Critical Discourse Analysis of Viral Ads: Binomo

Abstract

This study was conducted to analyze the discourse contained in the Binomo advertisement; an advertisement related to online trading brokerage services that went viral on social media. Through qualitative research, the discourse contained in the advertisement is described in more depth using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) method proposed by Fairclough (1989). By using three stages: 1) description; 2) interpretation; and 3) expansion, the results of the study show that advertisements for the Binomo stock trading scheme have the power to influence consumers with words that are easy to remember, language used that is familiar to the target audience, contain promises and expectations that are grandiose and manipulative.