CAP 1

What it an advertisement?
Advertising is all round us because it is all around us.
Its natural thing about advertisement as a form of discourse, as a system
of language use whereby (per cui, per mezzo del quale, laddove) huge
(un enorme numero) numbers of readers have fleeting (breve, fugace)
conversations with the writers of countless texts.
We can see that in the type of advertising text that occours in
newspapers and magazines the product is being presented as desirable
(dizairebol) for us to buy.
Some examples of texts that we might see around us on a daily basis are:
A political manifesto (Below).
A film trailer (Below).
A university prospectus (Below).
A speed limit road sign (Try to get our attention as an essential part
of their function, but we dont perceive them as advertising
anything).
A poster in the grounds of a church, with Jesus Lives written on it
(A church poster still intentionally selling an idea religion)

Lets to exzamin this texts.

For example, texts are hardly ever simply informative or

persuasive.
Informative texts, f.e. university prospectus, always have an
individual or corporate perspective behind them;
Persuasive text, such as political manifestos (can be selling also an
idea)or film trailers, often do their job by the way they present
information.
At root of the word advertisement is the Latin verb advertere
meaning to turn towards. That adverts are texts that do their best
to get our attention, to make us towards them, we wouldnt want to
say that everything we pay attention to is an advert (f.e. road sign).

As with literary texts, advertisements often have complex sets of

addresers and adressees

ESEMPIO SUL LIBRO: TABACCAI. SPOT(NOTA) LA DIFFERENZA E

SALVA 400$.
Fine Multata
The difference between selling cigarettes to someone over 16 and
selling them to someone under 16 can be a $400 fine.

The first noticeable(remarkable) addresser/addresse

relationship is that within (allinterno) the photo story.
There are two conversations here, the first where the
tobacconist agrees to the boys request and second where he
doesnt.
The advertisement conveys(comunica) the Tobacco Advisory
Councils message in a humorous way, presenting its voice as
authoritative but not authoritarian.
This advertising is a good example of a text that is not selling a
product, but rather an idea or image.

Summary:
This advertising is not just about the commercial promotion of
branded products, but can also encompass (comprende,
abbraccia lidea) the idea of text whose (la cui intenzione)
intention is to enhance(migliorare) the image of and individual,
group or organization.
VOCABOLARIO
ADVERTISING: PUBBLICITA'
ADVERTISEMENT: PUBBLICITA
ADVERT:PUBBLICITA

CAP 2
Attention-seeking devices (strumenti cerca-attenzione)
The whole aim (scopo) of the copywriters is to get us to register their
communication either for purposes of immediate action or to make us
more favourably disposed in general terms to the advertised product or
service.
One attention-seeking strategy developed in recent years to increasing
levels of sophistication is the startling image (esempio sul libro: la
Benetton su un tabellone presentava scene reali di vita e di morte come la
nascita di un bambino e un uomo nel suo letto di morte. Tutto ci ha
innalzato la grande potresta del pubblico e cos la pubblicit, seppur in
modo negativo ha ottenuto attenzione. Questo esempio di startling
image(immagine impressionante) stato preso da esempio da parte di
altre compagnie, ottenendo anche indignazione e irritazione da parte del
pubblico in modo tale da ottenere attenzione).
At the time of writing, women have been used as sexual commodities for
many years in the selling of products as disparate as cars and chocolate
bars. But male bodies have hitherto (fino ad ora) been off limits. Things
appear to be changing, however. In the search for fresh ways of startling,
advertisers seem to have realised that the male physique is uncharted
territory (inesplorato).
Adverts can sometimes want to shock the reader for very good reasons,
however increasingly (sempre di pi/incrisingli), charities and other fund-
raising groups have used some of the traditional methods of commercial
product advertising to get their campaign noticed, and one of these
methods has been the disturbing image.
Es. Sul libro Hello boysbut its goodbye girls e Blinded child
Although this image is, at first glance, is upsetting, the full meaning is not
clear until the reader has made sense of the verbal text. To this extent,
the image is very different from one which stands alone and is simply
designed to shock and get attention.
Sebbene limmagine a primo impatto sconvolgente, il vero significato
non colto dal lettore finquando non legge il verbal text. Una volta letto
il testo, limmagine molto differente se non letta con il testo, questo
utilizzato per shockarci ed attirare la nostra attenzione.
We register the fact that something has happened to this babys eyes. The
baby is trying to touch the bandages round her eyes with her hand, as if to
comprehend what has happened to her. Her mouth is slightly open as if
she wants to express something. She appears in a way that suggests we
could communicate with her, if only we knew how and if only our message
could be a hopeful one. The image would have created a very different
effect if the scene had been a high-tech hospital room (stanza di ospedale
con alta tecnologia).
As readers, we are interpreting here what is often called paralanguage.
This is an umbrella term for those aspects of communication that
surround and support our verbal language in normal face-to-face
encounters: for example body position, gesture, physical proximity,
clothing, touch, eye contact. This baby cannot communicate with us, but
the fact that she is pictured as if she could (or wants to) is an important
contribution to the overall effect of the image, because it makes us
interactive partners in the communication process
The verbal text in this case is top left in the page (All this baby will ever
remember seeing is her mother, her teddy, and the tips of her fathers
finger.)
It should have become clear that readers do not simply read images in
isolation from the verbal text that accompanies them; nor do they read
the verbal text without reference to accompanying images.
In the image of the blinded child the verbal language can suggest
particular qualities as a result of how it appears: in other words, writing is
a form of image-making, too. It could be said to have its own
paralanguage, as a result of the type of clothing (ruolo) the copywriter
has chosen for it.
Difference between:
Handwriting : human
Typed print: not human
Different forms of handwriting are likely to suggest (probabilmente
suggeriscono)) different types of author - for example, a rounded
(tondeggiante), joined-up script with footballs or hearts for dots over
the letter i may connote a young writer while an italicized (IN CORSIVO)
print may suggest someone older; in terms of typeface (carattere), too,
we are likely to have subtly (leggermente)different readings of different
fonts, styles and sizes, we can suggest with uppercase and lower case
letters. (Lettera grande e lettera piccola).
The text Intercity (pag 18) e NSPCC (pag 14).
This two adverts have the theme of childhood in common but there the
similarity stops. Text: Intercity takes the idea of play, fun and fantasy
whereas the previous text was concerned with vulnerability; whereas the
previous text looked at the way in which adults can abuse children, this
text looks at the way in which adults can be children. To think further
about the role of typographical features and their effects, look back at
the NSPCC advert and examine the typeface used, particularly in the box
top left in the text.
In this case there is no elaborate typography and it is very simple. But in
the other case there is an elaborate and colored typography that is
related to childhood images and as well as games, tree, and plants.
ESEMPIO: Harveys Bristol Cream. The bottle shape is created in the
vertical sense by the substitution of alternative place names for the
Bristol of the brand name. Note also, though, the 3-D effect created by
narrowing the letters at the sides of each line, to create the roundness of
the bottle.
To a certain extent, phonological (sound-related) factors will have been
important: a Mexican name, such as Xochimilco, might have given
English speakers some difficulty, and interrupted the fluency of their
reading. But more important was probably the length of the name: all the
names have between six and eight letters apiece. This enables a clear
space to occur between each name and cream, enhancing the symmetry
and smoothness of the shape created.
In considering layouts and the other graphological devices (features
associated with the visual aspects of texts), space is as important a
consideration as verbal and non-verbal language. Empty spaces are as
meaningful as filled ones. Where we expect language to occur, its
nonoccurrence is in itself an attention-seeking device.
La crema di Bristol di Harvey. La forma della bottiglia creata in senso
verticale dalla sostituzione di nomi alternativi di posto per il 'Bristol' del
marchio. Notare anche, per, l'effetto 3-D creato da restringere le lettere
ai lati di ogni linea, per creare la rotondit della bottiglia. interessante
ipotizzare perch alcuni nomi siano stati scelti piuttosto che altri, dato
che una citt, una citt o una contea di 130 o pi paesi potrebbero essere
stati scelti. In una certa misura, i fattori fonologici (suono) sarebbero stati
importanti: un nome messicano, come il "Xochimilco", avrebbe potuto
dare difficolt agli altoparlanti inglesi e interrompere la fluidit della loro
lettura. Ma pi importante era probabilmente la lunghezza del nome:
tutti i nomi hanno da sei a otto lettere a testa. Nel considerare i layout e
gli altri dispositivi grafico (caratteristiche associate agli aspetti visivi dei
testi), lo spazio altrettanto importante come lingua verbale e non
verbale. Gli spazi vuoti sono significativi come quelli pieni. Dove ci
aspettiamo che la lingua si verifichi, la sua non identificazione in s un
dispositivo di ricerca dell'attenzione.

