Transcript Session Eleven Pun in Advertising

Session Eleven
Pun in Advertising
According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1986:1642), the pun is “a
humorous use of a word in such a way as to
suggest different meanings or applications of
words having the same sound or nearly the
same sound but different meanings: a play o
words.” It is a play on words, or rather a play
on the form and meaning of words. Nida (19
93:87 ) describes it as follows, “Playing on
The meaning and formal resemblance of
words (punning) is a universal phenomenon,
and in some languages this rhetorical device
I have found an interesting phenomenon:
the definitions or descriptions of pun always
have a noun phrase—a play on words. Why
is it a play on words? Because puns rest on
a superficial or accidental similarity: two word
sound the same, or one word that happens t
have two separate meanings. In other words
it takes advantage of homophones and homo
nyms to suggest double meanings of words
at the same time, making a linguistic twist in
advertising language. So it is often said to be
a play on word.
Appropriate application of pun can attract
readers’ attention, make the body copy readable and memorable and arouse consumers’
interest and imagination. e.g.
(110) Make you every hello and real good bu
(A Telephone Ad)
(111) From sharp minds. Come Sharp produc
(112) Every Kid Should Have An Apple After
School. ( Apple IIC )
(113) All you need is some good company,
good coffee, and vivid imagination. Let’
take care of the coffee. Only Taster’s
(114) Which lager can claim to be truly German? This can.
( A big can of lager beside this ad)
(115) The unique spirit of Canada: We bottle
it. Right to the finish, its Canadian spiri
stands out from the ordinary. What keeps the
favor coming? Super lightness. Super taste.
If that’s where you’d like to head, set your
course Lord Calvert Canadian.
From the above examples, we can see,
according to its different occurrence, pun
varies in different situations. At first, in terms
of homophone, which means that a word is
pronounced like another word but with a different meaning or spelling. Example (1) is
very typical of this kind of pun. The copy writer makes good use of homophones good-by
and good buy to satisfy customers’ psycholo
gy, to attract them and to promote the sale o
the product. A play on words in this ad is use
to draw the attention of the readers to the
product because they might be amused by
such a pun .
Secondly, in terms of homonym, which
means one word can be taken in two senses.
For instance, in Example (5), can in the second sentence is used as a pun: it can be regarded either as a modal verb or as a container (can=tin ) containing drink or beer. So can
in this advertisement has double meanings,
which is humorous, witty and impressive; in
Example (6), spirit is used as a pun with a
double meaning: one is the strong distilled alcoholic drink, the other refers to the characteristic quality or mood of something. In addition, bottle here has a double meaning, too—
one means putting the wine into bottles, and
the other means keeping the unique spirit of
Canada in by sealing. This example is an imp
licit pun.
Thirdly, there is another type of pun, which
means that a word has two different senses:
one in its common use, the other representing
the brand name or the name of company. For
instance, in Example (2), Sharp is used as
a pun. In the first sentence, it is used as an
adjective in its actual literal meaning, in the
second sentence, it has double meanings:
one is an adjective in its habitual sense, the
and also the company that produces the products. In Example (3), Apple refers to either
the fruit we eat, or the computer with this bra
name: Apple. American children usually eat
some fruits or candies as their desserts. The
advert means that children should not only ea
apples, but also have an Apple computer, whi
is the spiritual food for them. The noun Taste
in Example (4) is used as a pun: it means
either the brand name of the coffee or the per
son whose job is to judge the quality of coffee
wine, tea, etc. by tasting it. The ambiguity of
Pun which is often emp1oyed by the manu
facturers to seek first-hand attention, is almos
a most attention-getting device of the rhetorical figures. The nature of pun in advertising is
the pun is the product of a contest deliberatel
constructed to enforce an ambiguity, to rende
the choice between meanings impossible, to
leave the reader or hearer thinking about products in semantic space.
As far as I know, the pun is one of the mos
favored rhetorical devices employed by copy
writers and one of the most common rhetorical devices used in English advertisements.
