Recent studies in Critical Discourse Analysis show that the prominence and quantity of

advertising in today’s society are influential factors in the formation and acceptance of ideologies.
Incorporating the frameworks of Cook and Fairclough (2002) this study examines 40 Pond’s Philippines
online video advertisements from Youtube.com. It analyzes the individual and interdependent
characteristics of verbal and visual texts, with the goal of identifying their underlying beauty and skin
color ideologies. More specifically, this paper evaluates spoken and wri2en texts, music, movement,
color pale2es, visual imageries and scenarios, among others, in order to determine the linguistic
features and devices used to represent and manipulate ideas. The samples analyzed show that there is
an unfavorable, biased portrayal of “dark skin” and a partiality for “rosy, white glow.” This study
proposes that the verbal and visual texts employed in Pond’s Philippines online video advertisements,
as validated by corresponding survey results, contribute tremendously to the existence of colorism in
the Philippines.

Pond’s Philippines was selected as a case study because of its present popularity among
Filipino women, its numerous influential celebrity endorsers, and the availability and abundance of
its online video advertisements. Forty online video advertisements of Pond’s Philippines uploaded
from 2012 to 2014 was retrieved from its official YouTube advertising account, PONDS PH. These
advertisements were deconstructed according to the model proposed by Cook (2001). The
deconstructed data were then set beside each other and sorted into scenes and frames. Scenes are
continuous blocks of storytelling in films and videos that are shown in a single location, typically
following a single character. The end of a scene is marked by a change in location or )me. A frame, on
the other hand, is defined as an individual picture image (Internet Movie Database [IMDB], 2014).

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS

This research employed Fairclough’s (2001) CDA framework while incorporating Cook’s (2001)
model for the presentation of relationships between verbal and visual texts in television
advertisements. The integra)on of both approaches allowed the exhaustive analysis of all linguistic,
visual, and social factors that contribute to the depiction of ideologies in each advertisement.

Transcription of verbal texts

Description Interpretation Explanation
Illustration of visual texts
Fairclough (2001)

Cook (2001)

Validation

Figure 1. A Schema)c Diagram of the Conceptual Framework of the Proposed Study as

 Adopted from Cook (2001) and Fairclough (2001).
Figure 1 demonstrates the conceptual framework of the study. Cook’s (2001) model was
adopted for the initial phase of the research. Each advertisement was converted to wri2en data
and contained two segments: 1) the transcription of verbal texts and 2) the illustration of visual
texts (See Appendix A). Verbal texts include all spoken and wri2en texts shown in the video
advertisement, as well as the background music lyrics. Visual texts, on the other hand, refer to
gestures, facial expressions, movement, posture, color pale2es, visual imageries and scenarios,
among others.
Fairclough’s (2001) CDA framework was used as a guide for the second phase of the study. It
was based on the three levels of CDA: 1) Description, 2) Interpretation and 3) Explanation. The first
level, description, refers to the evaluation of linguistic features and devices used to represent ideas
on skin color and beauty. The second level, interpretation, deals with the brand’s objectives.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of CDA research discussing the
relationships between language, power, and ideologies. One of which is the growing body of
research on skin color discrimination or colorism. The advertisements were analyzed simultaneously in
both their video (original) and wri2en (deconstructed) formats, in order to examine both visual and
verbal texts and their interconnectedness. Following Fairclough’s (2001) CDA model, connotations,
implications and meanings were derived from the 1) linguistic features and devices utilized in the
videos, 2) the brand’s background, its endorsers and products, and 3) the social context (e.g.
cultural references, audience and consumer preference, current events) under which these
advertisements were aired.

The audience and consumer preference, current events) under which these advertisements
were aired. These were then validated using a cross-sectional online survey via SurveyMonkey.com and
a series of face-to-face interviews. The survey was conducted among 100 YouTube users who have
encountered a Pond’s Philippines advertisement. Survey respondents can either be male or female, as
long as they are current residents of the Philippines. No age limit was specified due to the extremely
diverse audience of YouTube.

Six (6) advertising professionals (e.g. copywriters, creative directors) and students were also
interviewed in order to take into consideration the professional opinion of individuals from the
advertising field. More specifically, the interviews focused on the thought process of advertisement
producers and the ideologies they want to promote, especially in the context of skin color and
beauty in the Filipino skirting. Due to the controversial nature of the topic, names have been
withheld to protect the privacy and the professional interests of the interviewees. The survey and
interviews served as the substitute for interpreters, as the purpose of this study is to examine
the general perspective of the Filipino society, as well as the intentional use of discourse in the
promo)on and manipulation of beauty and skin color ideologies. These were used prove and
verify the assumptions and findings from the data analysis phase.