An investigation on metaphor used in english slogans by some banks in the world

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The frequency of slogans in each type of metaphors Table 2: The frequency of each sub-types of Conceptual Metaphor Table 3: The analysis of target, source and met

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

BÙI THỊ PHƯƠNG TRANG

MINOR THESIS RECAPITULATION

AN INVESTIGATION ON METAPHOR USED IN ENGLISH

SLOGANS BY SOME BANKS IN THE WORLD.

(Nghiên cứu về ẩn dụ được sử dụng trong các câu khẩu hiệu

của một số ngân hàng trên thế giới.)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Lingustics Code: 60 22 15

Course: K18

Hanoi, 2011

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

BÙI THỊ PHƯƠNG TRANG

AN INVESTIGATION ON METAPHOR USED IN ENGLISH

SLOGANS BY SOME BANKS IN THE WORLD.

(Nghiên cứu về ẩn dụ được sử dụng trong các câu khẩu hiệu

của một số ngân hàng trên thế giới.)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Lingustics Code: 60 22 15

Course: K18 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Thơm Thơm, M.A.

Hanoi, 2011

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The frequency of slogans in each type of metaphors

Table 2: The frequency of each sub-types of Conceptual Metaphor

Table 3: The analysis of target, source and metaphor concepts in slogans of conceptualmetaphor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Acknowledgements……… i

Abstract……… ii

List of tables………iii

Table of contents……… iv

PART A – INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale……… 1

2. Aims and Objectives of the Study……… 2

3. Scope of the Study……… 3

4. Methodology……… 3

5. Design of the Study……… 4

PART B – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 – LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of metaphor……… 5

1.2 Types of metaphor……… 8

1.2.1 Conceptual/Conventional metaphors……… 9

1.2.1.1 Definition……… 10

1.2.1.2 Target domain and Source domain ……… ……… 10

1.2.1.3 Classification……… 10

1.2.1.3.1 Ontological metaphors……… 11

1.2.1.3.2 Structural metaphors……… 12

1.2.1.3.3 Orientational metaphors……… 13

1.2.2 Mixed metaphors……… 13

1.2.3 New metaphors……… 14

1.3 Advertising ……… 16

1.4 Slogan as a part of an advertisement……… 17

1.4.1 Definition of a slogan……… 17

1.4.2 Requirements of an effective slogan……… 20

1.4.3 Typical features of banks’ slogans……… 21

1.5 Review of previous studies……… 21

CHAPTER 2 – AN ANALYSIS ON METAPHOR IN BANKS’ SLOGANS 2.1 Slogans – an integral part for banks’ development……… 23

2.2 The exploitation of metaphor in banks’ slogans……… 25

2.3 Procedures……… 28

2.3.1 Data collection……… 28

2.3.2 Data analysis……… 28

2.4 The analysis……… 29

2.5 Formulating of the research questions……… 32

2.6 Results and discussions……… 32

2.6.1 Research question 1……… 32

2.6.2 Research question 2……… 34

2.7 Concluding remark……… 35

PART C – SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION……… 37

REFERENCES………. 40

APPENDICES I

PART A: INTRODUCTION

The first chapter states the research problem and justifies the rationale for the study.Afterwards, the aims, objectives, scope as well as methodology of the study arepresented The chapter ends with an overview of later chapters to provide a clearoutline for the whole paper

1 Rationale

We are now living in an epoch of information explosion in which advertising seems

to be an integral part of the media It cannot be denied that advertising is anindispensable element of our social and economic system Everyday, many productsand services are introduced via the media; therefore, advertising is so familiar toeveryone It is all around us We are exposed to so much advertising Just as Clark, B.(1998) says: “ the average man lives with the advertising man‟s work more hours aday than with his family, and is certainly more familiar with advertising slogans thanwith the proverbs in his bible.” Advertising is a powerful tool for the flow ofinformation from the seller to the buyer It persuades people to believe and purchase.There are many elements in making a successful advertisement Slogans can beconsidered to be one major factor Memorable, understandable, meaningful andcompetitive slogans can be effective when customers need products or services.Metaphor is used by people to understand an abstract concept by referring to aconcrete one It appears so often and is utilized so widely that sometimes we use itsubconsciously and without realizing it Lakoff and Turner (1989:1) suppose it as

