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Babe Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Letters, Department of English

Language and/in Advertisement

Professor: Student:

Dr. Chrira Dorin Mihly Rka


SCB 1st year

Cluj-Napoca
2017
Contents

Introduction ................................................................................ 3
What is advertisement? ............................................................ 5
Types of advertisement .......................................................... 5
The language of advertisement ............................................... 6
Lexical and non-lexical features of language use in ads ..... 8
1. Lexical features of language use: ..................................... 8
2. Non-Lexical features of language use: ........................... 10
References ................................................................................. 12
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This paper focuses on the language of advertisement in selected newspapers
and magazines, but also provides information about advertisement in general. The
main focus in this paper will be on the linguistic features of the language in ads: with
emphasis on lexical features of language like the vocabulary (use of figurative and
emotive expression, of diction), syntax and rhetorical devices. The paper will also
reveal some of the graphetic and graphological features of adverts through a number
of examples which include a wide range of products, from different mediums.

The study will address the following questions: what is advertisement, what
are the two types of advertisement, how does it appear in different newspapers
(tabloids and broadsheets) and mainly what techniques do ads use in order to reach
their goal?

Introduction

According to Encyclopdia Britannica advertisement means all the techniques


and practices used to bring products, services, opinions, or causes to public notice for
the purpose of persuading the public to respond in a certain way toward what is
advertised. Most advertising involves promoting a good that is for sale, but similar
methods are used to encourage people to drive safely, to support various charities, or
to vote for political candidates, among many other examples. In many countries
advertising is the most important source of income for the media (e.g., newspapers,
magazines, or television stations) through which it is conducted. In the non-
communist world advertising has become a large and important service industry.

The way advertisement exists now came along with the development of
printing in the 15th and 16th century. By most accounts regular English journalism
began with the Civil War and emerged during the seventeenth century. The control
over printing relaxed greatly after the abolition of Star Chamber in 1641. The Civil
War escalated the demand for news. News pamphlets or books reported the war,
often supporting one side or the other. Until this time journalism did not necessarily
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take the form of newspapers, rather a wide range of publications existed. Among
these were small pamphlets (actually called newsbooks) which appeared from about
1620. These small news pamphlets or corantos produced only when some event
worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published title was The Weekly
News of 1622. It was followed in the 1640's and 1650's by a plethora of different titles
in the similar newsbook format. In this era publication was often erratic, but by the
middle of the century many features associated with the modern newspaper began to
appear: the leading article, advertisements and advice to readers (Kevin Williams,
1998: 8 19).
Many of todays quality, daily and Sunday newspapers appeared in the late 18th
century or early 19th century. The first newspapers catered for only a small educated
and largely London based market. Then a bit later the birth of mass literacy after 1870
showed the need for different kind of newspapers which could be solved to a large
number of literate class. When the newspapers were sold only locally there was no
need for big advertisement. Greg Myers in his work called Words in Ads points out
that the history of advertisement dates back much further in time, but only the late
19th century marks a crucial stage in the development of some commodities and
markets, a period when many current band names began. He also gives a reason why
this happened, Greg Myers says that its because of a simple fact: the 19th century was
the first period in history when it became possible to make far more of common things
than anyone needed. Before that households or makers would have made just enough
soap, clothes, pins etc. for local needs (1994:13). There was no need for quality
reassurance, because they knew each other and each others work very well.

With the great expansion of industry in the 19th century the the growth of an
advertising industry started to emerge. After a small amount of time advertising was
developing in a variety of media. Perhaps the most basic was the newspaper, offering
advertisers large circulations, a readership located close to the advertisers place of
business, and the opportunity to alter their advertisements on a frequent and regular
basis. Magazines, the other chief print medium, may be of general interest or they may
be aimed at specific audiences (such as people interested in outdoor sports or
computers or literature) and offer the manufacturers of products of particular
interest to such people the chance to make contact with their most likely customers.
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Many national magazines publish regional editions, permitting a more selective
targeting of advertisements (Encyclopdia Britannica).

What is advertisement?

Nowadays it may seem odd to ask such a question, because wherever we may
go or whatever we may do we can see and hear ads: on television, in the newspapers,
magazines, on the radio, on social media etc. It has become part of our everyday
experience. We are bombarded with different kinds of advertisements, even when we
are not conscious about them. Despite the fact that adverts can have only informative
aspect as stated above their main role is to pursue people to buy products. Advertising
reaches to a lot of people. Advertisers buy space in newspapers and magazines to
publish their ads. They buy time on television and radio to broadcast their
commercials.

Types of advertisement

According to their layout and position in a newspaper or magazine and even


to their content, we can differentiate two types of advertisement: the classified and
the display ads.

