“MEKDI” SCARY DELIVERY ADS: THE ANALYSIS OF RHETORICAL ELEMENTS

Authors

  • Rabiatul Adawiyah Ibrahim Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia
  • Siti Aisyah Mohd Wadzir Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia
  • Aiman Saufi Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia
  • Noor Hanim Rahmat Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia

Keywords:

video advertisement, rhetorical elements

Abstract

Aristotle’s Rhetorical persuasive elements, namely logos, ethos, and pathos, are widely adapted in any kind of business document with the intention to hook the audience’s attention. This paper analyses one McDonald’s (also known as “MEKDI” in Malaysia) video advertisement on the application of rhetorical elements based on Aristotle’s persuasion of appeal. Identifying these three elements is the main purpose of this paper in realising the persuasive content drawn towards the audience in the advertisement, leading this paper to conclude whether the usage of rhetoric element strategies is overwhelming or not, given the author’s specific purpose and specific audience. The document studied is one video advertisement of the famous fast-food chain McDonald’s Malaysia. The rhetorical analysis was used to interpret the meaning of this assessment topic. Based on the findings, the video advertisement uses emotional content to engage with the audience rather than the rational quality of the advertisements where the logic of health and nutrition claims are not salient concerns. Further studies should include audience feedback to enable data triangulation for validation purposes as this paper is only to ascertain the rhetorical elements used in the advertisements and does not consider the rhetorical elements that appeal more to the audience.

Author Biographies

  • Rabiatul Adawiyah Ibrahim, Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia

    Rabiatul Adawiyah Ibrahim is currently working on her Master in Language Studies at Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam. She has a degree Education (TESL) from Universiti Selangor and has experience teaching English Language at tertiary level. Her research interest lies in discourse, sociolinguistics and genre. She is also working on to improve her Arabic Language proficiency. At present, she works as UiTM Postgraduate Teaching Assistant.

  • Siti Aisyah Mohd Wadzir, Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia

    Siti Aisyah Mohd Wadzir is a postgraduate student from Universiti Teknologi MARA, currently taking a Master in Professional Communication. She is a TESL graduate from Universiti Putra Malaysia and has experience in teaching in secondary school and tertiary level. Her interest mainly in communication and culture in educational and professional settings.

  • Aiman Saufi, Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia

    Aiman Saufi currently pursuing Master in Professional Communication at University Teknologi Mara. He has worked in corporate communication sector as a public affair officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. His interest consists of learning new languages, communication and teaching.

  • Noor Hanim Rahmat, Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia

    Noor Hanim Rahmat is an Associate Professor at the Akademi Pengajian Bahasa in Univerisiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. She teaches masters and degree courses and specialises in ESL Academic Writing and Writing for Professional Communication. She has written several articles in proceedings, and journal. She has also written several books as well as chapters in books in ESL. 

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Published

2019-10-24

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2019)

Section

Articles