“omnipresent”, “accessible to everyone” and “irreplaceable” As a matter of fact, amastery of metaphor has been acquired to be used in our daily lives and it helps usunderstand the world around us

Metaphor has been applied to all walks of life for centuries, such as politics, economyand the entertainment industry With the fast commercialization of the society and thebooming of the media industry, advertising, as one of the most efficient ways ofpublicizing products, has become an indispensable part of our life and “a majormanifestation of conceptual metaphors”(Kövecses 2002:59) The selling power of theadvertisements largely depends on the conceptual metaphors (pictures or words) used

in them A well-chosen metaphor will greatly prompt people‟s desire to buy a certainproduct

A mass of previous discussion has been focused on the metaphors used in the field ofadvertising For example, Anderson (1998) has investigated the use of metaphor inon-line advertising and Lundmark (2005) has discussed metaphor and creativity inBritish magazine advertising

However, among the previous discussion, less attention has been paid to the slogans

of advertising, which perhaps are some of the most powerful component elements ofall the advertisements They are widely used to attract potential consumers‟ attentionand may be the very essence of advertising This study mainly focuses on the slogans

in the field of banking advertising and discusses the metaphors used in those sloganswith the title: “An investigation on metaphor used in some banks‟ slogans in theworld.” It focuses on metaphor classification based on Lakoff and Johnson‟s theoryand its application to some banks‟ slogans

2 Aims and objectives of the study

The study aims to find out the frequency of different metaphor types used in banks‟slogans

After an initial analysis described in chapter 2, the research questions can beformulated as:

Question 1

Is conceptual metaphor most frequently exploited in banks‟ slogans?

Question 2

Is there an outstanding favor towards the ontological metaphor?

3 Scope of the study

All the chosen slogans in this study are taken from the advertisements of banks inEnglish-speaking countries or international brands

In this study, the analysis is based on Lakoff and Johnson‟s theory of metaphor todiscuss each type of metaphor used in the chosen banks‟ slogans

Due to the limitation of a minor thesis, only 20 banks‟ slogans are selected to beanalyzed

4 Methodology

First, the banks‟ slogans were selected and classified After that, the metaphorical use

of words and expressions was identified and categorized into four categoriesaccording to both of their source domain and target domain Then the theory ofconceptual metaphor has been applied in the analysis and discussion of thosemetaphorical expressions

In fact, the research is a descriptive study as it “involves a collection of techniquesused to specify, delineate, or describe naturally occurring phenomena withoutexperimental manipulation” (Seliger & Shohamy, 1989:124) Therefore, thecollection of data will be carried out through non-intrusive and non-manipulativeprocedures The descriptive approach helps to investigate into the frequency ofmetaphor types among banks‟ slogans

The combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods is used in this study.They help us to have a general picture over the selected cases Qualitative analysisallows us to carefully research each specific case

After using quantification and classification to recognize the frequencies and divideselected slogans into groups of types and sub-types, two research questions for afurther study would be given and demonstrated later based on the result of theclassification.

5 Design of the study

The study consists of five chapters:

In the PART A entitled “INTRODUCTION”, all the academic routine required for astudy is represented

PART B is DEVELOPMENT, the body of the thesis, including three chapters.Chapter 1, with the title “LITERATURE REVIEW”, gives a theoretical background

to this study the definition of metaphor and promotional metaphor In addition, thetypical classification of metaphors by Lakoff and Johnson is asserted as a theory basefor the specific classification of metaphor types exploited in selected slogans as well

as the definitions of advertising and advertising slogans This chapter also reflectssome previous researches on advertising and advertisements

Chapter 2 is named “AN ANALYSIS ON METAPHOR IN BANKS‟ SLOGANS”focusing on the importance of slogans to advertising as well as banks‟ development.Besides, in this chapter, an analysis of 20 banks‟ slogans is carried out to help theauthor achieve the best result in the study It also includes the Results andDiscussions This section presents results and findings, which have been proved andobtained from the analysis in the previous part

