An Ecolinguistic Analysis of Advertising Discourse: How Framing Techniques Replace Natural Products With Marketed Narratives in Saudi Arabia

This study investigates the phenomenon of erasure in the commercial discourse of dairy product advertisements by multinational companies in Saudi Arabia. This research focuses on the packaging and promotional language of 25 dairy products from five major supermarkets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The research employs Stibbe’s (2021) ecolinguistic framework to examine key discursive strategies, including metaphor, trace, facticity, greenwashing, and erasure. While erasure remains the central analytical focus, the study also considers related narrative strategies such as metaphor and conviction, which support the ideological framing of dairy products as natural, pure, and wholesome. The analysis reveals that nature is often either partially or entirely erased through the use of vague and idealized expressions such as ‘farm-fresh’ and ‘pure love,’ which distance consumers from the environmental and ethical realities of dairy production. Animals are either rendered invisible or referenced only through abstract phrases like ‘dairy goodness.’ This language not only promotes consumer appeal but also performs ideological work by constructing narratives of ecological harmony and ethical production, even in conditions where such ideals may not exist. The findings contribute to the expanding field of ecolinguistics and critical discourse studies by highlighting the urgent need for ecological accountability in corporate communication.