What language features may we expect to find in a Barbie doll TV Advertisement? What contextual factors may influence the language used?

The genre of this text is a TV advertisement, so is therefore likely to have the primary function of persuading the audience to purchase a Barbie, and a secondary function to entertain the audience given it is a television advertisement. The writer may use persuasive language such as hyperboles and personal pronouns in order to persuade the audience to buy the doll, alongside this, an informal tone may be created in order to entertain the audience and create a fun atmosphere. The primary target audience of the text is children, particularly females. Therefore, a high frequency of rather short, simple grammatical constructions may be present, in order ensure the viewer can follow what is being said, and also to keep the advert short and snappy, which is typical of many texts within this genre. The writer may also be aware of a secondary target audience; parents, who are likely to be the ones purchasing the doll. Consequently, we might expect a high register to be used in part of the ad, with a more serious semantic field regarding product warnings, prices or where to purchase the doll. The advertisement is written for the spoken mode. Therefore, we may expect some phonological features to be present, such as high-pitched speech in order to engage the listener. Finally, the text is advertising a Barbie doll, so a semantic field of fashion and femininity is likely to occur, perhaps even with specialist lexis from the topic being featured.

Contextual factors

Language features

If the text was available, examples from the text throughout the analysis would be crucial.