Part C – CONCLUSION gives the overall recapitulations, implications of the study

as well as suggests for further researches

In brief, the chapter has discussed the research problem, rationale for the study, scope

as well as methods of the study Ending the chapter is the overview of the rest of thepaper With such content, this chapter acts as a guideline or orientation for thedevelopment of the later chapters of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, the theoretical matters related to the analysis will be discussed.Firstly, an overview on metaphors in general with its definition and its types areintroduced Secondly, it is necessary to mention and discuss the relationship betweenadvertising and slogans Thirdly, a review of previous studies is also presented

Metaphor is defined as the substitution of one idea or object with another, used toassist expression or understanding Some theorists have suggested that metaphors arenot merely stylistic, but that they are cognitively important as well Lakoff andJohnson also argue that “metaphors are pervasive in everyday life, not just inlanguage, but also in thought and action.” (1980:3) Metaphors are around us.Metaphors are not the matter of language, but they also exist in the way we think andact

A common definition of a metaphor can be described as a comparison that showshow two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in another important way.They explain how a metaphor is simply being understood and experienced one kind

of thing in terms of another The authors call this concept a “conduit metaphor” Bythis they mean that a speaker can put ideas or objects into words or containers, and

then send them along a channel, or conduit, to a listener who takes that idea or objectout of the container and makes meaning of it.

Lakoff and Johnson give several examples of daily metaphors we use, such as

“argument is war” and “time is money.” Metaphors are widely used in context to

describe personal meaning As metaphor can convey the imagination of the languageusers so it is more persuasive and effective in communication

In Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary (1995: 734), metaphor is defined as “theimaginative use of a word or a phrase to describe somebody/something as anotherobject in order to show that they have the same qualities and as to make thedescription more forceful”, so a metaphor not only explains by making the abstract orunknown concrete and familiar, but it also enlivens by touching the reader‟simagination Further, it affirms one more interconnection in the unity of all things byshowing a relationship between things seemingly alien to each other Let‟s have alook at this advertisement of an investment company: Investment company: “You are

the traveler Your investments are the terrain We are the map.” From this example,

we can easily identify the meaning the advertisement intends to convey and find outwhat the metaphor refers to

However, it is very important to distinguish metaphor from simile and metonymy

because they are closely related

Metaphor and simile are forms of comparison Metaphor compares two different

things by speaking of one in terms of the other Metaphor asserts that one thing is

another thing not just that one is like another Simile is a comparison between twodifferent things that resemble each other in at least one way In advertising the simile

is a device both of art and explanation, comparing an unfamiliar thing to somefamiliar thing (an object, event, process, etc.) known to the reader The simile is

usually introduced by “like”, “as” For example:

E.g Like your baby, kittens need more nutrition than adult cats.

“Metonymy and metaphor also have fundamentally different functions Metonymy is

about referring: a method of naming or identifying something by mentioning

something else which is a component part or symbolically linked In contrast,metaphor is about understanding and interpretation: it is a means to understand orexplain one phenomenon by describing it in terms of another." (Knowles, M &Moon,R.,2006)

Metonymy is understood as a conceptual process where the target entity is referred to

by the vehicle entity The vehicle entity can direct attention or provide mental access

to the target entity Examples are as follows (borrowed from Lakoff and Johnson‟s2003:37):

He bought a Ford.

The sax has the flu today.

Nixon bombed Hanoi.

(Lakoff & Johnson, 2003:37)

In the above examples, one entity (the vehicle entity) is used to refer to the other (thetarget entity) The producer is used to refer to the product, the object used refers tothe user and the controller refers to the controlled It can be conceived that in all thethree cases above, the vehicle entity and the target entity are contiguous and closelyrelated

Metaphor and metonymy are two kinds of transference of meaning However,metaphor is based on the association of similarity and metonymy based on theassociation of contiguity Look at an example of metonymy

E.g The pen is mightier than the sword.

(Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1839)

In this example, the word “the pen” refers to literary power and the word “the

sword” refers to military force This is done on the basis of part-whole relation inwhich the name of the part is used to refer to the whole

Despite the difference, metonymy, like metaphor, is also a conceptual process It doesnot occur randomly or arbitrarily It cannot be viewed merely as an isolated merelinguistic phenomenon Metonymy, like metaphor, is also a reflection of our dailyexperience and a reflection of how we think of the world around us Take themetonymic linguistic expressions for the metonymy THE FACE FOR THE PERSON

as examples:

She has just a pretty face.

There are an awful lot of faces out there in the audience.

We need some new faces around here.

(Lakoff and Johnson 2003:38)This metonymy occurs frequently in our everyday life, and it is based on oureveryday experiences It is common for us to remember and think of a person by hisface, and by seeing someone‟s face, you can say that you have seen somebody, not

by seeing his other body parts

Moreover, if you want to keep a photograph of someone, the person‟s face has toappear on the photo Thus, metonymy is not just a characteristic of language It isgrounded in our experience, such as our thoughts, attitudes and action (Lakoff &Johnson 2003:40)

Metaphor can be classified in many ways based on different approaches For thisstudy, I think it should be in the light of Lakoff and Johnson‟s classification onmetaphors

1.2 Types of metaphor

Before the publication of the great work, metaphor was viewed by most people as anextraordinary form of language rather than a form of language used in everyday life

It was understood to mostly appear in poetry and literary works for the sake ofdecoration and beautification It was considered to be a language phenomenon alone.However, in the work of Lakoff and Johnson, metaphor is seen as a conceptualprocess that people use to understand and categorize the world around them It existseverywhere and plays an important role in our daily life It exists not only inlanguage but in thought and action as well (Lakoff & Johnson 2003:4)

1.2.1 Conceptual/Conventional metaphors

1.2.1.1 Definition

In cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor is perceived as a figurative comparison

in which an idea (or conceptual domain) is understood in terms of another In GeorgeLakoff and Johnson‟s work, 1980, the fundamental basis of Conceptual Metaphortheory is that metaphor is not particularly about language at all, but rather aboutthought Conceptual metaphors link two conceptual domains, the source domain andthe target domain The source domain consists of concrete and physical concept whilethe target domain tends to be abstract In the example: “Life is a journey”, we can seethat the way we speak about life in English is similar to the way we speak aboutjourney People use the concept of journey to understand the highly abstract concept

of life The metaphor uses everyday experience with a journey The two domainsinvolved in a conceptual metaphor are called the target domain and the sourcedomain And the source domain is used to understand the target domain Normallythe target domain is more abstract (as LIFE) and the source domain is more concrete(as JOURNEY) (Kövecses 2002:4)

Metaphors are naturally and effortlessly used by English speakers in their daily life

For example, when people talk We’ll just have to go our separate ways, the

conceptual metaphor LOVE IS A JOURNEY is used, however, most people even do

not realize that they use the metaphorical expression go our separate ways to

comprehend the concept of love (Kovecses, 2002: 30) Therefore, we can call this

kind of well established and highly conventionalized metaphors conventionalmetaphors The conventional conceptual metaphors like ARGUMENT IS WAR,LIFE IS A JOURNEY, IDEAS ARE FOOD, THEORIES ARE BUILDINGS, etc arewidely mentioned to understand abstract domains for communicational purposes.However, it is often the case that the conventional metaphors are manifested by

unconventional metaphorical expression, for example: “Stop the world I want to get off.” Kovecses (2002:31) This sentence derives from the underlying conventional

conceptual metaphors LIFE IS A JOURNEY but it is expressed in an unconventionalway as the life is metaphorically described like a journey on the bus Brieflyspeaking, no matter applied to the conventional metaphoric expressions orunconventional ones, the journey metaphors frequently occur among conventionalmetaphors

1.2.1.2 Target domain and Source domain of Conceptual metaphor

“The domain that is mapped is called the source domain, and the domain onto which the source is mapped is called target domain.” (Lakoff and Johnson, 1987).

Conceptualist views consider metaphor as a cognitive mechanism used to structureour knowledge in the mind by means of one domain of experience understood interms of another domain The nature of this metaphor is explained following amapping process from a source domain onto a target domain Richards (1936) calls

them the tenor and the vehicle.

