1887
Volume 10, Issue 3
  • ISSN 2211-4742
  • E-ISSN: 2211-4750
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Sponsorships on YouTube – i.e., video creators on YouTube promoting a third-party product or service to their audience – have attracted considerable research interest recently in various disciplines. This multidisciplinary study analyzes it from the perspective of argumentation theory, specifically pragma-dialectics, which offers valuable new insights into the discursive tensions inherent to this type of promotion. These tensions arise between the creator’s relationship with their audience on the one hand, which is built upon ‘parasocial’ evaluations of authenticity and community, and the commercial third party brand on the other. The insights provided by the pragma-dialectic analysis are demonstrated by means of a case study examining a sponsorship segment by YouTuber PewDiePie, which shows that creators can employ specific types of presentational choices and audience adaptation strategically to undercut commitment to the sponsor while furthering the relationship with their viewers.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jaic.19020.bog
2021-12-14
2025-04-30
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aristotle
    Aristotle 1991On rhetoric: A theory of civic discourse. Translated byGeorge A. Kennedy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Aristotle
    Aristotle 2004The art of rhetoric [Rhetorica]. Translated byHugh Lawson-Tancred. London: Penguin.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Averbeck, Joshua
    2013 “Comparisons of Ironic and Sarcastic Arguments in Terms of Appropriateness and Effectiveness in Personal Relationships.” Argumentation and Advocacy50: 47–57. 10.1080/00028533.2013.11821809
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00028533.2013.11821809 [Google Scholar]
  4. Banet-Weiser, Sarah
    2012AuthenticTM: The politics of ambivalence in a brand culture. New York/London: New York University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Beers Fägersten, Kristy
    2017 “The role of swearing in creating an online persona: The case of YouTuber PewDiePie.” Discourse, Context & Media18: 1–10. 10.1016/j.dcm.2017.04.002
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2017.04.002 [Google Scholar]
  6. Boogaart, Ronny
    2013 “Strategische manoeuvres met sterke drank: Redelijk effectief?” InNeerlandistiek in beeld, ed. byTheo Janssen and Ton van Strien, 283–292. Amsterdam/Münster: Stichting Neerlandistiek VU/Nodus Publikationen.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Boogaart, Ronny, Henrike Jansen and Maarten van Leeuwen
    2021 “‘Those are your words, not mine!’ Defence strategies for denying speaker commitment.” Argumentation35: 209–235. 10.1007/s10503‑020‑09521‑3
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-020-09521-3 [Google Scholar]
  8. Chen, Chih-Ping
    2013 “Exploring personal branding on YouTube.” Journal of Internet Commerce12: 332–347. 10.1080/15332861.2013.859041
    https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2013.859041 [Google Scholar]
  9. 2016 “Forming digital self and parasocial relationships on YouTube.” Journal of Consumer Culture16: 232–254. 10.1177/1469540514521081
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540514521081 [Google Scholar]
  10. Cocker, Hayley, and James Cronin
    2017 “Charismatic authority and the YouTuber: Unpacking the new cults of personality.” Marketing Theory17: 455–472. 10.1177/1470593117692022
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593117692022 [Google Scholar]
  11. Cunningham, Stuart, and David Craig
    2017 “Being ‘really real’ on YouTube: Authenticity, community and brand culture in social media entertainment.” Media International Australia164: 71–81. 10.1177/1329878X17709098
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X17709098 [Google Scholar]
  12. De Jans, Steffi, Veroline Cauberghe, and Liselot Hudders
    2018 “How and advertising disclosure alerts young adolescents to sponsored vlogs: The moderating role of a peer-based advertising literacy intervention through an informational vlog.” Journal of Advertising47: 309–325. 10.1080/00913367.2018.1539363
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2018.1539363 [Google Scholar]
  13. Duffy, Brooke, and Jefferson Pooley
    2019 “Idols of promotion: The triumph of self-branding in an age of precarity.” Journal of Communication69: 26–48. 10.1093/joc/jqy063
    https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqy063 [Google Scholar]
  14. Duffy, Brooke, and Elizabeth Wissinger
