The Role of Sport Campaigns in Shaping Sustainability Narratives: A Critical Discourse Analysis
Keywords:
Advertisements, CDA, sports, campaigns, sustainabilityAbstract
This research examines environmental discourse within sports, focusing on its linguistic, discursive, and social aspects. The analysis elucidates the construction of environmental discourse in sports through three primary stages: production, distribution, and consumption, emphasizing the interplay of sports firms, environmental organizations, and the public in producing environmental narratives. It underscores the influence of economic and political forces in utilizing the notion of sustainability for marketing and ideological objectives while accentuating the significance of grassroots activities in countering these prevailing narratives. This study employs critical discourse analysis (CDAhenceforth) to examine verbal and visual elements of sports ads. The researchers selected ten social media advertisements in English and Arabic that promote sustainability in sports. Data was gathered from multiple media platforms, encompassing social media initiatives. The research examines advertisements published from 2020 to 2025, using sports businesses or events, sustainability themes, and endorsements by athletes. Sports discourse emphasizes the significance of sustainability in business reputation and environmental accountability. Sustainability is perceived as a progressive endeavor necessitating continuous dedication, surpassing mere marketing fads. Sports foster environmental awareness via text creation, dissemination, and consumption, and can function as a marketing tactic. Sports discourse underscores sustainability in corporate branding and environmental accountability, surpassing marketing trends.
References
Agyeman, J., & Warner, K. (2021). Sustainability in Sports Marketing: A Global Perspective.
Agbeleoba, S. O., Orebe, O., Adekunle-Ojo, G., & Owolabi, O. (2025). Ecolinguistic and Critical Discourse Analysis of Environmental Narratives in Sustainable Development Goal Communications. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 13(5), 195-202. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251305.12
Banerjee, S. B., Iyer, E. S., & Kashyap, R. K. (2013). Corporate Environmentalism and Sustainability Advertising.
Belicková, P., & Kusá, A. (2023). Using Neuromarketing to Create More Effective Messages in Sustainability Advertising Campaigns. European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.34190/ecie.18.1.1673
Belz, F. M., & Peattie, K. (2012). Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective.
Boyle, R., & Haynes, R. (2009). Sport, the Media, and Strategic Communication.
Brenner, B., & Hartl, B. (2021). The perceived relationship between digitalization and environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 315, 128128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128128
Cronin, J., Smith, E., & Apaolaza, R. (2011). Green Advertising and Social Impact.
Cury, R., Kennelly, M., & Howes, M. J. (2022). Environmental sustainability in sport: a systematic literature review. European Sport Management Quarterly, 23(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2022.2126511
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language.
Ferrari, M. (2013). Sporting Nature(s): Wildness, the Primitive, and Naturalizing Imagery in MMA and Sports Advertisements. Environmental Communication, 7(3), 277-296. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2013.781049
Fluetsch, A. (2020). Too Influential or Too Inadequate? A Critical Discourse Analysis of Environmental Advertising.
Gordon, R., Carrigan, M., & Hastings, G. (2011). A framework for sustainable marketing. Marketing Theory, 11(2), 143-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593111403218
Görland, S., & Kannengießer, S. (2021). A matter of time? Sustainability and digital media use. Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, 23(6), 555-569. https://doi.org/10.1108/dprg-11-2020-0160
Hall, S. (2007). The work of representation. In S. Hall (Ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (pp. 13-74). Sage Publications.
Hartmann, P., & Apaolaza, R. (2009). The Effectiveness of Green Advertising Messages. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X05284225
Leipold, S., Feindt, P., Winkel, G., & Keller, R. (2019). Discourse analysis of environmental policy revisited: traditions, trends, perspectives. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 21(5), 445-463. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2019.1660462
Lim, W. (2016). A blueprint for sustainability marketing. Marketing Theory, 16(2), 232-249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593115609796
Lima, P., Falguera, F., Da Silva, H., Maciel, S., Mariano, E., & Elgaaied-Gambier, L. (2023). From green advertising to sustainable behavior: a systematic literature review through the lens of value-belief-norm framework. International Journal of Advertising, 43(1), 53-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2023.2199668
McCullough, B. P., Casper, J. C., & Smith, D. M. K. (2022). Fan Responses of Sponsored Environmental Sustainability Initiatives. Sustainability, 14(21), 14062. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114062
Machin, D., & Mayr, A. (2012). How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis: A Multimodal Introduction.
