Slogans in Advertising: A Rhetorical Analysis
THE SLOGAN
The first thing we need to highlight in this section is that there are many works focusing specifically on the study of the slogan, repetitive formula that usually accompanies most of the advertisements and chairs the campaign, contrary to what happens with the literature on advertising and communication.
It is necessary to resort to classical rhetoric to learn the basics of the art of persuasion:
For Aristotle, the task of rhetoric as an art is not to convince, but to recognize the most appropriate means of persuasion in each case. Remember that there are five parts of classical rhetoric, inventio: Discovery of ideas and argumentos.DISPOSITIO: Distribution in order of mismos.ELOCUTIO: Accommodation of words and sentences to the subject matter of invención.MEMORIA: Retention in the minds of ideas, words, and the management of mismas.PRONUNTIATIO: Regulation of voice, gestures and intonation. In the advertising world are taken into account general principles, in some cases intentionally and in others, so arbitrary, it is known that there must be a specialist in speech to try to influence the minds of potential buyers or prospective voters in an election, a fundamental objective of any advertising campaign. But in general, the process of creating an ad, however brief it may be, is a previous work: the analysis of product and company behind it, and the products and competitors. By promoting an object takes into account the attributes to be highlighted: the name (or mark) of the same, information on its characteristics and the distribution of such traits, or by a description linguistics, or by showing iconic elements, often combining both aspects, all of which are known in the discipline of rhetoric as inventio and dispositio respectively. They are also fundamental, style resources that serve advertising language, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia, repetition, hyperbole, and others who, not surprisingly, are called figures of speech (the mandatory elocutio classical). Ultimately interested in “staging” of the announcement (the pronuntiatio or actio), not just gestures, tone of voice actors, but also references to the world of feelings, using the body as signo.De Thus, the slogan is presented as a major means to convince the potential recipient about the advantages of an object and it is a short formula, pemit announced that the item will remember easily.
As an example we can mention expressions of ads as classics like “aspirin only one”, “Cider The Piper, the world famous,” “The remedy, glue lmedio”, “Browns Star: the star of the famous” . For the analysis of the slogan, took as its starting point the rhetorical character of it as advertising element that summarizes the announcement and that combine the importance of the originality of the message (inventio) and content organization it (dispositio) selected words (elucotio) and the facility to recall (memory).
FEATURES slogan is
Gaelic origin word meant in its origins, war cry. Over time he began to be used in the commercial language and • not forget the pejorative with which it has linked the word “slogan” in French and English [catchword: a word that traps], because it designates a formula summary controversy, which is autodisimula today has become an essential element in the advertising world and although not all advertisements are accompanied by slogans but their presence seems advisable.Some elements of the slogan to consider are the following: In the academic Dictionary defines as “short, original formula used for advertising, political propaganda, etc..” Not to be confused with a motto or slogan. – Olivier Reboul defmir warns that the slogan should determine its grammatical features, explaining: “Apparently it is a sentence or phrase group as from the semantic point of view the slogan is sufficient unto itself and can be true or false” . Added after “the sentence can be reduced to one word” and “can be not only a phrase, but a phrase.” – Bassat afimirma that the advertising slogan as the opera Aria: “Short and memorable, deep and bright, simple and unique, powerful, durable, credible and relevant.
“THE SLOGAN the evocative power of a slogan Key features are in addition to the brevity and conciseness, originality and the attraction to it on the recipient, so it is easy to remember and invitations to be issued repeatedly. Martínez Ortega speaks of the partnership process that occurs between the slogan and advertisement, and distinguish various degrees of association, depending on whether a phrase, idea or image evokes the memory of states or situations that seem (association by similarity)
, which recalls another state of consciousness opposite (association by contrast)
or remember another perception that has coexisted in space or in time with the evocative element. The features observed for a slogan can remember easily summarized as follows:
a) Ease of understanding: That slogan is fixed in the memory has to be understandable, regardless of the medium in which the issues or play ( radio, television, billboards, newspapers, etc.) and must respond to social and cultural environement you target. Referring to the conditions which must be a slogan to promote understanding of it, Ortega Martinez discusses the importance of specifying the brand, the product • and the value of the use thereof. In this sense we can set the following types:
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The slogan on which the advertised product specific: The slogan which identifies the brand and the product
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The slogan, which suggests the product: The slogan, which includes a mark, being sufficiently known or prestigious, evokes the product: As for the slogans branded built-Bassat also establishes a classification: The brand is a result of the above words: “Pim, pam, FOGO” .- The brand starts like the previous word, “Chin, chin, ICZN / \ NO” .- Mark rhymes with the words above: “How nice, how nice, Isabel eat today.” The brand is used more than once “Just makes you think CRECS” .- The mark is at the end of the sentence: “Check out the pasta with PASTAS GALLO. (Bassat: 127-129).
