A critical evaluation of persuasive communication discourses inspired by celebrity endorsement in the telecommunication sector in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Players in the telecommunication sector are embroiled in mobile wars which have spilled over onto the broadcast platform. Intermittent power struggles that have rocked the mobile industry ad infinitum have largely been moved by competitors, Econet and NetOne who have been perceived to be waging a ‘political’ contest on a different platform. This paper investigates persuasive communication strategies employed by the gladiators where interestingly on the same radio station, albeit at different times of same time slots and both inspired by celebrity endorsement, the competitors fight for subscribers. Messenger and message vehicles design the stylistic variations evident in the projected persuasive communication strategies. Celebrity endorsement phenomenon which has apparently been embraced by players in competitive sectors including the mobile industry has been conceptualised within the frame work of Aristotelian Rhetorical Tradition. Language skill exhibition which largely informs the persuasive strategy revolves around code switching, slang, hyperbole and humour. Key tenets from Rank’s (1976) model of persuasion, with minor adjustments alongside Appel and Mysken’s (1997) functionalist model, off er a consolidated framework for a critical appreciation of the discourses. There are a number of questions emerging from the study which could not be answered but trigger-off potential research areas. In this vein, a comparative study on communication strategies between local and say ‘Hollywood’ celebrities as well use of indigenous languages in persuasive communication marshalled by celebrities can be investigated.