This reveals the contrast in proportions of mono, di, and polysyllabic language used with the advertisements. Adverts A,C,DandE, have a high number of polysyllabic words which present the impression of being highly researched, knowledgeable and an educated tone. A reason for the contrast is that the price range tends to be higher for these products. Adverts BandF, do not use as many polysyllabic which influence their audience, by using understandable, comparative adjectives.
A contrast in the adverts is the degree to which they used specialised vocabulary. Adverts A,C,D,andG have a higher proportion: “Ginkgo biloba and lactose”, “Collagen-Boost”, “Boswelox” and “pro Retinol A”. These words are less likely to be in the productive or receptive vocabulary of the audience. However they are still effective as this vocabulary impresses and reveals the product to be well researched and knowledgeable. Adverts B,EandF use less specialised language as they use more opinionated lexis which seems to target a younger audience therefore this technique would be more impressionable.
Slogans are used so the product becomes memorable to the reader: “because you’re worth it”, “we keep our promises”, “Love the skin you’re in” “It’s a fact and “with Clarins life’s more beautiful”. These serve to persuade the audience by helping the reader associate the product with other products of the same brand and making the cream memorable.
Grammar
The grammar of advertising tends to that of spoken language. Therefore it is often disjointed and abbreviated making it informal. Firstly the sentence structure determines the mood of the advert. Adverts B,CandD use imperatives: “Let surgery wait”, “Don’t let it go” and “Face the future”. These instruct and command the reader to do specific things and they speak the voice of certainty which creates a definite, clear tone. The audience are more likely to purchase the product, therefore, as the product appears confident
Interrogatives are another sentence type used in adverts AandF. “Chemical peel? Or the appeal of new Olay regenerist Serum?” and “Abrasion?”. These enable the audience to become involved in the text and provoke thought. This influences the audience as the advert will be remembered more clearly as thought has been stimulated. Interrogatives also communicate a spoken mode which is more informal in tenor producing a personal, lively tone.
A contrast in the adverts is that interrogatives and imperatives are not used together. This is because the adverts adapt different tones. Adverts B,CandD have an authoritative tone persuading the audience by appearing correct and in control, whereas the adverts AandF create a thought provoking tone. A reason for the contrast is the expense of the product. Adverts AandF have a higher price, therefore targeting a different audience who may be more likely to respond to interrogatives than imperatives because interrogatives allow the audience to decide and think for themselves rather than commanding them.
The adverts are typical in that they use many short sentences: “Let surgery wait”. This short, emotive imperative has a very confident tone which is succinct and memorable. “It’s a fact”. This simple, one clause declarative has a decisive tone and an informal tenor which makes the advert more personal to the audience. Ad G (spoken) uses more short sentences “i’m ready” and “firmness i’m winning back”. This is typical of spoken pieces and conveys information rapidly whilst being concise and snappy holding the audiences attention.
Minor sentences are a common conative device in advertising and appear frequently throughout the adverts: “Guaranteed”
“Without abrasion”
“Chemical peel”
“my skin firmer” (spoken)
“wrinkles less visible” (spoken)
These minor sentences create a spoken mode which has an informal tenor and attracts the audiences attention as they are direct and concise which is persuasive as the audience only reads what is essential. In advert G, the spoken advert, more minor sentences are used as so the audience only hears what is vital.
The use of sentence structure is also an effective persuasive device. Simple sentences are used throughout:
“So skin appears smoother, firmer, younger”
“Its a fact”
The effect of simple sentences are to provide short, snappy, memorable information points which the audience will notice and remember the cream by.
Noun phrases use much pre and post modification:
“(the usual youthful glow)”
“(for mature skin)”
“(with beautiful younger looking skin)”
These describe and add information to the headword which is a persuasive technique to influence the audience to buy a particular facial cream as it also enhances the product. Pre and Post modification is used more frequently in adverts B,EandF because they use more adjectives and opinioned modifiers to qualify the headword, whereas the other adverts use less modification as they adopt a more referential manner.
Modal verbs appear in adverts AandB of the selection:
“you can harness”
“Tiredness can make”
“Doesn’t have”
Modal verbs accomplish the tone of suggestion and implication showing how the audience benefits by these products. I have discovered that the adverts with a more referential manner do not use modal verbs. A reason for this may be that they convey facts compared with implication because they appear to be aimed at an audience that prefers a well-researched angle than a thought provoking one.
All 6 adverts are in the present tense which is revealed as they use verbs that convey this: “looking”, “leaving”, “immediately”, “nourishing” and “combining” all show this by the present participle verb ving. The present tense creating the desirable impression that the effect will be immediate and quick.
Metaphors are used in adverts BandG: “you can harness the power”, “wrinkles I attack them” and “heart of wrinkles”. Metaphors create emotional associations the advertiser wants to implant in the target audience. They are effective as they produce visual images which provoke thought and stimulate the imagination. In advert G, the spoken ad, there are more metaphors because when they are spoken they have a greater effect.
