Persuasive Strategies used in the Advertisement of Herbal Medicine in Ghana

Abstract

This study examines the persuasive strategies used in the advertisement of herbal medicine from a critical discourse analysis perspective. The study focused on the use of language in herbal medicine advertisement and the persuasive strategies used by herbal practitioners to advertise their products. The study used Van Dijk’s (2006) concept of manipulation as the conceptual framework. Aristotle’s persuasive appeals were applied in analyzing a twenty-three minute herbal medicine advertising jingle. The findings indicated different persuasive strategies such as ideology, intertextuality, the use of indigenous languages, repetition, personal pronouns, and rhetorical questions to manipulate the audience. The study also examined how these strategies are used to control the mind and maintain power over the audience. The study revealed that the herbal medicine practitioners control the minds and experiences of their listeners by the excessive use of pathos (emotional appeals) to create to a large extent, manipulation of the minds and beliefs of their listeners for them to patronize their product.