Transcript ADVERTISING 2

ADVERTISING 2
The Role of Captions
/Gillian Dyer/
Dyer vs. Williamson
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Attitude towards advertising
Focus (images, language, etc.)
Role of ideology, creativity
Theoretical and practical aspects
The aim of captions:
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Attract attention
Catch our imagination
Say something memorable
Invest the product with meaning by
tone, rhythm and association
Method:
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bizarre and controversial statements
manipulating and distorting everyday meaning
using words out of context
using imperatives: “Try this!”
playing with words, puns: “Black on the map”
misspelling words deliberately to give the product
uniqueness
“Words do not only describe things, they
communicate feelings, associations and attitudes –
they bring ideas to our minds.” – similarities with
Williamson’s argument
How to target emotions?
BRAND NAMES: Communicate denotatively and
connotatively. Role of connotative meaning: they
should bring flattering associations to our minds.
E.g. beauty products: recall cleanliness,
naturaleness, purity, etc.
TONE OF VOICE: Not always nice and sweet,
sometimes deliberately aggressive. E.g.:
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Tea: high-class tone of voice /tantalizing, delicately/
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Car: conversational, jocular
Often tries to recreate the experience of enjoying the product
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How to target emotions?
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FORMAT: Dialogue or monologue;
monologue testimonial style, interior
monologue technique; borrowing from other
discourse: scientific and legal language;
scientific sounding terms to impress the
audience
Sometimes captions mislead deliberately,
verging on illegality: “orange crush” instead
of “orange squash” wants to make people
think that there are more oranges in the
drink;
How to target emotions?
KEY WORDS:
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Adverbs and adjectives: they can stimulate
envy, dreams and desires by evoking looks,
touch, taste, smell and sounds without
actually misrepresenting a product;
commonly used (fresh, wonderful, rich,
golden) + more creative ones („tomatoful,”
„teenfresh,” etc.)
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Creative adjectival compounds: „new-face
hygiene,” etc. All of these want to suggest
that the product has a special quality
How to target emotions?
KEY WORDS:
 Spelling words wrongly to attract attention: “Beanz
Meanz Heinz”
 Using verbs and nouns in emotive rather than
accurate ways
 Treating intangible entities as if they were living
creatures; more than things, endearments e.g.
„Creamy soft brilliance to bloom tenderly on your
lips”
 Rhythmic beat: making it easier for people to
remember things (like in oral literature)
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
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Background in literature can be very useful
Figurative language: the use of tropes.
Definition of metaphor: „a word acceptable in
one context is transferred to another
context”; based on a perceived similarity “Eat
a bowl of sunshine” = cereals
Metaphors are emotional: they allow the
right kind of emotive associations to be linked
to a product
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
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Personification: “The first bra to
understand the facts of life”
Metonymy: “Bring a touch of Paris into your
life” Paris = fashion, sophistication, good
taste; “Wash the big city out of your hair”
Big city = dirt Cause and effect relationship
(+ spatial and temporal)
Synecdoche: “Does the work of ten hands”
Hand = people (based on part and whole
relationship).
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
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Homonymy: “Players Please” 2 ways of
reading: 1. “Please give my some Players” 2.
“Players are pleasing” /cigarette/ or: “More
cigarettes” 1. product 2. quantity
Parallelism: repetition of formal patterns:
“It’s longer. It’s slimmer”
Alliteration: repetition of initial consonants
“Guinness is good for you”
CALLIGRAPHY
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KITKAT made up of pictures of the bar
of chocolate. These ads suggest that
language is absent and the product
speaks for itself. The calligram tries to
unite the sign and its referent
1. Language/Dyer:
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How does it attract attention?
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How does it target emotions?
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How would you describe the tone of the
voice? The role of music?
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Identify key words used!
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Does the ad use tropes?
2. Visual image/Williamson:
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What is the hidden/ideological meaning?
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What kind of associations does the ad use?
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What kind of fundamental human needs
and desires are evoked?
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What is the „referent system”?
Commercials:
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Pickwick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n37KynJdCgw
Twinings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_HBCTSsYyQ
Nescafe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yYeB_YIgE
Starbucks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN9_WT9l7xo