The Manipulation of Kenyan Television Viewers through the Modes of Signification in Television Advertisements

Abstract

Television advertisements come in multi-modes, that is, they use verbal and visual modes of signification. This poses a challenge in that in multimodal discourses, television viewers are faced with the changing phenomena in which language per se is being displaced by sound and image, taking over tasks associated with the role of language. This paper analyzes the modes of signification of Kenyan television advertisements in relation to consumer reactions and responses to the advertisements. This paper examines how the modes of signification are used to craft advertisements that appeal to television viewers and determines their impact on Kenyan consumer culture. Using Kress and Van Leeuwen’s Multimodal Discourse Analysis theory, the study examines the manipulation of six modes of signification in ten Kenyan television advertisements so as to project the desired images. Multimodality typically refers to the multiple modes through which social semiosis takes place. In this paper we argue that television advertisements create meaning through the careful manipulation of verbal and visual modes of signification so as to craft the desired interpretations that are advantageous to the advertisers. The study critically analyzes the advertisements and determines that advertisements manipulate language in such a way that the interpretations made are often to the advertisers’ advantage. The locus of interpretation is placed on the viewer, and the discourses are manipulated in such a way that the readings made are to the benefit of the advertiser. Findings reveal that viewers do not necessarily read the modes of signification as individual images but rather as episodes in the entire discourse that help create the whole message as one complex entity. It also posits that advertisements are effective in eliciting the desired responses from television viewers thus advertisements promote consumerism and globalization.