Multimodal Argumentation in Social Advertising

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of multimodal argumentation and its rhetorical potential. The targeted realisation of multimodal argumentation is investigated through examples of Lithuanian social advertising. The study aims to identify characteristic models of multimodal argumentation, analyse their specific verbal and visual manifestations, and summarise the rhetorical functions and value of these models. The research was conducted by combining methods of critical discourse analysis and rhetorical discourse analysis. In advertising, multimodal strategies serve as fundamental means of meaning-making, transmission, and establishing contact with the audience, thereby shaping argumentation models oriented toward rhetorical persuasion. The multimodal arguments found in social advertising discourse rely primarily on classical structures of reasoning, the enthymeme and analogy.