AN INVESTIGATION INTO LINGUISTIC FEATURES IN ADVERTISING SLOGANS OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMES
Along with the rapid development of social economy, advertising has penetrated every corner of society. People are exposed to numerous advertising messages every day. To compete with many other products, advertisers use various devices to catch customers’ attention, arouse their desire and induce their action. Slogans can be considered the heart of advertisements. They are the most important and condensed messages advertisers would like to send to their customers. Catchy and creative slogans can help advertisers leave unforgettable impressions on their potential customers’ minds. However, the advertising time is limited and every minute is measured by money. As a result, how to make the advertisement persuasive but concise is the big problem confronted by advertisers. According to the book “Creative Advertising” (1955) by Charles Whittier [24]: “A slogan should be a statement of such merit about a product or service that is worthy of continuous repetitive advertising; is worthwhile for the public to remember; and is phrased in such a way that the public is likely to remember it.” Hence, creating a successful slogan is never an easy task. When well-used and oft-repeated, a slogan can become part of the fabric of a brand. But how do advertisers build a strong connection between slogan and brand? It’s not simply a matter of tacking a slogan onto an ad, because an ad with a slogan isn’t necessarily more effective than an ad without one. A slogan that is merely a sign-off to an ad is unlikely to make a contribution to the success of either the advertising or the brand. The successful advertiser must know how to integrate the brand and slogan in such a way that the slogan can strengthen branding, or have some other effect.
For example, Maybelline has a slogan “Maybe she’s born with it- maybe it’s Maybelline.” The repeated words “maybe” can make the slogan more readable and memorable. Or E100 “Ôi! Làn da trắng mịn như bông.” has a really strong influence on those who wish to have a smooth and fair complexion.
Just a few words in a slogan, advertisers must convey necessary information to customers, which must be hard work for them. It requires a sophisticated linguistic insight of phonology, lexicology, syntax as well as semantics and pragmatics. Therefore, the study of some successful slogans promises a lot of interesting facts in the art of using language among advertisers.
On the other hand, what can be called a successful slogan is still a question. The answer depends on the area of products and services the slogan is used for, the country or geographical regions it is used in and maybe the population of its target customers. Therefore, choosing one kind of products or services to study the slogans used in it should bring more thorough and detailed results of aspects of language exploited.
I decide to choose the topic “The Linguistic Features in Advertising Slogans of Cosmetic Products in English and Vietnamese” to investigate in this study for two main reasons. First of all, as a woman, I want to get information about cosmetics to make myself better and help others with necessary knowledge so that they can make themselves look more attractive. Second, the investigation into those slogans will hopefully reveal interesting features in language used in slogans in general and cosmetic slogans in particular and, therefore, it will provide certain linguistically useful practical knowledge for advertisers, especially in cosmetics. For these reasons, I wish to carry out my research on the topic “An Investigation into Linguistic Features in Advertising Slogans of Cosmetic Products in English and Vietnamese”.
The study is mainly about the investigation into advertising slogans of cosmetics brands. Lexical, syntactic and stylistic features of the advertising slogans in cosmetics are extensively discussed in this study.
The aim of the research is to analyze linguistic features of advertising slogans in cosmetics so as to find out some hints for Vietnamese advertisers, especially in cosmetics, which may help to improve their effectiveness and professionalism.
In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, the research is intended to carry out the following objectives:
– To analyze the linguistic features in advertising slogans of cosmetic products in English and Vietnamese.
– To find out the differences and similarities of advertising slogans in cosmetic products between English and Vietnamese.
– To suggest some applications for teachers and learners of English, as well as for those who are interested in advertising to learn and comprehend English copywriters’ methods in writing effective advertising slogans especially in cosmetics.
To achieve the aims and objectives of the study, the research questions below must be answered:
– What are lexical, syntactic and stylistic features of the advertising slogans in cosmetics in English and Vietnamese?
– What are the similarities and differences of advertising slogans in cosmetics between English and Vietnamese?
– What are the implications for teaching and learning in both languages?
