Jakobson’s Functions of Language

In his book Language in Literature, Roman Jakobson (1987) outlines the model in which communication works, wherein exists an addresser, a message, and an addressee. He begins first by identifying that there are more than three factors in an effective communication – the addresser, the message, the addressee, and the added “context, code, and contact” factors. He embellishes this basic model by detailing several “functions of language” that render the message “operative” – referential (the context), emotive (associated with the addresser), conative (to the addressee), phatic (establishes contact), metalinguistic (reinforces code), and poetic (relates directly to message).

In the following two examples, I will be highlighting how these functions of language put forward by Jakobson present themselves in modern-day advertising campaigns.

Sirona Hygiene’s Menstrual Cups “Smash Away the Itchiness” – April 2022

Sirona Hygiene is an Indian feminine hygiene product company, and the above advertisement campaign is to promote their menstrual cups. While the original launch of the product and its related campaigning began in early 2019, this particular advertisement is a part of a series of identical themes as a student project by Samruddhi Mahajan of the Rachana Samsad College of Applied Art and Craft in April of 2022.

The referential function, which provides the “denotative” context of something, sets the base. The most obvious contextual item in the print is the logo and name of the company, paired with the tagline of “menstrual wellbeing”. This is further strengthened not only by the incorporation of the referenced menstrual cup within the ad but also through the descriptive text that details the ease that the cup brings compared to the traditional alternatives of menstrual products which cause “rash and itchiness”.

The emotive function is “expressive” of the mood of the addresser. Here, we can see it clearly in the use of the word “itchiness”, which incites a feeling of discomfort in the addressee but also promotes that the addresser wishes to “smash it out” which, additionally, indicates that they are keen on providing relief to that discomfort. The definite phrasing of the line, specifically in the use of the aggressive word “smash” also shows a sense of confidence of the addresser in following through with their promise of providing relief.
When something is directed, “imperative and vocative”, within language, it completes the conative function.

This function is littered throughout the ad. Firstly it is seen in the bold phrase of “smash out the itchiness”, wherein the addresser is directing the addressee to rid themselves of discomfort. Secondly, the QR Code placed on the right bottom corner that is captioned with “Scan Me” fulfils the same function and orders the addressee to scan the code. And lastly, the line “For more information, visit the nearest chemist” yet again commands the addressee to seek out more information and context and directs them towards the chemist for this purpose.

The QR Code also opens conversation between the addresser and the addressee, and this fulfils the phatic function of establishing the contact factor. The same happens with them directing the addressee to the chemist for more information. The conversation around menstrual hygiene is opened and encouraged through these interactive aspects of the ad. The light colours and the use of badminton racquet as an expression eases communication as well around the sensitive concept of feminine menstrual hygiene.
Metalanguage is a language “that speaks of language” and here it is achieved using the racquet and the shuttlecock designed as a menstrual cup. This imagery relates to the phrase “smash out the itchiness” using the menstrual cup. This connects the graphic and the text in a metalinguistic link.

Finally, the poetic function focuses on the message, which, in this scenario, is the ease provided by the product. “Smash out the itchiness” is the primary factor that carries this function. Using the metaphor of smashing, the message is presented to be playful and light to enhance the aesthetic. This is enhanced by the playful imagery of badminton.


Coca-Cola Christmas Campaign “The World Needs More Santas” – November 2023

In this Christmas advertising campaigning by soft-drink MNC Coca-Cola, they promote their drink through incorporation of the Christmas-related aspects, keeping Santa as their main protagonist.

The campaign, therefore, performs the referential function very clearly. The logo is scattered through the print, on the baubles and on the bottle that is clasped by Santa. There is also a silhouette of striped bottle in the background that lends to the context. Santa himself creates contextual information, where the Christmas season is established. There is also an abundance of context within the use of the Christmas colours – green, red, and white. In the text of the ad, the word “Christmas is present which directly guides the thinking to the festive season as the company urges its consumers to “spread kindness”.

As for the emotive function, it works on two facets here. One, the use of Santa as the face of the ad campaign incites the emotions of joy and festivity that is associated with the figure. This, paired with the Christmas aesthetic and imagery, also brings a feeling of giving, compassion, and “kindness” which is a word that is reiterated in the accompanying text. The visuals perform an emotive function as it is “equivalent to a syntactic role”. Secondly, in a more direct sense, the text itself portrays the emotions of the addressee – “we wish that everyone was kinder, and we want to use our brand and product to aid kindness in the world.”

This last aspect also performs the conative function, where the addresser calls for direct action from the addressee to “be more like Santa and spread kindness”. The definite phrasing of this “cannot be challenged”, reinforcing its imperativeness. One must become Santa, rather than just view him as a festive figure. On a more subtle note, the pose of Santa – one arm stretched towards the supposed audience, offering them the bottle of soda, and the other reaching towards the bauble reading “The World Needs More Santas” – can also hint towards the attempt at influencing the addresser to perform the said action.

However, it can also be argued that this also a nudge to the phatic function that has the “purport of prolonging communication”. Though similarly subtle, the pose can be read as an invitation to conversation just as much as a demand for action. The text also performs this function, inviting the people to engage in conversation of kindness and giving through the brand and its product.

The use of Christmas colours, Santa, and the phrase “The World Needs More Santas” all contribute to the poetic function of the advertisement. The phrase particularly “focuses on the beauty of the language” – using the metaphor of “Santa” to indicate acts of kindness and selflessness - and is a basic interpretation of the function. The visuals and graphics are more subtle, and are more aesthetic than poetic, although achieving the same goal of embellishing the effect of the message through correlation of Coca-Cola and the season of giving.

Metalinguistic function is strong in the imagery of and the use of the word “Santa”. Because metalinguistic function has orientation with the code in a communication channel, Santa becomes a “shared code” between the addresser and the addressee. As mentioned in the poetic function, the figure of Santa is used to indicate selflessness and festive joy and therefore Santa refers to the lexical aspects of giving and enriching behaviour.



Bibliography

• Coca-Cola (2023) ‘We Need More Santas in the World’, Coca-Cola [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.coca-cola.com/ph/en/offerings/the-world-needs-more-santas-this-christmas-coca-cola-ph (Accessed: 06 April 2025).

• Jakobson, R. (1987) ‘Linguistics and Poetics’, in Language in Literature. Cambridge, Massachusetts: THE BELKNAP PRESS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, pp. 66–77. Available at: https://web.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Jakobson_Linguistics_and_Poetics.pdf (Accessed: 08 April 2025).


• Sirona Hygiene (2022) ‘“Smash Away the Itchiness”’, Campaigns of the World [Preprint]. Available at: https://campaignsoftheworld.com/creative-print-ads/sirona-menstrual-cup/ (Accessed: 06 April 2025).