Rationale
Advertising slogans have proven their importance in both generating sales volume and creating a great impression on customers‟ mind In any companies-whether they are of small, or medium size, and any industries-service or trade, advertising slogans turns out to be the very first thing to add further values to the products
To create an understandable, meaningful and useful slogan, the exploitation of most fields in language is involved These include pragmatics, lexicology, phonology, syntax and so on The linguistic features help transmit the message in an implicit way, avoiding the violation of the Law of Truth
Based on the acknowledgement of all linguistic devices exploited in slogans, the study is conducted to investigate the employment of metaphors in advertising slogans from a Semantic approach.
Research questions and aims of the study
Dealing with the study of different kinds of metaphor, the researcher has established several research questions to ensure the orientation of the roadmap In fact, based on the business context, studying advertising slogans requires quite specific research questions as well as clear study aims With the foundation of all the literature review studied and the samples collected, three research questions have been established:
1 What kind of metaphor represents the most frequently chosen by advertisers and marketers?
2 What are the strengths (or weaknesses, if any) of each kind of metaphor exploited in advertising slogans?
3 What kind of metaphor represents the wisest choice for the slogans in specific classified groups?
The study deals with the employment of different metaphor types based on Lakeoff and Johnson‟s theory (1980) In this work, a classification of metaphors is presented, and then is applied in the study of a collection of 40 advertising slogans from English-speaking countries or global brands To find out the answer for the research questions proposed, the study specifically aims at:
(i) quantitatively identifying the frequency of different metaphor types exploited in slogans to find out which kind is most favored by advertisers and marketers
(ii) investigating the target domain, source domain and metaphor concepts in each slogans to discover the strengths (or weaknesses, if any) of each metaphor type when applied in advertising
(iii) placing the analysis of each metaphorical slogan in its group context to see which type represent the smartest choice for each classification of products.
Scope of the study
In this study, the analysis is (i) a semantic analysis which bases itself on a semantic approach and Lakeoff and Johnson‟s theory of metaphors and (ii) a hypothesis-testing analysis on each type of metaphors used in international advertising slogans For this reason, the study primarily deals with researching matters from a semantic approach Furthermore, since the study takes hypothesis testing as one of the two main methods, it is somehow deductive and subjective
Nevertheless, all the predictions and inferences are made based on the theory and previous studies of linguistics and advertising
As the exploitation of linguistic features in advertising slogans is quite huge and diversified, and the number of slogans has been increasing year after year, the analysis is supposed to be selective rather than comprehensive in three senses: (i) only four groups of products and services are chosen, (ii) only 10 slogans of each group are selected as typical samples and (iii) in each group, just some cases are picked up for a further in-depth study.
Research methodology
The research is based on the combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods The choice originates from the fact that the use of quantitative method helps us to build up a general picture over all the selected cases and the exploitation of qualitative analysis allows us to painstakingly research each specific case Hence, a quantification to synthesize all metaphor patterns in each case In fact, it really helps us to fulfill the task of defining frequencies of each type of metaphor in use
After using quantification and classification to identify the frequencies and divide selected slogans into groups of types and sub-types, three predictions would be made and proven later based on the result of the classification.
Design of the study
Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion to begin and conclude the study, the thesis comprises three chapters, each of which is supposed to serve a specific function
The Introduction serves as an explanation for the reason why the study is conducted, and worth being carried out In addition, the thesis also states the aims and objectives of the study, as well as the research questions and the scope of the study, which are considered as a significant roadmap for the research
Chapter one will begin by stating the definition of metaphors and promotional metaphor In addition, the typical classification of metaphors by Lakeoff and Johnson is asserted as a theory base for the specific classification of metaphor types exploited in 40 selected slogans This chapter also reflects different previous studies on advertising and advertisements, in which the linguistic devices receive the greatest attention
Chapter two centers on the slogans‟ significance to advertising and to the producers‟ reputation
Also, in this chapter, an analysis of 40 slogans selected from four fields is conducted As it is carried out in the form of a hypothesis-testing research, some predictions are proposed beforehand and latter on, are proved through the classification
Finally, chapter three presents all the results and findings, which have been proved and obtained from the analysis conducted in chapter two This chapter plays the role of a harvest for all what have been achieved
The last part Conclusion provides a full summary of all what have been gained through the study and suggest some prospects for future researches The study is covered by a list of advertising slogans that are selected for study and a table analyzing the target domain, source domain and typical metaphor concepts of conceptual/conventional metaphor-the type of the most frequent use.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: METAPHORS AND THE USE OF
Definitions of metaphor and promotional metaphor
Metaphor expressions abound in most aspects of life: in daily conversations, in literature, and even in other fields In fact, according to Lakeoff and Johnson, “metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action.” (1980:3) Owing to its mass appearance in different fields, the study of metaphor has long been of great interest to other disciplines These prominently include philosophy (for a review of historical and recent perspectives see Johnson 1981), psychology (for reviews see Billow 1977, Ortony 1979), or linguistics (e.g., see Lakeoff and Johnson 1980)
In general, metaphor is a figure of speech concisely expressed by an implied analogy between two objects or ideas, conveyed by the use of a word instead of another Or, stated in a “working definition”, metaphor in Murray Knowles and Rosamund Moon‟s eyes is viewed as “the use of language to refer to something other than what it was originally applied to, or what it „literally‟ means, in order to suggest some resemblance or make a connection between the two things”
Usually, three components are included in a metaphor: the tenor (or object), the vehicle (or image), and the ground (or sense) Let‟s analyze the following example to further understand how these components work In accordance with I A Richards‟example, these components are more clearly understood:
All the world‟s a stage, And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances; — William Shakespeare, As You Like It
In this metaphoric example, "the world" is compared to a stage, describing it with the attributes of “the stage”; hence, "the world" is the tenor, and "a stage" is the vehicle; "men and women" is a secondary tenor, "players" is the secondary vehicle In George Herbet‟s poetic sentence: “Hope is the poor man's bread.”, “hope” is the tenor, “bread” is the vehicle and the ground is “the necessity of poor man”
As a socio-economic facet, advertising also exploits this figure of speech to the full for its purpose of informing and persuading customers in the process of selecting products In fact, this is quite understandable since the "Truth in advertising" laws make it highly desirable for advertisers to avoid making explicit statements that could be judged true or false; therefore metaphors (and apparently other devices) are chosen to convey the manufacturers‟ messages In advertising, promotional metaphor is divided into visual metaphor (or pictorial metaphor) and textual metaphor In advertising, the latter, which is also my study‟s focus, in http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu, is defined as “a metaphor used to associate a product with a semantic domain which has positive connotations.”