五、 Antithesis （对照）
The definition in Oxford Advanced Learner
Dictionary Of Current English With Chinese
Translation (1991:55), “contrast of ideas mar
by the choice and arrangement of words” mig
sound abstract. We can quickly catch the me
ning of antithesis by the following definition, “
is the deliberate arrangement of contrasting
words or ideas in balanced structural forms t
achieve emphasis. In other words, antithesis
means that words of opposite meanings are
used in coordinate or balanced positions or
structures. The function of antithesis is to brin
out a sharp contrast between the two things
or two persons, etc. in some aspects, so as
to emphasize a certain point and create a
deep impression on readers’ minds. Antithesis
is also frequently employed in English ads, e.
(116) Going East. Staying Westin.
Breathtaking by day, electrifying by nigh
The view from the Westin Standford,
Singapore, the world’s tallest hotel.
(117) With all taste, without all the fat and
cholesterol（胆固醇）.
(118) Once tasted, always loved.
In Example (7), the first sentence is the
headline of the ad of The Westin Standford,
Singapore. Westin reminds people of East’s
opposite: West; day and night in the body
copy are opposite in meaning. The meaning
expressed by the antithesis is very attractive
to the prospective consumers. In Example
(8), with and without form a contrast: with
all taste but without all the fat and cholestero
The attraction created by the antithesis is rea
ly irresistible to the people who love to eat
but try to get fit and slim. In Example (9),
once and always contrast strongly, which sho
the power of the product. Once the product is
tasted, it is always loved by you. In Example
(10), many and the few are antonyms, the
meaning expressed by the antithesis is very
attractive to the potential buyers: although the
product is sought-after by many, yet it is
acquired by only the few, which will stimulate
readers’ interest and urge them to get it. The
use of antithesis in this example greatly contr
butes to bringing out the unique effect --exclusivity.
六、Alliteration （押头韵）
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary of Current English with Chinese
ranslation (1989：38), ‘ The occurrence of
the same letter or sound at the beginning of
two or more words in succession is called alliteration.’ Now let’s see another definition of
alliteration, which is more definite in my opin
on, “It has to do with the sound rather than th
sense of words for effect. It is a device that
repeats the same sound at frequent intervals
and since the sound repeated is usually the
initial consonant sound, it is also called ‘front
rhyme’. For instance, the fair breeze blew, the
white foam flew, the furrow followed free.”
Alliteration is a common technique used in
poetry, but advertisements often transplant it
to achieve beauty and rhythm in the language
of advertising. In order to produce a special
effect, the copy writer sometimes makes muc
effort to build up a pattern of similarity in adve
tising texts. That is why alliteration is often
used. e.g.
(11)
PULLING
WEEDS CAN BE
REPETIVE AND
REDUNDANT
NOT TO MENTION
REPETIVE AND REDUNDANT
Or you can kill the roots with Rou
And those weeds won’t be back.
NO ROOT.
NO WEED.
NO PROBLEM.
(12) UNCROWDED. UNSPOILED.
UNDER $800
One week hotel and airfare.
8000-2-TAHITI
UTA
French Airlines
(13) Health, Humor $ Happiness…Gifts we’d
love to give.122
(14)
Spare, shapely and sensational.
One-step dressing at its very best.
Example (11) cited above, which is an advertisement of a weed-killer, repeats the /r/
ad renders it smooth to read and easy to remember. In Example (12), the letters UN are
found in three words, which makes a strong
impression on the reader’s mind. Example
(13) is an advertisement of a magazine, the
letter H is found in three words, which create
a favorable impression on readers, some of
whom will be likely to buy this magazine.
Example (14) is an ad of clothing. The letter
s is used in these three words. The use of al
literation in this ad renders it smooth to read
and easy to remember, and evokes a wonde
ful impression of the clothing on the readers
minds. With the development of economy,
people begin to pay much attention to their
life quality. Alliteration is employed with thes
three words---spare, shapely and sensationa
It catches people’s psychology of wanting to
be slim, elegant and beautiful. These three
words tell us that the advertised clothes not
only make people lean and well-formed, but
also cause them to feel wonderful and exciting. So I think that it is hard for ladies not to
be attracted.