher used Grey’s theory (2008) about
linguistic features and Kleppner’s (1986) theory about persuasion techniques.
6. Writing the report
Finally, the researcher wrote the report related to the research. The report
was about the process and the result of the research. The researcher hoped that the
34 CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter consists of two parts, they are findings and discussion. There
are two sections in this chapter. The first section discusses the linguistic features
of Marlboro cigarette slogans. The second section explains the persuasion
techniques of Marlboro cigarette slogans.
A. The Linguistic Features of Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans According to Grey (2008), there are two major features of the
advertisement language style. They are lexical features and syntactic features.
Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans had some parts of those elements in the
language. They used linguistic features to influence consumers to buy the
product(s).
1. The Lexical Features of Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans
The lexical features of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans deal with
the diction used in the advertisements. In this research, the words were contained
in the slogans of Marlboro cigarette advertisements. The writer only chose ten
Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans from different variants. Those ten
slogans were the most representative among other slogans of Marlboro cigarette
advertisement. The words can represent what the company wants to persuade
consumers. The diction can reinforce people to believe the words in slogans
lexical features of Marlboro cigarette advertisement slogans can be seen in The
36
Table 4.1. The Lexical Features of Marlboro Cigarette Advertisement Slogans
Variant Hyperbole Neologism Weasel Word
Familiar Language
Simple Vocabulary
Repetitio
n Euphemism Humor Glamorization Potency
Marlboro 1924
Marlboro 1950
Marlboro 1977
Marlboro Gold
Pack 100’s
Marlboro Blue Ice
Marlboro Black
Marlboro Lights
Marlboro Earth
Marlboro Skyline
Marlboro Blend No. 54
a. Lexical Features ofMarlboro 1924
Variant Lexical Features
Marlboro
1924
Weasel Word Simple Vocabulary Repetition Potency
Marlboro 1924 was the first product of Marlboro cigarette. The slogan of
Marlboro 1924 is Mild as May. The image of the slogan was a woman. There
were four lexical features in Marlboro 1924. First, Marlboro 1924 used weasel
word. According to Grey (2008), a weasel word suggests a meaning without being
specific. By using of weasel word in the advertisement, people will miss some
information and ask some questions based on the advertisement. Marlboro 1924
used weasel word because from the slogan people would ask “What kind of mild
sensation which I will taste.” then they buy the product. Second, Marlboro 1924
used simple vocabulary. The slogan Mild as May was simple, clear, and brief so
people were easy to remember. The next feature was repetition. The slogan used
rhyme type because a pattern of identity of the sound between words extending
from the end to the last fully accented vowel. The last lexical feature in Marlboro
1924 was potency. Mild as May used potency because people could see that the slogan offered mild cigarette product which gives a new sensation taste to
consumers.
b. Lexical Features of Marlboro 1950
Variant Lexical Features
Marlboro 1950 released on the similar year with the slogan the filter
cigarette with the unfiltered taste. This cigarette variant used three lexical features. The first feature was weasel word. After reading the slogan, people could
raise a question, “How the taste of filter cigarette with the unfiltered taste.” Then,
people would be curious to the product. They would buy the product to know the
taste which made them curious. Beside, Marlboro 1950 also used simple
vocabulary. The slogan was easy to remember because clear and simple. People
did not find any difficulties to understand the slogan. Last, Marlboro 1950 used
potency feature. The filter cigarette with the unfiltered taste showed that the
product of Marlboro 1950 gave new taste of cigarette to consumers.
c. Lexical Features of Marlboro 1977
Variant Lexical Features
Marlboro 1977 Simple Vocabulary Potency
There were only vocabulary and potency features appearing in Marlboro
1977. The slogan, come to where the flavor is, come to Marlboro countrymeant
that people should come to Marlboro country to taste Marlboro flavor. It used
simple vocabulary in order to make people understand easily. The potential word
which used by advertiser in Marlboro 1977 was come. The advertiser tried to invite people to taste Marlboro 1977 so that consumers tasted the real taste of
d. Lexical Features of Marlboro Gold Pack 100’s
The Longhorns come to Marlboro country is the slogan of Marlboro Gold
Pack 100’s. This slogan used three lexical features. First, Marlboro Gold Pack
100’s used simple vocabulary as previous slogans which were simple and clear.
Afterward, Euphemism appeared in this slogan. The word Longhorns was connotative word which meant a type of cow from Texas, United State which is
big, tall, and strong. The slogan used the word “The longhorns” because it
potency. The advertiser wanted to introduce a variant product which bigger,
Marlboro Company also releases Marlboro Blue Ice in market. They want
to give many cigarette variants to consumers so consumers can choose their
favorite variants. The slogan of Marlboro Blue Ice is Open the world of fresh taste.Some of lexical features appeared in Marlboro Blue Ice. In this slogan, the
advertiser used hyperbole feature. Hyperbole is used to exaggerate the product in
order to attract consumers’ attention toward the product. The word newmeant that
the advertiser wanted to emphasize that they had new variant product of Marlboro
cigarette. The other word which indicated the use of hyperbole was fresh. By using that word the advertiser wanted the consumers would find fresh sensation
which was different from other products. The use of hyperbole in Marlboro Ice
Blue slogan was to influence consumers to taste the product.
Beside, the slogan used weasel word to make people curious about what
kind of new world it was. Then, they bought the product. The slogan of Marlboro
Blue Ice was clear that is why the slogan used simple vocabulary. Last, the slogan
used potency. From the slogan people could draw a conclusion that Marlboro
cigarette had new product in the market and that new product was fresh.
f. Lexical Features of Marlboro Black
Variant Lexical Features
Marlboro Black Simple Vocabulary Potency
There were only two lexical features in Marlboro Black. They were simple
black. The advertiser used simple vocabulary to the slogan to make it memorable and easy to understand by people. The slogan also used potency feature to give
new value to the product so people will be influenced by the slogan.
g. Lexical Features of Marlboro Lights
Variant Lexical Features
Marlboro Lights Simple Vocabulary Potency
As the previous slogan, Marlboro Light also used simple vocabulary and
potency features. The slogan of Marlboro Light is the spirit of Marlboro in a low
tar cigarette. The slogan meant that the consumers could try a low tar cigarette but the taste was still similar with Marlboro cigarette. The slogan was easy to
understand because the use of vocabulary in the slogan was simple, clear, brief.
Then, the slogan used potency feature. The potential word was spirit. The slogan showed that the product give spirit of Marlboro cigarette to the consumers in the
low tar variant of Marlboro cigarette.
Many lexical features appeared in Marlboro Earth. The slogan of Marlboro
earth used six lexical features. They were weasel word, familiar language, simple
