Word Play in Advertising

ENG 3030
Fall 2001

 

The English language, as with other languages, is one that is fascinating to study. There are so many ways for a person to say what he or she means, and so many interpretations to read into what someone says. The combinations of just a few words can have a most interesting response from a variety of audiences. This is evident in literature, in speech, and also – perhaps more obviously – in advertising. Advertisements use and manipulate the English language in a creative way, in order to attract the attention of potential consumers. In the following paper, two advertisements from two different professional magazines will be analyzed to see exactly how they use language to suit their intent.

The first advertisement being examined is in the July 2001 issue of Entrepreneur on page four, and is an ad for Covad brand DSL services. It is a full-page, color ad. The top half of the page contains a photograph. Within the picture is an older man with gray hair, approximately sixty years of age. He is well dressed in a light blue, button-down shirt; red and blue striped tie; dark navy or black slacks; and polished black shoes. The man is sitting in a patch of sand, which is either a part of a playground or a golf course. His torso and legs are pointed at a forty-five degree angle away from the camera, and his head is turned at a full ninety-degree angle; only his left profile is visible. There is a look of defiance on his face. Next to him are a yellow toy tractor, a blue plastic shovel, and a plastic bucket – children’s toys. In his hands is a yellow toy dump truck. The man is holding the truck to one side of his body with both hands. On the opposite side of the man’s legs, two small children stand. One is a boy and the other is a girl; they appear to be about four or five years of age. They are both looking at the man with unhappy looks on their faces. The girl stands with both arms extended entreatingly towards the man. The boy stands with his arms crossed firmly over his chest. Without reading the text for an explanation, the situation is clear: the elderly man has either taken the children’s toys or has monopolized the use of shared toys. Either way, the humor is evident.

Directly below the photograph of the elderly man and the two small children is a line of white text on a strip of dark blue background: “Contrary to what you learned in preschool, sometimes it’s best not to share” (Entrepreneur 4). First, and most noticeable, is the fact that this is a complete sentence. Grammatically, it is perfect: dependent clause followed by independent clause. Yet, the sentence has a sense of formality to it, broken only by the conversational “it’s”. Consider the word “Contrary”; usually this word is used in more formal works of writing, such as papers, reports, etc. What would happen if “Contrary to…” were replaced with the more frequently heard “Despite…”? The sentence would take on a more conversational tone, which perhaps would not work quite as well with the rest of the advertisement’s text. Secondly, the sentence is also very indirect. It does not say, “Don’t share.” Such direct commands in advertisements often result in the exact opposite of their intended reaction; people turn away because they don’t like to be told what to do. Thus, since this product wants to attract consumers and not repel them, it softens its message adding that dependent clause, “Contrary to what you learned in preschool”, before the main point of the text, which is, “…sometimes it’s best not to share”.

Finally, the bottom half of the page consists of a paragraph of black text on a lighter blue background. This text is smaller than that text which has already been discussed, and is only meant to be read after a reader’s curiosity has already been captured by the photograph and the attention getter. It explains what the product/service is that is being advertised, and why it is in the best interest of a business to use this service. The paragraph begins by building on above line by stating: “Take high-speed Internet access for example.” Here, the language takes on a more casual, rather than formal, tone. The more direct word “Take” in this situation is more often found in conversation. (For example, “Now, take this situation with John and Mary…”) On the other hand, the more indirect, less-imperative “Consider” is more frequently found in writing. (For example, “Consider the following benefits of maintaining a healthy diet…”) One would think that this paragraph would retain the same formal tone as the advertisement’s previous text; yet that is not the case. In this paragraph there are half a dozen contractions, such as “that’s,” “you’re,” “won’t”, and “we’ll,” and even a couple of sentence fragments, of which one is “Seems neighborly enough.” Another interesting fact about the language in this paragraph is that it uses the word “choose.” Usually, this is often seen as a positive thing. People have free will and have the ability to choose to do or not to do whatever they like. Yes, in this situation “choose” also implies that the reader has control over his or her own life, actions, and money. However, the tone of it seems somehow negative. The sentence in which the word appears is as follows: “But if you choose cable as your solution [instead of Covad DSL]” then you are risking exposure of your business’ confidential information. So, in this case, if a person exerts his or her free will to not buy the services of Covad DSL, then they are to feel guilty about not providing absolute security for their clients. This is a subtle piece of manipulation, but one that probably is quite effective, in a world of increasing technological advancement where confidential information isn’t as confidential as one thinks.

