Analysis of Doublespeak in Advertisements of Garnier Products.

ABSTRACT

Pada tugas akhir ini dibuat suatu analisis tentang iklan dari produk Garnier menggunakan teori Doublespeak. Tujuan dari tugas akhir ini adalah untuk mengetahui dan memahami seberapa penting teori doublespeak apabila digunakan untuk menganalisis suatu iklan. Tujuan lain dari tugas akhir ini adalah agar para pembaca iklan tidak terkecoh saat membaca iklan walaupun hanya sepintas. Ada beberapa teori doublespeak yang dibuat oleh William Lutz yang dapat digunakan untuk menganalisis berbagai jenis iklan, tetapi dalam tugas akhir ini yang digunakan hanya teori untuk menganalisis iklan kosmetik. Teori yang dipakai untuk menganalisis iklan kosmetik Garnier dalam tugas akhir ini ada lima macam, yaitu puffing, parity claim, weasel words, up to claim, dan unfinished words.

Dari kelima teori yang digunakan, dapat disimpulkan bahwa weasel words adalah jenis doublespeak yang paling banyak digunakan dalam iklan Garnier yang dianalisis pada tugas akhir ini. Weasel words adalah cara yang paling efektif dan mudah digunakan dalam mempromosikan suatu produk karena weasel words dapat dengan mudah mengecoh para pembaca iklan.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... i

ABSTRACT ... ii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study ... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ... 4

1.3 Purpose of the Study ... 4

1.4 Method of Research ... 4

1.5 Organization of the Thesis ... 5

CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Puffing ... 6

2.2 Parity Claim ... 6

2.3 Weasel Word ... 7

2.4 Up To Claim ... 8

2.5 Unfinished Words ... 9

CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF DOUBLESPEAK IN ADVERTISEMENTS OF GARNIER PRODUCTS ... 10

3.1 Data 1 ... 11

3.2 Data 2 ... 13

3.3 Data 3 ... 18

3.4 Data 4 ... 22

3.5 Data 5 ... 25

CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ... 30

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 34

APPENDICES Data 1: BB Cream Advertisement ... 37

Data 2 :Moisture Rescue Advertisement ... 38

Data 3 : BB Cream Skin Renew Advertisement ... 39

Data 4 : Garnier Light Advertisement ... 40

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Advertising is a very important tool in product sales in order to sell well and to earn a maximal profit. In addition, we also need advertisement in our daily life to market our product. Almost every product that is on the market needs advertising. Advertisements appear in various media such as magazine, television, radio, newspaper, brochure and social media. The function of advertisement is to make people who read it interested in the product and eager to buy it.

Advertisements of cosmetics are important to introduce the products to the market. Many people think that cosmetics are important. As a fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent, says “The most beautiful makeup of woman is passion, but cosmetics are easier to buy”. An American playwright, screenwriter and actor, Tracy Letts, also says “All women need makeup. Don’t let anybody tell you different.” (Goodreads 3). To look more attractive, women need makeup. When they are looking for information about cosmetics, they often look for it in

advertisements. They can be interested in the product because of the certain words used in the advertisements.

However, almost all advertisements are misleading. One of the critical issues about advertisement is people usually believe what an advertisement says. The advertisers use certain words or certain sentences to make sure that people are interested in their products.

Doublespeak is language that pretends to communicate but really does not. An example of doublespeak used by advertisers is instant smooth skin. Many advertisements of cosmetic products use the word instant to make people believe that their product is good and to make people interested in getting it. The word instant makes people think of a very fast process to change something. However, each person may have a different perception of the word instant. The perception of the customers about how fast the product works can be different from that of the advertisers. The product may not work as instantly as they think. Another example of doublespeak is beautiful skin. For one person, beautiful skin is one that is healthy and clean, whereas for another, beautiful skin can mean something else because beautiful skin is relative.

Commonly everyone wants to be beautiful. The concept of beauty can be different for one person to another. Even though Sophia Loren, an artist, says "Actually beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical” (Goodreads 1), cosmetics are the shortcut to be beautiful and to make people feel more confident.

I choose to analyze doublespeak in cosmetic advertisements, which belongs to the area of linguistics namely pragmatics, because I want to know

deeply about the words offered by the advertisers in their advertisements in order that I will not be deceived. Doublespeak is language that pretends to communicate something to the consumer even though it is not the same as the reality (Lutz, 1). I analyze my data by using the theory from the book entitled Doublespeak by William Lutz.

