The effectiveness of visual rhetoric in public awareness prints advertising as a social culture space in Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role being played by visual rhetoric in Malaysia’s public announcement print advertising scene. In particular, this study will discuss how visual rhetoric represents image with underlying meanings in print media such as magazines and newspaper advertisements by using semiotic approaches. Visual rhetoric seems to be an important element to increase the effectiveness of the process of information exchange. It yields more successful communication process with audiences. In fact visual rhetoric helps to get messages from audiences in a persuasive way. It aids audiences to assign meaning to what they sense and believe. The output from this study will be used to propose a system or guideline that would be employed by visual rhetoric in print media to instil advertising awareness. This allows people from various social cultures to engage themselves with the activity of comprehending the message carried by the visuals displayed to them. In other words, visual rhetoric can be described as a tool for media communication. This study will also spread knowledge on the usefulness of visual rhetoric in print advertising beyond the fact that they are a pleasure to the eyes as their presence accounts as beautiful crafts to the eyes of human. Audiences processing the message of an advertisement can be awed by what they see, thus increasing their brand awareness. In short, the persuasion through semiotic imagery language factor has been attained.