Into the Word: Language Style in Advertisement

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.