Kinds of metaphors
Ways to classify metaphors vary greatly based on different approaches From Semantic approach, I do think it‟s better to comprehend metaphors in Lakoff and Johnson‟s classification
Conceptual Metaphor Theory, sometimes called Cognitive Metaphor Theory, was developed by researchers within the field of cognitive linguists It became widely known with the publication of Metaphors We Live By, by Lakoff and Johnson, in 1980 Conceptual metaphor theory has since been developed and elaborated According to this theory, conceptual metaphor is perceived as a figurative comparison in which one idea (or conceptual domain) is understood in terms of another The fundamental basis of Conceptual Metaphor Theory is that metaphor operates at the level of thinking Conceptual metaphors link two conceptual domains, the „source‟ domain and the „target‟ domain The source domain consists of a set of literal entities, attributes, processes and relationships, linked semantically and apparently stored together in the mind The „target‟ domain tends to be abstract, and takes its structure from the source domain, through the metaphorical link, or „conceptual metaphor‟ Target domains are therefore believed to have relationships between entities, attributes and processes which mirror those found in the source domain At the level of language, entities, attributes and processes in the target domain are lexicalized using words and expressions from the source domain In the example: “Time is Money”, the metaphor uses everyday experience with money-the source domain to conceptualize time, an abstract entity, and herein, recognized as the target domain However, since the link between the target and the source is the metaphorical conceptualization, it is not always necessary to conceptualize time as money since according to many cultures‟ and societies‟ other concepts, time is not merely or priorly money and vice versus, money is not often metaphorically linked with time, but with other entities, as affirmed by Murray Knowles and Rosamund Moon,
“Conceptual metaphors may be culture-specific”
In the 1980 edition of Metaphors we Live by, Lakoff and Johnson identify three categories of conceptual metaphors: ontological, structural and orientational Belonging to the structural metaphors group, ontological metaphor is perceived as a metaphor in which “an abstraction, such as an activity, emotion, or idea, is represented as something concrete, such as an object, substance, container, or person” such as in:
I put a lot of energy into washing the windows
I get a lot of satisfaction out of washing windows
In a detailed manner, this metaphor is further classified into container metaphor, where one concept is represented as having an inside and outside, and capable of holding something else and entity metaphor, in which an abstraction is represented as a concrete physical object, or maybe a person (personification) Another kind of ontological metaphor is substance metaphor via the use of which, an abstract entity such as idea, emotion, event or activity is represented as a solid material As seen in the following examples from “Metaphor we live by”, three kinds of ontological metaphors are quite clearly illustrated:
Life is empty for him (container metaphor) Her ego is very fragile (entity metaphor) Inflation is eating up our profits (personification) There was a lot of good running in the race (substance metaphor)
As stated, structural metaphors, in their view, are considered as “cases where one concept is metaphorically structured in terms of another” Structural metaphors allow us to do much more than just orient concepts, refer to them, quantify them, etc., as we do with simple orientational and onto-logical metaphors; they allow us, in addition, to use one highly structured and clearly delineated concept to structure another This metaphor allows us to conceptualize what a rational argument is in terms of something that we understand more readily, namely, physical conflict In fact, as Lakoff and Johnson analyzed, “The point here is that not only our conception of an argument but the way we carry it out is grounded in our knowledge and experience of physical combat Even if you have never fought a fistfight in you life, much less a war, but have been arguing from the time you began to talk, you still conceive of arguments, and execute them, according to the ARGUMENT IS WAR metaphor because the metaphor is built into the conceptual system of the culture in which you live.” There is also another kind-orientational metaphor which “organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another” since “most of them have to do with spatial orientation: up-down, in-out, front-back, on-off, deep-shallow, central-peripheral” Orientational metaphors give a concept a spatial orientation; as in “Happy is up”
Mixed metaphors can be understood as different metaphors occurring in the same utterance, or the same sentence, to express the same concept Mixed metaphors is divided into impermissible mixed metaphor-metaphors that conflict because they serve different purposes and permissible mixed metaphor which not conflict with each other because they serve the same purpose, and/or exhibit a correlation with each other This classification may have sprung from the possibility to lead to a conflict of concepts In the following sentences a mixture of the argument-as-journey and argument-as-container metaphors is presented The first two sentences are acceptable; however, the last two are marginally acceptable
1 At this point our argument doesn‟t have much content
2 If we keep going the way we‟re going, we‟ll fit all the facts in
3 We can now follow the path of the core of the argument
4 The content of the argument proceeds as follows…
Here we can see the argument-as-container metaphor is decisively presented in the first two examples, however in the following illustrations there exist an overlap between the argument-as- container metaphor “the core of the argument”, “the content of the argument” and the argument- as-journey metaphor-“the path of…” or “proceed”
Not all metaphors belong to the existing concepts; some are outside the conventional conceptual system, that‟s why new metaphors are perceived as “imaginative and creative” In Lakeoff and Johnson‟s affirmation, “such metaphors are capable of giving a new understanding of experience Thus, they can give new meaning to our pasts, to our daily activity, and to what we know and believe.” The creation of novel and unconventional metaphors requires the employment of some devices, including extending, elaboration, questioning and combining (Kovecses 2002: 47) However, in terms of the frequency and favoritism towards new metaphors‟ sub-types exploited in advertising slogans, the thesis just mentions extended new metaphor and elaborated new metaphor
The employment of extending is recognized when a new conceptual element is introduced in the source domain to an already existing conventional metaphor and the ordinary conceptual metaphor is expressed with new metaphorical expression The examples stated by Kovecses (2002:47) can illustrate this tactic
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference
It is not very difficult to acknowledge the conventional metaphor “Life is a Journey” employed in the poem The novelty added is in this case, despite the very same destination both roads lead to, there is one road less or more traveled than the other
Quite different from extension, in elaboration, an existing element of the source is elaborated in an unusual way Elaboration captures the source in a novel and strange way, rather than adding a new expression to the source domain According to Lakeoff and Turner (1989), Horace used the metaphorical expression “eternal exile of the raft” to refer the death The conventional metaphor
“Death is Departure” is captured right in the words Nevertheless, it is also further elaborated when described in detailed definition “exile” and “raft” The two words employed provoke the understanding that death is a forceful departure and the means of transportation-“raft” can not take them to the destination.
