37
Hyundai | new thinking Ad8C28
38
Zespri | New Zealand kiwifruit Ad9C33
All in all, the inclusion and exclusion patterns of the four social actors imply that the brands and the products are the salient existence in the identity-building strategy of
the discourse. They embody an implication that they are the instant way to acquire the identities and lifestyles aspired by the narratees. Thus, the ‗inherent‘ personalities
of the customers are being merchandised in the form of the brands andor the products.
4.2.2 The ActivePassive Representations
In the activepassive socio-semantic categorization, the major concern is on the dynamic and submissive force assigned to the actors in the clause. In the data at
hand, the result of the role allocation representations displays nearly similar result with the previous category. Chart 4.5 exhibits how the four social actors are
represented with regard to activationpassivation roles assigned to them.
Chart 4.5 Activepassive representations in the data
As it can be noted in Chart 4.5, the brand still occupies the highest hierarchy in the active and passive roles of the promoting strategy. Generally, they are
represented as the ―patients‖ or the ―goals‖ in the social processes shown by its frequency: 79 56.84 out of 139 occurrences. The other 60 43.16
representations are treated as the ―agents‖ or the ―actors‖ in the grammatical activities.
In line with the findings regarding the brands, the products frequently act as the passive participants in the discourse. It is shown in Chart 4.5 that there is a
disparity between the active and passive role allocation regarding the products in which the majority of them, 81 71.68 out of 113, are passivated. Meanwhile, only
32 28.32 of them are activated. From Chart 4.5, there is a pattern on what roles are the narratees usually
occupies. Similar to the brands, the narratees are nearly equally divided between the
5 10
15 20
25
Narratee Brand
Product Endorser
Activated Passivated
passive and active allocations. From 79 23.65 representations detected in the total role allocation contained in the data, 45 59.96 of them are passivated whereas the
remaining 34 43.04 are activated. The minor actor, the Endorser, occupies the smallest frequency in the data
which is analogous with the initial category result. In the limited representations, they mostly allocated as the active participant in the activity: 2 66.67 out of 3
realizations. Usually, they are the represented as the ones who recommend the positive value of the product.
The result presented above is underlined by the major processes realized in the display print advertising which is the relational processes. Van Leeuwen 2008
remarks that passivation can be realized when the social actor is the Goal in a material process, the Phenomenon in a mental process, and the Carrier in an effective
attributive process. Therefore, when most of the brands and the products introduce themselves by self-assigning certain attributes or identities in the representations,
they treat themselves as the ‗patients‘ in the process. Contrary to passivation, activation can occur when the social actor is realized
as the Actor in a material process, the Senser in a mental process, the Assigner in a relational process, the Sayer in a verbal process, and the behaver in a behavioural
process van Leeuwen, 2008. On this ground, the frequency of the brand grammatical role is more allocated to the activation in material processes unlike its
precedence process which has been explained under the material clause analysis part. It hints that the brands and the products are realized as the active and dynamic forces
in the strategy. They often depicted as the ones which have the ability to influence the consumers‘ life concerning with the positive achievement aspired by many.
The data also show that in particular circumstances, the brand activation can be realized in the relational process. It occurs generally in possessive relational
clauses presented before. Van Leeuwen 2008 marks that the possessor occupies the role of active force in the owner-owned relationship, while the possessed occupies the
passive role for it suggest a sense of a being ―undergoing‖ the activity. In the advertisement discourse, it usually stresses the facilities, services or goods, and
qualities which belong to the brands to be offered to the consumers. Consequently, the data show that the products usually occupy the passive role
in this owning relationship. They are usually assigned as the properties of the brand. Moreover, they can also denote the goods assumed and expected to be owned by the
narratees. 39
HP laser jet printers | the number one choice for all your printing needs
Ad39C121
40
Have you used your liquid platinum today? Ad6C16
In 39, the activation and passivation is realized in a more highly transformed ways.
The ownership relation is configured through the adjectival premodification in the noun phrase van Leeuwen, 2008. Hence, as the brand HP becomes the adjective of
the noun phrase laser jet printers, it indicates a type of product under the name of the brand.
The owning implication is also stressed in 40 through the possessive pronoun or the genitive your. Contrasted with the previous clause, the product is
assumed to be in the possession of the customers. Despite the differences, these clauses alike signify the passive role of possession in the same manner regarding the
product. Contrasted with the two major actors, when the narratees fill the passive role,
they are frequently assigned certain qualities by the producers exemplified in 41 and 42. In spite of the resemblance to the other major actors, the qualities endowed
by the consumed actors to the narratees are constructed for different purpose. They aim to cement these epithets with the narratees only when they consume the products
being advertised. 41
be grand Ad8C30 42
You become a freedom fighter in the ultimate 3D battle against the forces
of evil Ad27C88
In 41, the imperative characteristic excludes the presence of the Carrier you. Nevertheless, the absence of the narratees does not exclude them as the actors who
are ascribed by particular quality resulting in their position as the passive role in the process van Leeuwen,
2008. This epithet is actually a repetition of the product‘s name which is Grand Avega see Fig. 8. Because of the identical attributive
attachment, it can be concluded that the splendid characteristic demanded from the narratees is embodied in this vehicle. In other words, it may realize a rhetoric claim
that the symbol of the exquisite quality is the product of the brand. Hence, the most plausible way to achieve this quality suggested by the producers is to own this
impressive car.
The clause in 42 is taken from an advertisement promoting a ride attraction at Universal Studios Singapore. The product is inspired by the popular movie at that
time, Transformer, which makes this ride all about the thrill in the imagination world of the conscious mechanical beings. Therefore, for those who aspire to be the
protagonists in the movie, this ride can make the dream comes ―true‖, an ―ultimate‖
hard-to-resist proposition for the movie lovers. It should be taken into account that
the customers can only attain the Attribute when they are using the product which
can be inferred from the circumstance of location in the ultimate 3D battle against the forces of evil. It is the prime principle inherently implied in this rhetoric relational
clause. This principle can lead the customers to be trapped in a circle of continuous consumption intended by the advertisers.
An alternative reason for the passive arrangement for the narratees is to mark the exclusive importance of the customers. As it has been explained in the former
discussion, occasionally, the advertisers and agencies state the sole reason for the existence of the products andor the brands which is intended for the sake of the
customers. This is considered as the passive assigning of beneficialization because they are described as the third party who positively benefit from the social action
van Leeuwen, 2008. Thus, when the narratees are represented with the repetitive causal circumstance elements, such as for those who do, waiting for you, designed for
you, they bring the essence of exclusivity for the target market in this type of role allocation.
The frequency of the active role of the narratees displays a close affinity with the purpose of the passivation. It never goes far behind the act of consuming whether
it is the possessor of the product, such as your liquid platinum, or the ones involve in such act, for example daily winner will win 3 return tickets. For that matter, instead
of the ones for whom the action is intended, they are depicted as the ones who do the purchasing activity which is analogous with the finding in the material clause
analysis.
4.2.3 The Personalization Impersonalization Representation