Miller, B., & Ratliff, S. (2019). The Role of Athlete Endorsements in Sustainability Advertising.
Miller, T. (2016). Greenwashed sports and environmental activism: Formula 1 and FIFA. Journal of Environmental Communication, 10(6), 719-733. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2015.1127850
Rathee, S., & Milfeld, T. (2023). Sustainability advertising: literature review and framework for future research. International Journal of Advertising, 43(1), 7-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2023.2175300
Sander, F., Föhl, U., Walter, N., & Demmer, V. (2021). Green or social? An analysis of environmental and social sustainability advertising and its impact on brand personality, credibility and attitude. Journal of Brand Management, 28(4), 429-445. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-021-00236-8
Saura, J., Palos-Sánchez, P., & Herráez, B. (2020). Digital Marketing for Sustainable Growth: Business Models and Online Campaigns Using Sustainable Strategies. Sustainability, 12(3), 1003. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031003
Shahzalal, M., & Hassan, A. (2019). Communicating Sustainability: Using Community Media to Influence Rural People's Intention to Adopt Sustainable Behaviour. Sustainability, 11(3), 812. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030812
Shetty, S., & Nayak, S. (2024). Sustainability communication on social media in the last decade: A review of research perspectives from Asia. F1000Research, 13, 1377. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.159108.1
Sobur, A. (2009). Semiotika Komunikasi. Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya.
Stamou, A., Lefkaditou, A., Schizas, D., & Stamou, G. (2009). The Discourse of Environmental Information. Journal of Science Communication, 8(2), 187-214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547009335347
Susanti, S. (2019). A Critical Discourse Analysis on Beauty Product Advertisements. Journal of Language Learning and Research, 2(1), 1-11.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and Context: A Sociocognitive Approach.
Wenner, L. (2015). Sport, Media, and Society in the Contemporary Era.
Witt, C. (2011). Media Theory and Sustainability Communication. In Sustainability Communication (pp. 79-88). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1697-1_7
Wörsching, M. (2007). Race to the Top. Men and Masculinities, 10(2), 197-221.
Yang, Y., & Liu, H. (2024). Sustainable Media and Green Innovation: The Impact of Sustainable Atmosphere and Environmental Regulation on Manufacturing Enterprises. Sustainability, 16(8), 3255. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083255
Zafar, A., Shen, J., Ashfaq, M., & Shahzad, M. (2021). Social media and sustainable purchasing attitude: Role of trust in social media and environmental effectiveness. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 63, 102751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102751
Zhao, L., Lee, S., & Copeland, L. (2019). Social media and Chinese consumers' environmentally sustainable apparel purchase intentions. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 31(4), 860-876. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-08-2017-0183
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
All articles published in the Journal of English Education and Linguistics are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA) license. This means anyone is free to copy, transform, or redistribute articles for any lawful purpose in any medium, provided they give appropriate attribution to the original author(s) and Journal of English Education and Linguistics, link to the license, indicate if changes were made, and redistribute any derivative work under the same license.
Copyright on articles is retained by the respective author(s) without restrictions. A non-exclusive license is granted to the Journal of English Education and Linguistics to publish the article and identify itself as its original publisher, along with the commercial right to include the article in a hardcopy issue for sale to libraries and individuals.
Although the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA) license do not apply to authors (as the copyright holder of your article, you have no restrictions on your rights), by submitting to the Journal of English Education and Linguistics, authors recognize the rights of readers and must grant any third party the right to use their articles to the extent provided by the license.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
