The Discourse of Print Advertising in the Philippines:

Generic Structures and Linguistic Features

Danilo T. Dayag
Department of English and Applied Linguistics
De La Salle University
Manila, The Philippines
This paper aims to examine the generic structures and linguistic properties of ads
in Philippine magazines. Taken from the Corpus of Asian Magazine Advertising: The
Philippine Database, the corpus consists of seventy-four ads for consumer
nondurables such as medicines, vitamins and food supplements, and
cosmetic/beauty/personal hygiene products. The study found that the ads
demonstrated preference for certain generic structures and linguistic features, making
them reason (rather than tickle) ads which may be described as direct. The paper
argues that the directness of these ads contributes to making them covert
communication.
Keywords: print ads, genre, generic structures, linguistic novelty, assertives, directives

1. Introduction
One of the most ubiquitous discourses is advertisements. When we watch TV in the comfort
of our living rooms, we are bombarded with ads; when we read a newspaper or magazine,
somehow our attention is distracted by one form of an ad or another. On our way to school or
office, we come across ads in various shapes or colors. Indeed, advertising, whether print,
broadcast, or any other type, is part of our everyday lives.
It is no wonder then that advertising discourse has attracted the attention of scholars in over
two decades. Simpson (2001) acknowledges that there has been an enormous upsurge of
interest in the linguistic and discoursal characteristics of advertising (p. 589), adding that the
studies conducted have been anchored on different traditions and perspectives, such as
cognitive, cultural and anthropological, genre and register analysis, critical discourse analysis,
and linguistic pragmatics (Simpson, 2001, p. 590). In recent years, research has focused on
reader effects of poetic and rhetorical elements in ads from a relevance-theoretic perspective.
For instance, van Mulken, van Enschot-van Dijk, and Hoeken (2005) aimed to find out whether
slogans in ads are appreciated more than slogans without a pun, and whether puns containing
two relevant interpretations are appreciated more than puns containing only one relevant
interpretation (p. 707). To do this, 68 participants rated their appreciation of 24 slogans. The
results showed that the presence or absence of puns had a significant impact on the respondents
appreciation of the slogans. Furthermore, whether the pun contained two relevant interpretations
or only one did not influence the extent to which they were considered funny, but the former
were considered a better choice than the latter (van Mulken, van Enschot-van Dijk, and Hoeken,
2005).
Lagerwerf (2007), on the other hand, examined the effects on audiences of irony in ads and
of sarcasm in public information announcements. Two studies were conducted. Sixty students
took part in the first study, with stimuli consisting of 12 magazine ads, six of which were
positively formulated and six negatively. In the second, there were 40 students who participated
in the experiment, with stimuli consisting of ads that were partly based on the researchers own
designs and partly on actual ads. In advertisements for commercial products and services, irony
was found in the use of negative captions where positive captions were expected. Sarcasm was
used by placing a positive caption against a background displaying a harrowing picture. Such
departures from common practice in the use of negative and positive wordings were regarded as
inappropriate. It turned out that advertisements with ironic intent were appreciated more when
the inappropriateness was re-interpreted correctly as irony (Study 1). Even so, irony and

sarcasm may impede a proper understanding of the advertisements informative intention. This
has a negative impact on the assessment by an audience of the importance of the societal issues
emphasized in sarcastic announcements (Study 2) (Lagerwerf, 2007).
Working within the pragmatic construct of metadiscourse, Fuertes-Olivera, et al. (2001)
analyzed the metadiscourse devices typically used by ad copywriters to construct their slogans
and/or headlines. The researchers analysis proceeded from the assumption that advertising
English should be represented as a continuum of text functions fluctuating between informing
and manipulating in accordance with the idea that advertising is an example of covert
communication. Based on an examination of ads from a womens magazine, they concluded
that both textual and interpersonal metadiscourse devices help copywriters to convey a
persuasive message under an informative mask (Fuertes-Olivera, et al., 2001).
The present study seeks to contribute to the ongoing interest in describing the discourse of
advertising. In particular, it aims to describe magazine ads in the Philippines in terms of their
generic structures and linguistic properties, including speech acts performed by utterances. The
study is anchored on Simpsons (2001) reason-tickle binary distinction between types of
advertising discourse, which expands Bernsteins (1974) proposal. In Simpsons view, reason
ads are those which suggest a motive or reason for purchase. Furthermore, these ads follow a
basic discourse pattern and the corresponding conjunctive adjuncts conditional, causal, and
purposive which realize the pattern. This pattern parallels the notion of generic structure) (see
discussion of generic structure below). Tickle ads, by contrast, are those which appeal to
humor, emotion and mood. Unlike reason ads which are stable in terms of structure and whose
language is straightforward, tickle ads are indirect, and therefore need the readers inferencing
strategies to figure out what they convey (Simpson, 2001). Figure 1 locates the reason-tickle
construct within three well-known pragmatic models:
Grice
(1975)