Previous studies on Metaphor in Advertising
Due to the interdisciplinary nature and the massive exploitation of metaphors in advertising, quite a vast amount of research has been so far carried out However, I have no intention of making this overview effortlessly lengthy and exhaustive Hence, since this paper bases itself on the Semantics approach, it will be an insightful view on studies relevant to the present one It is also noted that in studying metaphors in advertising, not many researchers have seen metaphors studied in Semantics and in general linguistics as clear-cut This also means for many studies selected to be herein reviewed, there will be a painstaking selection of viewpoints compatibly related to the chosen approach
3.1 Meaning of Metaphors: Denotation and Connotation
Discussing about the use of metaphors in advertising, the first and foremost to notice is the meaning In this aspect, Roland Barthes (1988) paid a great attention to the hidden meaning expressed in advertisements It was also him who adopted from Louis Hjelmslev the notion that there are different orders of signification (Barthes 1957; Hjelmslev 1961) The first order of signification is that of denotation: at this level there is a sign consisting of a signifier and a signified Connotation is a second-order of signification which uses the denotative sign (signifier and signified) as its signifier and attaches to it an additional signified This study seems to be too semiotics-oriented rather than semantics even though studying the signifier and the signified leads to his conclusion that the sign (which is the advertisement in his “Advertising message”, The Semiotic Challenge) has loaded multiple meanings In fact, in his research, the close connection between the meaning and the advertisements is undeniable
The term denotation, according to Gillian Dyer (1988), refers to “the literal meaning of the advertisement, to what is „objectively‟ present and easily recognized or identified” Connotation, on the other hand, is regarded as “meanings which lie beyond the advertisement‟s denotation but are dependent on it”
This statement may be further exemplified by Williamson (1978)‟s discussion on advertisements for Channel beauty products which were presented at the time with an image of the actress Catherine Deneuve At the first level, the advertisement associates the products with Catherine Deneuve, and at the second level, we get the connotations of Catherine Deneuve in the context of beauty products as a signifier: she connotes the classy, chic lifestyle of a mature and sophisticated woman The advertisement not only functions as the construction of meaning itself, but also to transfer the meaning from other systems outside the advertisement, which he called as
“referent systems”, the ideological systems depending on and reflecting the society and culture
The whole process appears to be so closed to the encoding and decoding of the message transferred in the advertisement, which also means the connotative meaning necessarily acquired by consumers will be much influenced by the culture codes and the individual subjectivity of connotation In other words, according to Williamson, advertising makes connections which are not in the reality and thereby manages to mislead the audience
In terms of metaphor uses and from cognitive research, it is interesting to note that the idea in Lakeoff (1987), Lakeoff and Johnson (1999) is quite contrary to that of Williamson since they refuted the idea that there is an objective reality independent of our perception, culture and ideology making the reality distorted There is one problem here when the matter is considered in the advertising context since firstly, there exists a certain border between linguistics and advertisement‟s meaning, though so small, and secondly the advertisements themselves are quite frequently distorted compared to the real value of the products Or, as possibly concluded, as Bathes (1974) confirmed, the problem springs from the fact that in advertising “denotation is not the first meaning, but pretend to be so, under this illusion, it is ultimately no more than the last of the connotations”
3.2 Meaning of Metaphors: Meaninglessness or Ambiguity
Concerning about the level of reality distorted in using figurative devices in general and metaphor in particular, Dyer (1982), went too extreme when stating that this leads to the
“meaninglessness techniques” or “painting a falsely glowing picture”
“Meaninglessness is an important technique in advertising as loose promises that don‟t tie down the advertiser to anything specific Even advertisers recognize this tendency in their work; they call them „resounding non-statement‟”
According to Dyer, figurative language, including metaphors, on the whole is mainly used in rhetoric and poetry, however, there is a difference between the poet‟s and the advertiser‟s use of it In her somehow biased view, the poet tries to “create an impression, pin-point or sum up a feeling in the interest of an emotional „truth‟” whereas the advertiser‟s objective is “to paint a falsely glowing picture” However metaphorical this assessment may be, the conclusion is not appropriate compared to the meaning of the message transferred in advertisements In truth, there is often the existence of “affective meaning” in every slogan, advertising text or even visual symbols
The matter to reveal here is a “certain distance” between what is denoted in the advertisements when using metaphors or other linguistic devices and the products‟ real values should be admitted Nevertheless, it does not mean the denoted message in the advertisement is absolutely different or isolated from the reality Here arises the recognition of the so-called state of “being too positively emphasized” or “too positively manipulated” or “being a little vague” in the advertisers‟ attempt to transmit the message of the product‟s value to consumers It is quite explicable since the primary task of the advertisement as any advertisers firmly hold in their mind is value transmission, as Pollay (1984: 111) pointed out:
“Values are probably the single most important dimension of advertising Values are important both the sender‟s and the receiver points of view since it is the „goodness‟ of products that lies at the heart of the whole communication.”
Hence, as analyzed above, with the exploitation of metaphor, the values transmitted may show some levels of ambiguity Apparently, Dyer somehow confused herself with the concept of ambiguity and meaninglessness since she also affirmed that “the ambiguity in the word does not allow us to separate the product from the „fact‟” Her typical example, the metaphorical ice- cream slogan “Spoil yourself and not your figure” for weight-watchers, is considered as “a common type of play on ambiguity in advertising” It involves interpreting “spoil” in “spoil yourself” as an idiomatic phrase and as a word in its own right Revisiting her instance for the illustration of meaninglessness, Triumph‟s slogan: “Triumph has a bra for the way you are”, in fact, does not express any single meaningless state, but some levels of ambiguity
Leaving aside the consumers‟ language capability, whether a metaphorical advertising text is meaningless or ambiguous also depends on the context since metaphor is exactly a means of communication Developing research shows that the context a metaphor occurs in can influence its interpretation and the ease with which it is comprehended (Shinju and Myers 1987, Inhoff et al 1984, McCabe 1983) These laboratory studies suggest that the contexts in which promotional metaphors occur may influence their meaning For example, in the metaphorical advertising slogan "Nissan Truck: The Hard bodies" appears in a sports magazine, the comparison between a car and an athletic body may be emphasized and the message “hard bodies” (or the car‟s absolute strength) is quite understandable In fact, further research on context effects seems warranted in consumer settings This idea is also shared with a structural linguist-Roman Jakobson In 1960 he proposed a model of interpersonal verbal communication which moved beyond the basic transmission model of communication and highlighted the importance of the social contexts involved, illustrated as the followed picture:
Figure 1: A model of interpersonal verbal communication (Roman Jakobson, 1960)
As stated by him, the addresser sends a message to the addressee To be operative the message requires a context referred to ('referent' in another, somewhat ambivalent, nomenclature), seizable by the addressee, and either verbal or capable of being verbalized, a code fully, or at least partially, common to the addresser and addressee (or in other words, to the encoder and decoder of the message); and finally, a contact, a physical channel and psychological connection between the addresser and the addressee, enabling both of them to stay in communication
To conclude the discussion of metaphors‟ meaninglessness, ambiguity, and their relation to contexts, let me analyze the metaphorical slogan: “Without perfume, the skin is mute” It sounds to be a meaningless statement, if considered in Dyer (1982)‟s view However, if the first thing to consider is “metaphors are the key windows/mechanisms for viewing consumer thought and feelings” (Zaltman and Coulter, 1995), the slogan may be perceived as the attack on the consumers‟ desire for passion and hidden emotion as advertisers often do to create “affective meanings” rather than the ambiguity or meaninglessness.
AN ANALYSIS ON METAPHOR EXPLOITATION IN ADVERTISING
Advertising slogan: A crucial part of an advertisement
There are many ways to promote a brand and, obviously, every method and strategy is of great importance Promoting a brand is very critical to your business It is clearly no luck that Nike became one of the most famous and influential sports gear company in history or Coca Cola hit the beverage industry Nike, or Coca, both spent billions on advertising to reach where they are today Among the four major components a brand needs in advertising campaigns-brand name, logo, slogans and theme song, slogan is regarded as a determinant for a brand‟s success thanks to its ability to increase consumers‟ retention rate and desire Slogan, an advertising statement that describes what your brand is all about, is actually believed to help set the product apart from its competitors In fact, most successful brands own brilliantly impressive slogans since slogans are critical to the image of any business, regardless of the size
-Be all you can be (US Army)
- Good to the last drop! (MaxWell House)
- When you care enough to send the very best (Hallmark)
- You‟re in good hands (Allstate)
In broad sense, advertising slogan is understood as a memorable motto or phrase used in commercial or promotional context as a repetitive expression for a certain marketing purpose
Slogans vary from the written and the visual This linguistic nature leaves little room for details, since they probably serve more as a social expression of unified purpose, rather than a projection for an intended audience, here, the product‟s targeted customers Hence, the function of a slogan is often to inform the customers certain features or values of the products and to persuade targeted customers In order to fulfill these tasks, it is interesting to note that how contradictory a slogan can be inside Most importantly, a slogan should be both ear-catching, and abiding with the Law of Truth, in Britain, for example “all advertisement should be legal, honest and truthful”
(Hermeren, 1999) Therefore, in fact, like what most advertisements aim to be, a slogan should be concise and precise, besides repeatable, or memorable, to be effective First of all, slogans taking up a whole sentence to convey the brand‟s message are less effective than a slogan with just 3 words or 6 words The less wordy it is, the easier the consumers can remember The human memory is limited so the message transmitted ought to be as short as possible for optimal recall rate Additionally, slogans must be precise as well Those few words used in slogan have to convey exactly what the producers/manufacturers are trying to achieve Slogans that leave the consumers guessing or confused will give them much harder time perceiving the message
In fact, a company may immediately change its slogan if it is found incompatible with the desired-to-be-sent message or simply with the new marketing campaign In fact, there are quite many multinational companies making mistakes in adopting an unsuitable slogan, for example:
-Come alive You‟re in the Pepsi generation! (Pepsi) (pronounced and understood as Pepsi takes your ancestor back to the cemetery) -Nothing sucks like Electrolux
(in America, “suck” is understood with bad meaning) -Super Nova, the spirit of America!
