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Introduction
The study's context is the global rise in health concerns (e.g., COVID-19, obesity) and the growing connection between food choices, societal well-being, and cultural shifts. In China, the increasing popularity of "light food" on platforms like Taobao reflects a health-conscious trend, fueled by a desire for effortless weight loss and a "thin culture." The study focuses on understanding how light food advertisements on Taobao influence perceptions of healthiness and desirability, and whether discrepancies exist between advertised benefits and actual nutritional content. The research questions guide the analysis: 1) What are the most salient visual features? 2) What are the predominant textual features? 3) How do visual and textual elements interact to construct the image of light foods?
Literature Review
The paper reviews existing literature on the influence of food advertising on perceptions of healthiness and dietary preferences. It notes studies on various food types (genetically modified, organic, foods targeting adults and children). The authors highlight the inadequacy of single-mode discourse analysis in today's multimodal communication environment and the need for approaches like Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) and Textual-Visual Thematic Analysis (TVTA) to understand the interplay of visual and textual elements in shaping meaning and revealing underlying ideologies. The authors discuss Kress and van Leeuwen's Visual Grammar (VG) framework, which is central to their analysis. They acknowledge the limitations of TVTA, particularly the subjectivity of interpretation, and detail how their study mitigates this risk through a structured approach combining qualitative and quantitative analyses.
Methodology
The study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative analysis focuses on interpreting textual features through keyword analysis and visual arrangements using VG. Quantitative analysis provides descriptive statistics on the frequency and distribution of visual meaning across representational, interactive, and compositional aspects. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is employed to visualize the co-occurrence matrix of keywords and visual coding, revealing connections and intentions. Nvivo 12 Plus and Gephi 0.10.1 are used for data analysis. Data collection involved selecting the top 10 selling light food products (meal replacements) from five categories on Taobao over three months (June-September 2022). After removing duplicates and irrelevant images, the final dataset consisted of 50 advertisements with 633 images (combined into 50 longer images). Optical Character Recognition (OCR) was used to extract text, and all advertising material was converted to PDF for visual grammar coding.
Key Findings
The analysis reveals several key findings. **Representational Meaning:** Conceptual representation (emphasizing stable essences) is more prevalent than narrative representation (dynamic events) in light food advertising. Specific processes include action, reaction, verbal, classification, analytical, and symbolic processes. **Interactive Meaning:** The "offer" act (providing information) is predominantly used, combined with medium shots, frontal and high-angle perspectives, and high modality (creating credibility). **Compositional Meaning:** Top-bottom information value, size and color as primary methods for salience, and color differentiation in framing are most common. **Textual Analysis:** Keywords like "kcal," "calorie," "nutrition," "protein," and "satiety" dominate. The SNA revealed three main co-occurrence clusters: reducing calorie ingestion, nutrition and satiety, and data source citation. The use of authoritative sources (e.g., Chinese Food Composition Table, Chinese Dietary Guidelines) lends credibility, though often subtly presented. **Visual Co-occurrence Matrix:** The analysis of visual co-occurrence matrices reveals an apparent contradiction: while visually, advertisements aim to subtly manipulate consumers with appealing imagery, the textual content emphasizes customer autonomy and objective information. Discrepancies between visual and textual information were also noted, with visuals potentially exaggerating health benefits or using manipulative imagery while text provides ambiguous or incomplete details.
Discussion
The findings highlight the nuanced and sometimes manipulative strategies employed in light food advertising on Taobao. The combination of appealing visuals and strategically chosen keywords aims to position "light food" as a solution for weight loss and health improvement, potentially creating unrealistic expectations and even promoting a "thin culture." The discrepancy between the visually appealing presentation and the often vague or incomplete nutritional information highlights the potential for consumer misunderstanding and misleading claims. The study emphasizes the importance of considering both visual and textual elements when analyzing food advertising's impact on consumer perceptions and behavior.
Conclusion
This study contributes to understanding the multimodal strategies in online light food advertising in China. It reveals the inherent contradictions and potential for manipulation within these advertisements. Future research could explore broader types of light food products, investigate consumer responses to these advertising strategies, and examine the role of other semiotic modes (e.g., sound, video).
Limitations
The study's limitations include a relatively small sample size (50 advertisements) and potential subjectivity in coding due to the limited number of coders. The focus on meal replacement products also limits the generalizability of findings to other types of light food. Future research could address these limitations by expanding the scope and employing a larger, more diverse dataset.
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