Reason

Direct

Tickle

Oblique

maximal efficiency

implicature

Brown
& Levisnson
(1987)

Sperber
& Wilson
(2004)

bald-onrecord

strong
relevance

off-record

weak
relevance

Figure 1. Reason-tickle distinction and pragmatic models (Simpson, 2001, p. 593)

In looking at the generic structure of print ads as texts, the study proceeds from the
assumption that an ad is a genre, defined here as a class of communicative events, the members
of which share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognized by the
expert members of the parent discourse community, and thereby constitute the rationale for the
genre (Swales, 1990, pp. 45-58). The unit of genre analysis is rhetorical move (or simply
move), a functional unit (Halleck and Connor, 2006, p. 72) or a semantic unit related to the
writers purpose (Hassan, 2008, p. 39), which has been used by several genre-analytic studies.
These include research that has focused on academic texts like research article introductions
(e.g. Swales, 1990) and on professional texts such as sales letters (e.g. Bhatia, 1993).
Taking its cue from Simpson (2001), the study uses modified generic structures consisting of
the following moves: Giving Reason/s for Buying + Citing Positive Benefits (or Cause +
Effect), and Creating Need/Purpose + Recommending Course of Action. In addition, five other
structures have been used in the study. They are Identifying Product Name/Features + Citing
Positive Benefits, Creating Need + Identifying Product Name, Describing Company/Product +
Identifying Product Name, Identifying Product Name + Slogan, Conditional Constructions

(Antecedent + Consequent), and Combination of structures (e.g. Creating Need + Identifying

Product Name + Citing Positive Benefits).
The linguistic properties used in this paper are based on features which were found by
Lakoff (1982) and Geis (1982) to have been possessed by advertisements, which, in turn, were
used by Schmidt and Kess (1986) in characterizing televangelism. Among these properties are
linguistic novelty, repetition of names, adjectivalization processes, and imperative structures. In
addition, the description of noun phrases, especially their pre-modification structures, has been
influenced by Rushs (1998) characterization of the complexity of NPs in the ads. Finally, codeswitching patterns in the ads are described in terms of Dayag (2002), which differentiates
between inter-sentential code-switching, intra-sentential code-switching, and tag switching,
using the terminology of Poplack (1980).
Drawing upon the works of Searle (1979), the present study also analyzes the speech acts
performed by utterances in the ads. Specifically, it uses Searles (1979) taxonomy of
illocutionary acts consisting of five general types, namely, assertives (representatives),
directives, commissives, declarations, and expressives. Huang (2007) defines assertives as
those kinds of speech act that commit the speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition, and
thus carry a truth-value. They express the speakers belief (Huang, 2007, p. 106). Examples are
asserting, claiming, concluding, reporting, and stating (Huang, 2007, p. 106). In this study, an
assertive generally takes the form of a claim, which is an assertion, statement or implication (as
of value, effectiveness, qualification, eligibility) which predicates a past or present event and
whose justification is not readily verifiable (Schmidt and Kess, 1986, p. 49). Directives, on the
other hand, are those kinds of speech act that represent attempts by the speaker to get the
addressee to do something, and they include advice, commands, orders, questions, and
requests (Huang, 2007, p. 107). Commissives commit the speaker to some future course of
action, and offers, pledges, promises, refusals, and threats are some examples (Huang, 2007,
p. 107). Declarations (or declaratives) effect immediate changes in some current state of
affairs (Huang, 2007, p. 108). Also called institutionalized performatives, declarations include
bidding in bridge, declaring war, excommunicating, firing from employment, and nominating a
candidate (Huang, 2007, p. 108). Lastly, expressives express a psychological attitude or state
in the speaker such as joy, sorrow, and likes/dislikes (Huang, 2007, p. 107). Examples include
apologizing, blaming, congratulating, praising, and thanking (Huang, 2007, p. 107).
In Austins (1962) view, certain conditions must be fulfilled for a speech act to be felicitous.
Searle (1969) elaborated on this by proposing felicity conditions of speech acts, i.e. constitutive
rules (or rules that create the activity itself) (Huang, 2007, 104). The felicity conditions for
assertive and directives are shown below:
Propositional content
Preparatory condition