    2017 “Mythologies of creative work in the social media age: Fun, free, and ‘just being me’.” International Journal of Communication11: 4652–4671.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. van Eemeren, Frans
    2010Strategic maneuvering in argumentative discourse: Extending the pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/aic.2
    https://doi.org/10.1075/aic.2 [Google Scholar]
  16. 2016 “Identifying argumentative patterns: A vital step in the development of pragma-dialectics.” Argumentation30: 1–23. 10.1007/s10503‑015‑9377‑z
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-015-9377-z [Google Scholar]
  17. van Eemeren, Frans, and Rob Grootendorst
    1984Speech acts in argumentative discussions: A theoretical model for the analysis of discussions directed towards solving conflicts of opinion. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110846089
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110846089 [Google Scholar]
  18. 1992Argumentation, communication and fallacies: A pragma-dialectical perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. 2004A systematic theory of argumentation: The pragma-dialectical approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. van Eemeren, Frans, and Peter Houtlosser
    2002 “Strategic manoeuvring: Maintaining a delicate balance.” InDialectic and rhetoric: The warp and woof of argumentation analysis, ed. byFrans van Eemeren and Peter Houtlosser, 131–160. Dordrecht: Kluwer. 10.1007/978‑94‑015‑9948‑1_10
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9948-1_10 [Google Scholar]
  21. van Eemeren, Frans, Rob Grootendorst and Francisca Snoeck Henkemans
    2002Argumentation: Analysis, evaluation, presentation. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 10.4324/9781410602442
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410602442 [Google Scholar]
  22. van Eemeren, Frans and Peter Houtlosser
    2005 “Theoretical construction and argumentative reality: An analytical model of critical discussion and onventionalized types of argumentative activity.” InThe Uses of Argument: Proceedings of a conference at McMaster University, 18–21 May 2005, ed. byDavid Hitchcock and Daniel Farr, 75–84. Hamilton, ON: Ontario Society for the Study of Argumentation.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. van Eemeren, Frans, and Peter Houtlosser
    2006 “Strategic maneuvering: A synthetic recapitulation.” Argumentation20: 381–392. 10.1007/s10503‑007‑9037‑z
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-007-9037-z [Google Scholar]
  24. van Eemeren, Frans, and Francisca Snoeck Henkemans
    2011Argumentatie. 4th edition. Groningen/Houten: Noordhoff.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. van Eemeren, Frans, and Peng Wu
    2017Contextualizing pragma-dialectics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/aic.12
    https://doi.org/10.1075/aic.12 [Google Scholar]
  26. Ferchaud, Arienne, Jenna Grzeslo, Stephanie Orme, and Jared LaGrouge
    2018 “Parasocial attributes and YouTube personalities: Exploring content trends across the most subscribed YouTube channels.” Computers in Human Behavior80: 88–96. 10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.041
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.041 [Google Scholar]
  27. García Jiménez, Antonio, Beatriz Catalina García and María Cruz López de Ayala
    2016 “Adolescents and YouTube: Creation, participation and consumption.” Prisma Social1: 60–89.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Gerhards, Claudia
    2017 “Product placement on YouTube: An explorative study on YouTube creators’ experiences with advertisers.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies23: 1–18.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Hearn, Alison, and Stephanie Schoenhoff
    2016 “From celebrity to influencer: Tracing the diffusion of celebrity value across the data stream.” InA Companion to Celebrity, ed. byDavid Marshall and Sean Redmond, 194–212. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Horton, Donald and Richard Wohl
    1956 “Mass communication and para-social interaction.” Psychiatry19: 215–229. 10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049 [Google Scholar]
  31. Hou, Mingyi
    2018 “Social media celebrity and the institutionalization of YouTube.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies24: 1–20.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Houtlosser, Peter
    2001 “Points of view.” InCrucial concepts in argumentation theory, ed. byFrans van Eemeren, 27–48. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Kjeldsen, Jens