The classified advertisement is described in the Cambridge Online Dictionary


as follows: a small advertisement that you put in a newspaper or a magazine,
usually because you want to sell or buy something or to find or offer a job.
The display advertisement in the same dictionary is a large colourful
advertisement that is designed to attract people's attention.
The display advertisements appear alongside regular editorial content and are
usually paid by big companies, corporations with proper names, because only
they can afford putting a huge colourful image in a newspaper. These revenues
from sales of advertising pays for the bulk of costs of newspapers production.
According to a study on reading English newspapers classified ad section is
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organized to assist readers in locating relevant information. These ads are


grouped together according to product or service type. There is usually an index
that directs readers to each specific category within which listings are arranged
alphabetically. (Mohammad Reza Shams, 200).

Here are two images that show classified and display advertisement:

(Source: ReleaseMyAd.com -Mirror) (Source: http://en.kiosko.net

- The Guardian )

The language of advertisement

This chapter will focus on the linguistic and non-linguistic methods that
advertisers use in order to compel consumers to buy their products. It tries to bring
examples for each aspect from different type of media.

Language has a powerful influence over people and over their behaviour.
Weve seen throughout the history what a speech or some statements can start, and
how some words can easily manipulate thousands of people. The choice of language
to communicate certain information in our everyday life is also essential.
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In the fields of marketing and advertising, even though visual content and
design are also fundamental parts of an advertisement, it is impossible to do without
the right language. The choice of words is crucial to the way manufacturers want us
to feel about their product. It is often the subtle differences between words, feelings
and meaning that can make a big difference. The language of the advert also has
associations that advertisers would like us to remember when reading their adverts.
The heart of any advert is the slogan. This is a short phrase that attempts to highlight
the main point of the advert for the reader. Slogans rely on associating the product
with particular image or emotion, often it involves repeating the first letter in a series
of words. This is called alliteration: Toyota: Today, Tomorrow, Toyota. Slogans also
use assonance which is repeating a sound within a series of word, like in the
following example: Veet: Smooth move, Shell: You can be sure of Shell. Sometimes
they use a word with more than one meaning. This is called punning. Slogans are
designed to stick in your mind and remind you of the advert and the message that the
manufacturer of that particular product would like you to receive. But choosing the
right words can be really difficult. As people often associate different meanings with
words, so advertisers have to be really careful that their slogans has no negative
association.

To persuade the largest number of people many advertisers use not just
factual, but emotional appeals combined with several other appeals so the reader gets
not just plain information about how the product work, but also gets personal
satisfaction: Oma Gupta in his book: Advertising in India: Trends and Impact writes
that advertisements that use an emotive appeal stress the ways in which a product
will give personal satisfaction. Such an ad might appeal to a person's need for love,
security, or prestige and suggest that the product will satisfy the need. Advertisers
often use sexual themes that appeal to a person's desire to be attractive to the
opposite sex. For example, an advertisement for aftershave lotion might suggest that
the product would help a man attract women. But how do they do it? How can they
achieve all this? What are some of the methods they work with? This is the next
chapters topic.
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Lexical and non-lexical features of language use in ads

A lot of scholars agree on the fact that the language of advertising must be one
that can be easily understood, because its audience oriented nature requires a
transparent and easily accessible language. It demands a simple diction. Broom in his
work observes that: the language of advertising is audience orientedthis is
because notwithstanding the level of socialization and learning of the advertiser, he
or she does not impose this on the listener, rather language that is transparent is
used (1978, 28). In the same work he continues, adding that: Transparent and easily
accessible language is used so that the advertisement will bring the listener, who
expects first-hand information from any piece of information (1978, 28-29)

In this paper I wont be able to analyse and understand all the different
advertising techniques and methods that for example Gregg Myers, Broom,
Fairclough or G. Cook in their book presented, but heavily relying on their works Ill
give examples from different newspapers, magazines and online platforms to show
how advertising techniques work.

1. Lexical features of language use:

Advertisers frequently use figurative expressions, simple diction, proper names


and emotive expressions in order to pursue their readers to buy their products. The
language of advertising is not something that follows the grammar rules or which has
logical and strict rules of everyday language. It is a kind of language that varies,
functions and familiarizes itself with the context in which is used.

a. Figurative expressions: words and phrases used not with their


basic meaning but with a more imaginative meaning, in order to
create a special effect (Cambridge Online Dictionary)
In advertising these meaning are reflected through metaphors, metonymy, puns,
personification, paradox etc.
- Metaphors: When using a metaphor, two seemingly unrelated things are
compared by stating that one is the same as the other; this helps to see the
similarities or connections which would remain unrevealed if not by the
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metaphor (Tatjana Duboviien, Pavel Skorupa, 64)


Example: Open Happiness (Coca Cola); Beware the Heat (Tabasco);
Cigarettes are like woman, the best ones are thin and rich. (Silva Thin
cigarettes)