p
1. S has evidence (reasons etc.) for the truth of p
2. It is not obvious to both S and H that H knows (does not need to be
reminded of, etc.) p
Sincerity condition
S believes p
Essential condition
The utterance of e counts as an undertaking to the effect that p
represents an actual state of affairs
(Searle, 1969, p. 67, cited in Allan, 2008)
Figure 2. Felicity conditions for assertives

Propositional content
Preparatory condition

Future act A of H
(a) S believes H can do A (b) It is not obvious that H would do A
without being asked
Sincerity condition
S wants H to do A
Essential condition
The utterance of e counts as an attempt to get H to do A
where: A = act
S = speaker
H = hearer
e = linguistic expression
(Searle (1969) quoted in Huang, 2007, p. 105)
Figure 3. Felicity conditions for directives
2. Methodology
The corpus of the study consists of 74 ads for non-consumer durables, broken down as
follows: 28 (medicines), 25 (vitamins and food supplements), and 21 (cosmetics/beauty/
personal hygiene products). They were taken from health and entertainment magazines
published from 2005 to 2007, which were sub-components of the Corpus of Asian Magazine
Advertising (CAMA): The Philippine database (Dayag, 2008). The CAMA corpus building
project seeks to compile a corpus of advertisements from various East and Southeast Asian
magazines. The completed corpus as well as a catalogued database of the advertisements will be
made available to each research team working to complete the corpus (CAMA sampling
guidelines, p. 1).
For the purposes of this study, only the verbal elements of the headline and body text of each
ad were considered for analysis. These were coded in terms of generic structures and linguistic
features including speech acts, following the discussion above.
3. Generic Structures of Print Ads
In this section, I describe the preferred generic structures of print ads as well as speech acts
performed by utterances in the ads.
Table 1 shows the preferred generic structures of the 74 magazine ads included in the corpus
of the study.

Table 1. Preferred generic structures of print ads

Vitamins &
Food
Generic
Medicines
Supplements
Structure
Conditional
(Antecedent +
1
0
Consequent)
(1.35%)
Reason +
1
1
Benefits (Cause
+Effect)
(1.35%)
(1.35%)
Need/Purpose +
6
5
(8.11%)
(6.76%)
Course of Action
Product
11
12
Name/Features +
Benefits
(14.86%)
(16.22%)
Need + Product
3
4
(4.05%)
(5.40%)
Name
Company/Product
5
1
Description +
Product Name
(6.76%)
(1.35%)
Product Name +
1
2
(1.35%)
(2.70%)
Slogan
Combination (e.g.
0
0
Need + Product
Name + Benefits)
Unidentified
TOTAL

(1.35%)0
28
(37.84%)

Cosmetics/Beauty/
Personal Hygiene
Products

(1.35%)0
25
((33.78%)

TOTAL

1
(1.35%)

4
(5.40%)
3
(4.05%)

6
(8.11%)
14
(18.92%)

4
(5.40%)
0

27
(36.49%)
7
(9.46%)

6
(8.11%)
2
(2.70%)

12
(16.22%)
5
(6.76%)

1
(1.35%)
1
(1.35%)
21
(28.38%)

1
(1.35%)
1
(1.35%)
74
(100%)