(it is ridiculous when the spirit of America can not go, in Spanish, Nova means no go) Although some groups use more than ten slogans in just a short period of time for the very same of product, it is comprehended that this is costly In four decades, Coca Cola, with the vast amount of marketing investment, spent billions of dollars only in creating 17 slogans for its product, and the number apparently keeps increasing afterwards:
-1891 The Ideal Brain Tonic/The Delightful Summer-Winter beverage
-1905 Coca-Cola revives and sustains
-1906 The great national temperance beverage
-1908 Good till the last drop -1917 Three million a day
-1926 It had to be good to get where it is
-1927 Around the corner from anywhere
-1928 Coca-Cola pure drink of natural flavors
Conclusively, for the long term goal of a company‟s service or product, slogans can be considered as the most indispensable factor of advertising and advertisements.
The exploitation of metaphors in advertising slogans
As part of the revival of interest in marketing strategies, there has been a burgeoning growth in exploiting different figurative speeches in slogans Precisely, advertising slogans own an absolutely closed link with the communication between producers/manufacturers and consumers
Besides, as Lakeoff and Johnson (1980:5) argued, “the essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another”, the possibility metaphor offers products‟ message transmission is quite obvious As a result, the relevance of metaphorical language used in advertising slogans is quite perceivable In fact, as a part of advertisement, advertising slogans also stimulate customers‟ mental processes by means of creating images and associations, informing and recalling the product‟s values Holding the power of metaphors in advertising attempts and the consideration of customers‟ physical and cultural experience and conceptualization, advertisers hunt for the most effective and compatible kind of metaphors to be best associated with the products or services advertised in slogans
The relevance of metaphor exploitation in advertising slogans should not only be counted in terms of consumers‟ senses but also the increasing generation of sale, as Kovecses (2002) made the point:
“Part of the selling power of an advertisement depends on how well-chosen the conceptual metaphor is that the picture and/or the words used in the advertisement attempt to evoke in people An appropriately selected metaphor may work wonders in promoting the sale of an item”
Kovecses (2002:59) This is absolutely true since metaphor like other figurative speeches, can successfully bring the so-called “affective meaning” or emotional effects on consumers through persuasive slogans, leading them to dig deep into their pockets For instance, the slogan of Mori Perfume: “Without the perfume, the skin is mute” Here, with the personification, the perfume is regarded as a living entity The skin, a part of body is enabled to “speak” In these advertising slogans, the power of the perfume is brought up to a magic level, or in other words, not only the skin is personified, but the perfume is also turned into a magician
In the advertisers‟ eyes, metaphors both take wings for the slogan‟s message, and help them to loosen the centralization in denoting the exact information, values and functions of the products
To achieve this goal, advertisers uses the manifestation of language-particularly herein, metaphors Whatever way they choose, to explicitly state that there products are good, their services are prestigious or to implicitly transfer ideas of the products‟ values, they do with the hope to promote their items to the top rank without creating doubts in customers‟ mind
Honestly, in consideration of every possibility concerned, the latter seems to be better That explains the cruciality of metaphor in quite many slogans:
-It‟s time you reaped the benefits of Jersey‟s fertile financial environment (Abbey National Bank)
-That‟s another load off your mind
(Indesit WAX 120 detergent) -The citi never sleeps
It is apparent to realize the implicit meanings transferred in the slogans above when analyzing one Take the first one as an example, the mapping conceptualization in two different fields:
Abbey National Bank (the target domain) and fertile ground (the source domain) creates a closed association With certain reasoning knowledge of the source and the target, it is quite understandable to give out some conceptual illustrations:
-Target: Abbey National Bank: the place (fertile soil) for the seeds (financial investment) -Source: The fertile soil: such a good ground for seeds to grow up and become big fruit trees waiting to be reaped
Based on the advertisers‟ aims and the principle of advertising functions, stated by Pollay (1984:111): “advertising‟s primary function is to transmit the value of the products/services”, it is perceived that Abbey National Bank-“the target domain” represents the product/service advertised and the fertile ground-the source represents the values Therefore an implicit picture may be sketched from the slogan: Farmers
(Investors) can harvest (get profit) on the fertile land of New Jersey after growing trees (investing in the bank) Through this picture, the goal that advertisers aim at is accomplished: persuade clients to invest in Abbey National Bank
Borrowing words from Geis (1982:37) to cover this part: “the attractiveness of implying something rather than asserting it overtly derives from the fact that one does not have to defend unasserted claims and consumers seem not to defend well against them”, I do think metaphor, with its power of implicit message when being exploited, has realized the dreams and objectives of worldwide advertisers This would be proved in the subsequent part of research and analysis.
Hypotheses
Based on the integrated classification of metaphor use earlier and the reality of the metaphor exploitation in English advertising slogans, it is possible to draw out some predictions concerning the types of metaphor favored in international slogans and advertisements
Conceptual metaphor, rather than mixed metaphor and new metaphor, tends to have higher frequency in advertising slogans
This hypothesis bases itself on the marketers‟ aim towards global marketing Although Murray Knowles and Rosamund Moon affirmed “Conceptual metaphors may be culture-specific”, advertisers still trust conceptual metaphors may break the possibility of misunderstanding the promotional messages between and among the nations/the cultures when the products advertised by the slogans are exported/imported Typical conceptual metaphor concepts as in “LG: Life is Good” (Good is Up) or “Say Hello to your child‟s new body guard-Johnsons & Johnsons” (An object is a person), are certainly more ear-catching and ear-approachable than the metaphor concepts that consumers/buyers have never known about Furthermore, the use of conceptual metaphor helps producers avoid ambiguity in the transmitted promotional message thanks to its understandability and saves money for designing very complicated illustration In fact, as for mixed metaphors and new metaphors, to enable the buyers‟ accessibility to an entire understanding of the slogan, the accompanied pictures and illustration must be absolutely relevant and smartly meaningful, which is quite costly
Once the conceptual metaphors are applied, there is an outstanding favors towards the ontological metaphor, where we find the typical concept: Abstract is Concrete, and structural metaphor, where once concept is structured in terms of others, rather than the orientational metaphor, which involves the spatial orientation
Ontological metaphor involves the very typical concept, which represent Abstract is Concrete with three sub-types namely personification, entity metaphor and container metaphor These types allow advertisers to implicitly transfer the value of the product in a tactful way, which does not violate the Law of Truth or lend the coat of showing-off onto the product The abstract factor which are often the values of the products (comfort, happiness, joy, pleasure…etc…) is realized in concrete factors, creating a new sense of self-experiencing for consumers It should be the fact to admit once deciding to buy something, the buyers expect a hidden but understandable comparison between the values of the products and some factors/objects/type of people that they know/trust… in life This is the very case of “The listening bank “ (Midland Bank)
Nevertheless, the use of structure metaphor seems to be too ambiguous when the values of the products (the feelings/the abstract) are understood by another concept/abstract feeling As for the use of orientation metaphor with spatial orientation of Up-Down, Front-Back…etc , if this type is not extremely tactfully exploited, the product really sounds being shown off This is the very case of Lexus‟ former slogans: “The car in front is Lexus.”