- Metonymy: a figure of speech in which the name of an attribute or a thing is


substituted for the thing itself (Cuddon, 1999, 510) Theres an example in
The Times magazines last page (07.05.16): You never actually own a Patek
Philippe. You merely look after it for the next Generation (Patek Philippe
watch)
- Pun: that involves a play on words. According to Cuddon (1999, 711), puns are
often used for humorous effect. Consider the following examples: Cheap
enough to say, Phuket Ill go. (Air Asia); You should be shot (Photography
studio)
- Personification: the impersonation or embodiment of some quality or
abstraction; the attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects.
Personification is inherent in many languages through the use of gender
(Cuddon, 1999, 661) Example: The first crme that renews your skin during
the night (Nivea)

b. The use of simple diction: This refers to the use of simple, direct and familiar
kind of language to communicate sense to the potential customer. The
language must be simple, with simple syntax in order to be understandable
by an average of audience.
c. Proper names: Sometimes it is enough if only the name of the brand is used,
because the aim in these cases are not only to tell about some promo, or deal,
but mainly to direct the readers attention to the company. It immediately
draws the attention on their brand, then on their product, at least on the
offer, if theres one. Example: In The Times Magazines page (07.05.16)
theres a Gucci ad, portraying only a bag, and the brands name: GUCCI.
d. Emotive expressions: These are the words that give the reader an emotional
appeal. Advertisers work hard to use special words or phrases that have an
emotional impact on people. They use persuasive vocabulary like: special,
revolutionary, fresh, right choice, miracle, womanly, manly, elegant etc. These
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words not only make the product seem something that is unique, but also
make the possible buyers feel special too. In several essay this feature is also
called the we are different and unique claim. With emotive expressions
they also want us to feel guilt so that we do something about that cause. In
many cases these ads start with a question like: Are you ready to be moved?
(Virgin media), Youre there for Mom, Where here for you (AARP-Real
possibilities), Because, you worth it (Loreal Paris)

This feature is usually used also in non-linguistic advertisements, because by


adding a sensual picture to a few words or maybe a brands name, the overall
effect will be a stronger one. Here
we have to mention a key-feature
that almost all adverts use, mostly
those in Womens magazines, that
is the highly valued synthetic
personalization (Fairclough,
1989, 62). When people are
addressed individually, apart from the mass, they are more likely to respond
positively on anything. Addressing the readers as you, we, together
encourages them, make them feel safe and able to do anything with the help
of the product.

There are many other linguistic features, like parallelism,


anaphora/cataphora, and antithesis, disjunctive syntax (Connect More- Citroen) etc.
that advertising uses and which are also relevant to the topic but the length of the
study does not allow to include all of them.

2. Non-Lexical features of language use:


Advertisers use a lot of non-lexical features, like punctuation marks,
pictures/images, figures, colours etc.
a. Punctuation: There are a lot of adverts that use all sorts of punctuation, most
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of them start with a question. They generate interest and appeal to the
emotions of the prospective customer. (Esther Robert, 7) Examples: Are you
beach body ready? Yes, we are. (Dove). This ad also uses a phrase that is used
so many times in womens magazines,
but by placing 3 normal sized woman
on the ad, they totally reverse the
slogan suggesting that everybody
should be ready for the beach.

b. Images/pictures: they enhance the message of the adverts. Nowadays almost


every advertisement involve some pictures. According to G. Myers:
advertisers as their audience devote at least as much attention to the arts as
to the copy. (1994: 83) The image in many ways can more easily explain what
the words cant. Myers writes that: We would laugh at the claim that a soap
would make anyone beautiful, if this claim were put in words, but if it is
implied by a picture of a beautiful woman holding the soap, our sceptical
faculties are not invoked (1994: 83)

c. Figures: to prove the products quality or validity they often use numbers,
statistics and facts. The use of figures make the information far more
believable. For example if a crme wants to inform audiences that it is efficient,
the advertisers would put some numbers on the products which indicate on
how many people they tested their product with the best result. Example: 9
out of 10 dentist who tried would recommend it (Colgate Pro-Relief), The joy
of six-Listerine Total Care works in 6 ways (Listerine mouthwash)
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References

Broom, J. (1978). A Theory of Figure in French Literacy Theory Today, A reader:


Todorov, New York: Cambridge University.
Cook, G. (2001). Discourse of Advertising, New York: Routledge.
Cuddon, J. A. (1999). The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary
Theory. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
Duboviien, T. and Skorupa, P. (2014)The Analysis of some Stylistic Features
of English Advertising Slogans , Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences,
Faculty of Philology, Department of English Language, Mimeo.
Esther, R. (2013). Language of Advertising: A Study of Nigerias Nation
Newspaper and Newswatch Magazine, Published online:
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1077200.pdf
Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and Power, United Kingdom: Longman.
Gupta, O. (2005). Advertising in India: Trends and Impact, Delhi: Kalpaz
Publications.
Myers, G. (1994). Words in ads. Edward Arnold.
Reza Shams, M. Reading English Newspapers, unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
University of Kashan
Williams, K. (1998). Get Me A Murder A Day, A History of Mass Communications
in Britain, Edward Arnold.

Online:
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/advertising
Cambridge Online Dictionary:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/classified-ad
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