The aggregate figures in Table 1 show that a little more than one-third of the ads follow the
global structure Product Name/Features + Positive Benefits, followed by Need/Purpose +
Course of Action, Company/Product Description + Product Name, Need + Product Name, and
Reason + Benefits (Cause +Effect). In terms of specific product types, it is vitamins and food
supplements and medicines that use the first of these three structures more often than the other
patterns. By contrast, cosmetics/beauty/personal hygiene products prefer the third structure to
the other two. In the paragraphs that follow, the first five preferred generic structures are
presented.
3.1 Identifying Product Name/Features + Citing Positive Benefits
The most preferred generic structure, though constituting less than 50% of the ads, consists
of moves such as Identifying Product Name/Features and Citing Positive Benefits. Below are
examples.
(1) Introducing GARDASIL
The one and only quadrivalent vaccine that protects against
CERVICAL CANCER
VULVAR/VAGINAL CANCERS
CERVICAL DYSPLASIA

GENITAL WARTS
Caused by Human Papillomavirus Types 6, 11, 16, and 18.
(Gardasil)
(2) DNA TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN
Recombinant Human G-CSF (Filgrastim)
MACROLEUCO
(150 mcg/vial and 300 mcg/vial)
Boosting Neutrophil Counts to New Highs!
(Macroleuco)
(3) OMEGA 3 P.U.F.A.
OMEGABLOC (1000 mg)
Omegabloc helps reduce blood thickness thereby helping prevent heart attacks
and strokes. Based on the world-renowned GISSI-Prevenzione Investigators
study, published in THE LANCET Vol. 354 No. 9177, Omega-3 PUFA
reduces total deaths by 20%, heart related deaths by 30% and sudden deaths by
45%.
(Omegabloc)
Extracts (1), (2), and (3) are examples of ad copies where the moves Identifying Product
Name/Features and Citing Positive Benefits are arranged in that order. In these ads the first
move usually occurs in the headline segment, and the second move constitutes the body text. In
some ad copies, however, the benefits are cited ahead of the product name or features, as
exemplified by (4) and (5).
(4) Overcoming anemia in patients on chemotherapy
EPOETIN ALFA
EPOKINE
Your Safe and Effective Choice!
(Epokine)
(5) More Energy Everyday
Mas Happy Everyday (Happier Everyday)
MULTIVITAMINS
ENERVON
(Enervon)
It is interesting to note that, in terms of linguistic properties, all five ad copies above have
one characteristic: the use of sentence fragments (e.g. Boosting Neutrophil Counts to New
Highs! More Energy Everyday) brought about by the absence of subjects and verbal
auxiliaries. The absence of subjects and auxiliaries has been described by Lakoff (1982) as
one type of syntactic innovation found in her study of television advertising, which is a
characteristic shared by televangelists (Schmidt and Kess, 1986). This is the same property of
newspaper ads found by Dayag (1999). That these ads contain sentence fragments may be
explained in relevance-theoretic terms. That is, the absence of subjects and auxiliaries may
make these ads more relevant to the reader because less processing effort is expended when
reading them (Wilson and Sperber, 2004).
3.2 Creating a Need/Purpose + Recommending Course of Action
The second preferred generic structure displayed by ads in the corpus is composed of two
moves, namely, Creating a Need/Purpose and Recommending Course of Action. This has been

