Multimodal discourse analysis is a theory where it takes into several modes of

communication and on how they interact with one another. It is an approach which has

multiples mode of communication such as the text, colour and images (Multimodal

Discourse Analysis 2020). It is the discursive analysis method which just doesn’t look on

how an individual modes communicate, but it is also on how they interact with one

another to create the semiotic meaning. Multimodal Discourse analysis are mainly

interested in the study of the combinations between the different modes to make the

meaning in social settings which is meant by, on how the words are being combined

with the images, videos and sounds to create the social meaning. According to

O’Halloran (2011), Multimodal Discourse analysis is the emerging paradigm in the

discourse studies where it extends the study of language to the study of language in the

combination in other resources such as the scientific symbolism, music and images.

According to Halliday’s theory (1978), Multimodal discourse analysis has three meta

function about language which is, what a text is about, the relationship between the

participants and on how the message is organized (Phillipson - - Major Reference

Works - Wiley Online Library 20 December 2021). The three major components which is

in use of this Multimodal discourse analysis are, Hallidayan systematic functional

linguistic, mediated discourse analysis, underpinning a mediated action based on

approach and conversation analysis (Approaches to multimodal discourse analysis 15

July 2020). Hence, Multimodal discourse has become the dominant feature of modern

advertising. It is more dependent on the multiple modes where it refers to the

combination of visual, audio, oral, spatial and written. Multimodal in advertising

suggests some use of different communicative modes in one single advertisement. The
combination of words, font, illustration and colour to send a message and the mixing

and melding of modalities actually represents the Multimodal. According to Cook, Guy

(2001), the Discourse of advertising explore the language of the contemporary

advertising. Hence, the words that is advertised are not being viewed in isolation but in

the complex interaction with music and images, as well as other texts around and the

people who makes it and experience it. Whereas, the second edition consider

advertising in the context of the recent changes and differences in the communication.

The social functions of advertising are analyzed in a wider range of media to email and

internet from the billboards. Hence, the advertisements are compared and added into

one with the literary of texts entirely. To sum up, this book clearly shows the relevant

concepts of the semiotics, poetics and in linguistic (The discourse of advertising 19 July

2001).

The Advertisement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkYvYA_Lpio

Life will take over and we will end up skipping our meals. This new era has taught us to

be much kinder with our own-self, to our beloved ones as well as to those who need us

the most (Never miss a meal with GrabFood! 2020). Grab is a leading organization

where it is offering rides with sharing services and on demand food delivery services.

Grab strong presence throughout the region has powerful technology as well as positive

customers’ experiences where it helped with the growth and shaped well the business

in the recent years. Grab faces intense competitions from many other services including
the hawkers’ centers. Grab will become the leading food-delivery service in the region

when it is ultimately strong brand and much further in technology as well as customers

relationship as it help with the GrabFood (Uppaluri, Marketing plan for grabfood 2019).

The advertisement of GrabFood was released on the 17th Jan 2020 by the Grab Official

page. This advertisement is 2.12 minutes and the main message in it is, “Never Miss A

Meal [GrabFood]”.

i. There are vast of materials used in this advertisement that boosts the message

of the advertisement. It can be seen that this advertisement starts during the day time

and ends at night as this portrays that working duration of this job is from dawn to dusk.

Moreover, the weather changes from sunny to a rainy environment in this advertisement

shows the real like situations of the GrabFood riders. The background music is calm

followed by the message given in a calm tone as this plays a big role in influencing the

viewer plus paralanguage communication is implicated well in this advertisement.

Nevertheless, the advertisement started with a surprise element which enables viewer

to be curious and adds up to their interest to watch the advertisement till the end. This

advertisement comes with attached subtitles which makes it clearer for viewers to

understand the storyline.

ii. The text in this advertisement video, carries a very meaningful message where it

describes the GrabFood very clearly and in other values as well such as family bonding.

At the beginning 0.15 and towards the end at 2.00 minutes, the word “Never Miss A
Meal” has been used and being a promised. The message in it was never to miss a

meal and it was a promised made by a mother to his son who was working as a delivery

person for the GrabFood. This text made others to understand that a meal does more

than just to fill our stomach. For an example, it makes our heart full because people who

work hard are usually the last ones to eat. This text also carries the meaning where,

although meals are important people can easily forget and this is why we should always

remind our loved ones to eat wherever they are because by eating together fill will get

better even with a simple meal and eating alone will take care of ourselves. Throughout

the whole advertisement video, the words “Never Miss A Meal” was clearly shown and

being applied to evoke the viewer’s attention that GrabFood is always available at any

time, day, and date.

iii. This advertisement basically had many speakers where each and every person

in it was giving a message to the viewers and hearers. Hence, the main speaker which

is the delivery person was the most dominant speaker as he was representing and

showing up each and every time. He was giving the full clear message to the hearers

and viewers that no matter what happens, GrabFood will never disappoint anyone

because no matter it is raining it will be still available. It was the message where,