I use the advertisements of Garnier as my data because Garnier is one of the companies that sell cosmetics. In addition, its products are available in many countries including Indonesia. This brand is also easy to find in the supermarket, or even in a stall of cosmetics. Its price is affordable so everyone from any social class can get this product.

As informed in their website, Garnier is a worldwide company affiliated with twenty nine other brands owned by L'Oreal since 1965. L'Oreal, based in France and the United States, has been in operation since 1909. It now owns five divisions, which are Consumer Products, L’Oreal Luxe, Professional Products, Active Cosmetics, and The Body Shop. Garnier brand is part of the Consumer Products division. The full name of the company is Laboratories Garnier. Alfred Garnier made the first product in 1904. The product is hair tonic made from organic ingredients. The company is committed to make products from natural ingredients. As of 2014, Garnier is the second largest brand in the Consumer Products division, selling products such as skincare, hair care, hair color and styling products, which are distributed in 120 countries. Garnier continues that mission today as all of their products are made from natural ingredients. Garnier takes the inspiration from the nature by selecting active natural ingredients and also wants to give back to the planet by being environmentally responsible.

This study can be a useful and helpful source for the readers of the advertisements and also for the consumers of the products so that they can understand about doublespeak. This study is expected to be a reference for them as they pay attention to advertisement, and it also helps them to be aware of the fact that advertisement can be misleading.

(792 words)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In this study I state the following problems:

1. What kind of doublespeak is used in Garnier’s advertisements?

2. How does the use of doublespeak in Garnier’s advertisements mislead people?

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purposes of the study are as follows:

1. to identify what kind of doublespeak is used in each of the Garnier’s advertisements analysed.

2. to find out how the use of doublespeak in Garnier’s advertisements misleads people.

1.4 Method of Research

I began this research by looking for the topic for my thesis. I decided to use doublespeak as the topic for my thesis. I read the book entitled Doublespeak by William Lutz. I searched for the data of the advertisements of Garnier products

on the Internet. I prefer to get the data from the Internet than from magazines or newspapers because I can find a lot of advertisements on the Internet, especially those of Garnier products, which use a lot of words containing doublespeak that I can analyze.

1.5 Organization of the Thesis

This thesis starts with Chapter One, Introduction. It consists of Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research, and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is theoretical framework containing the theory of Doublespeak by William Lutz, which I use for analyzing the data. Chapter Three is Analysis of Doublespeak which appears in Five Garnier Product Advertisements. The last chapter is Chapter Four, Conclusion. The conclusion of the research is described in this chapter. It also contains the suggestions that I hope will assist anyone dealing with this study.

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

After some theoretical frameworks are used in the analysis of doublespeak, conclusion of the analysis is drawn together in this chapter. Based on my analysis, I conclude that weasel words is the most common kind of doublespeak that is used in the advertisements. Commercial effect is one of the main purposes of the use of so many weasel words. The use of weasel words is an easy way to attract consumers to buy the product advertised. When the consumers glimpse at the advertisement, they will be influenced; furthermore, they will be curious about the product and they will desire to buy it. What’s more, the consumer will easily spend their money on the product advertised.

For the advertisers, weasel word is an effective way to promote and introduce the product. A weasel word is an easy choice to advertise something because the advertisers do not need to prove what they claim in the advertisement. For example, when they claim that the product will make the skin healthy, they do not need to prove it clearly to the consumer about how healthy the skin will be

after using the product in the advertisement.

Garnier, a company that produces cosmetic products which are good for the consumer advertises their product by using weasel words, such as “instant”,

“brightens”, “smoothes fine lines”, “hide dark circles”, and “oil-free”. The use of the word instant for example is an effective way to make the consumer believe that the product can give them instant result. Busy people still want to have a good appearance but they do not have much time and they need instant product to improve their appearance in a short time. When they read what the advertisement says, that it sells instant product, they will be interested in the product. When the advertisement claims that the product can give instant result, people who read it will think of the word instant according to their own perception. They are not informed of how fast the product actually works.

Another effective way of the use of weasel words is found in the word brightens in the advertisement. It makes the consumers believe that their skin will be brightened. Since brightens itself has a positive meaning and people generally want something positive for themselves especially for their skin, Garnier uses the word. People have their own ideas of beautiful but many of them think that beautiful means having fair skin, and fair skin ammounts to bright skin. Many people like having bright skin. That is why brightens, which is a weasel word, has a great commercial effect and the product will sell quickly because they want to have the characteristic of beautiful.

In my opinion, the use of weasel word in general is also related to the impression that people get, the fact, and the relativity or perceptions. On the one hand, people will get the good impression that makes them interested to the

product but on other hand, the fact that they get is not as good as the impression that they have had. Also it can be related to the relativity or perception because when people listen or see one word, they will have different standard and different perception of the word.

In my opinion, the first target market of Garnier is young-adult females, who usually have oily skin and acne problems. Acne problems happen because the skin that has too much oil. Because of that, Garnier makes products for oily skin and acne problems that many young adults need for their skin. When the advertiser uses the word oil-free which is a weasel word, even though the young-adult females only glimpse at the advertisements, they will be interested in the product and eager to buy it. Although the first target market is young-adult females, Garnier also makes products for adult females who usually have ageing problem such as wrinkles or fine lines and dark circles under the eyes. A lot of adult females want to look younger than their actual age, so Garnier makes the anti-ageing product in order to make the adult females curious and eager to try the product personally.

In my data , I find that the number of up to claim and unfinished words are the same. The advertiser uses up to claim in the advertisement to give the impression on the potential consumers that they will get the result as has been decided by the advertiser. Up to claim in the advertisement expresses the ideal situation. In my opinion, the ideal situation is the situation which the consumers get the ideal result after using the product. The advertiser also uses unfinished words to make the consumers have their own perception about finishing the sentence in the advertisement so they will not blame the advertiser if the

result is not as good as they have expected.

The use of up to claim and unfinished words in the advertisements that I analyze is fewer than the use of weasel words because up to claim and unfinished words are rarely used in the advertisement. In my opinion, the advertiser uses up to claim as a complement to weasel words. The advertiser also uses unfinished words if he does not want to be responsible to the consumers for the way each consumer finishes the sentence. An example of up to claim as a complement to weasel words is in the phrase “up to two tones fairer”. The word tones here is a weasel word. The sense of the word tones can be stronger when it is combined with up to claim. The word tones does not refer to any specific standard, but if we combine the word tones with up to claim, the standard will be clearer. The phrase

“up to two tones fairer” can also be used as an example of unfinished words because in using this kind of doublespeak the advertisers do not want to be responsible while being tricky. The advertiser purposely leaves the word fairer in comparative form because they want the consumer to create her own claim. Consequently, if the result that the consumer gets is different from the consumer’s claim, she cannot blame the advertiser because the advertisement does not make any claim.

According to doublespeak theory, there are five kinds of doublespeak, but in my analysis, I do not find two kind of doublespeak. The first one is puffing and the second one is parity claim.

In this chapter, I would also like to make some suggestions for the readers of this study and the consumers who expect to improve their knowledge and awareness of the meaning of an advertisement in order that they will not be

deceived and so that they can be more carefully in choosing a product they will use. There are two suggestions I would offer to those interested in analyzing Garnier product advertisements. Firstly, they can use doublespeak theory by William Lutz, which is a part of pragmatics as what I have done in this thesis. Another suggestion is to analyze Garnier product advertisements by using semiotics. When using semiotics, the readers can use the theory by Ferdinand de Saussure. They can see the pictures and the pictures can be analyzed by means of semiotics. Besides the pictures, they can also analyze the advertisement that contains words and symbols. Analysing the use of doublespeak in advertisement may help the readers to not be deceived, while the use of Ferdinand de Saussure’s theory of semiotics may help the readers to understand the intention of the advertiser.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

About Garnier. Ehow. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 September 2014.

“Brighten.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Cool.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print. “Cushion.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.} “Eliminate.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010.}

Print.

“Even.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print. “Fresh.” Def.8. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print. Garnier BB Cream. Advertisement. Passionforsavings. Web. 24 September 2013.

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector. Advertisement. Projectsjugaad. Web. 24 September 2013.

Garnier Moisture Rescue. Advertisement. The Freebiejunkie. Web. 30 December 2013.

“Good Reads.” Good Reads. 1, n.d. Web. 16 September 2014.

“Good Reads.” Good Reads. 3, n.d.Web. 16 September 2014.

“Hide.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

“Hydrate.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print. “Immediate.” Def.5. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010.

Print.

“Incredible.” Def.2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010.

Print.

“Instant.”Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Intense.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Lightweight.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010.}

Print.

Lutz, William. Doublespeak. New York: Harper Perennial Publishers. 1990. Print.

“Miracle.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“New.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Perfect.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

“Quench.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Reduce.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Refreshing.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010.

Print.