identified by Simpson (2001) as one of three types of ads that appeal to reason. The following
ad copies exemplify the second structure.
(6) Ordinaryong pangangasim? (Ordinary hyperacidity?)
Mag-Kremil Regular (Take Kremil Regular)
O extra-tinding pangangasim at heartburn (Or serious hyperacidity and
heartburn?)
Mag-Kremil Extra Strength (Take Kremil Extra Strength)
(Kremil)
(7) Back and forth all night?
Frequent pit stops on the road?
Youve got prostate protest.
The Urological Sciences Research Foundation used this unique blend of plant
extracts in one of the longest, best-controlled botanical studies in the United
States. The study confirms that saw palmetto with nettle root helps maintain a
healthy prostate and normal urinary flow. Look after your health and your body
with NUTRILITE Saw Palmetto and Nettle Root.
(Nutrilite)
(8) Experience Full Body Pleasures
Ever Billena Body Butter
Indulge your body in the pleasure of Ever Billena Body Butter.
Among its natural ingredients is the internationally acclaimed skin wonder
SHEA BUTTER as its base content.
Shea Butter nourishes, moisturizes and rejuvenates skin naturally.
Combined with Jojoba oil, Ever Billena Body Butter brings you healthy,
smooth-textured younger-looking skin!
(Ever Billena Body Butter)
In (6) and (7) need/purpose is created and articulated through the use of rhetorical questions
(ordinaryong pangangasim, o extra-tinding pangangasim at heartburn, back and forth all night,
frequent pit stops on the road), whereas (8) does it through an imperative structure that performs
the speech act of directive (see section 4.4.2 for discussion of directives). Recommending a
course of action, on the other hand, is done through imperatives (Mag-Kremil Regular, MagKremil Extra Strength, Indulge your body in the pleasure of Ever Billena Body Butter).
3.3 Describing Company/Product + Identifying Product Name
The third preferred generic structure consists of two moves, namely, Describing
Company/Product and Identifying Product Name. Here are examples of ads that adopt this twomove structure.
(9) GENASIA
Biotech L.L.C.
Blazing the trail
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
Azacitidine
Vidaza
(Vidaza)
(10) Losartan
Lifezar 50 mg & 100 mg Tablet

because endpoint matters!

Losartan + Hydrochloride
Combizar 50 mg/12.5 mg Tablet
When Endpoint Matters Most
(Lifezar and Combizar)
Because they refer to the company (GenAsia) or product (Losartan), (9) and (10) make use
of NPs (e.g. Biotech L.L.C., Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), Azacitidine, Lifezar 50 mg &
100 mg Tablet).
3.4 Creating a Need + Identifying Product Name
This generic structure starts with the move Creating a Need, followed by Identifying Product
Name. This is similar to 3.2 except that in this structure, there is not much information about
product features nor claims about the effectiveness of the product. The first move is couched in
an imperative structure, a characteristic shared by some ads which adopt the two-move structure
Creating a Need/Purpose + Recommending Course of Action.
(11) Celebrate lifes precious moments
Simvastatin Vidastat
Now for Life!
(Vidastat)
3.5 Giving Reason/s for Buying + Citing Positive Benefits (or Cause + Effect)
The last preferred generic structure begins with the reasons for buying, followed by positive
benefits, which could roughly be deemed as equivalent to the Cause-Effect structure, the second
of the three reason ads identified by Simpson (2001). In (12) the first sentence describes the
cause of the problem or the reason for buying the product, whereas the succeeding sentences
give the solution and cite positive benefits from buying the product. Note the use of thats
why in (12), which is used in cause-effect texts.
(12) With all the many whitening products in the market, its hard to choose which one
really works. Thats why theres Kojie-san Skin Lightening Soap.
Kojie-san Skin Lightening Soap is made of kojic acid, a by-product in making sake, the
Japanese rice wine
(Kojie-san Sin Lightening Soap)
One way of looking at the above data is to treat the ads in this corpus as reason ads. This is
because, as Simpson (2001) puts it, the ads follow a stable discourse pattern, as borne out by
Table 1. In addition, apart from the fact that all of them include the name of the product and/or
company, mostly accompanied by a logo, their language is straightforward, with none of them
appealing to the emotion and with all of them highlighting product features and positive
benefits. In other words, none of them may be considered tickle ads. This preference for
reason-oriented campaign by copywriters when advertising medicines, vitamins and food
supplements, and cosmetic/beauty/personal hygiene products, may be explained by several
factors. Simpson (2001) posits that the most significant is the nature of the product advertised,
thus:
whereas healthy commodities, such as nappies, sanitary protection and pain
killers lend themselves easily to reason advertising, one would be hard
pressed to extol the virtues of cigarettes or alcohol in similar terms. It may well

