Session Ten Rhetorical Devices in English Advertising

1. Session Ten Rhetorical Devices in English Advertising Rhetorical devices are various forms of ex- pression deviating from the normal arrange- ment or use of words, which are adopted in order to give beauty, variety or force to a com- position. Many of them are used in English ad- vertising to achieve three goals: first, it is to form the brand image or corporate image in the consumer’s mind; second, to stress the unique- ness of the advertised product; thirdly, to stress

2. the unique sales proposition of the advertised product. Among them, the third is the most important because of its attraction. Hegel says, ‘beauty comes out of image’. The beauty of English advertising is first cha- racterized by its ideographic image. It embo- dies the materialized labor in a lively and vivid way. Psychologically, image is realized through imagination. With the help of rhetorical devices advertising leads people to an artistic conception.

3. In order to make their adverts unique and eye-catching, the copywriters have to make elaborate designs and draw up remarkable verbal blueprints by working creatively and ap- tly applying rhetorical devices. It can be said without any exaggeration that the success of English advertisements has much to do with apt employment of rhetorical devices. Frequent- ly used rhetorical devices are: simile, metaphor, personification, pun, antithesis, alliteration, parallelism, parody, etc. The following rheto- rical devices are often used in English adver- tising, which are discussed briefly here..

4. 一、Simile “It is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements having at least one quality or characteristic in common. To make the comparison, words like as, as...as, as if and like are used to trans- fer the quality of one thing to another. In other words, simile is a direct or explicit comparison between two unrelated things, indicating a like- ess or similarity between some abstract quali- ties found in both things. The connective word like or asserves as a bridge linking up the

5. two. The use of an apt simile creates a clear and vivid image of the advertised product or service in consumers’ minds and wake up their mental and emotional resonance. Let’s analyze the following examples. (1) Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine. This example is also a case of simile intro- duced by the word like. The adman here com- pares breakfast without orange juice to a day without sunshine. How vivid and imaginative the simile is! As we all know, a day without

6. sunshine is not warm and cheerful. People usually do not like a cloudy or overcast day, or a day without sunshine, and some people might feel sad or gloomy during days without sunshine. In the opinion of the adman, for some people it is not desirable to have break- fast without orange juice. So how nice it is to have a breakfast with orange juice! (2) The welcome is as warm as the climate at this friendly complex, quietly positioned at the top of Puerto Rico hillside. Sentence (2) is an example of simile in

7. which the two parts compared are linked by the words as...as. From the simile, we can see that the climate is warm there, and so is the welcome extended to the tourists. The use of simile in this example paints a vivid picture of the people and climate there: the climate is warm and comfortable, and the people there are friendly and enthusiastic and always ready to offer you welcome as warm as the climate there. Though simile is an important rhetorical device in English advertisements, it is far less

8. frequently employed than metaphor, which is one of the most frequently used rhetorical de- vices in English advertisements. 二、Metaphor There are some definitions about metaphor. Like a simile in essence, metaphor also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated. Myers describes metaphor in this way, ‘Metaphor sets up a relation of similarity between two referents, as if they

9. were the same thing. X is described in terms of Y ’(Myers, 1994:125). C. Hugh Holmanm defines metaphor in A Handbook to Literature as “An implied analogy which imaginatively identifies one object with another and ascribes to the first one more of the qualities of the se- cond or invests the first with emotional or ima- ginative qualities associated with the second”. From the above-mentioned definitions, we can gain a general understanding of metaphor. Metaphor is an implied comparison between two unrelated things indicating a likeness or analogy between attributes found in both things.

10. Metaphor, unlike simile, does not uselike or as to indicate the comparison. Without asor like, it becomes more concise and produces profound associations. Metaphor is consider- ed by many to be the most important and the most common rhetorical device in English advertisements. e.g. (3) To spread your wings in Asia share our vantage point. (4) It’s a country rich in art, with a wealth of museums. Blessed by year round good wea- ther, Spain is a magnet for sun-worshippers and holiday-makers.