Take the metaphor “She is a snake.” for example The source domain in this example

is a snake and the target domain is she Normally, a snake is thought of as a

dangerous and poisonous animal This woman is seen to share some commonfeatures with a snake The metaphor is formed on this basis

1.2.1.3 Classification

According to Kovecses (2002: 29), the metaphors can be classified in the light of theconventionality and function of metaphors There are conventional metaphors and

unconventional metaphors based on the degree of conventionality On the basis ofdifferent functions, conceptual metaphors can be divided into structural metaphors,ontological metaphors and orientational metaphors (Kovecses, 2002:33).

1.2.1.3.1 Ontological metaphors

Ontological metaphor is perceived as a metaphor in which “an abstraction, such as anactivity, emotion, or idea, is represented as something concrete, such as an object,substance, container, or person” Ontological metaphors can also be understood asentity and substance metaphors (Lakoff & Johnson 2003:26) Ontological metaphorsare based on our experience with the physical world around us When things we want

to refer to are not very concrete and do not have a clear physical shape, we tend tounderstand them as entities or substances Take the INFLATION IS AN ENTITYmetaphor (Lakoff & Johnson 2003:27) as an example Inflation is understood as anentity and it enables us to refer to and qualify it in the following sentences (Lakoff &Johnson 2003:27):

Inflation is lowering our standard of living.

If there‟s much more inflation, we‟ll never survive We need to combat inflation.

Inflation is hacking us in to a corner.

In the above cases, inflation is understood as something that can affect out lives and

be combated The use of ontological metaphor enables people to talk about and

understand inflation as a physical entity

For more detailed, this kind of metaphor is further classified into container, entity andsubstance metaphor A containment metaphor in which a concept is represented ashaving an inside and outside, and capable of holding something else such as in:

I‟ve had a full life.

An entity metaphor, in which an abstraction is represented as a concrete physicalobject or may be a person

E.g My mind just isn‟t operating today.

Another kind of ontological metaphor is substance metaphor A substance metaphor

is an ontological metaphor in which an abstraction, such as an event, activity,emotion, or idea, is represented as material

E.g There was a lot of good sprinting in the race.

1.2.1.3.2 Structural metaphors

Structural metaphor is one kind of conceptual metaphors classified on the basis ofconceptual functions Structural metaphors are defined as “cases where one concept

is metaphorically structured in terms of another” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980)

In structural metaphors, rich structure knowledge is provided by the source domainfor the target concept By the structure of the source, the speakers are able tounderstand the target The understanding process happens when the elements of thesource are conceptually mapped onto the elements of the target (Kövecses 2002: 33).Structural metaphors have something to do with our experience and allow us to use

“one highly structured and clearly delineated concept to structure another” (Lakoff &Johnson, 2003:62), just as Lovecses asserts that in structural metaphors, the sourcedomain provides relatively richer knowledge structure to help people understand theconcept of the target through mappings (Kovecses, 2002: 33).Take the TIME ISMOTION metaphor as an example Here, time is structured according to motion andspace and we can get the following mappings in this metaphor (Kövecses 2002: 33):

Times are things

The passing of time is motion

Future times are in front of the observer; past times are behind the observer

One thing is moving, the other is stationary; the stationary thing is the deictic center Our concept and understanding of time is structured and understood in this way Without structural metaphor, it would be difficult to understand and imagine what our concept of time would be

1.2.1.3.3 Orientational metaphors

There is one more kind of conventional metaphor – orientational metaphor, in which

concepts are spatially related to each other, as in the following ways: Up or down, in

or out, front or back, on or off, deep or shallow, central or peripheral The cognitive

function of orientational metaphor is a series of target concepts coherent in ourconceptual system

1.2.2 Mixed metaphors

Mixed metaphors can be defined as different metaphors occurring in the same

utterance, especially the same sentence that is used to express the same concept Hereare some sentences, which present a mixture of the argument-as-journey andargument-as-container metaphors The first three sentences are acceptable; the lasttwo are marginally acceptable

At this point our argument doesn‟t have much content.

In what we‟ve done so far, we have provided the core of our argument.

