1. What do you think of following of slogans. Note the problem in each case.

   • In Italy, a campaign of Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name as Schweppes Toilet Water.

• Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a French pornographic magazine.

• In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi generation” came out as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead”.

• When Braniff Airlines translated a slogan for its comfortable seats “fly in leather” it came out in Spanish as “fly naked”.

* * *

Did you know that…

• The Mercedes car was named after the daughter of a businessman called Emil Jellinec, who bought 25% of the Daimler car company only on condition the cars were named after her.

• Persil is named after two of its ingredients – perborate and silicate.

• Durex is named from its main qualities – Durability, Reliability, Excellence.

• The Sony Company was named by its Japanese founder, Akio Morita, after his favorite Al Jolson song entitled Sonny Boy. Unfortunately, he got the spelling wrong and the company has been called Sony ever since.

Task 3

Make up two or three popular slogans to advertise companies which you respect.

Read them out to the other students.

Try to convince why you think it is a successful company.

Unit 2 The Language of Advertising

1. Read the following statements. Study and translate them.

2. Below is a list of techniques which advertisers commonly use to persuade us to buy their products:

1. Association of ideas

2. Key words

3. Guilt

4. “Science”

5. Expertise

6. “Before and after”

7. “The camera never lies”

8. Repetition

9. Brand names

10. “Keeping up with the Joneses”

1. One thing reminds us of another – especially when we often see them together. These reminders are sometimes more imaginary than real; for some people snow may suggest Christmas, for others silver candlesticks may suggest wealth. The advertiser encourages us to associate his product with those things he thinks we really want – a good job, nice clothes, a sports car, a beautiful girl friend – and, perhaps most of all, a feeling of importance. The “image” of a product is based on these associations and the advertiser often creates a “good image” by showing us someone who uses his product and who leads the kind of life we should like to lead.

2. Most advertisements contain certain words (sometimes, but not always, in bold or large letters, or beginning with a capital letter) that are, intended to be persuasive, while at the same time appearing to be informative. In describing a product, copy-writers insert words that will conjure up certain feelings, associations and attitudes. Some words – “golden”, for example – seem to have been so successful in selling that advertisers use them almost as if they were magic keys to increase sales.

3. Advertisers may invoke feelings that imply you are not doing the best for those you love best. For example, an advertisement may suggest that any mother who really loves her children uses a certain product. If she does not, she might start to think of herself as a bad mother who does not love her family. So she might go and buy that particular product, rather than go on feeling bad about it.

4. In this age of moonflights, heart transplants and wonder drugs, we are all impressed by science. If an advertiser links his claim with a scientific fact, there is even a chance we can be blinded by science. The question is simply whether the impressive air of the new discovery or the “man-made miracle” is being used to help or just to hoodwink us.

5. Advertisements often encourage us to believe that because someone has been successful in one field, he should be regarded as an authority in other fields.

6. The advertiser knows that there are certain people we admire because they are famous sportsmen, actors or singers, and he believes that if we discover that a certain well-known personality uses this product, we will want to use it too. This is why so many advertisements feature famous people.

7. Some products are advertised as having a remarkable and immediate effects. We are shown the situation before using the product and this is contrasted with the situation that follows its use. Taking a tablet for a headache in such advertisement can have truly remarkable results. For not only has the headache gone, but the person concerned has often had a new hair-do, acquired a new set of clothes and sometimes even moved to a more modern, better furnished house.

8. Maybe we cannot always believe what we are told, but surely we must accept what we are actually shown. The trouble is that when we look at the photograph we do not know how the photograph was taken, or even what was actually photographed. Is that delicious-looking whipped cream really cream, or a plastic froth? Are the colours in fact so glowing or has a special filter has been used?

9. It is often difficult to tell, but you can sometimes spot the photographic tricks if you look carefully enough.

10. If you keep talking about something for long enough, eventually people will pay attention to you. Many advertisements are based on this principle.

11. If we hear the name of a product many times a day, we are much more likely to find that this is the name that comes into your head when the shopkeeper asks “What brand?”. We usually like to choose things for ourselves, but if the advertiser plants a name in your heads in this way he has helped to make the choice for us.

12. The manufacturer needs a name for its product, and of course he looks for a name that will do more than just identify or label: he wants a name that brings suitable associations as well, the ideas that the word brings to mind will help sell the product.

13. Advertisers may try to make us want a product by suggesting that most of people or the “best” people already use it and that we will no doubt want to follow them. No one likes to be inferior to others and these advertisements suggest that you will be unless you buy the product.

Ex. 1. In each line find one odd word.

lead	concern	feel	hear
Advertisement	thing	development	achievement
Famous	remarkable	delicious	photograph
Shopkeeper	photographer	person	advertiser
Should	can	must	ought
Produce	product	production	produced
may	might	can	could

Ex. 2. Find words in column B which have the opposite meaning to words in column A.

1. inferior a) loathe

2. succeed b) disgusting

3. admire c) buy

4. famous d) above

5. modern e) superior

6. delicious f) worst

7. usually g) unknown

8. sell h) fail

9. best i) old

10. below j) seldom

Ex. 3. Match the words in the right hand column with their definitions in the left hand one.

1. brand	a) to deceive, to trick
2. guilt	b) the power to influence people because of respect, special knowledge
3. repetition	c) a type of product manufactured by a particular company; a trade mark
4. wealth	d) to recognise smth as being a particular person or thing
5. encourage	e) able to persuade, convincing
6. bold	f) blame or responsibility for wrongdoing
7. hoodwork	g) that can be clearly seen
8. persuasive	h) a large amount or number of something
9. identify	i) to help smth to develop or increase
10. authority	j) a thing that has been done or said before, a copy