Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis on the advertisement of Colgate

Abstract

In semiotics there is an analysis called multimodal analysis. This study aimed to analyze the advertisement of Colgate in audiovisual formed, when Colgate advertisement is one of the Super Bowl commercial breaks in USA. This study applied on semantic approach focused on the multimodal discourse analysis. The method applied in this study was descriptive qualitative method. The result of this study was that Colgate Total advertisement covers five aspects in a multimodal semiotic system, namely linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, and location aspects. These five aspects come together to make the ad appearance very attractive and easy to remember. A product that is advertised, if many people are able to remember the words, visuals, accompanying music, and actors in the advertisement, it means that the message in the product has successfully reached the audience. It could be predicted that these products would be able to survive in the market. This ad for Colgate Total toothpaste products displays clear and interesting information about what people want from a product, namely its ingredients and the benefits of using it. Messages in the form of language carried out through spoken language and written language make the audience understand more about what is being promoted. This ad makes a unique impression on the audience because of its short duration but important overall message. The linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, and location aspects of a multimodal semiotic system were all addressed in this advertisement. These five elements combine to create a visually appealing and memorable advertisement. Keywords: multimodality, advertisement, analysis