bethat in the marketing of luxury commodities the best route to take is an

indirect one (p. 605).
In the case of the present study, the three product categories are all health-related, which
probably explains why ads for them are highly structured and direct. As for nonessential
products such as cigarettes and liquor, it may be good to conduct research to validate Simpsons
(2001) claim.
4. Linguistic Features of Print Ads
In this section of the paper the linguistic features of print ads are described. These include
the use of the expression introducing, linguistic novelty, code-switching, and speech acts.
4.1 The Use of introducing
Of the 74 ads included in the corpus of the present study, only four used the expression
introducing. Three of the four ads are for medicines, and one for a shampoo/conditioner.
Aside from (1) above (the ad for Gardasil), the following extracts show how this expression is
used in the ads:
(13) If you think Ibuprofen is only for adults, think again.
Introducing KID-friendly IBUPROFEN DOLAN FP
The Ibuprofen specially made for children to beat fever.
(Dolan FP)
In (13), the ad starts with a conditional structure (introduced by if) presumably to erase the
popular perception that the product is exclusively for adults, which paves the way for
introducing the new product for children.
(14) Introducing a new, once-daily oral iron chelator
New Deferasirox EXJADE
(Exjade)
Like the ad for Gardasil (see (1) above), (14) is the first sentence in the ad for Exjade, which
may be the canonical position of clauses that begin with the expression introducing. However,
this is not true for all ads that use the expression. (15) below, for example, is embedded within
the body text of the ad for Kolours.
(15) Introducing the shampoos and conditioners made for colored Asian Hair:
Kolours Color Recharge Shampoos and Conditioners
(Kolours)
Preceding (15) are the headline (Your sun radiates again and again) and product name
(KOLOURS Color Recharge Shampoos and Conditioners).
4.2 Linguistic Novelty
Two types of linguistic novelty were found in the data: (1) lexical novelty and (2) lengthy
noun phrases. Examples of novel terms and expressions are the following: new highs
(Macroleuco), pharmacoeconomically priced (Norizec), purrfectly healthy (Cetrinets Hello
Kitty), and biovailable (Zimuvite). It is interesting to note that, except for the first, all
expressions are formed by the lexical process known as blending.

The second type of linguistic novelty is in the form of syntactic innovation mainly brought
about by the use of lengthy noun phrases. Whereas Rushs (1998) study of ads found that
premodification in the noun phrase is characterized by the abundant use of comparative and
superlative adjectives and of colourful compounds, the data of the present study show the use
of lengthy NP postmodifiers. Below are examples:
(16) Anastrozole
Arimidex
A new standard adjuvant treatment for Breast Cancer assuring better
reduction in disease recurrence with long term safety.
(Arimidex)
(17) FiberMate
A brand of natural dietary fiber supplement, made from psyllium, proven to
cleanse your body of harmful elements
(Fiber Mate)
(18) Zimuvite Drops
A complete immune boosting formulation with zinc and antioxidant Vitamins A,
C, E.
(Zimuvite)
(19) Z-Vita Syrup
The growth-promoting Zinc with Vitamin B complex formulation
(Z-Vita Syrup)
As (16)-(9) show, the postmodifiers are also NPs that describe the product being promoted
and mention the positive benefits from using it.
4.3 Code-switching
Of the number of ads in the corpus, 12 used code-switching, a manifestation of the contact
between languages (in this case, Tagalog and English) in the Philippines, a multilingual nation.
Though this is a small percentage of the total, it is worthy to note that code-switching occurs
across product types. Here is an example of code-switched ad for medicine:
(20) Puyat na naman si Juan kaya lulugo-lugo siya sa umaga!
(Juan lacks sleep again, thats why hes lethargic in the morning!)
Para sa mahimbing na tulog sa hindi makatulog
(So that insomniacs can have a sound sleep)
Mag Trianon Melatonin-T ka kasi!
(Take Trianon Melatonin-T)
Other benefits reported in the scientific journals:
Helps boost immune system to prevent diseases and fight cancer.
Helps enhance sexual function.
Shows anti-aging and life-extending properties in experimental animals.
(Trianon)
The above extract is an example of intersentential code-switch since the shift is from a series
of Tagalog sentences (lines 1-3) to a sentence which contains a list of benefits all couched in
English (lines 4-7). Worth mentioning is the fact that the code-switch is in the headline and
body text of the ad. (21) below comes from an ad for Caltrate Plus, which falls under the
vitamins/food supplements category, and is also an example of inter-sentential code-switching.