In advertising slogans, advertisers and marketers favor new metaphors and mixed metaphors which are mainly based on the typical conceptual metaphors
As stated earlier, the conceptual metaphors are often more understandably ear-catching than the entirely new metaphor or the mixture of new metaphor and conceptual metaphor or some similar types This springs from the high frequency of consumers‟ and buyers‟ contacting with conceptual metaphors in life, in education and in daily conversation (in fact, they somehow forget the expressions they often use in daily life conversation such as Life is a Journey or Time is Money are conceptual metaphor owing to its high familiarity in usage.) Since the product‟s slogan should never been mistaken for a poem or a masterpiece of literature (in very literal sense), advertisers often prefer the new conventional metaphors or mixed conventional metaphor which own the conceptual metaphor foundation.
Procedures
In order to answer the research questions already stated in the very first part, a collection of 50 slogans of various products is collected As for the source, all the slogans are collected from the companies‟ websites or from the online stock of slogan lists To ensure the reliability of the research, the slogans selected are originally from the English-speaking countries, which use English as their main language such as the USA, Britain or Australia Most of them are slogans of worldwide brand names In terms of the generality, the chosen slogans are representatives of 4 broad categories namely Cosmetics and Fashion, Food and Drinks, Transportations, and Finance and Banking These defined categories of slogans, firstly represent different perspective of customers‟/clients‟ needs and secondly, are assumed to meet the following listed criteria for an acceptable extent of reliability and generality
- All the slogans selected belong to the category of commercial advertisement Hence, those of non-commercial category should be excluded
-The advertisement selected are the ones that belong to one of the following categories: fashion and cosmetics, food and beverages, transportation and petrol, and finance and banking This means the advertising claims for other categories rather than the four stated groups would be excluded from the research The number of selected slogans classified into each group will be equally 10 slogans
- For painstaking analysis, only advertising slogans that belong to National Advertising or International Advertising are selected The two specific terms are used to refer to the commodities or services advertised or supplied on a national scale or on an international scale, which means in the worldwide or foreign markets Advertisements and slogans of local products/services sold or rendered in a part of a country, not on a national/international scale are excluded
-The research focuses on advertising slogans, which means the advertisements that advertise the specifications, locations, prices, promotions or special offers of the products should be excluded
A collection of 40 English advertising slogans will be taken into consideration regarding to the use of metaphors For each group, the slogans are classified into sub types of conceptual metaphor, mixed metaphor, and new metaphor With each kind of metaphor in use, the possible strengths, weaknesses and effectiveness will catch lots of the writer‟s attention Based on the result, we will evaluate the hypotheses proposed earlier and then provide discussion and findings
The result of this study will be presented based on the statistics regarding to the exploitation of metaphor types in international advertising slogans selected and analyzed The effectiveness of metaphor application in the advertising industry will be pointed out in a painstaking presentation and an analysis of some typical samples taken from the 40 commercials collected.
The analysis
In this section, we are going to look at some illustrated samples taken from the four categories of slogans selected for the research The aim is to present the way all the slogans are analyzed before the synthesization of the data and the presentation of data in statistical tables For all advertising slogans, the procedures are similarly conducted, therefore, the section only choose some typical examples from the four categories for a careful investigation The slogans chosen for the presentation hereafter will be divided equally in each group, hence, one for each group will be selected
5.1 Fashion and cosmetics (Vaseline Intensive Care)
In 1999, Vaseline Intensive Care issued its famous slogan “It's always nice to rub it in when someone's feeling a bit rough.” Here, it is realized that the word “rough” is metaphorically used in the same way of the word “smoothy” in Tampax tampons “A real smoothy” The metaphorical interpretation can be partly explained by the metaphor-Human Properties are the Properties of Inanimate Things In this slogan, both the concrete qualities of an object (skin) and the abstract qualities of a person can be describe as “smooth” in Tampax tampon‟s, and now as “rough” in Vaseline Intensive Care as Kovecses (2002: 126) points out that the properties mapped for human beings often come in pairs: sharp-dull, hard-shop or cold-warm Here, the smooth-rough is one of such pairs The slogan involves an ontological metaphor of Physical Qualities and Abstract Qualities/Feelings Literally, the word “rub” means “to move something over a surface with friction” Metaphorically, the phrase “to rub it in” is possibly connected to the metaphor Feelings are Objects In this case, it entails the metaphor The Body Is A Container For The Emotions From the metaphor defined, two scenarios may be sketched, (i) a situation in which someone feels that his/her skin is rough, and rub the lotion on it and gain the feeling of smoothness, and (ii) a person feel negative (rough) and someone makes it worse by rubbing his/her feeling, or his/her “spiritual wound”, worsening it In this case, we find an absolute negative entailed meaning However, the desired meaning that the producer wishes to transmit is surely positive one Therefore, the first scenario seems to be the best explanation for the exploitation of ontological metaphor in the case
Figure 2: Vaseline Intensive Care Blend
5.2 Food and beverages (Red Bull)
The very first example that we take in consideration is the slogan “It gives you wings” or
“Redbull gives you angel wings” of Red Bull The slogans is accompanied with a picture of a man with the cross in the eyes and the wings on the shoulders
The phrase “to give wings”, in fact, brings the audience away from the possible ambiguity With the metaphorical meaning “to bring joy/happiness/motivate”, the slogan leads us to the underlying metaphor Food is Happiness Catcher or Motivator, which entails Drinking is Being motivated/cheered up This in turn leads us to more specific instances of these domains The
WORSENING elaboration of the domains Happiness Catcher/Motivator and Motivating in the target input involves a specific scenario in which a person is motivated or cheered up when drinking one kind of beverage
Here, Red Bull acts as a source of cheer and motivation Hence, in this slogan, the agent role represents the one of the action -“give you wings” This case turns out not a reference, but a clear possibility since the involvement of personification is quite obvious In the blended space in the picture below, the use of personification may be better illustrated
In the illustrated blend, the beverage is understood as a motivator or a happiness catcher, and the action of drinking leads to being motivated In fact, here we have personification expressed in the exploitation of the idiom “give smb wings”
The slogan selected in this field represents the commercial of a famous car brand: Lexus The luxury brand produces an impressive advertising slogan for Lexus IS 200 “Satisfaction comes from choosing your own road in life, and sticking to it” Catching the phrase “choosing your own road in life”, we happen to get the typical conventional metaphorical expression which has ever been illustrated quite frequently in Lakeoff and Johnson‟s: “Life is a journey” and “Goals are destinations” Nevertheless, this is merely one layer of meaning In “Satisfaction comes from
Drinking Redbull Being motivated choosing your own road in life, and sticking to it”, the metaphor is extended and elaborated with more particular instances of the target and the source The scenario of the elaborated target input and the source input may be sketched as followed:
“Life”: A situation in life with difficulties or obstacles, where a person does not conform to the conventional behavior Here, he chooses his own way, and gains success or satisfaction
“Journey”: On a main road, or may be at the road‟s T junction, where most people choose the same turn or same route, however, one person decides to take another route or turn which is not used by anyone He “sticks to it” and reaches the destination he longs for
The most fantastic thing in the metaphorical slogans is in that it emphasizes the success that one may achieve “satisfaction” and the special characteristics-actually herein is the individuality-
“choosing your own road in life”, rather than Lexus‟s brand name or qualities In the blend, you can see that the slogan entails “driving a Lexus brings you a chance to realize your individuality and success”, thanks to the qualities that it has, though they are unspecified in the statement
Another matter worth mentioning is despite being driven by a typical conventional metaphor
“Life is a Journey”, the scenarios sketched out are not at all conventional owing to two reasons:
Choosing your own road Stick to it
Reaching satisfaction (thanks to Lexus)
(i) conventionally, the individual choice or satisfaction is not highly considered and (ii) success is not conventionally gained by driving a car, or specified by your choice of a car brand name
The slogan analyzed in the field of Finance and Banking belongs to Citibank-“The Citi never sleeps.” (Citibank) Quite obviously, the use of conceptual metaphor (personification) has created an amazing metaphorical expression “Abstract object is a Person” Here, the bank (in the slogan, its name is used-City) is considered as “never sleeps” In Marketing, we have differentiation strategy-which means making your product(s)/service(s) different from others In this case, a conclusion would be drawn out when we apply the explanation of this strategy: the service has one difference-“never sleeps”, and it means that every other bank always/sometimes sleeps In fact, the scenario can be sketched as followed Two scenarios may be perceived: (i) people working in the Citibank never sleep, and (ii) the Citibank opens for all day and night (24 hours a day) without closing for a single second In the case herein, the latter seems better explicable
Sleeping is the action of human being, it also means resting A bank which never sleeps means the bank works with no single period of rest time during the day This also means the metaphor
ABSTRACT OBJECT CITIBANK Never sleep
REAL ACTION Never sleeps=open 24 hours a day used here does not entail the action-sleep, but the action-working non-stop In this slogan, metaphor is suitably matched with the absolute antonymy, creating the bank‟s enthusiasm and dedication to the clients The fantastic matter does not lie in the metaphor or the slogan itself, but in the entailed meaning the producer wishes to transfer.