B) Brevity:
Is this one of the most frequently mentioned characteristics: a slogan evokes better the smaller the number of words that compose it, and it is true that some of which consist of a word have been fortunate, like: “Great!” (CITROEN – AX) or “Exceptional” (CODORNIU). Also there are two words “The experience” (CHESTERFIEL) and other three terms, as “Health Insurance” (ADESLAS).
Others are 4 “Ingeniously simple. Simply brilliant” (BOSCH);
Of 5 témúnos:
“Leader in quality and service ‘(AIRTEL). And evensix or more words “([For those who want it all” (DAEWOO). According to the study, the Spanish are more frequent in the 4 and 5 words, and words mean slogan of 5.16.
C ) Conciseness:
The fact that a slogan is short does not necessarily imply fornule precise words. To achieve greater efficiency in these expressions should be avoided all terms that are irrelevant, why predonúnan the words “full” (verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs and some pronouns) that provide greater semantic content than words “empty” or ancillary (articles, deternÚllativos, prepositions, pronouns and conjunctions and some adverbs) that serve to reinforce the words “full.” In slogans like “We keep it real” (COAST) [canned food], it appears, as a sample, the preference for verbs, adjectives and nouns, but it is not necessary to multiply the number of examples to confirm that there is not a slogan, which is not used at least one full word.
D) Attractiveness:
memory can be enhanced if they cause emotional feelings by creating stunning images, unusual, exceptional beauty, a unique ugliness and if they gives a comic effect. From the point of view that seeks to convey the message, a slogan can draw attention to different reasons, such as those listed below: Produce surprise: “I’ve never been so easy plastic (credit card, CAJA MADRID). “The attractiveness for the consumer:” A deodorant that does not leave you “(QUIX) .- It is striking,” Furniture & Eccentricities (SLEEPING COMPANY) .- It is original: “Today I feel FLEX” .- Causes fascination: “A splendid blindis with brand and splendid “.- Move the individual to act,” chic Comb your hair, comb your Grafic “.- sometimes resorts to the absurd:” Marry Monix. Menox that Monix What! “. A slogan is more reminiscent to the extent that easy to perceive, understand, remember and repeat.
PERSUASION THROUGH THE SLOGAN
The slogan is a synthesis or summary of discourse (announced in this case), and through it is done affects the motion of to bring attention and make the recipient to act (move). Convincing and move are, in summary, rhetorical functions of advertising slogan. Modern studies on advertising shows different types of persuasion observed in the ads, which emphasize the rational, based on the emotional argument and persuasion, based on the impulse of the feelings and emotions.
A) rational persuasion:
According to the rhetoric Aristotle, persuasion is a kind of demonstration, because “we persuade ourselves when we think something is proven.” To test what is said (or make believe that has been tested, as in the case of certain ad-), is essential to offer arguments or reasoning, hence it is considered as the center’s argument persuasive speech. The type of argument used in the slogan prererentemente is the enthymeme, a kind of deductive reasoning from a universal principle to end in a particular case.
B) emotional Persuasion: In addition to information on product attributes and the presentation of some suggestive arguments, at least in appearance on the reliability of these data, the recipients of the advertising message reach them immediately persuasive other features are subjective in nature, and the appeal to the feelings and emotions.One way to attract the attention of the recipient is to make them feel involved, that is, you feel a participant, if only fleetingly, the situation created in the ad. To do this you may have a certain “climate” of pleasure, adventure, tranquility, success, etc.. The involvement of the receptor is achieved by selection of language elements, such as we see below: “The use of the imperative verb, as an order or injunction:” Take sweet NATR “.- The reference to the grammatical person “Always close to you.” ECAC [correspondence courses] .- The use of 1st person plural: “We move the world” (TOYOTA), One of the functions of the slogan is to respond to collective needs of society, but as it develops consumer society, the needs that are appealing to move away from the product can meet, “not cigarettes are sold. But its cool, no toothpaste, but seduction, not cars, but prestige.”