10

(21) Take Caltrate Plus. Its calcium plus vitamin D and minerals that is essential for
bone formation.
Ang mommy dapat matibay ang buto. (Mothers should have strong bones.)
(Caltrate Plus)
Some cases of code-switching in the data occur at the intra-sentential level, such as the
following:
(22) Ordinaryong pangangasim? (Ordinary hyperacidity?)
Mag-Kremil Regular
(Take Kremil Regular)
O extra-tinding pangangasim at heartburn? (Or extra-serious hyperacidity and
heartburn?)
Mag-Kremil Extra Strength (Take Kremil Extra Strength)
Kremil
Expert sa pangangasim. (Expert against hyperacidity)
(Kremil)

In (22) intra-sentential code switching occurs at the second line to the last line of the body
text of the ad. Mag-Kremil Regular derives from combining Tagalog verbal prefix -mag and the
product name Kremil, thus resulting in an intra-sentential code-switching. Other intra-sentential
code-switches in the extract are extra-tinding pangangasim at heartburn and the last line expert
sa pangangasim. It should be noted that the matrix language of (22) is Tagalog. (23) is another
example of intra-sentential code-switching, but this time the base language is English.
(23) More energy everyday. Mas (more) happy everyday. Multivitamins Enervon.
(Enervon)
In (23) the Tagalog comparative term mas (more) is used as a premodifier of the adjective
happy.
4.4 Speech Acts in Print Ads
4.4.1 Assertives
As stated earlier, assertives, especially with reference to advertisements, usually take the
form of claims (Dayag, 2001). In the corpus of the present study, all but four of the ads
contained at least one claim. This is usually found in the body text of the ads. (24) is an example
from Neulastyl.
(24) Simple once-per-cycle dosing
Powerful protection against neutropenic complications
Freedom from daily injections
(Neulastyl)
It is interesting to note that the assertives in (24) are all expressed in the form of NPs which
outline the positive benefits derived from using the product. (25) below differs from (24) above
in that the former includes details such as the scientific elements of the product that help bring
about the positive effect.
(25) Moisture Extreme UV Lipstick
Protects with SPF 15.

11

The only lipstick that provides moisture, nourishment and UV protection with Jojoba
Oil, Vitamin E and Allantoin.
Lips feel softer, smoother.
(Maybelline)
(26) is a long list of assertives designed to convince the reader about the effectiveness of the
product being advertised. Using a more personal tone, the assertives directly involve the reader
by using the second person pronoun you.
(26) The secret to a fairer skin is now in just one capsule. Met Tathione L-Glutathione
Dietary Supplement has a main ingredient, Glutathione a master antioxidant that
gives you a fairer and even skin tone in just two weeks. It is the same type of
antioxidant that improves your immune system, keeping you from getting sick as it
helps fight diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, HIV, AIDS, cystic fibrosis,
sickle cell anemia, strokes, asthma, allergies and infections. With Met Tathione,
you get fairer and healthier.
(Met Tathione)
Notwithstanding the inclusion of scientific explanation in assertives, it is safe to say that the
claims are not readily verifiable, and therefore do not carry much weight. But this probably is
what makes ads persuasive in nature. That is, in order not to sound like direct selling which may
be frowned upon by consumers, they include information to lend credibility to the claim.
4.4.2 Directives
The use of directives is somewhat pervasive in print ads. This is because 33 (out of 74 ads)
contained at least one directive couched in imperative structures. In terms of their position in the
ads, directives usually appear in the headlines, as shown by the following examples:
(27) You cant solve LACTOSE INTOLERANCE overnight.
But you can fix it in 5 minutes.
Chew 1 to 3 LACTEEZE tablets 5 minutes before taking milk or any dairy
product!
(Lacteeze)
(28) Help your patients go on with good life
(Casodex and Zoladex)
(29) Give your child the IQ and Memory Advantage!
(Memorx)
(30) Drink your Bs and Cs with Active 8!
(Nutrilite)
(31) Build his strength with Nutren Fibre.
(Nutren Fibre)
(32) Discover herbal remedies from our alternative food supplement essential for
greater fitness.
(Mings food supplement)
In the above examples because the directives are the headlines of the ads, they are used to
attract the attention of the reader. However, not only do directives show up in the headlines,
they also appear in the body text of the ads. Below are examples:

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(33) Give life to color-treated hair like never before.

