Guidelines for understanding the silences in Brazilian advertising discourses: the automotive sector

Abstract

Between disclosure and omissions, advertisers’ speeches customarily tend to explain the arguments in favor of the advertised product and omit anything that might harm the reputation of that product. The research has a theoretical feature, but it is also based on the commercial reality, relying on extensive data that distinguishes the paradox of sayings and silences in advertising cars, focusing on the reality of Brazil. From literature review, compared to a collection of secondary data, the aim is to understand the prevailing logic in hegemonic discourses faced with crisis scenarios – whether these adversities are related to the material or to the symbolic order. The article is based on perceptions of the rhetorics of consumption of Carrascoza, Casaqui and Nos Aldás; the “contributions” of advertising for consumer practices, of Coelho and Rocha; and discussion of ethics and values in consumption society of Baudrillard, Feenstra, Martín and Bauman. The research highlights the gap between the words and the silencings in the Brazilian advertising discourses of the automotive sector.