Language of Advertising - Essay Example

? Language of Advertising School Language of Advertising There are three different theories that this paper visits. The first is that advertising wording is most useful if it is simple. The second is that the less the words there are, the more a print advertisement actually says. The third is that using call to action phrases help to encourage someone to come in to a retail location or to make an effort to purchase a product or service. The entire goal of an advertisement is to inform someone of a product or service. Advertising also tells a reader something that they do not already know and through the use of design, captures attention. Advertising is primarily used, however, to create a cause and effect relationship between the company or business that placed the advertisement and then a reaction that is done by someone that saw the advertisement. O'Neill acknowledges that an advertisement will not work unless, “it captures our attention,” (O'Neill, 2006, 125). Advertising attempts to get people to do something or consider something that they normally would not without the additional information. Language in advertising is very important. The wording, as well as the design, can make or break the advertisement. In the case of a print advertisement, it is generally the aesthetic design and appeal of the visual advertisement itself which captures the attention of the reader. Next, it is the message that must captivate and compel the reader into taking action. That is why language is so important. In some ways, it can manipulate and in others it can persuade. The message makes the whole difference. O'Neill said that there were types of languages that were usually displayed in an advertisement such as a promise, a headline, sex appeal, a testimonial or a payoff statement (O'Neill, 2006) . None of these descriptions really tell how the language of the advertisement in question works. It makes a claim that it is “better” at something but that is it. Wording must be simple is the first part of the thesis. First off, words must be simple enough and grammatically correct so that a person can read them. A person needs to keep their advertisement simple so that it appeals to the reader. If the reader has to look up a word in a dictionary just to determine the meaning of the advertisement, then the ad is completely a lost cause. While looking at the advertisement of choice, it says, “No other gasoline protects better. The Shell Nitrogen Enriched Advantage.” This simply states that the Shell petroleum products are better than the others. They seem to have a project that they want to promote to sell the nitrogen enriched segment. The way that this is worded is easy. There is nothing to look up and it is obvious what company is promoting the advertisement and does not provide any other information. Saying less words is more is another segment of the thesis at hand. Clearly, “No other gasoline protects better. The Shell Nitrogen Enriched Advantage,” statement clearly sums it up. In fact, it sums it up so much that it really does not do anything compelling. There is no description. There is no reason why and there is no instruction as to what the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Advantage is. Most people are to take action when a statement like this is offered but in this case, they would need to know what that means. The name Shell is a petroleum and fuel company that provides gasoline. Nitrogen enriched makes it sound as though the product is environmentally friendly. However, the details are almost too vague. As a reader, there is nothing about it that makes a clear memorable statement. The third part of the thesis would be to use call to action phrases. This is another area where this advertisement fails miserably. All it does is state a fact. “No other gasoline protects better.” So what? This is more of a branding technique style advertisement than it is an urge for someone to jump to action and actually do something. One thing that the advertisement does though, according to O'Neill, is that it sets itself aside from other companies (O'Neill, 2006). It does that by using the term, “better.” There are no instructions for the reader to follow. Some instructions that would be typical would be something like, “Contact us for more information,” or “Visit your local Shell station,” or “Go online to learn more about the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Advantage.” There is nothing in this advertisement that speaks to the anticipated audience. It is not compelling. It does not make an effort to call for action and actually, other than just being a branding tool, it is really not that great of an advertisement. There is not even a logo to associate the advertisement with a company. All anyone has to do is to assume that Shell sells gasoline. Not everyone realizes that fact. There is no motivation behind this advertisement. However, in the reading, Lutz discusses that these call to action words are actually in some ways deceiving or misrepresenting, depending on how the words are used. Lutz states that, “One problem advertisers have when they try to convince you that the product they are pushing is really different from other, similar products is that their claims are subject to some laws,” (Lutz, 2010, 114). In some ways, this advertisement could be misleading. Readers have to take it at face value, assuming that Shell has gasoline products that actually are nitrogen enriched. Nitrogen enriched is a series of trendy sounding “green” word that indicates that by supporting Shell, they are protecting the environment. There is no place on this advertisement that shows where someone can go to for more information or questions about nitrogen rich gasoline. No one actually knows if their gasoline was already nitrogen enriched, if this is a step toward bettering the environment or really what it is the advertisement is promoting. While Lutz says that some words are weasel words, this advertisement does not necessarily use those. Instead, it uses a lack of words. Too few words, in fact, are used to explain what this product or initiative by Shell is. They may be claiming that this is a nitrogen enriched product but still, what does that mean to the readers and why is it even relevant? The statement when really compared to some of Lutz's weasel words though is the phrase itself, “No other gasoline protects better.” What is it protecting? It could be protecting the car, the environment, a school or the oil diggers from being poor. Another question that arises from the wording of this phrase is, how does gasoline protect anything? Gasoline helps an engine run. It does not physically, emotionally or mentally protect anything or anyone but that is what the message claims it does. The claim that Shell's gasoline protects better is making a comparison to maybe another gasoline or petrol company. The word “better” is not effective. The words in this particular advertisement do not “act” as Lutz says and therefore do not really seem to “work” either (Lutz, 2010). Some things it does right are not at all in the language of advertising at all. The aesthetics of it are nice. It is simple but as said before, it is too simple. The people look like laboratory scientists that actually maybe care about the conditions of the environment and the impact that gasoline fumes may have. The people in the design of the advertisement are the only thing that makes the advertisement credible. O'Neill claimed that advertising is merely about selling a product and he is right. However, there are deeper theories about how powerful advertising actually is. O'Neill also discusses how the image are part of the portrayal of the subject and said “Images can take the form of words.....the combination of images is the language of advertising, a language unlike any other.” Again, the scientists with their arms crossed say a lot. It makes it look like an environmental activism style advertisement. The white lab coats and the crossed arms visually tell that the company that is being promoted is serious and means business (O'Neill, 2006, 125). Works Cited Lutz, W. (2010). With these words I can sell you anything. What matters in America. Pearson/Longman, 114-120. O'Neill, C.A. (2006). The language of advertising. Exploring language. Longman, 11, 124- 130. Read More