The study is organized into five chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter introduces the rationale, the aims and objectives, the scope of study, research questions, the significance as well as the organization of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Background
This chapter reviews previous studies related to the problem under investigation. At the same time, it gives a theoretical background to this study with theoretical preliminaries directly related to the investigation of English employed in cosmetics advertising slogans, namely discourse, context, genre, register as well as the definitions of advertising, advertising slogans and cosmetics.
Chapter 3: Methods and Procedures
This chapter concerns itself with the research design, research methods, data collection, data analysis and research procedures of the study. The validity and reliability of the study is also presented.
Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion
This chapter summarizes the findings in the characteristics of the English language used in cosmetic advertising slogans and also the conclusions on the percentage of slogans employing those characteristics.
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications
This chapter provides the recapitulations, implications of the study to the creating process of advertising slogans in general and cosmetic advertising slogans in particular, and suggestions for further studies.
The values of the study lie in both theoretical and practical aspects. Theoretically, the study helps to find out the linguistic features used in cosmetic slogans. Practically, it helps to find out the effectiveness of those linguistic features when applying to the act of advertising and hopefully suggests some ways of achieving great impression on customers’ minds through the art of using words by advertisers.
Up to now, there have been several studies on advertising, advertising slogans in English and Vietnamese. Some famous titles that can be mentioned here are “English in advertising: A linguistic study of advertising in Great Britain” by Geoffrey (1996), “Advertising as communication” by Gillian (1982), “English for sale: A study of the language of advertising” by Lars (1999), or “The discourse of advertising” by Guy (2001). Besides, there have been many master theses related to advertising slogans in cosmetics such as: Nguyen Dinh Thuy An (2012), “A study of lexical, syntactic and pragmatic features of company slogans in English and Vietnamese”, this research focuses on lexical, syntactic and pragmatic features in English and Vietnamese slogans of production and service companies. Truong Thi Phuong investigated advertising slogans in English and Vietnamese. Ho Vi Nu Dieu Minh (2011), “A discourse analysis of English and Vietnamese advertisements for beauty care products” finds out the features in terms of the layout, lexis, syntax features and cohesive devices as well as discover similarities and differences of these features between the two languages. Lê Thị Kim Yến (2010) in an article “Ý nghĩa ngữ dụng của một số biện pháp tu từ trong khẩu hiệu quảng cáo tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt” indicates pragmatic meanings of some rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese advertising slogans. All these help me a lot in understanding advertising slogans clearly so that I could apply them to this thesis.
However, little discussion of advertising slogans in cosmetics is investigated. I hope that this thesis “An Investigation into Linguistic Features in Advertising Slogans of Cosmetic Products in English and Vietnamese” will contribute a minor part to yield fruitful information of this field.
a. Definition of advertising
“Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2009) [21] defines advertising as “the activity and industry of advertising things to people on television, in newspaper, on the Internet, etc.” but there are also other definitions of advertising, for example, the American Heritage Dictionary says that the advertising is:
– The activity of attracting public attention to a product or business, as by paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic media.
– The business of designing and writing advertisements.
– Advertisements considered as a group: This paper takes no advertising. All these definitions have in common the fact, that advertising is a means of promotion the product, idea, or organization on the market with the aim to give information and to persuade people of the advantage of the product and induce them to take an action (e.g. buy it).
b. Definition of advertising slogan
According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1995) [15], “a slogan is a short easily-remembered phrase used by an advertiser, a politician, etc.” Therefore, in general, a slogan is a memorable motto used in political, commercial, religious, and other contexts as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. In the particular case of an advertising slogan, it is a verbal logo normally appearing just beneath or beside the brand name or the logo of the product. A slogan is a kind of a condensed message of the whole advertisement which advertisers want their customers to remember most. It is the usual case that slogans come to customers’ mind first when they think about the products.
In his book, Creative Advertising, Charles L. Whittier [24] says a slogan: “…should be a statement of such merit about a product or service that it is worthy of continuous repetition in advertising, is worthwhile for the public to remember, and is phrased in such a way that the public is likely to remember it.”
c. Definition of cosmetic
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2009) [21], cosmetic is a substance that you put on your face or body to make it more attractive.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates cosmetics, defines cosmetics as “intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body’s structure or functions.” This broad definition also includes any material intended for use as a component of a cosmetic product. The FDA specifically excludes soap from this category.
