Linguaggio advertising

Unit 5 the language of advertising

Lesson 1

Look at the dictionary definitions of “advertising” and “advertisement” given below.

Advertising

Ad·ver·tis·ing / ædv ta z / noun [U] the activity and industry of advertising things to people on television, in newspapers, etc: A good advertising campaign will increase our sales. Cigarette advertising has been banned. Radio / TV advertising Val works for an (= a company that designs advertisements). A career in advertising.

Advertisement

Ad·ver·tise·ment / d v3 t sm nt; AmE ædv r ta z-/ noun

• (Also informal ad) (BrE also ad·vert) ~ (for sth) a notice, picture or film telling people about a product, job or service: Put an advertisement in the local paper to sell your car.
• (BrE also ad·vert) ~ for sth an example of sth that shows its good qualities: Dirty streets and homelessness are no advertisement for a prosperous society.
• The act of advertising sth and making it public: We are employing an assistant to help with the advertisement of the group's activities.

Origin: advertēre (Latin), to turn towards.

Text 1 – Advertising language

Advertising language is of course loaded language. Its primary aim is to attract our attention and dispose us favourably towards the product or service on offer. Advertisers use language quite distinctively: there are certainly advantages in making bizarre and controversial statements in unusual ways as well as communicating with people using simple, straightforward language. Copy-writers are well known for playing with words and manipulating or distorting their everyday meanings; they break the rules of language for effect, use words out of context and even make up new ones. Plain and direct language and modes of address can, however, still be used to attract attention and add emphasis to a picture. The use of the imperative mode is of course very common in advertising: ‘Buy this’, ‘Try some’, ‘Don’t forget…’, ‘Treat yourself’, as are plays on words or puns: ‘Short, Black and Sides’, ‘Blacktoday’, ‘Black on the map’, etc. (these last appeared in a recent campaign for John Player cigarettes). Of course some ads are completely devoid of language or speech, relying on the visual image of the product to speak for itself.

Catching our attention and imagination and aiding memory are perhaps the primary functions of advertising language: unusual or stylish words and short, crisp sentences are easy to repeat and remember. And our memories are also served by brand names, slogans and catch-phrases, rhythm and rhyme, alliteration, snatches of song or verse and of course endless repetition. In addition to conveying meanings and feelings through the judicious and experimental use of vocabulary and syntax, language can function not just as a sign system but also as a sign itself. For instance, some ads rely more on the style of language than its actual content. In ads for, say, a foreign product like French cheese, wine or cigarettes, the speech or writing might be in the French language. We are not really expected to understand the literal meaning of the words used nor to decipher the details of the sales message but merely to recognize that it is French – a sign in itself that signifies ‘Frenchness’. Similarly, colloquial language can be used to indicate everyday life, and childish language to connote childishness. Different typographical and calligraphic techniques can also be used as signs.