PART TWO: ADVERTISING GLOSSARY
Adjective phrases – catchphrases (ie. ‘Naughty and nice’)
Audience – people who may be persuaded to make a commitment
Audience-based approach – convinces the target audience that they need a particular product or service: by concentrating on practical needs, advertisers try to persuade customers that their lives will improve if they use a certain product or service.
Bandwagon – the suggestion that everybody is using the product and that you should join in order to be a part of the group
Clusters – grouping of distinct textual or graphic elements that together, convey an idea more strongly than when taken in isolation
Colloquial expressions – common phrases heard in everyday conversations (ie. ‘Freebies’, ‘c’mon’)
Contractions – establishes an informal tone through the use of colloquial expression (ie. ‘We’ll’, ‘you’ll’)
Dehumanization – reduces people (namely women) to objects and de-emphasizes human contact and individuality [Jean Kilbourne in ‘Killing Us Softly’]
Elision - Sounds left out of connected speech
Escapism – the association of a product with a departure from mundane everyday life and problems
Fetishism of commodities [Karl Marx] – acquired a value not inherent in their physical nature
Glittering generalities – (See Weasel words)
Impact-based approach – aims to attract attention linguistically or visually
Interactive features – help encourage the consumer’s direct participation (ie. Coupons, questionnaires)
Intertextuality – the advertisement lends from other forms
Juxtaposition – two contrasting ideas placed next to each other to draw attention
Lexis – the text, or diction
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – A pyramid showing the needs of human beings (with the most basic needs at the bottom)
Modifiers – draw attention to the qualities of the product
Neologisms – new words coined by advertising campaigns to make a brand more memorable
Non-standard spelling – phrases spelt differently to attract attention (ie. ‘Bratz’, ‘happenz’)
Patriotism – the suggestion that buying the product shows your love of your country
Postscript (PS.) – suggests a familiar afterthought rather than an additional marketing ploy
Product-based approach – highlights the features of a product or service, hoping to win customers on the strength of the product or service itself
Pronouns – helps make the audience feel more inclusive; develops a personal relationship with consumers (ie. ‘You’, ‘we’)
Sex appeal – the suggestion that the consumer’s love life will improve by using a specific product
Slogans – a catchy phrase or sentence that uses a noun phrase, a simple sentence, or a complex sentence structure to help the advertising campaign
Snob appeal – the suggestion that the consumer’s status will rise to join with an elite group due to the use of a specific product
Sound patterning– makes slogans and copy stand out (ie. alliteration, rhyme, rhythm)
Superlatives – adjectives used to persuade the reader that this offer is special (ie. ‘Amazing’, ‘fantastic’, ‘free’)
Testimonial – a celebrity is used to endorse the product
Trigger words – (see Modifiers)
Tripling – repeating words in threes is an effective device for keeping attention and sticking to a number of ideas that can be recalled easily
Typography – the font /type of print used to highlight the text visually
Value warrant – encourages the consumer to imagine that the purchase of the item will confer qualities associated with the background or activities of this upper-class world onto the consumer (see Snob appeal)
Weasel words – used to suggest a positive meaning without actually making any guarantee