Linguistic Analyses of Advertising

Abstract

This study of English and global imagery in French advertising draws on the work of those who have defined and described in detail the contextual use of language. It therefore takes into account the sociocultural setting in which the communication occurs, the interlocutors involved, the intended message of the communication, the genre of discourse, and other sociolinguistic parameters. Indeed, a creative team’s decisions regarding the verbal and visual elements of advertising copy will depend on a host of contextual considerations, including the intended audience (country or region, specific segment of the population), the product or service, the main selling point or advertising message, media, budgetary constraints, and so on. The incorporation of English and global imagery in the design of an advertising campaign also entails a contextual analysis on an entirely different level, where certain choices of music, text, and images are required to attract attention, enhance recall, convey information about the product, evoke certain connotations, and entice the consumer.