If we keep going the way we’re going, we‟ll fit all the facts in.

We can now follow the path of the core of the argument.

The content of the argument proceeds as follows …

Mixed metaphors are divided into impermissible and permissible mixed metaphors.Impermissible mixed metaphors are metaphors that conflict because they servedifferent purposes The argument-as-journey and argument-as-container metaphorsserve different purposes Argument-as-journey can address the “direction” of theargument and the argument-as-container can address the “amount of content” of theargument Permissible mixed metaphors are mixed metaphors that do not conflictwith each other because they serve the same purpose, and exhibit a correlation witheach other

E.g.: Love is a collaborative work of art.

(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980)

Ortony (1993:2) points out that metaphor can be regarded as “an essentialcharacteristic of the creativity of language” or “deviant and parasitic upon normaluse” It is often the case that metaphors used in creative works such as literary works,advertisements and films are different from metaphors in our everyday life They areusually more creative and new

Creative people such as advertisers usually create novel metaphors to meet variousneeds As a result, there is a widespread view held by most people that these creativeand novel metaphors belong to a distinct and independent category from ordinarymetaphors This view is only partially true When talented people create newmetaphors for their creative works, they do not simply leave the ordinary metaphorsbehind On the other hand, they make use of a great deal of conventional andeveryday metaphors Actually “everyday language and the everyday conceptualsystem contribute a great deal” to their works (Kövecses 2002:43)

To create novel and unconventional metaphors, several devices have to be employed

in the reworking of normal and everyday language These include extending,

elaboration, questioning and combining (Kövecses 2002: 47).

In extending, a new conceptual element is introduced in the source domain to analready existing conventional metaphor and the ordinary conceptual metaphor isexpressed by new metaphorical linguistic expressions Take the following twolinguistic expressions as examples (Kövecses 2002: 47):

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by

In the middle of life‟s road

I found myself in a dark wood

In both of the two examples, the conventional metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY isutilized and at the same time the ordinary metaphor is expressed in a new way In thefirst case, a traveler is faced with two roads leading to the destination on his way Thenovel element here is that of the two roads, one may be chosen less frequently thanthe other The novel element in the second example is that one‟s road may gothrough a dark wood

What is common for the two cases is that the novel metaphors are created by usingand extending conventional metaphors An “unused” element is added in the creativeprocess (Kövecses 2002: 47)

The difference between elaboration and extension lies in that in elaboration, peopleelaborate on an already existing element of the source in detail rather than adding anew element to the source domain (Kövecses 2002: 47)

According to Lakoff and Turner (1989), Horace refers to death as the “eternal exile

of the raft” The conventional metaphor DEATH IS DEPARTURE is reflected in thisexpression but is elaborated by detailing the type and means of departure (exile andraft) It includes details instead of adding new elements from the source as in the case

of extension That departure is described in terms of exile helps us understand thatdeath is viewed as something enforced upon us Choosing a raft as the means oftransport indicates that there is no certain destination (Lakoff & Turner 1989: 67-69)

Several conventional everyday metaphors can be combined in a single metaphoricallinguistic expression to create novel metaphors It is said to be “perhaps the mostpowerful mechanism to go beyond our everyday conceptual system” (Kövecses2002:49) Take the expression below as an example:

You took away the light of my life

In this short sentence, light is understood as a substance that can be took away andlife is understood as a substance that has light At least two conventional metaphorsare combined here, namely LIGHT IS A SUBSTANCE and A LIFE TIME IS A DAY.The combination of conventional metaphors thus enables the creation of new ones.Generally, there are three main types of metaphors which areconceptual/conventional, mixed and new metaphors Basing on these, 20 selectedbanks‟ slogans will be classified

1.3 Advertising

Advertising is one of the key elements in building a brand personality, which isequally important to the marketer & consumers Now advertising is an integral part

of our social and economic system Everyday we are exposed to so much advertising

Of all business activities, probably none is better known, more widely discussed, ormore highly criticized by the public than advertising One reason for this is thatadvertising has become the spokesman for business As a form of masscommunication closely linked with the world of commerce and marketing,advertising is a powerful tool for the flow of information from the seller to the buyer

