University of Bergamo English Language (92105)

The Language of Advertising LESSON 19

14th December 2017Bachelor's Degree Programme

Communication SciencesCourse instructor: Eleonora Natalia Ravizza

Eleonora.ravizza@unibg.itRoom 4, 1st Floor, San Tomaso

MID COURSE EXERCISESExam preparation

The January/ March exam sessions are NOT available to First-Year Students (2017/18)

First dates available: - WRITTEN TEST: 1st June, 15th June, 18th July

2018- ORAL TEST: 5th June, 22nd June, 23rd July 2018

When can you take the English Language

Examination?

Preparing for your ORAL exam

NB: STUDENTS FAILING TO COMPLY

WITH THE REQUIREMENTS (SEE ALSO:

ORAL EXAMINATION GUIDELINES PUBLISED ON THE

COURSE WEBSITE) WILL NOT BE EXAMINED

AND WILL BE ASKED TO RETAKE THE

EXAM AT A SUBSEQUENT APPELLO

MODULE 1 – THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING – Preparing for your

ORAL exam

Your task is to analyse five (preferably

recent) advertisements in English using

methodological tools discussed in class/

explained in the textbooks

This does not exclude knowledge of the theoretical content of the course

ATTENDING STUDENTS: De Sario's book + course notes + materiale integrativo published

on the website

NON ATTENDING STUDENTS: De Sario's book + further references indicated in the

bibliography + materiale integrativo published on the website

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

How and where to find the advertsWhat kind of sources to use and not to use

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

Real of fake?

DO NOT GOOGLE ADVERTISEMENTS(for example with Google images)

DO NOT USE RANDOM WEBSITES(social media platforms, blogs, etc.)

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

If you bring online sources (max. 2)You can use THE OFFICIAL WEBPAGE or the

OFFICIAL (verified) SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT;

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

Preparing for the exam:Your five advertisements

The ad must contain at least a body copy plus

a headline or a slogan:

Choose ads that have as many verbal elements

as possible

You can use PRINT SOURCES

Bring the original newspaper/magazine with you

or a COLOUR copy of the advertisement (and possibly of the cover/front page of the

newspaper/magazine)

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

Remember to prepare a list with - your ads

- your sources (with publication date/ url + consultation date )

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

Preparing for the exam: Your five advertisements

example:

1) “Dr. Oetker's Easy Swirl Cupcake Icing”, Hello! Magazine,

17/10/2016

Preparing for the exam:Your five advertisements

2) For online (official/verified sources only)

“No 1 Rosemary Water”,https://rosemarywater.com/blogs/campaigns/no1-rosemary-water, Accessed on 16th October 2017

DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING ON THE ADVERTISEMENTS

(it's ok to underline or highlight sentences though)

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

You cannot use any of the ads that were discussed in class or in any of the

textbooks used in this course

Preparing for the exam- Your five PRINT ads

- YOUR ANALYSIS/ KNOWLEDGE OF COURSE CONTENT

- FLUENCY/ LINGUISTIC ACCURACY (grammar, lexis, pronounciation)

YOUR GRADE WILL BE BASED ON:

1. DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE AD2. PRESENTATION (SELECTION OF THE

MOST RELEVANT FEATURES)

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR ANALYSIS

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

DIVIDE THE AD INTO SECTIONS (VERBAL COMPONENT):

- Headline- Subhead- Slogan

- Brand Name- Logo

- Signature- Body Copy...

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

DIVIDE THE AD INTO SECTIONS (VISUAL COMPONENT)

COMPOSITION Salience

Information valueFramingColours

Type of visuals (What is represented? Key visuals, Catch visuals, Focus visuals)

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

INTERESTING GRAMMATICAL FEATURES:- VERBS- SYNTAX

- MORPHOLOGY- COMPARATIVES/ SUPERLATIVES

- DEICTICS- DETERMINERS.....

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

What interactive features can you find?

(imperatives, hashtags, place and time adverbials, colloquial style, storytelling...)

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

FIGURES OF SPEECH: Metaphors, Metonymy, Synecdoche,

Personification, Irony......Sound effects (alliteration, rhyme, consonance,

assonance, onomatopoeia..)