Overall, the Covad advertisement is one that is heavily dependent on the photograph of the elderly man hoarding all the toys and the paragraph of explanatory text. The picture is the entire source of humor in the advertisement; it is what attracts readers. The text itself, “Contrary to what you learned in preschool, sometimes it’s best not to share,” has no real humor in itself. Only when the words are connected with the visual elements of the picture do they make a person smile or chuckle, and result in continued reading of the ad. Likewise, it is the paragraph of text on the bottom half of the page that describes what Covad DSL is and why it is prudent for businesses to acquire it. Its argument is informal but convincing, whereas the “Contrary to…” line doesn’t explain anything about what is being advertised.
 
The second advertisement being examined is in the 22 October 2001 issue of Time on page eighty-two, and is an ad for Quaker Oatmeal. Like the Covad DSL advertisement, this one is a full-page ad. Further similarities and dissimilarities between these two ads will become evident upon close study.
 
First of all, a description of the ad will aid in the envisioning of the layout of text and pictures. The background is cut into two halves, top and bottom. The top half is colored bright red, and the bottom is colored deep blue. The edges all around the page gradually change to a darker gradient. The result is a circle in the center of the page that appears to be lit by a spotlight. Directly over the dividing line where blue meets red lies a cylindrical cardboard carton of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats. The lid is off the carton, and a small, curved line of oats spills onto the red background; the tip of the line intersects with the final word in the text message on the top of the page.
 
In large white letters that stand out boldly against the colored backdrop, the text reads, “That warm feeling in your tummy is really Quaker Oatmeal in hot pursuit of cholesterol” (Time 82). Unlike the Entrepreneur Covad DSL advertisement, this attention-getting catchphrase is both interesting and rich in double meaning. For starters, the phrase  “warm feeling” has both a literal and a connotative meaning in this context. The literal or denotative meaning focuses on the release of heat by the food. This fits quite well with the product being advertised; oatmeal is not served cold, it is served warm or hot. The connotative meaning of the phrase “warm feeling” implies figurative warmth that one feels. For instance, eating Quaker Oatmeal on a cold winter morning might bring back memories of a childhood tradition of oatmeal for breakfast in a loving family environment – i.e. a “warm feeling.”
 
Perhaps related to this conjuration of “warm” childhood memories is the use of the word “tummy.” “Tummy” is, undoubtedly, a child’s word. It is seldom heard from persons over age eight unless they are speaking to children or animals. The appearance of it in this ad implies one of two things.  One, eating Quaker Oatmeal will make you act like a kid. Two, eating Quaker Oatmeal will bring back happy memories of a person’s childhood. Realistically, the first possibility is not really a possibility at all. Eating a certain food has no control over a person’s actions. It can, however, have some control over a person’s mental state; for example, it makes them “warm” and happy.
 
The final piece of interest in this above-quoted line of text is the phrase “in hot pursuit of cholesterol.” This, as with “warm feeling,” also has a double meaning that is actually quite pleasing when one thinks about it. When a person hears the term “hot pursuit” his or her thoughts probably turn to a movie they’ve seen or a book they’ve read in which one car was in “hot pursuit” of another car; for example, a police car in “hot pursuit” of a vehicle driven by a fleeing criminal. Yet, this is no fleeing car that is being pursued by Quaker Oatmeal; it is cholesterol. The very fact of this is what makes it so pleasing. An exciting, active, imaginative term such as “hot pursuit” is being applied to something as mundane as cholesterol or oatmeal. That is not all. There is yet another, more literal, meaning that can be applied to this phrase, “hot pursuit,” because oatmeal is, of course, physically hot. This is just one example of how the English language can be used in so many ways, so many contexts.
 
