Emphasis Means in Advertisements
Emphasis Means in Advertisements

Author(s): Galina Petrea
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Library and Information Science
Published by: Biblioteca Ştiinţifică a Universităţii de Stat Alecu Russo
Keywords: Emphasis means; Conceptual Integration theory; hierarchy of effects; Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM); visual metaphor; perceived helpfulness of negativity; non-reciprocity
Summary/Abstract: Proceeding from the fact that advertising is a type of persuasive discourse,emphasis is intrinsically one of its most strong tools. The engineering of consentto approve, to endorse a cause, to raise awareness, to undertake some measures,to act in a certain way, promoted by the social campaigns that I have focused onin the article, must indeed trigger a positive response, even if the message andthe visual are shockingly framed in a negative shade. New semantic decodingtechniques like the Conceptual Integration Theory but also pragmatics could beused to deconstruct and reconstruct the meaning which appears as a blending of astrong impact visual metaphor and an emphatic message. Persuasion is evidentlystudied extensively in psychology and research is successfully used in marketingand more exactly products, services promotion, however the same concepts likethe hierarchy of effects for influencing: learn→feel→do, could be applied notjust for the sale of luxury goods but also for impacting human behavior insensitive stringent social causes. The visual metaphors could have a higherdegree of ambiguity and openness to multiple interpretations, or a deficit ofmeaning, so that the textual message comes to place that stress and emphasisethe need to act.

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