Spoken features
Advert G is of a spoken mode and makes use of prosodics. The advert uses two speakers of different genders and the manner between them is unrelated. The use of the female speaker is to understand and talk from her experience which is effective as the target audience will relate to her. The male speaker, who is unseen, gives the referential information and uses specialist language. This creates the feeling that there is a great deal of research behind “Loreal” which establishes a trust between the audience and company. Also the change in speaker keeps the audiences attention and they become involved.
The opening of the advert is effective “double action ( ) I’m ready”. This does not relate directly to facial cream and creates a powerful opening. The audience would be drawn to it as it is short and sharp keeping their attention and not giving unnecessary information. Turn taking is used as there are two speakers. The female begins and ends the advert which gives a sense of a cycle.
The intonation patterns vary throughout the advert and this is significant: “because you’re worth it”. The pitch increase reflects the enthusiasm and excitement in her voice which influences the audience by holding their concentration and helping the audience remember key facts. For some of the advert the pitch is midway and the effect of this is that it becomes like everyday speech which the audience can easily relate to. The male voice has a deeper tone and lower pitch. This is because he talks more seriously and technically about the cream describing the actions in detail and the lower tone helps the audience distinguish between the two speakers.
Emphatic stress is used which keeps the audiences attention and emphasis key points: “DOUble” and “inFIRMing” are used to stress the vital words which means the audience will remember the important parts of the advert and therefore will be more likely to purchase the product as the benefits will be clearly remembered.
The pace is slightly quicker than the average everyday speech word pace of 2 words per second which convey excitement and rapidly communicates information. However as the pace is quite close to the average speed, this makes it sound similar to everyday speech which the audience will not feel intimidated by and is familiar with.
Pauses are another prosodic feature that are used throughout. “( ) i’m ready ( )”-fractional pause and “I attack them (2)”-2second pause. The functions of pauses are to break up the speech information load acting as punctuation and enable the audience to consider and reflect upon the information. It makes the advert appear to have an everyday tone and therefore is more informal so the audience can relate and believe the product is targeted at them. Also pauses mark the grammatical end of an utterance and can work as punctuation which helps the audience make sense of information and understand it.
Transcript
A: DOUble action ( ) i’m REAdy ( ) wrinkles ( ) i ATTack them (2) firmness i’m WINing back
B: (1) with Revitalift double action anti-wrinkle plus firming from Loreal ( )
action one ( ) pro-Retinol A ( ) penetrates to the heart of wrinkles to VIsably reduce them
(1) Action two enRICH inFIRMing par-elastyl ( ) Revitalift reinforces the firmness of your skin ( )
A: wrinkles ( ) less visible ( ) my skin ( ) firmer ( ) double action double effectiveness (1)
B: Revitalift from Loreal Paris (1)
A: Because you’re worth it
Key
“DOUble”=stress on the first three letters
( )=short pause, hesitation.
(1,2)=longer pause, the length of which is the number inside the bracket.
=increasing pitch
=decreasing pitch
Phonology
Phonology is another conative feature which appears in many of my adverts. Rhyme is used in advert EandF: “Chemical peel? Or the appeal of new Olay Regenerist Serum” and “love the skin you’re in”. The vowel sounds in these are the same. The rhyming structure emphasises key points and means the audience will remember the product better as it is catchy and therefore memorable. This effect contrasts with the other adverts that do not use rhyme. This may be because the other adverts especially C,DandG adopt a referential, factual tone and consequently do not require rhyme which lightens the tone and adds a more conative manner.
Alliteration is a main conative feature which is used throughout all the adverts: “Face the future”, “power of pure”, “anti-creasing cream... contracts... contractions... correct”, “correcting day cream” and “nourishing night”. Alliteration helps to emphasis the purpose by stressing the constantans and supports the audience in remembering key facts about the facial cream.
Sibilance is also used, having a similar effect as alliteration. “start to show your skin” and “skin...stressed”. The purpose of the “s” sound being emphasised is that the constantan is a memorable sound which helps the text flow and give it a sense of rhythm whilst conveying to the audience a vital description of the product.
Repetition is also used throughout, especially within the spoken advert: “double action”, “firm”, and wrinkles”. This stresses the crucial facts and is used more in the spoken piece as the audience will be hearing the same words repetitively and in written adverts often the reader will not read the advert thoroughly therefore repetition would not have the maximum effect.
Overall, phonology is used within all of the adverts however the spoken advertisement especially makes use of it as the effect of phonology is heightened when the audience is hearing the effect.
Conclusion
I have discovered the lexis is generally similar throughout the selection of adverts, however the complexity heightens as the price range increases. The grammatical features in my adverts are typical of advertisements and are also very similar. Overall I have revealed that although my products have a different price and audience they are very similar in lexis, grammar and conative devices.
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