Since Leech published his pioneering work English in Advertising in 1966, the relevance of advertising increased steadily in linguistics during the twentieth century (Bell, 1995: 32). The term advertising itself means ‘to turn towards’, thus one of the central and obvious aims of advertising is to get the recipient’s attention (Goddard, 1998: 6). Additionally, the initiator aims to attract and persuade a specific target group and thus consciously intends to benefit from the textual components of an advertisement, either directly and commercially or indirectly through an enhanced brand image (Goddard, 1998: 7). Hence advertising texts often involve a complex interpretation of the reader decoding the message (Goddard, 1998: 10). Developing a persuasive and successful advert demands a high degree of creativity and linguistic skills (Bell, 1995: 32). Besides metaphors, puns or alliterations, phraseological units are frequently used as a popular tool in advertising language (Bell, 1995: 32; Fiedler, 2007: 103).
In the following, my focus will be on the topic of modification of phraseological units in advertising as beneficial influencer on the audience’s attitude towards a product, using the example of a print advert of Volkswagen’s ‘As sun as possible’ campaign for the Beetle Cabriolet. The aim of this work is to prove the relevance and the favourable effects of transformed phraseological units in an empirical study dealing with the advert of Volkswagen. Phraseological Units are modified in the ‘As sun as possible’ campaign of Volkswagen to profit from the underlying original meaning and to add a personalised meaning fitting the particular product in order to favourably and efficiently affect the relevant audience.
In order to show this, the present work will first create a theoretical basis about the concept of phraseological units. There, I will concentrate on the terminology and explain central features of phraseological units and how they are used in adverts. Then I will initially consider the possibilities for a modification of phraseological units on a general basis. In the following, this knowledge will be expanded by an elaboration of the most frequently used techniques for modification in advertising and an explanation of the advantages and challenges. This theoretical knowledge about phraseological units and their features will be exemplarily applied to the ‘As sun as possible’ campaign of Volkswagen...
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Characteristics of Phraseological Units
2.1. Determination of Phraseological Units
2.1.1. Definition
2.1.2. Features of Phraseological Units
2.2. Modification of Phraseological Units in Advertising
2.2.1. Characteristics of Modification
2.2.2. Common Types of Modification in Advertising
2.2.3. Advantages and Challenges
2.3. Application of Phraseological Units in the ‘ASAP’ Campaign of VW
3. Empirical Analysis – Effects of Phraseological Units in Advertising
3.1. Data Collection and Analysis
3.2. Description and Interpretation of Findings
3.2.1. Findings of Warm-Up and Socio-Demographic Data
3.2.2. Perception and Effects of Modification
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Topics
This study aims to examine the linguistic modification of phraseological units (PUs) in advertising and assess their psychological impact on consumers. By analyzing the Volkswagen 'As Sun As Possible' campaign for the Beetle Cabriolet, the research evaluates how transforming idiomatic expressions influences brand perception, target group engagement, and product attractiveness.
- Theoretical foundations of phraseological units and their modification techniques in advertising.
- Application of intertextuality and hypertextuality in promotional language.
- Quantitative analysis of consumer perception regarding modified PUs.
- Investigation of the effectiveness of visual and textual coherence in advertisements.
- Assessment of how linguistic creativity affects purchase activation and brand image.
Excerpt from the Book
2.2.3. Advantages and Challenges
Using PUs in advertisements offers several advantages to reach the customer efficiently. First of all, the application of idioms in general creates attention through the impression of familiarity (Fiedler, 2007: 103). Secondly, the reader becomes more interested in the particular product, because of the transformation of the originally known unit, which creates new associations and a mystery that one tries to solve (Hermeren, 1999: 101). The audience not only feels attracted by the creativity of such adverts, but they feel in particular be taken seriously, because of the challenging and pleasurable tasks to decode both, the literal and metaphorical message (Fiedler, 2007: 103). Additionally, this intellectual demand, fitting the lexicon of the target group, enables one to exclude or include a certain group of people (Hermeren, 1999: 102). The portrayed recycling techniques enable a combination of a unique and artistic transformation that includes humour during the decoding, thus the capacity of remembering is successfully increased by using modified PUs in adverts (Fiedler, 2007: 103-104; Wyer, 2002: 707).
Besides these advantageous effects, there are also some challenges to overcome. Hence, it is essential to choose a PU that is available in the common language use of the target group; otherwise the message can be misunderstood or not decoded at all (Beniuliene and Ridzeviciene, 2004: 16). The author presumes a certain available knowledge, which he does not explicitly assert, but is closely linked to the words and structures used in the utterance, thus the reader can infer the meaning (Dzanic, 2007: 46-47). This concept is called presupposition and assumes that the audience can comprehend the underlying message (Dzanic, 2007: 47). To be precisely, the author has to choose a PU that is available in the lexicon of the target group and modify it, thus the original version is still recognisable. Especially non-native speaker have difficulties to get the figurative meaning of a modified PU: firstly, they need to be familiar with the original one, and secondly, they need to understand the modification and its effect (Fiedler, 2007: 90).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the importance of advertising language and introduces the research focus on modified phraseological units in the Volkswagen 'As Sun As Possible' campaign.
2. Characteristics of Phraseological Units: This section defines phraseological units, details their linguistic features such as stability and idiomaticity, and explores various strategies for modification in advertising contexts.
3. Empirical Analysis – Effects of Phraseological Units in Advertising: This chapter describes the quantitative methodology used in the survey and presents the interpretation of data regarding consumer perception and the effectiveness of the modified advertisements.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes the main findings, confirming that modified PUs are efficient instruments to gain attention and enhance brand values when chosen appropriately for the target audience.
Keywords
Phraseological Units, Advertising Language, Linguistic Modification, Volkswagen, Beetle Cabriolet, Intertextuality, Hypertextuality, Consumer Perception, Quantitative Survey, Brand Image, Idiomaticity, Marketing Communication, ASAP Campaign, Semantic Differential, Substitution Technique
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The work investigates the use and impact of modified phraseological units in advertising, specifically analyzing how these linguistic changes influence consumer attitudes toward a product.
What are the primary themes discussed?
Central themes include the linguistic definition of idioms, techniques like substitution and expansion, the role of intertextuality in advertising, and the psychological impact of creative messaging on consumer behavior.
What is the primary objective of the study?
The aim is to prove that transforming well-known phraseological units can favorably influence consumer perception, increase interest in a brand, and effectively convey a product's unique selling points.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author employs a quantitative online survey conducted with 105 participants, using Likert scales and semantic differentials to measure the connotative meaning and associations of specific linguistic modifications.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It covers theoretical definitions, common modification strategies, a practical analysis of the Volkswagen 'ASAP' campaign, and a detailed breakdown of the survey results regarding demographic factors and advertising effectiveness.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Phraseological Units, Advertising Language, Linguistic Modification, Consumer Perception, and Brand Image.
How did the modification of 'As soon as possible' affect participants?
The modified version, 'As sun as possible', successfully shifted participant associations from 'urgency' and 'business' toward 'summer feelings', 'holidays', and 'warmth', while maintaining the product's connection to speed.
What did the analysis reveal about the 'Father and Sun' advertisement?
The analysis showed that this modification utilized the visual components of the cars to reinforce trust and familiarity, successfully leveraging the original 'Beetle' cult status for the new model.
- Quote paper
- Barbara Lohmann (Author), 2014, Phraseological Units in Advertising. An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Modified Linguistic Expressions, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/277601
