Analyzing Conceptual Metaphors in Beauty Cream Advertisements: A Corpus-Based Study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate how Pakistani beauty cream advertisements use conceptual metaphors. For this purpose,510 ads for beauty creams were collected from a variety of websites and platforms, such as social media, brand websites, and online platforms like Amazon and Daraz. Advertisements in English were the only ones that were taken into consideration. The targeted corpus consisted of the descriptions of these advertisements. For analyzing the data, Sketch Engine was used. Lakoff and Johnson's (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) followed as the theoretical framework. Identifying the most frequently occurring keywords in beauty cream advertisements, finding the conceptual metaphors used in these descriptions and examining the underlying linguistic devices in these advertisements were the objectives of the study. A review of the literature was used to explain the importance of conceptual metaphors. The data was examined using both qualitative and quantitative research techniques, and the findings were presented in tabular form. According to the survey, 30 keywords are frequently used in beauty cream advertisements which indicate that cosmetics particularly those advertised as hydration, radiance, anti-ageing and fairness creams are the main focus. Furthermore, the study also investigated how conceptual metaphors that emphasize ageing and beauty, like "Beauty is Light" and "Youth is Beauty," are used. The advertisements also contained linguistic devices such as personification, hyperbole, and metaphors.