RESULTS AND FINDINGS
The result
Having carried out the analysis of 40 slogans in the way that has been presented in four examples mentioned earlier, this section deals with the final result of the study As discussed above, the slogans are classified into different types of metaphors and presented in the statistic tables In this section, the statistics is presented in four tables, each of which serve its own specific purpose
Table 1: The calculated frequency of advertising slogans in each metaphor type
As presented in Chapter 1, Lakoff and Johnson‟s classification is selected for the study Hence, each group‟s slogans are also classified into conventional/conceptual metaphors, mixed metaphors and new (novel) metaphors There is two crucial reason for so doing: first, the table provides a general view of the frequency of each metaphor type in each group of product, second, along with the second table-the general frequency of each metaphor type in the whole forty slogans of four groups, it helps prove the first hypothesis about the advertisers‟ favor towards conceptual metaphors
Glancing at the table, it is quite obvious to see the favor of conceptual metaphor in advertising slogans of all groups with all 10 slogans in Fashion & Cosmetics group and equally 6 out of 10 slogans in the other three groups As for mixed metaphors, the use of this type is witnessed in equally 3 slogans in Food and Beverages and Transportation and 4 advertisements in Finance &
Banking As the least favored, new (novel) metaphors merely contribute equally 1 slogans for Food and Beverages and Finance & Banking
Types Percentage of uses Conventional/Conceptual Metaphors 73%
Table 2: The general frequency of each metaphor type in the whole forty slogans of four groups
Besides the insight view into each group to figure out the frequency of each metaphor type in each selected group, table 2 provide the ratio of each type of metaphor on the total number of 40 analyzed slogans This table, as said earlier, contributes a large part to proving the accuracy of the hypotheses predicted
The next table, table 3 is presented to reveal the frequency of each conceptual metaphor sub-type exploited in each group This table is quite contributive to the second hypothesis, in which, the favor towards ontological metaphor with the concept Abstract is Concrete and structural metaphor with One Concept is Structure in terms of Another is realized As analyzed, of 28 slogans exploiting conceptual metaphors, there are 27 slogans presented in ontological metaphor, and only 1 presented in orientational metaphor
Table 3: The frequency of each sub-types of Conceptual Metaphor in each group
Table four is an analysis conducted in the same way as table four, however with new and mixed conventional metaphors, rather than conceptual ones This facilitates the evidence for Hypothesis three, where the conventional elements in new and mixed metaphors employed in forty slogans should be clearly and painstakingly defined
Mixed Conventional Metaphor (Slogans and Metaphor Concepts)
1 The joy of Cola (Pepsi) Drink
2 Bags of taste without the handles (Weight Watchers frozen desserts)
Abstract entities are physical entities
Related in concrete space with physical entity (bags)
3 Pleasure is the path to joy
(Haagen-Dazs, ice cream brand)
Abstract entities are physical entities
Based on the typical concept
4 Volvo cut the prices of parts and eases labor pains (Volvo)
One concept is structured in terms of another
Chevrolet: The Heartbeat of America."
A physical object is a living entity
6 For vigorous growth, plant your money with us (Legal and General insurance company)
One concept is structured in terms of another
7.The bank that likes to say Yes (Trustee Saving Bank)
Ready to help and serve
An object is a person/living entity One concept is structured in terms of another
8.The expanding world of the treasurer In Treasury
Management a bank should show brains, not
Abstract entities are physical entities
An object is a person just muscle (ABN AMRO Bank)
But Bank Julius Baer offers more” (Jullius Baer Bank)
Abstract entities are physical entities
New Conventional Metaphor (Slogans and Metaphor Concepts)
1 Transparent with a plastic body No wonder it goes down well in Hollywood
Person An object is a person
2 Satisfaction comes from choosing your own road in life and sticking to it (Lexus)
Table 4: The analysis of target domain, source domain and metaphor concepts in 11 slogans of new and mixed conventional metaphors
Discussion and findings
After all the 40 metaphorical slogans are analyzed and synthesized with all the facets-target domain, source domain, metaphor concepts as well as the meaning-in consideration, this section will have a look back at 3 hypotheses proposed earlier
In general, the first hypothesis is proved to be obviously clear based on the data of 40 slogans selected and also gives a meaningful answer to the first research question Among three major types of metaphors, conceptual metaphor represent the most frequently selected by advertisers and marketers As seen in table 1, the number of conceptual metaphors employed is 28 out of 40 slogans, equivalent to 70 percent, as calculated in table 2 In Fashion and Cosmetics, all ten slogans selected are conceptual metaphor expressions (100 per cent), and in the three other groups, the percentage, although much lower, is still found quite a greatly outstanding favoritism: 6 out of 10 slogans (60 percent) This certainly confirms an absolutely high frequency of conceptual metaphors in a certain quantity of advertisements in specific groups of commodities and services In all these slogans, typical conceptual metaphor concepts namely
“Abstract is concrete” in ontological metaphor or “An object is a person” in personification or other types of more particular concepts ranging from “Physical objects are living entities” to
“Feelings/Emotions are objects” are employed
Put the fun back into driving-Vauxhall (Abstract is concrete) The Citi never sleeps-Citibank (An object is a person) The hypothesis‟s accuracy is proved through 40 English slogans taken from four selected groups, nevertheless, in order to apply the hypothesis for all English slogans in all other groups of traded commodities, manufactured products and services, it is still an open question that is in need of further in-depth updated researches (owing to the birth of new slogans every year) and a larger quantity of typical advertisements from all groups of worldwide products
The statistics obtained proves the partial accuracy of the hypothesis As stated in table3- the frequency of each sub-types of conceptual metaphor in each group, onto-logical metaphor accounts for 27 out of 29 conceptual metaphor slogans, whereas only one representative is recorded in both orientational metaphor and structural metaphor
-Sight for Soaring Eyes-TransWorld Airways (Orientational Metaphor-Good is Up) -Life can get heavy Mascara shouldn‟t.-Maybeline (Structural Metaphor-Difficulties are Burdens)
Certainly, this proved the accuracy of the hypothesis‟s very first part “there is an outstanding favor towards the ontological metaphor, where we find the typical concept: Abstract is Concrete,” but not the second one “and structural metaphor, where once concept is structured in terms of others, rather than the orientational metaphor, which involves the spatial orientation” In fact, as stated above, the onto-logical metaphor with the Abstract is Concrete concept really works when advertisers wish to seek a way to avoid the violation of the Law of Truth since every value of the product (feelings, emotions and even the effects) is understood by a concrete object or person that they quite know, trust or feel reliable Furthermore, this type of metaphor also facilitates the consumers‟ involvement in the initial evaluation of the product through senses and feelings
