A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF MTC ROAD BILLBOARDS ADVERTISING IN

WINDHOEK CITY

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTEROF ARTS IN ENGLISH STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY

OF NAMIBIA

BY

JONSEN KAMHULU

201071606

DECEMBER 2019

SUPERVISOR: PROF. J. KANGIRA

1.1 Background of the study

Billboard advertising play a vital function in the success of most businesses. The Billboards

might be placed at the correct location and at the right time. Research has established that

Billboards are some of the better ways of introducing or promoting business products and are

also the easiest marketing device to unite business with various people (Khan, Hussain, Khan, &

Khan, 2016). Furthermore, Khan et al. (2016) also state that, through Billboard advertising, an

organisation does not need to locate consumers, instead, consumers will locate the organisation’s

advertising. This is true since Billboards stand out in prominent places where everyone can see

them and read what they advertise. In Namibia, the telecommunication company MTC, uses

Billboards when advertising its products. This is one of the forms of advertisement that suite to convey a

message to the public so that the public will get attracted and purchase their products.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Numerous studies have been carried out on advertising in general and Billboard advertising

in particular. These studies include Sindano (2014) researched on rhetorical devices used in

selected car advertisements in the Namibian Newspaper. Salomo (2015) concentrated on

discourse analysis of Metropolitan and Sanlam Namibia’s English print advertisements in

the Namibian Newspaper. In the recent Namibian literary criticism context, there has been little

researched on MTC Billboard advertisements in Windhoek City. This study therefore aims to

research on a rhetorical analysis on MTC road Billboards advertising in Windhoek City.

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1.3 Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study are to:

a) Analyse advertising messages on MTC Billboards,

b) Explore how MTC uses rhetorical strategies to shape perceptions of their products, and

c) Examine the function of rhetorical devices in MTC billboard advertisements.

1.4 Significance of the study

The proposed study may make a contribution to the tank of knowledge especially on English

rhetoric on MTC advertisement Billboards in Windhoek City. In addition, the proposed study

might provide helpful suggestions on the active use of English language on Billboard

advertisements in general. Moreover, the research might be beneficial to those who may wish to

carry out further studies in the same area.

1.5 Limitations

This proposed study may be limited to MTC advertisement Billboards within the vicinity city of

Windhoek for the year 2018 to 2019 only. Thirty different MTC Billboards advertisements will

be used in this study hence, the result may not be the reflection of the whole country.

1.6 Delimitations

Although there are many Billboards advertising different products and services for different

companies in the City of Windhoek, the proposed study will be limited to Billboards advertising

MTC products and services in Windhoek City.

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2. Literature review and Theoretical frame work

2.1 literature review

Plato as cited in (Kangira and Mungenga, 2012, p. 110) defines rhetoric as “the art of winning

the soul by discourse”. This entails that rhetoric is the ability of language to win the hearts and

attentions of people resulting in those people taking a decision. Kamisa and Norazlan (2004)

examined and analysed the superiority claims in printed advertisements and established that

words such as help, like and, special which are made to appear significant, are used to persuade

the buyer, although they are actually meaningless and followed by scientific or statistical claims

for the product. Hien (2012) argues that a rhetorical approach to advertising language rests on

three systematically interconnected premises: variations in the style of advertising language,

formal properties of rhetorical figures, and formal properties. In this instance, the functions of

rhetoric in advertisements include encouraging, persuading, or manipulating an audience to take

or continue to take some action (Wahidah, n.d). In addition, through a good use of rhetoric in

advertisements, the consumer’s behavior and choices are changed and swerved towards the

products and services that a company will be providing. A considerable amount of literature

has been published on rhetorical analysis on advertisement in Namibia. These studies include

Sindano (2014) researched on rhetorical devices used in selected car advertisements in the

Namibian Newspaper. This study concluded that the language of advertisement in Namibia

is partially similar to that in the western world, thus the persuasive moves discovered during

the analysis of the advertisements are: exaggeration, euphemism and scaring tactics.

