Analysis of Metaphors in Sports and Drinks Advertisements

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reveal and analyze the argumentative value of metaphors as a resource present in advertisements. It proposes, in turn, an analysis and identification of such metaphors, focusing on the complex argumentative phenomenon of semiotics taking into account authors like Charles Forceville. The objective is to find metaphors in advertisements and analyze the metaphors found in the commercials, explaining then their meaning through theories from different authors. The methodology employed is framed with in Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), including the analysis with 'source and target domains', as described in Forceville (1996); Forceville (2009;) Forceville & Urios-Aparisi (2009); Moreno (2015); Negro (2015); Pascual & Silvestre-López (2015); Silvestre-López (2009). A set of visual advertisements were selected whose images convey influences in different areas, which affect different types of audience and cover various aspects such as sports, coffee and beer. Among these areas, a special focus is placed on sports ads. Results show the metaphors found in the selected advertisements play an important role in the way we interpret the real world, to the extent that most signs and metaphors are transferred through the images. Thus, it is by unveiling the basic correspondences of the underlying metaphors in each ad that we can understand the real meaning of each ad.