On the blue bottom half of the page, there is more text, along with a couple of small pictures. In the center and on the very bottom of the page is one of the pictures: a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal. Beneath it are the words, “Warms you heart and soul,” again utilizing the dual meanings of the word “warm.” It is also playing on the word “heart,” which is itself italicized in the advertisement. Too much cholesterol is bad for your heart, so Quaker Oatmeal is therefore good for your heart. To the right hand side of the first picture is another, smaller picture that simply shows two cartons of oatmeal; one is identical to the larger carton of oatmeal in the center of the page, over the red-blue divider, and the second is a box that boasts maple and brown sugar has been added to its oats.

In two short columns that surround these pictures, white text, smaller than that which is on the red half of the page, explains just how Quaker Oatmeal works against cholesterol. “When the oat soluble fiber in every bowl of delicious Quaker Oatmeal catches up with cholesterol in you digestive system, it soaks up cholesterol so it can’t be absorbed into your bloodstream.” Here, the words “catches up with” implies that whatever is doing the “catching up” is alive. Yes, oats do come from plants that were once alive, but these words do more than imply life; they imply sentience. To “catch up” with something requires forethought, purpose, and determination – three qualities that oats are not capable of. However, this play on words does keep in style with the previously discussed “hot pursuit,” of which the very nature of the term implies purpose and determination. One thing is hard to ignore, however, and that is the fact that this explanation seriously lacks in detail. Exactly how do the oats “soak up” the cholesterol in your system? The advertisement doesn’t say. One would think that, since Time is a fairly intellectual publication, that it would pick ads that were also more intellectual and explanatory.

Finally, the last line of text in the right-hand column says, “keep eating your Quaker Oatmeal and keep removing that cholesterol.” This is a direct imperative, and one might be inclined to balk at such an open command. Yet, faced with the statement that eating Quaker Oatmeal is beneficial to one’s health, some might have mixed feelings regarding this command. Also, this imperative does have a kind of rhythm, which makes it slightly more appealing in nature. The repetition of the word “keep” offers a sense of balance, enhancing the connection between eating Quaker Oatmeal and lowering one’s cholesterol level.

Unlike the Covad DSL advertisement in Entrepreneur, the Quaker Oatmeal is not heavily dependent on its picture. The pictures do little to enhance the text, aside from provide a visual aid, and since the text supplies the name of the product up front, the pictures could be deleted and would not harm the overall effect of the advertisement.

One thing that the Quaker ad does have in common with the Covad ad is that they both have additional text, aside from the larger, bolder attention-getter, on the bottom half of the page. In both ads, this text explains why each product/service should be purchased. The Covad ad explains why businesses that want to ensure confidentiality of their clients might appreciate the Covad DSL service. The Quaker ad explains why eating Quaker Oatmeal is beneficial to one’s health. This is not unusual when one considers that these are both professional and intellectual publications. Their readers are going to be more literarily inclined, and are going to want more information than a one or two-line header can provide.

However, the difference between these two blocks of text in these two different ads is that the Covad ad utilized a conversational tone by implementing conjunctions and sentence fragments. In the Quaker ad, there is only one conjunction and no sentence fragments. The reasons for this might be that, in the Covad ad, after a rather formal and indirect attention getter (“Contrary to what you learned in preschool, sometimes it’s best not to share”), in which the text, along with the photograph, hooked the more educated business-persons who make up Entrepreneur’s audience, the advertisers could afford to loosen up a little bit. The Quaker Oatmeal ad is dealing with a more serious topic – one’s health – and uses language with an appropriate style.

In conclusion, Entrepreneur and Time, certainly have some commonalities and some differences, although it appears that there are more differences than commonalities between their respective advertisements. The item they most have in common is the placement and style of their text; both have the attention getters in large, bold letters located on the page at mid-level or higher. Both have more detailed explanatory paragraphs in smaller text at the bottom of the page, although neither is very detailed. The differences between these two ads include the connection between text and picture and the use of figurative and imaginative language. Both ads were sufficiently wordy and measured up to what one might expect of advertisements in professional publications.
 

Works Cited

Covad Communications Company. DSL advertisement. Entrepreneur July 2001: 4.

Quaker Oatmeal Company. Breakfast cereal advertisement. Time 22 October 2001: 82.