Full Picture

Article analysis:

The article "Selling Organic Candy: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Commercial Websites" by José-Santiago Fernández-Vázquez aims to explore how organic candy is marketed as a healthy and ethical choice through the use of visual, rhetorical, and promotional strategies on commercial websites. The study uses social semiotics and multimodal critical discourse analysis to identify the narrative and linguistic features replicated by organic candy manufacturers on their websites as part of their ethical branding policies.

The study found that sellers attempt to link organic candy with health, simplicity, traditional lifestyles, and social consciousness to differentiate themselves from competitors. However, the moral claims made by organic candy websites are often unreasonable. One limitation of the study is that it did not evaluate the effectiveness of rhetorical and linguistic strategies on actual consumer decision-making. Further anthropological or empirical research is needed in this regard.

The article's value lies in its contribution to food marketing research using multimodal critical discourse analysis. However, there are potential biases in the article's reporting. For example, the author assumes that sellers' moral claims are unreasonable without providing evidence for this claim. Additionally, the article does not explore counterarguments or present both sides equally.

Furthermore, while the article notes that understanding multimodal, rhetorical, and linguistic strategies used by organic candy brands can be useful for marketers designing their own marketing methods, it could be seen as promotional content for such practices.

Overall, while the article provides valuable insights into how organic candy is marketed online through multimodal critical discourse analysis techniques, readers should approach its findings with a critical eye towards potential biases and unsupported claims.