Introduction
In linguistics of the end of XX – the beginning of XXI centuries there is the special interest to the advertising as the discourse type. The creative potentiality of advertising as a discourse type has been pointed out recently by a lot of authors. Unfortunately you can not find a lot of papers devoted to the on-line advertising. The main explanation of this, in my estimation, is that on-line advertising is quit new type of promotion, but it gained tremendous success in last years.
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.
The topicality of the paper is determined by necessity of the detailed analysis of the methods and types of the on-line advertising, their linguistic peculiarities and the creation of the web-site with the specific features of these advertisements and banners.
The research object is the on-line advertising and its use in the World Wide Web.
The research subject is the analysis of the lexically-semantic features of the advertising in the World Wide Web.
The aim of the paper is to find and describe the verbal and nonverbal methods that are used in advertising.
Among the objectives of this work are:
1) to describe persuasion methods, types and techniques of the on-line advertising;
2) to analyze different forms of advertising and point out why on-line advertisements has become so popular in last decades;
3) to outline the main types of banners;
4) to create a Web site with additional information about advertising and the examples of different banners.
The research is carried out with the help of the following methods of investigation:
· The descriptive method is used for full and precise description of the peculiarities of the on-line advertising.
· Due to the component analysis of the structural method I managed to describe the structure of banners and their location in web pages.
Labours of some philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, historians and linguists are devoted to the study of advertising (Semino, Cook, Campos Pardillos). At the same time on-line advertising (especially, banners) remains not fully investigated from linguistic positions. So, this is the novelty of the paper.
Practical value of diploma consists in possibilities of using its results in estimating what types of the advertisements will be the most useful. Positions of work can find practical application among managers and persons who promote different products.
The material, which is used while studying the theme, includes:
· books and researches on discourse and advertising;
· journals and papers related to the theme;
· internet sources;
· banners.
Web-site was created with Dremweaver software. Being new to web site building I had fixed upon this program because Dreamweaver is the best tool for both the beginning and advanced web page creator to create slightly complex website, with simple but animated toolbars, little animations, sound clips and so forth.
I. Linguistic peculiarities of the web-advertising
1. Main approaches of the persuasion
1.1 Discourse studies in modern linguistics
Discourse (L. discursus, "running to and from") means either "written or spoken communication or debate" or "a formal discussion or debate" . The term is often used in semantics and discourse analysis.
In semantics, discourses are linguistic units composed of several sentences; in other words, conversations, arguments, or speeches. In discourse analysis, which came to prominence in the late 1960s, the word "discourse" is shorthand for "discursive formation", which is what Michel Foucault called communication that involves specialized knowledge of various kinds. It is in this sense that the word is most often used in academic studies. [9, p.11]
Studies of discourse have been carried out within a variety of traditions that investigate the relations between language and structure including feminist studies, anthropology, ethnography, cultural studies, literary theory and the history of ideas. Within these fields, the notion of discourse is itself subject to discourse, that is, debated on the basis of specialized knowledge. Discourse can be observed in the use of spoken, written and signed language and multimodal/multimedia forms of communication, and is not found only in 'non-fictional' or verbal materials. [29 p.54]
1.2 The use of implication in the discourse of commercial English advertising
The thesis focuses on the problem of implication in the discourse of commercial English advertising. In this study under implication is understood a special way of expressing information that does not receive direct verbalization and is indicated by explicit verbal and nonverbal elements – markers. The explication of implicit information is achieved through additional mental operations. Evaluations and associations in the advertising discourse fall under the category of implicit information. The investigation has proved that implication is a distinguishing feature of the advertising discourse, tracked on the discourse, lexical, grammatical and nonverbal levels. The presence of implication is conditioned by the type of discourse, its parameters, aims and tasks of its sender. The status of implication in the advertising discourse is explained by its contradictory nature. On the one hand, implication complicates and hinders the processing and decoding of information, requires additional mental efforts of addressee, and, on the other hand, encourages addressee to take a more active part in the communication. Among the factors which stipulate implication in the advertising discourse are the principle of language economy, originality and expressiveness of language forms, tendency towards colloquialization of the advertising language, strengthening of illocutionary force. It has been shown that explicit presentation of information tends to be obtrusive whereas implicit way foresees drawing the addressee into more intensive decoding of information, increases attractiveness of advertising and its effects on the addressee. The structure of the cognitive model of the advertising discourse consists of motives and inducements and can be explicit or implicit. The implication of the inducement helps sender to avoid being categorical. The discourse of advertising is characterized by complex intentions. The indication of implication is realized by different types of discourse, lexical, grammatical and nonverbal markers. The decisive role in explication of implicit information belongs to the cognitive meaning of the advertising discourse. The implicit information, which is marked by explicit verbal and nonverbal means is part of the cognitive model, evaluation component, pragmatic meaning of text and word. The representation of the cognitive model can be complete or partial, which depends on the explicit or implicit rendering of its parts. The investigation has proved that it is partial representation of the cognitive model that dominates in the discourse of commercial English advertising.[5, p.234]
The category of evaluation, obligatory in the advertising discourse, is reflected in lexis, being part of the connotative component. The evaluation, which is present in the motive of the cognitive model, implies inducement, confirming its status of the regulator of the addressee’s behaviour. The evaluation in the discourse of commercial advertising is polyreferential. Among lexical markers of implicit information are place names, particles such as only, even, finally, at last, dates, the definite article, foreign words, quotations, comparative constructions. Imperative illocutionary force in the discourse of commercial advertising is realized by various grammatical markers, which mitigate the categorical modality of the text, create an impression of the sender’s non-engagement. Among grammatical markers stands out a group of questions, which within the advertising discourse loses its primary function, acquiring the meaning of inducement. Text of advertising is a bilingual unit, in which language and paralanguage fulfill one communicative task. Implicit information is marked by nonverbal means, namely illustrations, pictorial tropes, colour, underlining, kinds and size of type. Besides its attractiveness and psychological effect, colour is a marker of implicit information, which communicates to the addressee information about products and their high quality. Among paragraphic markers of implicit information underlining is applied to the most important elements of the text. Different styles of types were registered as nonverbal markers if implicit information about products advertised in the text. [11, p.58-60]
1.3 Types of persuasion in the everyday life
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people and oneself toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is a strategy of problem-solving relying on "appeals" rather than coercion. According to Aristotle, "Rhetoric is the art of discovering, in a particular case, the available means of persuasion."