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

WORD CHOICE: WHAT ARE THE KEY WORDS?

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

WHO IS THE TARGET OF YOUR AD?(Where did you take the ad from?)

MARKET SEGMENTATION

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

WHAT KIND OF APPEAL CAN YOU FIND?

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING CULTURAL REFERENCES?

PART 1 - ANALYSIS

INTERPRETATION/ CONTEXT

PART 2 – SELECTION/ PRESENTATION

WHEN YOU PRESENT YOUR ANALYSIS, SELECT THE MOST RELEVANT FEATURES

GIVE PROMINENCE TO THOSE ELEMENTS THAT YOU THINK ARE MOST SIGNIFICANT

PART 2 – SELECTION/ PRESENTATION

ORGANIZE YOUR TALK!

CHANTECAILLE – SAVE OUR FORESTS

There are only 850 of us left. We mountain gorillas are your cousins – our DNA is 98%

identical to yours. Half of the world's forests, our home, have already been burned. Each year, 45

acres are destroyed. You need the forests as much as we do – they

protect the world's water sources, and act as the lungs of our earth. Without them, we are all lost.

Chantecaille is proud to support the Rainforest Alliance

MOST INTERESTING FEATURES

1. The product advertised is secondary to the ethical message. Most salient image: THE

GORILLA

Personification: VISUAL: its eyes are very sad (EMOTIONAL

APPEAL), PERSONAL: it addresses the reader in the body

copy. FIRST PERSON PLURAL PRONOUN („We are

all lost“) used to create identification …..

MOST INTERESTING FEATURES

2. TARGET: (mostly) WOMEN

Yet there are no references to gender

MOST INTERESTING FEATURES

OTHER INTERESTING FEATURES: - colours, type of visuals,

Grammar (what type of sentences can we find?)Word choice (e.g. why was the word „home“

used? Why is DNA mentioned?....)How is the product presented?

….

ADVERTISING APPEAL

ADVERTISING APPEAL is the approach used to attract the attention of customers and/or to

influence their feelings towards the product or service advertised.

ADVERTISING APPEAL

ADVERTISING aims: to influence the way consumers see themselves

and to persuade them that buying certain products can be beneficial to them

MOVE PEOPLE, SPEAK TO THEIR WANTS OR NEEDS, EXCITE THEIR INTERESTS

TYPES OF ADVERTISING APPEALS – EMOTIONAL OR

RATIONAL?

HUMOR MUSIC SEX/DRIVESGENDER BEAUTY

DURABILITY PRICEQUALITY FEAR DURABILITY

SOCIAL VALUES CIVIC VALUESROMANCE ADVENTURE SCARCITY LIFESTYLE

SOCIAL CLASS VALUES …......

TYPES OF ADVERTISING APPEALS – EMOTIONAL OR

RATIONAL?

HUMOR MUSIC SEX/DRIVESGENDER BEAUTY

DURABILITY PRICEQUALITY FEAR DURABILITY

SOCIAL VALUES CIVIC VALUESROMANCE ADVENTURE SCARCITY LIFESTYLE

SOCIAL CLASS VALUES …......

What Appeal?

Scarcity appeal

What Appeal?

RATIONALITY

Scarcity

What Appeal?

EMOTION

EMOTIONAL APPEAL

RELATED TO THE INDIVIDUAL'S PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL NEEDS FOR

PURCHAISING CERTAIN PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

EMOTIONAL APPEAL

1. PERSONAL: joy, happiness, fear, safety, self-esteem...

2. SOCIAL FACTORS cause people to make purchases and include such aspects as

recognition, respect, involvement, affiliation, rejection, status and acceptance

(e.g. STEREOTYPES, ROLE MODELS, LIFESTYLE)

What Appeal?

FEAR + HUMOR

What Appeal?

RATIONALITY (milk is good for your bones, see body copy)+ HUMOR/SEX(emotional appeal)

HUMOR APPEAL

HUMOR is an element that is commonly used in advertisements.

- attention-catching device- instant recall/ memorability

RISKS: it may overshadow the message/ it may be OFFENSIVE