    2015 “The study of visual and multimodal argumentation.” Argumentation29: 115–132. 10.1007/s10503‑015‑9348‑4
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-015-9348-4 [Google Scholar]
  34. Kjellberg, Felix [PewDiePie]
    2019 “I paid Belle Delphine $0 (she is happy) TikTok part 12.” YouTube. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uPD5q5BHR8. PublishedMarch 1, 2019; last accessedSeptember 14, 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Koll-Stobbe, Amei
    1994 “Message merchants: Cognitive aspects of advertising cultural discourse.” Folia Linguistica28: 385–398. 10.1515/flin.1994.28.3‑4.385
    https://doi.org/10.1515/flin.1994.28.3-4.385 [Google Scholar]
  36. Kress, Gunther
    2010Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Labrecque, Lauren, Ereni Markos and George Milne
    2011 “Online personal branding: Processes, challenges, and implications.” Journal of Interactive Marketing25: 37–50. 10.1016/j.intmar.2010.09.002
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2010.09.002 [Google Scholar]
  38. Majdik, Zoltan, and William Keith
    2011 “Expertise as argument: Authority, democracy, and problem-solving.” Argumentation25: 371–384. 10.1007/s10503‑011‑9221‑z
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-011-9221-z [Google Scholar]
  39. Marwick, Alice
    2015 “You may know me from YouTube: (micro-)celebrity in social media.” InA Companion to Celebrity, ed. by ed. byDavid Marshall and Sean Redmond, 333–350. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. 10.1002/9781118475089.ch18
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118475089.ch18 [Google Scholar]
  40. Pilgram, Roosmaryn
    2012 “Reasonableness of a doctor’s argument by authority: A pragma-dialectical analysis of the specific soundness conditions.” Journal of Argumentation in Context1: 33–50. 10.1075/jaic.1.1.04pil
    https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.1.1.04pil [Google Scholar]
  41. 2015 A doctor’s argument by authority: An analytical and empirical study of strategic manoeuvring in medical consultation. University of Amsterdam: PhD thesis.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. van Poppel, Lotte
    2009 “Institutionele invloed op het strategisch manoeuvreren in adviserende gezondheidsbrochures.” InStudies in Taalbeheersing 3, ed. byWilbert Spooren, Margreet Onrust and José Sanders, 309–322. Assen: Van Gorcum.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Raun, Tobias
    2018 “Capitalizing intimacy: New subcultural forms of micro-celebrity strategies and affective labour on YouTube.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies24: 99–113. 10.1177/1354856517736983
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517736983 [Google Scholar]
  44. Rihl, Alexander, and Claudia Wegener
    2017 “YouTube celebrities and parasocial interaction: Using feedback channels in mediatized relationships.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies23: 1–13.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Tindale, Christopher, and James Gough
    1987 “The use of irony in argumentation.” Philosophy & Rhetoric20: 1–17.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Trilling, Lionel
    1971Sincerity and Authenticity. Cambridge: Mass.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Tseronis, Assimakis
    2018 “Multimodal argumentation: Beyond the verbal/visual divide.” Semiotica220: 41–67. 10.1515/sem‑2015‑0144
    https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2015-0144 [Google Scholar]
  48. Walton, Douglas
    1996aArgumentation schemes for presumptive reasoning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. 1996bArgument structure: A pragmatic theory. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 10.3138/9781487574475
    https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487574475 [Google Scholar]
  50. Walton, Douglas, Chris Reed, and Fabrizio Macagno
    2008Argumentation schemes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511802034
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511802034 [Google Scholar]
  51. Wierda, Renske, and Jacky Visser
    2017 “Direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs as an argumentative activity type.” InContextualizing pragma-dialectics, ed. byFrans van Eemeren and Peng Wu, 77–92. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/aic.12.05wie
    https://doi.org/10.1075/aic.12.05wie [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/jaic.19020.bog
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/jaic.19020.bog
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error