GrabFood is being kinder to our own-self, to our loved ones and also to those who need

us the most.

iv. According to Emma (2019), advertising has turned into an unavoidable tool

for both new as well as existing organizations. It is the absolute most impressive

component of advancement blend and can appreciate significant piece of limited time

financial plan. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages in this advertisement as

there are more positive points compared to that negative. The message is well

presented and easily understandable as the subtitles plays an important role in

influencing the viewers and it’s disabled-friendly. The visuals were clear as the

advertisement video can be played in 1080pixels (HD) and filled with people from all

cultures plus it does not contain any violence or political aspects. The downside of this

advertisement can be the language used as it was more focused on English, maybe

they could have come up with different language subtitles as it might have been helpful

for others. Other than that, maybe more emotions could have been implanted as the

voice of the speaker in this advertisement was calm yet very monotonous.

v. From the online advertisement, there are a few elements that need to be

improvised. In our opinion, the choices of words used in the advertisements were not

approachable and not convincing to the audience as they were quite sentimental.

Words have an impact on our perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions. When it

comes to persuasion, the words we choose make all the difference. Even though it

contains a good message telling “Never miss a meal”. For example, the text “Never

miss a meal” can be used by advertising in a fun and engaging way so that audience

who watches the advertisement will feel closer or also get interested. Words like ‘you’

are encouraged to use because the word is very straightforward and also remains

powerful in advertisements. Audiences will feel that the advertisement is directly talking

to them. As for the visuals, more still images could have been implemented in the

advertisements. Images such as ride-hailing, food, grocery and package delivery or

customer feedback on GrabFood services are encouraged to use in online

advertisements in the future so that they will catch the attention of the audiences. As for

the audio, it should make people feel a certain way. Catchy, concise, repetitive audio

can evoke the emotions of the audience. Such audio can help GrabFood create a more

recognizable organization. You may utilize this to your advantage when advertising

because different audio or music put individuals in different emotions. Gestures are a

kind of nonverbal communication that complements spoken communication. More

gestures are encouraged to use in the advertisement such as finger-pointing which is

suitable for the phrase “Never miss a meal” which has been used throughout the

advertisement.

Conclusion

Last but not least, it is very much clear that the online advertisement has a very

powerful message “Never Miss A Meal’ by describing Grabfood. The main speaker was

always giving a message throughout the advertisement that no matter what situation

Grabfood will always be serving people. As a speaker, one way to convince the target

audience is to be precise in choosing words. If one fails to do so the message that was

intended will not reach the audience. Mistakes in wording lead to misunderstandings

among the audience. It may make a situation difficult and confusing at times. Not only

has that, using extensive vocabulary given the opportunity to impress the audience. So

always keep in mind that choosing words that make sense will keep the audience

convincing.
Reference

Approaches to multimodal discourse analysis. obo. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2022, from
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756841/obo-
9780199756841- 0183.xml#:~:text=Three%20major%20theoretical%20bases%20are,)
%2C%20under pinning%20a%20turn-taking

The discourse of advertising. Routledge & CRC Press. (n.d.). Retrieved May
31, 2022, from https://www.routledge.com/The-Discourse-of-
Advertising/Cook/p/book/9780415234559

Multimodal Discourse Analysis. Diggit Magazine. (2020, February 13). Retrieved May
31, 2022, from https://www.diggitmagazine.com/wiki/multimodal-discourseanalysis

Never miss a meal with Grabfood! Grab PH. (2020, January 19). Retrieved May 31,
2022, from https://www.grab.com/ph/food-featured-blog/never-miss-a-meal-
withgrabfood/?pid=facebook_organic&c=NMAM&is_retargeting=true

Phillipson - - Major Reference Works - Wiley Online Library. (n.d.). Retrieved May
31, 2022, from
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0718.pub2

Uppaluri, S. (2019, January 30). Marketing plan for grabfood. Medium. Retrieved May
31, 2022, from https://medium.com/@sravanti.uppaluri/marketing-plan-forgrabfood-
164e27e4a588

Why Audio Is Important in Today’s Advertising Landscape. (n.d.).

SXM Media. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from
https://www.sxmmedia.com/insights/audio_why-audio-is-important-
in-todays-advertising-landscape

‌Still-Moving-Images | Columbia Global Centers. (n.d.).

Globalcenters.columbia.edu. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from

https://globalcenters.columbia.edu/events/still-moving-images
‌
Kerr,R (2017) Bamboo Nine - A Refreshing Take On Digital
Marketing. (2017, February 10). Bamboo Nine.
https://www.bamboonine.co.uk/blog/the-power-of-words-in-
advertising/

Emma, L. (2019, March 5). The advantages & disadvantages of advertising on

the internet. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-advertising-
internet-4029.html
Pratiwy, D., & Wulan, S. (2018). Multimodal Discourse Analysis in Dettol TV
advertisement. KnE Social Sciences, 3(4), 207.
https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v3i4.1932