2.2.2. Defining the concept of advertising and advertising slogan
a. History of advertising
Advertising traces its history back to ancient times. Wikipedia says that the first forms of advertising messages were transferred by word of mouth, however, in the ruins of Pompeii commercial messages and election campaign displays have been found. Egyptians used Papyrus to create sales messages and wall posters, while in Greece and Rome lost-and-found advertising on papyrus was common. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient media advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America.
With the form of advertising, we could meet in the marketplaces, where the sellers used to shout and extol their products. In the course of time, people more and more tried to differentiate their products and began to find out new ways of presenting. They started to accentuate the visual aspect of the advertisement. With the expansion of colour printing and colourful posters the streets began to revel in colours. These posters were ancestors to our modern billboards.
As the economy and the trade were expanding during the 19th century, the need for advertising grew. Gradually, advertising transformed into a modern, more scientific and sophisticated conception. New visual techniques have been launched. Not only the content of the message is important, but also the form. The creativity of copywriters, who are finding new ways, leads to the richness of various forms of advertising.
A successful advertising campaign will spread the word about your products and services attract customers and generate sales. Whether you are trying to encourage new customers to buy an existing product or launching a new service, there are many options to choose from.
The most suitable advertising option for your business will depend on what products or services you are advertising, and your target audience. For example, if you know that your target market reads a particular magazine, you should advertise in that publication.
The following list is an introduction to advertising methods that you could use. Remember, you can always be creative in your advertising to get noticed (within advertising regulations).
Newspaper
Newspaper advertising can promote your business to a wide range of customers. Display advertisements are placed throughout the paper, while classified listings are under subject headings in a specific section.
You may find that a combination of advertising in your state/metropolitan newspaper and your local paper gives you the best results.
Magazine
Advertising in a specialist magazine can reach your target market quickly and easily. Readers (your potential customers) tend to read magazines at their leisure and keep them for longer, giving your advertisement multiple chances to attract attention.
If your products need to be displayed in colour then glossy advertisements in a magazine can be ideal – although they are generally expensive.
Magazines do not usually serve a small area such as a specific town. If your target market is only a small percentage of the circulation, then advertising may not be cost-effective.
Radio
Advertising on the radio is a great way to reach your target audience. If your target market listens to a particular station, then regular advertising can attract new customers.
However, sound has its limitations. Listeners can find it difficult to remember what they have heard and sometimes the impact of radio advertising is lost. The best way to overcome this is to repeat your message regularly – which increases your costs significantly. If you cannot afford to play your advertisement regularly, you may find that radio advertising does not generate strong results.
Television
Television has an extensive reach and advertising this way is ideal if you cater to a large market in a large area. Television advertisements have the advantage of sight, sound, movement and colour to persuade a customer to buy from you. They are particularly useful if you need to demonstrate how your product or service works.
Producing a television advertisement and then buying an advertising slot is generally expensive. Advertising is sold in units (e.g. 20, 30, 60 seconds) and costs vary according to the time slot in which your advertisement appears.
Directories
Directories list businesses by name or category (e.g. phone directories). Customers who refer to directories have often already made up their mind to buy – they just need to decide who to buy from.
The major advantage of online directories over print directories is that if you change your business name, address or telephone number, you can easily keep it up to date in the directory. You can also add new services or information about your business.
If your target market uses print and online directories, it may be useful to advertise in both.
Billboards
Billboards can be signs by the road, hoardings at sport stadiums or posters on buses, taxis and buses. Large billboards can get your message across with a big impact. If the same customers pass your billboard every day as they travel to work, you are likely to be the first business they think of when they want to buy a product.
Even the largest of billboards usually contain a limited amount of information; otherwise, they can be difficult to read. Including your website address makes it easy for customers to follow up and find out more about your business.
Direct mail, catalogues and leaflets
Direct mail means writing to customers directly. The more precise your mailing list or distribution area, the more of your target market you will reach. A direct mail approach is more personal, as you can select your audience and plan the timing to suit your business. Catalogues, brochures and leaflets can also be distributed to your target area. Including a brochure with your direct mail is a great way to give an interested customer more information about your products and services.
Online
Advertising on the internet can be a cost-effective way to attract new customers. You can reach a global audience at a low cost. Many customers research businesses online before deciding whom to buy from. A well-designed website can entice customers to buy from you. There are other ways to advertise your business online – you could promote your products or services on social media sites, blogs and search engines and other websites that your target audience visits.
c. Function of Slogan in Advertising
Most slogans consist of a short sentence or a catchy phrase that reinforces a logo or the name of a business. Although slogans are not absolutely necessary for successful business branding, they go a long way towards providing an insight of what the brand promises to a consumer. In fact, some slogans are more recognized by the general public than the name of the business that they were created to market. People love catchy tunes, phrases, jingles, etc. The main purpose of a slogan for your business is to promote brand recall in the mind of the consumer. A good slogan will promote a lasting memory in the mind of the consumer which in turn extends the reach of your business brand, product or service. Good slogans will capture people’s attention and prod them into taking a desired action. To do this you need to be smart and creative when creating your slogan.
It should be geared to appeal to the needs, emotions or attitudes of a consumer and be compelling enough to make the consumer purchase your product or service to take advantage of its benefits.
d. Principles in Writing Slogans
A slogan or tagline is a unifying message that boils your company’s identity down to a digestible, tasty nugget. Its quick and catchy nature makes it easy for customers to remember and associate it with your business.
It’s crucial to make your slogan interesting and meaningful. Follow these 8 simple tips, and you’ll be able to create a striking slogan that buyers are sure to remember.
- Short is Sweet
Your slogan shouldn’t be more than a single sentence long, and in many cases, a sentence fragment works best. The shorter the slogan, the easier it is to remember. Highlight the most appealing part of your business in as few words as possible (preferably between five and ten).
- Be Original
It’s okay to find inspiration in existing ads, but don’t try to mimic or adapt a well-known slogan or tagline that’s already successful. No more “got milk?” parodies, please. Why would anyone want to settle for an imitation of something they’ve already heard of? You also run the risk of infringing on copyrights. Being unique and standing out from the crowd is both safer and smarter.
- Be Realistic
Don’t make promises that you can’t keep. It’s probably not a great idea to claim “the lowest prices ever” unless you actually have them (and even then, there’s always a chance that someone else can go lower). Be honest in your claims and don’t exaggerate.
- Be Poetic
Think of your slogan as a line of poetry. A good rhythm and flow makes it more pleasing to listen to and think about. Rhyming or repetition of similar-sounding words (“the best steak in the state,” for example) are also handy for turning your slogan into a memorable “earworm.”
- Make it Readable
Avoid any unclear or confusing language in your slogan; be sure to use active voice and correct grammar. Active voice is a sentence structure where the subject is performing the action instead of having an action be performed upon it.
- Make it Sayable
Say your slogan out loud. How does it sound? Does it flow easily or leave you tongue-tied? An episode of the sitcom 30 Rock involved a movie called “The Rural Juror.” It looks fine on paper, but try saying it out loud and it’s downright painful. Your slogan shouldn’t just be easy to read and remember; it should be easy to say.
- Focus on Customer Benefit
Nearly every successful slogan provides some reason why the customer would want to frequent your business in the first place. L’Oréal (France) is “Because we’re worth it”. IFI lets you “The Power of Choice”. Pentax: “For Your Precious Moments” and Oriflamme cosmetics, Stockholm Sweden is “Your dreams – Our inspiration”. All of these draw attention to a key benefit of the business or product: customizability, friendliness, and longevity. Even with a simple phrase, you can really encapsulate what makes your company attractive.
A good slogan can give your campaign a boost of charm and presence, but a bad one can just leave potential customers confused. By sticking to these guidelines, your promotion or campaign will remain vivid in people’s minds.
AN INVESTIGATION INTO LINGUISTIC FEATURES IN ADVERTISING SLOGANS OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMES
AN INVESTIGATION INTO LINGUISTIC FEATURES IN ADVERTISING SLOGANS OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMES
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