Discourse Structures in Bangladeshi Educational Advertisements: A Critique

Abstract

It is virtually impossible to get away from advertising, yet we know so little about it. Visual (pictorial) and verbal (textual) elements in advertisements mesh to send the appropriate message to the target audience. At times the ethical/unethical divide is unclear, raising questions regarding the subtle distinction between persuasion and manipulation. In Bangladesh, private universities use specific discourse structures in their admission ads comprising linguistic and visual elements to advertise to their target audience. In order to convince and influence the target audience, sometimes advertisers resort to particular choices of discourse structures that at one level aim to attain a communicative goal by providing necessary information, but upon critical analysis, at another level intend to attain a communicative goal through manipulative means.