“Renew.” Def. 4. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

“Secret.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Smooth.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Soft.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

product but on other hand, the fact that they get is not as good as the impression that they have had. Also it can be related to the relativity or perception because when people listen or see one word, they will have different standard and different perception of the word.

In my opinion, the first target market of Garnier is young-adult females, who usually have oily skin and acne problems. Acne problems happen because the skin that has too much oil. Because of that, Garnier makes products for oily skin and acne problems that many young adults need for their skin. When the advertiser uses the word oil-free which is a weasel word, even though the young-adult females only glimpse at the advertisements, they will be interested in the product and eager to buy it. Although the first target market is young-adult females, Garnier also makes products for adult females who usually have ageing problem such as wrinkles or fine lines and dark circles under the eyes. A lot of adult females want to look younger than their actual age, so Garnier makes the anti-ageing product in order to make the adult females curious and eager to try the product personally.

In my data , I find that the number of up to claim and unfinished words are the same. The advertiser uses up to claim in the advertisement to give the impression on the potential consumers that they will get the result as has been decided by the advertiser. Up to claim in the advertisement expresses the ideal situation. In my opinion, the ideal situation is the situation which the consumers get the ideal result after using the product. The advertiser also uses unfinished words to make the consumers have their own perception about finishing the sentence in the advertisement so they will not blame the advertiser if the

result is not as good as they have expected.

The use of up to claim and unfinished words in the advertisements that I analyze is fewer than the use of weasel words because up to claim and unfinished words are rarely used in the advertisement. In my opinion, the advertiser uses up to claim as a complement to weasel words. The advertiser also uses unfinished words if he does not want to be responsible to the consumers for the way each consumer finishes the sentence. An example of up to claim as a complement to weasel words is in the phrase “up to two tones fairer”. The word tones here is a weasel word. The sense of the word tones can be stronger when it is combined with up to claim. The word tones does not refer to any specific standard, but if we combine the word tones with up to claim, the standard will be clearer. The phrase “up to two tones fairer” can also be used as an example of unfinished words because in using this kind of doublespeak the advertisers do not want to be responsible while being tricky. The advertiser purposely leaves the word fairer in comparative form because they want the consumer to create her own claim. Consequently, if the result that the consumer gets is different from the consumer’s claim, she cannot blame the advertiser because the advertisement does not make any claim.

According to doublespeak theory, there are five kinds of doublespeak, but in my analysis, I do not find two kind of doublespeak. The first one is puffing and the second one is parity claim.

In this chapter, I would also like to make some suggestions for the readers of this study and the consumers who expect to improve their knowledge and awareness of the meaning of an advertisement in order that they will not be

deceived and so that they can be more carefully in choosing a product they will use. There are two suggestions I would offer to those interested in analyzing Garnier product advertisements. Firstly, they can use doublespeak theory by William Lutz, which is a part of pragmatics as what I have done in this thesis. Another suggestion is to analyze Garnier product advertisements by using semiotics. When using semiotics, the readers can use the theory by Ferdinand de Saussure. They can see the pictures and the pictures can be analyzed by means of semiotics. Besides the pictures, they can also analyze the advertisement that contains words and symbols. Analysing the use of doublespeak in advertisement may help the readers to not be deceived, while the use of Ferdinand de Saussure’s theory of semiotics may help the readers to understand the intention of the advertiser.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

About Garnier. Ehow. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 September 2014.

“Brighten.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Cool.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Cushion.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

“Eliminate.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010.}

Print.

“Even.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Fresh.” Def.8. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

Garnier BB Cream. Advertisement. Passionforsavings. Web. 24 September 2013.

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector. Advertisement. Projectsjugaad. Web. 24 September 2013.

Garnier Moisture Rescue. Advertisement. The Freebiejunkie. Web. 30 December 2013.

“Good Reads.” Good Reads. 1, n.d. Web. 16 September 2014.

“Good Reads.” Good Reads. 3, n.d.Web. 16 September 2014.

“Hide.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

“Hydrate.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Immediate.” Def.5. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Incredible.” Def.2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010.

Print.

“Instant.”Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Intense.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Lightweight.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010.}

Print.

Lutz, William. Doublespeak. New York: Harper Perennial Publishers. 1990. Print.

“Miracle.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“New.” Def.1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Perfect.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

“Quench.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Reduce.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Refreshing.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010.

Print.

“Renew.” Def. 4. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}

“Secret.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Smooth.” Def. 2. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Soft.” Def. 1. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th _{ed. 2010. Print.}