A colored hair care system that gives more than just brilliant shine
(Kolours Color Recharge)
(34) Experience soft, smooth cotton with Purity.
(Purity)
(35) Get visibly whiter skin in one week!
(Ellens whitening cream)
(36) So say goodbye to dark spots with New Ponds Detox Spotless White Cream.
(Ponds)
In the above extracts, the directives either open the body text (such as (33) and (34)) or are
interspersed with product features. In a few instances such as (35) and (36), however, directives
are the last part of the body text, thereby providing a fitting closure to the ads.
5. Conclusion
In this paper I described the generic structure and linguistic properties of magazine ads in the
Philippines. First, the study found that the ads follow certain generic structures and that these
structures are realized linguistically. In other words, there are linguistic correlates with respect
to the discourse structure of the print ads. For instance, we have seen that the move Creating a
Need is minimally marked by imperative structures and/or rhetorical questions. Corollary to this
is the idea that the ads adopt predictable and stable (rather than rigid or fixed) generic structures
or discourse patterns, and that linguistic features are ascribed to them. That they share these
properties appears to make them reason (instead of tickle) ads, going by Simpsons (2001)
typology of ads. According to Simpson (2001), reason ads appeal to reason, and are
distinguished from tickle ads in that they are straightforward and direct.
But while it is straightforward and direct, advertising in Philippine magazines (at least based
on the corpus of the present study) may still be what Tanaka (1994, 1999) calls covert
communication. In distinguishing between ostensive (or overt) communication and covert
communication, she defines the latter as:
a case of communication where the intention of the speaker [copywriter] is to
alter the cognitive environment of the hearer [reader], i.e. to make a set of
assumptions more manifest to her, without making this intention mutually
manifest (Tanaka, 1994/1999, p. 41, emphasis supplied).
First of all, the relationship between copywriter and reader in print advertising is not always
smooth, with the latter skeptical about the real intentions of ads. This is because in advertising
in general, communication takes place in a context where cooperation between sender and
addressee is not at all guaranteed and this factor hinders the communicative process (Duran
Martinez, 2005, p. 85). Owing to their constant exposure to ads and their corresponding layout
and textual elements (e.g. headline, slogan), they are immediately aware of the ads aim,
namely, to persuade their audience to buy a certain product and not a similar one (Duran
Martinez, 2005, p. 85). Because of this particular cognitive environment on the part of the
reader, advertisers resort to discourse strategies (Fuertes-Olivera, et al., 2001, p. 1295) or
persuasive devices (Duran Martinez, 2005, p. 85). As borne out by the present study, these
include a preference for generic structures as well as linguistic features such as sentence
fragments, code-switching, rhetorical questions, and imperatives. These strategies are necessary

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because advertisers know that a persuasive message needs to be under an informative mask so
that the receiver gets a delusive impression of a referential message (Fuertes-Olivera, et al.,
2001, p. 1295). This is the bottom line of covert communication. As Duran Martinez (2005)
puts it,
as cooperation and trust are really low at the social level, the advertiser knows
that revealing his informative intention selling a product in order to make a
profit would have an adverse effect on its fulfillment. Covert communication
also makes the audience become more involved in the process of
communication, inviting them to spend a certain amount of time in processing
the utterance of the [advertisement] (p. 87).
In the case of the present study, claims about product features and the effectiveness of the
product being promoted, which are organized in terms of preferred generic structures and
couched in carefully chosen linguistic features, take the form of covert communication, enabling
advertisers to avoid pushing consumers to buy, but rather persuading them, thus reducing the
psychological burden consumers suffer during their buying sprees (Fuertes-Olivera, et al.,
2001, p. 1293). But whether print ads succeed in persuading consumers, which can be measured
in terms of a positive change in buying behavior, is beyond the scope of this study and may be
worth investigating.
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