Visual content and
design in advertising have a very great impact on the consumer, but it is
language that helps people to identify a product and remember it.
The English language is
known for its extensive vocabulary. Where many other languages have only one or
two words which carry a particular meaning, English may have five or six.
Moreover, the meanings
of these five or six words may differ very slightly and in a very subtle way.
It is important to understand the connotation of a word. Connotation is the
feeling or ideas that are suggested by a word, rather than the actual meaning
of the word. Armchair, for example, suggests comfort, whereas chair arouses
no particular feelings.
The target audience, of
course, also puts its own meaning into certain words. Different people
sometimes interpret language in different ways.
Both the mass media,
when reporting news items, and marketing and advertising personnel have to
consider the emotive power of the words they use. First, they make a decision
about what to communicate and what to withhold.
One way in which
advertisers adapt language to their own use is to take compound words and use
them as adjectives. These compounds often later become widely used in normal
situations. Examples of these compounds which have become part of the English
language are: top-quality, economy-size, chocolate-flavoured, feather-light and longer-lasting.
The language of advertising is, of course, normally very positive
and emphasizes why one product stands out in comparison with another.
Advertising language may not always be "correct" language in the
normal sense. For example, comparatives are often used when no real comparison
is made. An advertisement for a detergent may say "It gets clothes
whiter", but whiter than what?
Advertisors
use Text types or Genres that: Coax, Entice, Induce, Deceive, Beguile
and Persuade
Professor
Marshall McLuhan writes: “Ours
is the first age in which many thousands of the best trained individual minds have made
it a full-time business to get inside the collective public mind. To get
inside in order to manipulate, exploit, control is the object now. And to
generate heat, not light, is the intention.”
A) Characteristics of Persuasive language
Emotive
language –
coloured and biased language with affected and associated meanings: new,
free, wanted, sensational
Abstract
words - beauty,
delicious, satisfying, they invest their products with significance or
symbolism beyond themselves; aristocratic elegance, sportsmanship, good health
or sexual attractiveness.
Catchy
Phrases –
language to arrest your attention; to lure you in, to seduce, to communicate
instantly, briefly, concisely with impact.
Poetic,
Glamorised or Euphemistic Language – They ransack the language for words and phrases
and plagiarise poetry unashamedly. They choose glossy, glamorous flowing
language that lulls or hypnotises you, dulling your intellect. Sound effects:
alliteration, assonance and rhyme and rhythm
Imperative
Mood - The
language urges, orders or commands you to act in an assertive aggressive
enterprising manner.
Use
of the Second Person -
You are being addressed, targeted, made to feel special. You are induced to
“treat/indulge yourself” because you deserve it – to arouse
self-interest. They speak directly to the reader.
Abuse
of Language -
Advertisers can be very dishonest in how they use language. Without
resorting to outright lies, they attempt to make “gilt seem gold, the
shoddy silk; to cheat us legally.”
Frequent
use of Adjectives - a predominance
of superlatives; best, freshest, cleanest, brightest, biggest, most real,
special, crisp wonderful…..
Repetition
- easy to
read, and help to fix the product in the receivers mind. Brand names are
repeated ad nauseum as are catchy phrases and jingles.
Neologisms
- new words
are coined every year; “unzip a banana, temptational, bubbly, minty,
tangy, chewy, chunky, crackly, crispy, flaky, meaty, nutty, silky and spicy”
are some of the newly coined adjectives. Many compound words such
as: mirror finish, longer-lasting, smoother-handling, have
been introduced by the advertising industry.
Humour
– softens
us up for the soft sell.
B) Structures (Scaffolding)
Four
ingredients of successful ads such as;
Attention: Eye-catching layout,
striking features to make people take notice. Clear concise expression
short sentences and paragraphs. Captivating Graphics.
Spectacular Layout easy to grasp.
Interest – to sustain interest, often
targeted to a niche market.
Desire - the ad will create or
develop a need or desire for the product.
Action - an urging for direct
action with some incentives; gifts, limited time, special deals…..
Usually in the second person with an imperative tone.
C) Emotional abuse of the collective subconscious Psyche
Advertisers
recognise that we all have fears, hopes, anxieties, aspirations, insecurities
and dreams and rather than satisfy desires, not needs, they lull us into false
illusions that these will be filled by consumerism. They exploit our psyche by
appeals to:
Status
– snob values: Top
people read Spectrum, discerning people drink Baileys,
discriminating tastes prefer King Island Cheese, the best homes… exclusive
Fear
of non-conformity: bad
breath, B.O., pejoratives, old-fashioned, negative associations.
Security
– Get
with the strength, a name you can trust, Est. 1870.
Ease
and Comfort - Relax,
treat yourself, processed food, self indulgence.
Authority
- Doctors
recommend, or horse trainers/dog trainers/racing car drivers or
just famous people, athletes through
either direct testimonial or by association linking the product with fame and
prestige.
Sex
and provocative youth – always
a good approach designed to catch attention and associate with your product.
Brand
names: To
establish these you must imbue them with epic qualities and have them branded
into the psyches of your target (niche) audience.
Symbol
Manipulation:
You invest objects with significance that transcend themselves through
association: Though attractive, the links can be deceptive. Cigarettes
to elegance, social acceptance, outdoor health scenes, Cars and
sexy women, foods and heroic sporting achievements…..
Impressive
Layouts and Graphics with
attention grabbing and subtle display and exploitation of colour.
D) Tactics of commercials:
In an
interview with ad executive Jonah Sachs, YouTube channel AJ+ outlines the main
tactics commercials use to reel us in.
- Empowerment: Think the
“Dove Real Beauty” campaign, which used women’s empowerment to promote
their brand.
- Shared values: REI’s
“Opt Outside” campaign this past Thanksgiving in the US encouraged people
to enjoy the outdoors rather than shop, but it was excellent brand
building for REI.
- Celebrity: George
Clooney in those Nescafe commercials.
- Fear of missing out: The
video uses Budweiser commercials as an example. They show everyone else
doing cool stuff and make you want that lifestyle, too.
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