It influences and persuades people to act or believe It is also something whichaffects most of us in a number of different spheres of our lives It not only influencesany human society but also reflects certain aspects of that society‟s values andstructure No surprise that most of groups and companies are willing to pay almosttheir turnover on advertising There are many special and specific reasons for using

advertising: announcing a new product or service, expanding the market, announcing

a modification or a price change, challenging competition, recruiting of staff andattracting investors, etc

The important role of advertising is very clear, but how to make a good advertisement

is not easy A successful advertisement is expected to fulfill five functions namely (1)attracting attention, (2) commanding interest, (3) creating desire, (4) inspiringconviction and (5) provoking action (Vestergaard and Shrodder, 1985)

(1) A good advertisement has to make the consumers pay attention on theproduct The consumers cannot focus on other things To achieve this,advertisers usually make their advertisements special and unique

(2) Rousing consumers‟ interest is another factor in making a successfuladvertisement The interest may be from eye-catching images, exciting songsthat easy to sing, meaningful contents, etc

(3) The advertisement should stimulate consumers‟ desire to own the productand make them realize that this product is the thing they want

(4) The introduction of an advertisement should convince the consumer on theproduct It makes them firstly think about the product when they need

5) The advertising urges consumers to take the action of purchasing It is here that the topmost task of advertising is completed

All these five functions are inter-related and in concert serve to promote the selling power of the product advertised

1.4 Slogan as a part of an advertisement

1.4.1 Definition of a slogan

A slogan is “a short easily remembered phrase, especially one used to advertise an idea or a product.” (Cambridge Dictionaries Online)

A slogan is a sentence that distinguishes advertisements from both each other and thetexts A slogan may be compared with the headline of an article A slogan is a form ofverbal logo In a print advertising, it usually appears just beneath or beside the brandname or logo A slogan sums up what one stand for, one‟s specialty, the benefit, andone‟s marketing position, and one‟s commitment It is especially useful to reinforceone‟s identity Slogans have two basic purposes: to provide continuity to a series ofads in a campaign and to reduce an advertising message strategy to a brief,repeatable, and memorable positioning.

In his book, Creative Advertising, Whittier (1958: 11) states that a slogan

“… should be a statement of such merit about a product or service that it is worthy ofcontinuous repetition in advertising, is worthwhile for the public to remember, and isphrased in such a way that the public is likely to remember it.”

Advertising slogans are nothing but creative phrases that represents a product forcenturies The best advertising slogans are made with the idea of recollecting easilyand making people brand loyal The slogans are created on the basis of thecharacteristics of a product; a phrase should resemble a product and make peopleaware about the uses of the product Let‟s have a quick look at the short list ofadvertising slogans of the century:

DeBeers: Diamonds are forever

Coca-Cola: The Pause that refreshes

Avis: We try harder

Nike: Just do it

Clairol: Does she … or doesn‟t she?

Wendy‟s: Where‟s the beef?

Advertising slogans play a vital role especially when you have to create your brandimage in front of the customers when there are other rival companies vying forattention A highly effective slogan would generally state: the benefits of the product,

compare the product with other products, a simple statement describing the product, awitty statement, makes the consumer feel good, and its memorable one, and creates adesire to buy the product There are different industries catering to particular productsand then there are umbrella brands having all types of products, some createindividual slogans for each product while some have common slogan for all Givenbelow are list of advertising slogans that created history and are still rememberedafter centuries:

Molson Canadian Beer: I am Canadian

Apple Computer: Think outside the box

Energizer Batteries: Keeps going and going and going

WINS Radio, New York: You give us 22 minutes, we‟ll give you the

world

Maybelline

Trustee Savings Bank: The bank that likes to say Yes

There are many different replaced terms for the word “slogans” in other countries, forexample:

1.4.2 Requirements of an effective slogan

The advertising slogan is always short and epigrammatic in nature It helps to make the advertisement more impressive and memorable (XUE Hangrong, 2003:206) A slogan should

1. be memorable

2. recall the brand name

3. include a key benefit

4. differentiate the brand

5. impart positive feelings for the brand

6. reflect the brand's personality