Nevertheless, the prediction that structural metaphor is preferred than orientational metaphor in English advertising slogans cannot be proved since they both have the equal quantity Hence, it can merely be concluded that a part of the hypothesis proposed is accurate, but not all This springs from advertisers‟ hope to assure the success and understandability of the slogans In fact, the statistics also indicates the strengths and weaknesses in a clear cut manner when we take all types of conceptual metaphors onto the scale As in the Finding 1-Hypothesis 1, the high frequency of conceptual metaphors applied in advertising slogans indicates their own strength- the familiarity and understandability However, as mentioned above, when it comes to analyzing sub-types of conceptual metaphors, structural metaphor concept, where one concept is structured in another concept, seems to be too difficult to perceive and easy to lead to ambiguity while orientational metaphor appears to be too showing-off with obvious positive trend: Good is Up, and Bad is Down
According to the statistics synthesized in table 1, 2 and 5, the accuracy of the third hypothesis applied on 40 slogans selected is clearly proved There are totally 9 slogans of mixed metaphors and 2 slogans of new metaphors In the analysis of target domain, source domain and metaphor concepts of 11 slogans of new and mixed conventional metaphors, all of them are found to lend typical conceptual metaphor concepts namely Abstract is Concrete, or An Object is a Person or Abstract entities are Physical Entity
More specific, let‟s first consider some samples of mixed metaphors exploited in the classified slogans
-Some only offer umbrellas But Bank Julius Baer offers more-Jullius Baer Bank -Today's Chevrolet: The Heartbeat of America.-Chevrolet
In Jullius Baer Bank, we may immediately recognize the personification through the word
“offer” A bank, a physical entity may conduct one kind of human-being actions:” offering”
Here, the typical conceptual metaphor: An Object is a Person or exactly, A Physical Entity is a Living Entity is applied However, this is merely the first layer of the metaphorical expression‟s meaning The second layer lies in the metaphorical word: “umbrellas” In these slogans,
“umbrellas” are understood as the things bringing you the protection and safety since it, in literal meaning, can shield you from the rain, or the sunlight that threatens to burn your skin In the second layer, “umbrellas are safety” exploits the typical concept metaphor concept: Abstract is Concrete or Abstract Entities are Physical Entities Similarly, in Chevrolet‟s advertisement, America, a nation is understood as a person having a heart and the car is hiddenly compared with the heart-the most valuable health asset of a human-being In this case, the typical concept
“Physical Entities are Living Entities” is tactfully applied to send the desired message
In terms of new metaphors, although the number of 2 slogans out of 40 is not so much for this type, the outstanding presence of conceptual metaphor concept in these slogans is undeniable
-Satisfaction comes from choosing your own road in life and sticking to it.-Lexus The conventional metaphor “Life is a Journey” is employed in the slogans Nevertheless, the novelty added herein is elaborated through the action of urging the driver to choose the less traveled road and stay focused on it to reach the destination, rather than the preferably chosen route
To be frankly, the mixture of different conventional conceptual metaphors or the novelty created by the elaboration, extension or combination based on typical metaphor concepts can not create an strangely poetic masterpiece as we often see in poems, however they really work in advertising Consumers surely find the slogans both familiar and extraordinary at the same time
New and mixed conventional metaphors with conceptual concepts come naturally as the colors in daily life expressed in a rainbow frame.
Conclusion
Along with the synthetic analysis, three hypotheses focusing on the frequent use of each metaphor type and sub-type have managed to answer to the research questions established in the beginning Whereas the first wonder about the most frequently chosen metaphor type is solved with the 70 per cent of appliance (28 out of 40 slogans analyzed), the second question still cause a confusion until the second hypothesis is done The understandability and familiarity of conceptual metaphors overweight the beauty of that the remaining types, which are often used in poets and novel since they are somehow quite an obstacle when consumers try to reach an in- depth understanding of the product‟s message or values In fact, the main weakness that can be recognized of two types of metaphors-New/Novel Metaphors and Mixed Metaphors is its abstractness, which often leads to misunderstanding and ambiguity in the product‟s message
To answer the final research question, it is the consideration of all three hypotheses‟ findings and statistics Apparently, with the most frequent use, conceptual metaphors represent the most favored by marketers However, in terms of sub-types, compared to orientational metaphor and structural metaphor, ontological metaphor is the wisest choice With higher familiarity of personification, container metaphor, entity metaphor and the typical concept “Abstract is Concrete”, which customers often encounters in daily life, it can transfer the values of the product as well as the producer‟s message to consumers in a way that can both avoid the violation of the Law of Truth and give them a comfortable feelings.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In this final chapter, I would like to give a summary of the analysis of the data collected and draw out some conclusion that can be made, as well as add some prospects for further research
This is quite necessary since it plays as an overview of the whole research, not for moving ahead but entirely serving the aim to stand back and reflect what have been gained so far
To discover the use of metaphors in advertising context and also the strengths and weaknesses of each type, the thesis has provided a classification of metaphors, according to types and sub- types The classification is based on the theory of Lakeoff and Johnson (1980), putting slogans of conceptual/conventional metaphors, mixed metaphors and new metaphors into group Following this classification, another minor dissection of conceptual/conventional metaphors is conducted to further conceptual/conventional slogans classified into sub-types of onto-logical, structural and orientational As for mixed metaphors and new metaphors, this classification is not applied owing to the limited quantity of relevant slogans
For the purpose of the classifying and analyzing job, this thesis choose 40 advertising slogans, all of which originates from international brands In order to get a comprehensive picture of advertising slogans in the marketing context, the slogans are selected from four different fields ranging from Fashion & Cosmetics, Food and Beverages, Transportation and Finance &
Banking The number of slogans is equally distributed (10 slogans) in each field To provide a sound view over selected slogans, the thesis has chosen advertisements from the essential commodity type, which often has a great influence on customers‟ reaction and own a great contact with consumers in daily life
After all 40 slogans are classified into types and sub-types, an analysis of the target domain, source domain and metaphor concept is conducted This step proves quite effective to confirm the right classification In fact, all 40 slogans have the conventional/conceptual sense in their metaphor expressions; hence, the mistake between new conventional metaphor, mixed conventional metaphor and conventional/conceptual metaphor is quite visible The analysis of target, source and metaphor concept somehow helps the writer avoid being off the track in classifying metaphor types When done with the classification, the thesis turns to proposing some predictions of the analysis There are three hypothesis suggested herein Most of them focus on the frequency of each type of metaphor over the others To be frank, although these are mere predictions, it is quite vital to prove their accuracy since it can help to define which type is suitable for slogans in some specific groups