Esempio: Charity appeal

The blank in the first line could be filled by a variety of different types of
taboo word: for example, it could represent a swear word. However, by
sentence 2 the choice has narrowed: it is defined as a disease. Its serious
nature is suggested by the word terrible in sentence 2 and the reference
in sentence 4 to it as a major cause of death in children. By sentence 6,
we can define it further: a type of cancer. The text itself never uses the
word leukaemia, making it important for the reader to find the details at
the bottom of the page in order to check the answer. In so doing, the
reader then registers the address for donations. The blank in the final line
has extra resonance. Not only does it represent the non-appearance of
the term leukaemia in the same way as the other blanks in the text, it
also represents the disappearance of the disease itself: the word and the
referent have become one.
In making us work to fill in the blanks, not only does the text engage us, it
also forces us to say the term leukaemia over and over again. In reading
the text and finding the answers, the reader is therefore unwittingly
challenging the taboo that the advert is concerned with. Space was used
in the advert you have just been reading in order to foreground the idea
of taboo and avoidance: the spaces mirror the fact that, so the text
claims, the public suppress discussion of serious illness. The space is
drawing attention to what should be present. But space can refer to
what should be present in other ways, too. Because we know that
advertising costs a lot of money, we expect advertisers to use up all their
allotted space in order to get value for money. If they do not take this
opportunity, we can perceive them to be self-effacing, not wishing to
intrude upon our time and attention. In this case, texts can get attention
by appearing to deny their own impact, and spaces can be read as a polite
refusal to bully the reader.
This unit has explored a variety of ways in which advertisements use
attentionseeking devices. Here are some suggestions for taking these
ideas further:
1 Collect some adverts which use startling images in order to get
attention. Describe in detail how the images you have collected achieve
their effect. Include consideration of the role of para-language, where
appropriate. Also estimate the extent to which these images work in
conjunction with any verbal text to convey messages.
2 Find some varied uses of graphological features (typographical
variations and different layouts) in written advertising. Include
consideration of the use of space as part of your exploration. What
connotations (associations) and implied meanings are suggested by the
features you have found?
3 Junk mailers often go to considerable lengths to get our attention for
example, by creating texts that masquerade as personal letters,
postcards, prize draw winning notices, and/or by getting the receiver to
interact with it in some way, such as by cutting out elements, sticking
stamps on particular squares, scratching off covers or undoing locked
parts with keys. Make a collection of junk mail by pooling the mail you get
with that sent to other people you know. Classify some of their attention-
seeking strategies: are some strategies more likely to be successful than
others? To support your own assessments, conduct a survey to find out
how people respond to the junk mail they receive.