A multimodal analysis of Piggyvest’s animated advertisement videos

Abstract

This study examines the persuasive strategies in selected animated advertisement videos by Piggyvest, the first and one of the fastest-growing online savings platforms in Nigeria, whose modus operandi is quite different from those of the conventional banking system. Drawing insights from Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006. Reading images: The grammar of visual design, 2nd edn. New York: Routledge) Multimodal Discourse Analytic framework, 12 samples of Piggyvest’s animated videos (for advertisements) were randomly sampled out of the 30 videos initially purposively sampled. Findings reveal metaphorisation of financial management and discipline, playing around gender-related ideas on finances, foregrounding of aspirations and financial decisions, depiction of cognitive strength and weakness on money matters, and striking a connection between money and relationships are persuasive strategies deployed in the animated advertisement videos by Piggyvest to appeal to their target audience.

Keywords

• animated videos
• multimodal discourse analysis
• online banking
• persuasion
• piggyvest