Everyday we are confronted by persuasion. Food makers want us to buy their newest products, while movie studios want us to go see the latest blockbusters. Because persuasion is such a pervasive component of our lives, it is easy to overlook how we are influenced by outside sources. [27]
1.3.1 Persuasion Techniques
Due to the usefulness of influence, persuasion techniques have been studied and observed since ancient times, but social psychologists began formally studying these techniques early in the 20th-century. The goal of persuasion is to convince the target to internalize the persuasive argument and adopt this new attitude as a part of their core belief system.
These are just a few of highly effective techniques of persuasion. Other methods include the use of rewards, punishments, positive or negative expertise, moral appeal, and many others.
One method of persuasion involves creating a need or an appealing a previously exiting need. This type of persuasion appeals to a person’s fundamental needs for shelter, love, self-esteem, and self-actualization.
Another very effective persuasive method appeals to the need to be popular, prestigious, or similar to others. Television commercials provide many example of this type of persuasion, where viewers are encouraged to purchase items so they can be like everyone else or be like a well-known or well-respected person. Television advertisements are a huge source of exposure to persuasion considering that some estimates claim that the average American watches between 1,500 to 2,000 hours of television every year.
Persuasion also often makes use of loaded words and images. Advertisers are well aware of the power of positive words, which is why so many advertisers utilize phrases such as "New and Improved" or "All Natural.
The examples above are just a few of the many persuasion techniques described by social psychologists. Look for examples of persuasion in your daily experience. An interesting experiment is to view a half-hour of a random television program and note every instance of persuasive advertising. The amount of persuasive techniques used in such a brief period of time can be astonishing. [30, p.10-12]
1.3.2 Methods of persuasion
Persuasion methods are also sometimes referred to as persuasion tactics or persuasion strategies.According to Robert Cialdini in his book on persuasion, he defined six "weapons of influence":
Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing and advertising. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1937.
Commitment and Consistency - Once people commit to what they think is right, orally or in writing, they are more likely to honor that commitment, even if the original incentive or motivation is subsequently removed. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy. See cognitive dissonance.
Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See confirmity, and the Asch conformity experiments.
Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s.
Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people whom they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed, but generally more aesthetically pleasing people tend to use this influence excellently over others.
Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales. Propaganda is also closely related to Persuasion. It's a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience. The term 'propaganda' first appeared in 1622 when Pope Gregory XV established the Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith. Propaganda was then as now about convincing large numbers of people about the veracity of a given set of ideas. Propaganda is as old as people, politics and religion. [27]
advertisement verbal banner website
2. The characteristic features of the advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to help sell products and services. Typically it communicates a message including the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer. However, advertising does typically attempt to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [15, p.100]
Many advertisements are designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinvention of the "brand image". For these purposes, advertisements sometimes embed their persuasive message with factual information. There are many media used to deliver these messages, including traditional media such as television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, video games, the carrier bags, billboards, mail or post and Internet marketing. Today, new media such as digital signage is growing as a major new mass media. Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization.
Organizations that frequently spend large sums of money on advertising that sells what is not, strictly speaking, a product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations, and military recruiters. Non-profit organizations are not typical advertising clients, and may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as public service announcements.
Money spent on advertising has increased dramatically in recent years. In 2008, spending on advertising has been estimated at over $150 billion in the United States and $385 billion worldwide, and the latter to exceed $450 billion by 2010.
While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited Commercial Email and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. In addition, advertising frequently uses psychological pressure (for example, appealing to feelings of inadequacy) on the intended consumer, which may be harmful. [21, p. 355-356]