Conceptual Metaphors of Skin and Beauty: Analysis of Skincare Advertising In English and Lithuanian

Abstract

The aim of the research is to identify and compare conceptual metaphors of skin and beauty in skincare advertisements in English and Lithuanian, find metaphorical similarities and differences, and determine the frequency of their use in advertisements for women’s skincare products. The article discusses the premises underlying the emergence of the theory of conceptual metaphors, and analyses the characteristics of metaphorical language in advertising discourse. It explains how advertisers often propose new and creative metaphors, and apply creative manipulations of conventional metaphors. This section also provides a more detailed overview of advertisements targeting women, their influence on the perception of beauty. It examines which standards of female beauty help marketers sell products and what women (unconsciously) associate with beauty, thereby falling into the advertisers’ traps. The empirical part zeroes in on the analysis of examples of advertisements featuring English and Lithuanian conceptual metaphors. Based on the systematic nature and thematic focus of linguistic elements, skincare advertisements were collected and compared, and four conceptual metaphors were identified within the domain of reference skin / skincare /skin beauty: SKIN IS LIVING BEING, SKINCARE IS A BATTLE, SKINCARE IS A JOURNEY, SKIN BEAUTY IS GLOW. The analysis of the collected examples suggests that conceptual metaphors are frequently used in both English and Lithuanian beauty advertisements for skincare products, accentuating certain features that advertisers wish to impart to the advertised products. Although English and Lithuanian belong to different language types (analytic and synthetic), the figurative meaning conveyed in skincare advertisements largely overlaps across the two languages. The frequency calculations of conceptual metaphors show that the most frequent ones in English skincare advertisements is SKINCARE IS WAR, while in Lithuanian ones it is SKIN IS A LIVING BEING.