The result, amazingly appears to be quite matched with the hypotheses stated earlier, especially in the sense that conventional metaphors are favored than other types of metaphor The results attained from the analysis also enable us to discover some notable issues which are presented hereafter
First, the number of conceptual/conventional metaphors exploited in international advertising slogans is quite huge, in all four selected fields However, the percentage of conceptual metaphor in Fashion & Cosmetics is quite outstanding-100 per cent, compared to 60 per cent in Food and Beverages, and Finance & Banking and 70 per cent in Transportation This has truly reflected the high approachability of conceptual/conventional metaphorical expressions in marketing context
Obviously, the conventional expressions appear to be quite familiar with customers since they base themselves on the consumers‟ acknowledgeable things and views The exploitation of conceptual/conventional metaphors, therefore, enables advertisers to transmit the messages in an amazingly understandable way, by which the customers feel the familiarity with their daily lives in an advertising sense
Second, in these conceptual/convention metaphors, the superiority of on-to logical sub-type, rather than structural and orientational is recorded This helps strengthen customers‟ ability to understand advertising slogans, presented in typical metaphor concepts ranging from personification, entity metaphor or container metaphor It also reveals the fact that advertising slogans expressed in Abstract is Concrete is quite more easily approachable and consumers- friendly than other sub-types Moreover, the favoritism towards personification shows the tendency of turning the products into human-being or pathetic creatures, which are quite closed to their daily contacting
Third, the exploitation of typical conceptual factors is acknowledged in new metaphors (often elaborated and extended) and mixed metaphors This, again, proves the tendency of prioritizing customers‟ understandability Every advertising slogan is a creative masterpiece, however, in the condition that consumers can understand the transmitted messages, even when the messages are expressed in new metaphors or mixed metaphors In 23 per cent of mixed metaphors and 4 percent of new metaphors exploited, the convention factors prove their strength when bringing customers a sense of familiarity and novelty at the same time
The research has proven both the highly frequent use of metaphors in advertising slogans and the application of their sub-types in each field of products and services In terms of prospects for further researches, the research can be continued in quite many ways For example, there can be a research conducting an in-depth analysis on all kinds of metaphors, or just one type, or sub- type used in each separated field mentioned in this thesis Or, there may be a study on the different use of metaphors in English and Vietnamese advertising slogans, or the influence of metaphor use in advertising on culture In fact, metaphor is quite like a “mine”, in which we can never reach the bottom or discover all related matters This, also, confirms the rightness of advertisers‟ choice when exploiting metaphors in advertising contexts With one stone, they are able to kill two birds: transmit the value and make a great impression on consumers‟ mind
LIST OF SELECTED ADVERTISING SLOGANS
1 Fashion & Cosmetics 1-One drop of perfume, one ocean of love (Mori-Perfume) 2-Without perfume, the skin is mute (Perfume)
3-Quench Your Thirst Skin (Lancome) 4-J‟, beauty lies within (J‟)
5-Johnsons and Johnsons: Say Hello to your child‟s new body guard 6-The shoe your feet is aching for (Bata)
7- Life can get heavy Mascara shouldn‟t (Maybeline) 8- Comfort is in the eye of the beholder (Focus Contact Lense) 9- It‟s always nice to rub it when someone‟s feeling a bit rough (Vaseline Intensive Care) 10-Lifts and Separates (She Weds Bra)
2 Food and Beverages 1-It Gives You Wings (Red Bull)
3-Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach (Heineken)
4-Keep hunger locked up till lunch (Shreddies Cereal)
5-The joy of Cola (Pepsi) 6-The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola) 7- Transparent with a plastic body No wonder it goes down well in Hollywood (Evian mineral water)
8-Bags of taste without the handles (Weight Watchers frozen desserts) 9- Pleasure is the path to joy (Haagen-Dazs, ice cream brand)
10- Because Life‟s full of surprise (Life)
3 Transportation 1-Introducing Sedan with the heart of a lion (Sedan) 2-Volvo cut the prices of parts and eases labor pains (Volvo) 3- Fly the friendly skies (United Airlines)
4- Sight for Soaring Eyes (Trans World Airways)
5- Put the fun back into driving (Vauxhall)
6-Let the train takes the strain 7- Satisfaction comes from choosing your own road in life and sticking to it (Lexus)
8 "Today's Chevrolet: The Heartbeat of America." (Chevrolet)
9 "The lion leaps from strength to strength" (Peugeot)
10 "Nissan Trucks: The Hard Bodies." (Nissan)
4 Finance & Banking 1-For vigorous growth, plant your money with us (Legal and General insurance company) 2-The citi never sleeps (Citibank)
3-The bank that likes to say Yes (Trustee Saving Bank) 4-The future takes VISA (VISA)
5-The listening bank (Midland Bank) 6-When EF Hutton talks, people listen (EF Hutton brokage firm) 7-The expanding world of the treasurer In Treasury Management a bank should show brains, not just muscle (ABN AMRO BANK)
8-"Some only offer umbrellas But Bank Julius Baer offers more” (Jullius Baer Bank) 9-It 's time you reaped the benefits of Jersey 's fertile financial environment (Abbey National Bank)
10-Get a piece of rock (Prudential Insurance)
APPENDIX 2 Table 5: The analysis of target, source and metaphor concepts in 28 slogans of conceptual metaphor
Conventional/Conceptual metaphors (Slogans and Metaphor Concepts)
1 One drop of perfume, one ocean of love (Mori-Perfume)
Perfume Love Abstract is concrete
2 Without perfume, the skin is mute
Perfume Person An object is a person
Skin Person An object is a person
Beauty Person/Object An abstract concept is an object/person
5 Say Hello to your child‟s new body guard
Person An object is a person
6 The shoe your feet is aching for (Bata)
Feet Person An object is a person
Difficulties Burdens One concept is structured in terms of another concept
8 Comfort is in the eye of the beholder (Focus Contact Lense)
Comfort Object Abstract is concrete
9 It‟s always nice to rub it in when someone‟s feeling a bit rough
Person An object is a person
11 It Gives You Wings (Red Bull) Drink
(Red Bull) Person An object is a person
12 Obey your thirst Feeling Person Abstract is concrete
(Sprite) (A feeling is a living entity)
13 Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach
Person An object is a person/living entity
14 The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)
Person An object is a person/living entity
15 Keep hunger locked up till lunch
Hunger Container Feelings are objects
16 Because Life‟s full of surprise (Life) Life Container Abstract is concrete
17 Introducing Sedan with the heart of a lion (Sedan)
Sedan Body An object is a person
18 Fly the friendly skies (United Airlines)
Skies People An object is a person
19 Put the fun back into driving
Fun Object Abstract is concrete
20 Let the train takes the strain
Train Person An object is a person
21 The lion leaps from strength to strength (Peugeot)
Lion An object is a living entity
Trucks People An object is a person/living entity
23 The Citi never sleeps (Citibank)
Bank Person An object is a person
24 The future takes VISA (VISA)
Future Person An concept is a person/living entity
25 The listening bank (Midland Bank) Bank Person An object is a person
26 When EF Hutton talks, people listen
Bank Person An object is a person/living entity
27 It 's time you reaped the benefits of Jersey 's fertile financial environment (Abbey National Bank)
Benefits Fruits Abstract is concrete
28 Get a piece of rock (Prudential Insurance)
Safety Rock Abstract is concrete
29 Sight for Soaring Eyes (Trans World Airways)
Soaring Good Based on the orientational concept:
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