11. In Example (3), readers are compared to big birds which spread their wings, which creates a vivid picture. In Example (4), Spain and mag- net, two different things, are compared along the dimension of immensely strong attraction. The ad may be changed in different ways: (a) … Spain is just like a magnet for sun-worship- pers and holiday-makers; (b)… like a magnet, Spain is irresistibly attractive to sun-worship- pers and holiday-makers; (c) …Spain is so beautiful and so strongly attractive that it attracts, like a magnet, so many sunworship-

12. pers and holiday-makers; (d) …Spain is as strongly attractive as a magnet, drawing a large number of worshippers and holiday- makers to its alluring places; (e) Spain is sucha country that many sun-worshippers and holiday-makers are irresistibly attracted to it and can not resist the temptation to go there for sightseeing. Compare the original metaphorical sentence with the given paraph- rased sentences, and you will find the original metaphorical sentence is much more concise and the two referents involved in the meta-

13. phorical sentence are made to be more directly associated with each other. “ Metaphors are valuable in advertising lan- guage because they can help to suggest the right kind of emotive associations for the pro- duct. The way we interpret a metaphor is to see a connection, or symbolic identity, between the literal and figurative meaning of an item (So in Bacon’s apothegm, we understand an equation ‘books=food’.). Such irrational identi- fications epitomize in language what in more general terms is meant by building up an image

14. for a product. Or, to put the matter the other way round, a brand image is a metaphor by which a product is identified with an object of the consumer’s desires’ (Leech, 1966:182). Obviously, appropriate application of meta- phor plays an important role in English adver- tising, which can not only render adverts attrac- tive and picturesque, but also informative and persuasive. So metaphor contributes to promo- ting the sale of products and help make adver- tised service thrive and flourish.

15. 三、Personification According to A Hand Book to Literature, published by the Bobbs –Merrill Company in 1972, personification is “a figure of speech which endows animals, ideas, abstractions, and inanimate objects with human form, cha- racter, or sensibilities; the representing of imaginary creatures or things as having hu- man personalities, intelligence, and emotions; whether real or fictitious, by another person.”

16. However, the definition in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Of Current English With Chinese Translation is more concise: “treating sth. that is without life as a human being or representing it in human form” (1991:163). Through personification, animals are endowed with human form or feelings, and inanimate objects, or ideas and abstractions are given life and personal attributes. Personifying the advertised product and gi- ving it feeling and emotion, which only people possess, make an ad more acceptable.

17. Personification is often employed in English • adverts. Let’s observe the following examples. • (1) Flowers by Interflora speak from the heart. • Oscar de la Renta knows what makes a • woman beautiful. • (3) She has her own spirit and it graces every- • one she comes near. • (4) “Unlike me, my Rolex never needs a rest.” • By personification, the adman paints a vivid • and imaginative picture. In Example (1), flowers • are personified: they seem to be human beings • who speak from the heart. In other words, they

18. are endowed with human feelings of love, kindness, friendship, so they’re really inva- luable gifts. When customers see this advert, they are likely to buy some of the advertised flowers to express their true and profound feelings. In Example (2), Oscar de la Renta is personified because it knows how to make women beautiful. The employment of perso- nification is more effective than plain promo- tion for ladies who have a passion for beauty. In Example (3), the perfume, Lauren, is perso- nified as a graceful lady. “She” refers not only

19. to the perfume itself, but to the beautiful lady who loves the perfume. The use of the feminine gender “she” indicates that the perfume is used exclusively by females. In Example (4), Rolex is endowed with a human characteristic, but it never needs a rest, which implies that the watch strikes the hour exactly, and it is the most im- portant quality expected of all watches. We can come to the conclusion that the use of personification in advertising attracts the au- diences’ attention, stimulates their interest in what is being advertised and helps create an impressive image of the product or service.

20. To Be Continued!