Furthermore, Salomo (2015) echoes on discourse analysis of Metropolitan and Sanlam

Namibia’s English print advertisements in the Namibian Newspaper. The findings of the

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study were that the English language used in selected advertisements on the boards are well-

crafted and well thought-out to win the hearts and minds of potential customers. However,

little analytic focus has been paid to MTC road Billboards advertisement in Namibia, hence it

remains un-investigated, leaving a gap that this proposed study seeks to satiate.

2.2 Theoretical framework

This proposed study will be revolving around Aristotle’s Modes for persuasion theory. (name

these theories and the year that were developed, and by whom?) Provide source. This theory is

also known as rhetorical appeals - known by the names of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. These are

means of persuading others to believe a particular point of view. They are often used in speech

writing and advertising to sway the audience (Hadiyati, 2016). The study will also blend this

with Lewis’ theory of Attention, Interest, Desire, Action (AIDA). Lewis was an American

advertising and sales pioneer who developed AIDA theory to persuade consumers to buy

products and services in the late 1800s.( provide source) This theory talks about the different

phases through which a consumer goes before they decide to buy a product or service.

Therefore, these theories are most appropriate analysis the MTC advertisement Billboards in the

City of Windhoek for this proposed study.

3. Research methods

3.1 Research Design

This research proposal will be qualitative in nature and the data collected will be critically

examined based on the selected Billboard advertisements. Information will be gathered through

field study, as well as published books and journal articles.

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3.2 Population

The population of the study includes all the MTC Advertisement Billboards in Windhoek City.

3.2.1 Sample

This study will examine twenty thirty (30) selected MTC advertisement Billboards in Windhoek

City.

3.3 Procedure

A close reading of collected MTC advertisement Billboards in Windhoek city will be conducted,

with the researcher examining the representation of MTC road Billboards advertisements. The

researcher will also consider secondary sources such as journal articles and previous thesis that

can augment the analysis, which will then culminate in a more articulate and informed analysis.

3.4 Data Analysis

Discourse analysis will be used to identify different discourses used on the MTC road Billboards

in Windhoek City. Subsequently, data will be presented in narrative form according to the

discourse analysis. Finally, findings will be obtained from the interpretation and analysis to

formulate discussions and conclusions.

4. Research Ethics

The researcher will seek ethical clearance from the University of Namibia’s Ethics Committee

before conducting the research. Thus, no human participants will be involved as the MTC road

Billboards are readily available in the public domain.

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5. References

Hadiyati, E. (2016). Study of Marketing Mix and AIDA Model to Purchasing online products in

Indonesia, Economic and Business Faculty. Malang, Indonesia: Gajayana University. 

Hien, T. (2012). Advertisements: Hi-language for HI-tech? 8(6), 86-93. Retrieved

from http://www.ccsenet.org/ass.

Kamisah, A. & Norazlan, A. (2004). The use of superiority claims in advertisements.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: University of Malaya.

Khan, K., Hussain, S., Khan, A., & Khan, H. (2016), Billboard Advertising and Customer

Attention: A Pakistani Perspective International Journal of Scientific and Research

Publications, 6(3), 2250-315

Kangira, J., & Mungenga, N. J. (2012). Praiseworthy value in President Hifikepunye

Pohamba’s epideictic speech marking Namibia’s 20th Anniversary of Independence.

Journal for studies in humanities and social sciences, Volume 1(1). Windhoek: University

of Namibia.

Wahidah, F., (n.d): Language Function in advertisement. Retrieved from

https://www.academia.edu/8068382/Language_Function_in_advertisement.

Salomo, F. (2015). A discourse analysis of metropolitan and Sanlam Namibia’s English print

advertisements in the Namibian newspaper: a comparative study. (Master’s thesis,

University Of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia).

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Sindano, G. (2014). A study of rhetorical devices used in selected car advertisements in the

Namibian newspaper. (Master’s thesis, University Of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia).