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The African Symposium: An online journal of the African Educational Research Network
“ARTS FOR AD SAKE”: ADVERTISING LANGUAGE AS LITERARY LANGUAGE
IN SELECTED ADVERTISING COPY IN NIGERIA
Oluwole Coker
Raheem Saheed Oke
Obafemi Awolowo University
Abstract
Advertising and marketing communication messages are usually targeted at a
consumer with a view to generating interest in a product or service and ultimately causing
action of purchase or elicit behavioral change. The process of developing advertising
messages therefore involves a close understanding of different forms of linguistic typologies
with a view to deploy the right language for the specified purpose. Through selected
advertising messages drawn from popular brand communications messages in Nigeria, this
paper posits that, the messages of advertising are exemplars of linguistic experimentation
and literariness. In other words, creative advertising copy messages are products of well
thought-out and orchestrated linguistic and literary processes. The data for this study was
randomly selected from newspaper press adverts headlines, body copies of press adverts, and
pay-off lines of outdoor billboards. The paper highlights the use of puns, condensed and
allusive metaphors, rhetorical questions and metonymy in the selected samples. The paper
demonstrates that, advertising copy is a poetic and creative piece and it goes a long way to
show the relevance of conventional language and literary studies to the practice of
advertising even in the globalized world.
Keywords: Advertising language, Advertising copy, Marketing Communication.
Introduction
The focus of this paper is on advertising as a means of communication. By this we
mean that, this paper acknowledges advertising as a specialized path through which
communication is discharged. Mindful of the fact that that, “advertising is any paid nonpersonal communication from an identified sponsor using the mass media to persuade or
influence an audience.” (William, 1989:11, quoted in Okanlawon & Oluga, 2008), we are
concerned in this paper with the process of creation of advertising messages, and the specific
ways through which the creative process in the advertising set-up is challenged to appropriate
linguistic and literary resources towards achieving impactful and desirable advertising. Put
differently, the objective of this paper is to showcase the literary and linguistic dexterity of
advertising messages. The paper draws examples from advertising messages in the Nigerian
landscape which are randomly selected to project the fact that, advertising is a marketing
corollary of dystopian literature, which incidentally is the “distinctive hallmark of African
literature”. Given the fact that “the modern world depends on advertising, without it, the
modern industrial world would collapse” (Jefkins, 1994,vii), this paper makes a fresh look at
the artistic resources in advertising copy foregrounding their utilitarian values, through the
agencies of language and literature. This is in consonance with the realization that:
Advertising is a way of projecting values, ideas, expectations,
etc to customers. It is most effective as a reinforce of favorable
attitudes, values and dispositions… (Offiongodon, 1991: 254)
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The African Symposium: An online journal of the African Educational Research Network
Having stated the foregoing, it is necessary to underscore the importance of
advertising and to situate its relevance within the context of humanistic activities. As a
“catalyst of trade” (Coker, 2004), advertising symbolizes the need for differentiation and
idiosyncrasy as well as the need to foreground. Through its specialized ally - branding,
advertising aims at distinguishing an individual - personal branding, or a product- product
branding. In order words, the ultimate aim of advertising is to make its subject unique
towards attracting the necessary attention. This brings to mind the “AIDA” principle of
contemporary advertising which emphasizes good advertising as one capable of attracting
attention, generating interest, causing desire and instigating action (Odion, 2002). This
therefore means that, to achieve this fundamental principle, advertising messages must be
well crafted. This process of crafting the messages and what goes into it s what this paper
intends to demonstrate as one that is a rich blend of linguistic and literary felicities.
Conceptual Clarifications
There is a need at this juncture to explain some terminologies which are advertising
registers which are relevant to this study. The first is the word “concept”. This refers to an
idea on which advertising messages are built in an agency. “Creatives” refer to the piece of
work produced towards developing advertising, while at the same time the personnel
involved. A campaign is an integrated set of activities aimed at launching a product or
service, its scale depending ob budget and aim of the campaign. A strategy is the
methodology of addressing an advertising task which is called a “brief”. A brainstorming
session is a meeting convened to discuss the adverting task in view. This is usually a platform
for cross-fertilization of ideas by everyone in an adverting agency.
There are also key personnel in a creative agency. These include the strategic
planner, copywriter, and the concept developer who is saddled with developing “scamps”
which are like abstracts developed from the copy generated. The visual and finished artists
are saddled with the responsibility of turning ideas into visual images and cascading along
media depending on the scope of the campaign. All these key people are involved in the
creative process in an advertising Agency. They are part of a chain responsible for evolving
systematic and logical ideas that would be deployed in pursuit of the advertising objectives.
Advertising as Discourse, Discourse of Advertising
The volume of scholarly outputs on advertising attests to the fact that, it is a viable
area of research. Generally, scholars have approached advertising from both academic and
professional perspectives. For academic discourse, scholars have identified various diversities
of language use as well as pragmatic and discourse features in advertising. Adegoju (2008)
situates the discourse of advertising within the ambit of rhetoric which he affirms as the
fundamental of advertising language, especially in herbal medicine which he studied
extensively. He explains that “the principles of rhetoric in persuading the audience to act or
think in the desired manner of the advertiser are noteworthy” (p. 1). In effect, the skill of
persuasion is germane in effective advertising endeavors. For Awonusi (1996), advertising
language, especially the political type he studied, thrives on linguistic dexterity that
foreground salient aspects of language use. The scholar also dwelled extensively on various
elements of language and how each is purposively reflected in the messages studied in the
political realm. One key feature of Awonusi’s paper is the analysis of the socio-political
relevance of key messages and their discourse strategies which are shown to be engaging. In
what appears like a complimentary study to Awonusi, Ezejideaku & Ugwu (2010) study, the
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The African Symposium: An online journal of the African Educational Research Network
focus of the paper is on major literary devices in advertising messages and how these devices
contribute to the creation of effective advertising messages. The scholars also affirm the
relevance of literature to the development of the advertising messages. For Earle (2011),
commitment to truth unifies the task of the copywriter with that of his allies in poetry and
pointing. According to her:
Creativity in advertising, as in poetry and painting, is built around
this same trial and error, a search for meaningful and truthful
solutions. However, when you consider the creative work of
advertising versus
that of art, there is a critical and distinct
difference. In the world of art, the creator is not working around
an assigned product or service (4).
What the foregoing implies is that, creative is a common denominator in the
disciplines of literature, painting and creative advertising; or simply put, the copywriter is
more or
less a poet, while advertising is an artistic medium. This is obviously the
motivation for Olaosun’s (2005) that underscores the dynamism and the artistic innovations
in the advertising creative process. This study shall therefore take-off from the earlier
submissions of scholars on advertising discourse by drawing attention to areas especially in
the process of creation of advertising messages, where the creative resources of literature and
language are harnessed. This is with a view to demonstrating that, the creative process in
adverting is akin to creative endeavor in literary productions, while key actors in the
advertising process also possess similar traits identifiable in conventional literature.
Analysis
The corpus for the analysis in this paper is basically pay-off lines developed either as
a thematic campaign or schematic advertising message. It should be noted that, our
understanding of advertising copy in this paper focusses more on pay-off lines for the simple
fact that, generally, this is the line that captures the essence of a brand or the ultimate
aspiration of a campaign. In addition, the pay-off line appears to be a consumer-centric
phrase couched with the intention of meeting the target consumers’ expectations. This
explains why the pay-offline usually holds out a promise.
Having stated the above, our analysis shall be based on the literary qualities in the
advertising copy selected to show that the copies possess inherent linguistic and stylistic
values. To this end, the elements of suspense, allusions, literary pun, metonymy and
metaphorical inversions shall form the crux of the references from where a thesis shall be
formed. The use of suspense as a strategic element in advertising is central at every stage of
brand development. As a matter of fact, the whole concept of a campaign is divided into
phases using the strategy of suspense. The phases in a typical campaign are the Tease, Reveal
and Sustenance. While at the tease stage, the consumer’s imagination is tasked to imagine
what the tease is about. At the reveal stage, the brand identity is unveiled while the
sustenance involves a series of “reminder” materials that would keep either the brand or
thematic initiative in mind. Through this, consumers and even competitors are brought closer
to the brand in question. Given the realities of competition in the market scene, suspense is
therefore essential in evolving a 360 degrees campaign. Let us consider two examples:
1. I am black and white. I give relief. Who am 1?
2. Why pay for what you don’t use?
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The African Symposium: An online journal of the African Educational Research Network
In example 1 above, the product in question is a confectionary which is traditionally
draped in a black and white package. The campaign was to herald a new shape of the
packaging of the confectionary. As can be seen in the advertising message, there is a
combination of declarative sentence type and question type with color imagery to form the
suspense. Example 2 is another instance of the use of question type sentence to evoke string
of thoughts that challenge consumers. The brand in this case is a telecommunications
company that revolutionized the call payment system in Nigeria by introducing the per
second billing regime. As fallout of the campaign, the brand not only earned a larger market
share. It subtly presented competitors as exploiters who had hitherto taken the consumers for
granted.
The use of allusions and metaphorical inversions is also common in adverting
language. This strategy capitalizes on well-established beliefs and common expressions to
draw attention to their brands. It should be noted that in these cases, copywriters manifest
their depth in the knowledge of socio-cultural icons and bring this to bear in crafting their
messages. Examples are listed below:
3.
4.
5.
6.
Rome could have been built in a day. If we were there.
You can now sleep with two eyes closed
Life can be a bed of roses.
With us, once is enough.
In the above examples, certain images are used to project a brand promise. Example 3
is the pay-off line of a construction giant and the message is a deliberate inversion of the
popular saying, “Rome was not built in a day”. The advertising message therefore subtly
inverts the saying to draw attention to the verb, “build”. Example 4 depicts a scenario of rest of
mind as a result of protection. This is also another example of inversion of a popular saying.
The message is used by an insurance company to demonstrate their commitment to the
consumers that there is no need to despair. In example 5, a financial company attempts another
inversion strategy to emphasize the need to invest and plan for the future in a pay-off line that
clearly denounces conventional wisdom of the uncertainty of life. This is also akin to what
obtains in example 6, where a brand insists that just like the expression, “first impression lasts
longer”, all the target consumer need is is only a trial, and the brand loyalty would naturally
follow.
The use of literary device of pun is also a key feature of creative advertising message. In
fact, this has proved to be a very effective strategy in instances where the pun derives from the
brand name, as in the examples below:
7. …truly the first.
8. Keep Walking.
9. We are Fidelity. We Keep Our Word
10. ….your PAL for life.
11. … your city never sleeps
In example 7, the pun on the word “first” which is a direct reference to the brand,
Nigeria’s premier financial institution achieves the effect of brand identity as each time the
phrase is relayed across all major media, the consumer continuously recognizes the brand’s
position. In fact, the brand has even ensured that all its marketing products carry the tag to
achieve the same effect. This ensures that there is a semantic extension with the brand name
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and pay-off phrase with the use of ellipsis. In example 8, the pun on the brand name, though
not connected to the brand essence or any logical benefit or promise from the brand, it
however achieves a resonating effect on the brand name. It is noteworthy that the pay-off is
an inflection of the brand name. The pay-off message in example 9 affords a brand an
opportunity to fuse its brand identity with its brand promise and essence. This message,
though clearly violating grammatical rules of capitalization, enables the brand to dramatize
its core values of trust and reliability. Similarly in example 10, a brand devises brand promise
of friendship through the use of the initials of its full name. This is then connected to “life” to
show a life-long commitment of the pension administrator to the welfare of its client. The
pun is achieved through the appropriation in the phrase of the capitalized initials, PAL.
Example 11 is also another case of punning of an element of a brand name, in this case, City,
to drum the brand’s consistent and tireless effort, represented in the phrase “never sleeps”
Advertising language also utilize interrogatives to create brand identities. These are
rhetorical questions that clearly spell out brand’s values and essence. The following are
examples:
12. …wouldn’t you rather bank with us?
13. …where do you want to go today?
14. …where else?
The examples 12-14 above offer similar scenarios of brand assertion of essence. It
somehow constitutes a kind of grandstanding which may not be based on any empirical
evidence. However, in considering the brands involved and the markets in which they
operate, such rhetorical questions standing as pay-off messages may be understandable. The
point is that all the brands that adopt these pay-off messages are acknowledged market
leaders in the banking, information technology and aviation service industries. The question
messages thus challenge any competitor to measure up to the brands’ standards and invite
consumers to partake of first-class experiences.
A brand usually stands for a unique benefit. In other words, to qualify as a brand, a
product must have a unique and distinguishable benefit it offers its consumers. This
realization results in metonymic messages crafted in such a way that the brand benefit is
foregrounded. The examples below attest:
15 …The ultimate
16. …enjoy freedom
17 …taste is everything.
18. … what a delicious experience!
19. Reach for Greatness
20. Your passport to service
In the examples above, different brand benefits are emphasized. For example 15, the
brand simply declares itself the ultimate beer while example 16 is an assertion by an
Automobile dealer on what it offers its customers. A seasoning likens its essence to taste in
example 17 while a quick service restaurant wets the appetite of its potential customers.
“Greatness” and “passport” are adopted by a beer brand and coach bus service provider in 19
and 20 respectively to reiterate a metonymic representations of their brand. The pint is that
the messages key in to the various brands distinctive qualities. Literary felicities and
language are deployed to making them noticeable and easily discernible, through the use of
symbols, exclamation marks and capitalizations for emphasis.
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Conclusion
The point being made is that, the advertising creative process is mindful of the need to
inject literary and figurative imagery in order to evolve effective advertising messages.
Advertising language is therefore a brand of literary language which not only utilizes literary
devices, but also showcases the dynamism in them. This goes a long way to showing that, in
a bid to reaching target consumers; literary idioms fuse with language to achieve
communicative effects. In a wider sense, the character of advertising language is a pointer to
the fact that in the globalized economy of the twenty-first century, there is need for seamless
synergy among language, literature and communication for better results and advancement of
human society. Literature is diverse and relevant to all areas of human endeavor. As a
window for relieving human experience, literature maintains a close link with socio-historical
realities in order to be a relevant social tool. As shown in this paper, literature possesses
inherent potentials that can be exploited for use in several circumstances. With literature
performing extra-literary functions, literary creativity is made ever dynamic and responsive.
As demonstrated in this paper, the utilization of literary language for advertising language
clearly indicates that, indeed, arts do not necessarily need to be for “arts” sake, but can be
made to be at the disposal of other areas, like “ad”, a shortened form of advertising. One
immediate fallout of this is that, interest in literature and by extension, literary and creative
activities, is re-awakened given the curiosity generated in the use of literary expressions and
images evoked in advertising language.
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Author Information
Oluwole Coker, a literary and cultural studies scholar teaches literature in the Department of
English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He spent over a decade in
professional marketing communications practice in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital,
where he worked in Nigerian affiliates of global agencies like McCann Erickson, DraftFCB,
and Saatchi & Saatchi. He has published in notable international outlets. [email protected].
Saheed Raheem Oke teaches in the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife, Nigeria, his Alma Mater. He trained as a professional language instructor at the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States of America as a Fulbright
Foreign Language Teaching Assistant after winning a grant provided by the Institute of
International Education (IIE). His research interests include Sociolinguistics, Use of English
and Communication Skills in ESL contexts, Applied Linguistics, and Multilingual Studies.
[email protected].
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