Session Ten Rhetorical Devices in English Advertising

Session Ten
Rhetorical Devices in
English Advertising
Rhetorical devices are various forms of ex
pression deviating from the normal arrangement or use of words, which are adopted in
order to give beauty, variety or force to a com
position. Many of them are used in English a
vertising to achieve three goals: first, it is to
form the brand image or corporate image in
consumer’s mind; second, to stress the uniq
ness of the advertised product; thirdly, to stre
the unique sales proposition of the advertised
product. Among them, the third is the most
important because of its attraction.
Hegel says, ‘beauty comes out of image’.
The beauty of English advertising is first characterized by its ideographic image. It embodies the materialized labor in a lively and vivi
way. Psychologically, image is realized throu
imagination. With the help of rhetorical device
advertising leads people to an artistic concep
In order to make their adverts unique and
eye-catching, the copywriters have to make
elaborate designs and draw up remarkable
verbal blueprints by working creatively and ap
tly applying rhetorical devices. It can be said
without any exaggeration that the success of
English advertisements has much to do with
apt employment of rhetorical devices. Freque
ly used rhetorical devices are: simile, metaph
rical devices are often used in English advertising, which are discussed briefly here..
一、Simile
“It is a figure of speech which makes a
comparison between two unlike elements
having at least one quality or characteristic
in common. To make the comparison, words
like as, as...as, as if and like are used to tran
fer the quality of one thing to another. In othe
words, simile is a direct or explicit compariso
between two unrelated things, indicating a lik
ess or similarity between some abstract qual
ties found in both things. The connective wor
like or as serves as a bridge linking up the
two. The use of an apt simile creates a clear
and vivid image of the advertised product or
service in consumers’ minds and wake up
their mental and emotional resonance. Let’s
analyze the following examples.
(1) Breakfast without orange juice is like a
day without sunshine.
This example is also a case of simile introduced by the word like. The adman here com
pares breakfast without orange juice to a day
without sunshine. How vivid and imaginative
the simile is! As we all know, a day without
sunshine is not warm and cheerful. People
usually do not like a cloudy or overcast day,
or a day without sunshine, and some people
might feel sad or gloomy during days withou
sunshine. In the opinion of the adman, for
some people it is not desirable to have break
fast without orange juice. So how nice it is to
have a breakfast with orange juice!
(2) The welcome is as warm as the climat
at this friendly complex, quietly position
at the top of Puerto Rico hillside.
Sentence (2) is an example of simile in
which the two parts compared are linked by
the words as...as. From the simile, we can
see that the climate is warm there, and so is
the welcome extended to the tourists. The
use of simile in this example paints a vivid
picture of the people and climate there: the
climate is warm and comfortable, and the
people there are friendly and enthusiastic an
always ready to offer you welcome as warm
as the climate there.
Though simile is an important rhetorical
device in English advertisements, it is far les
frequently employed than metaphor, which is
one of the most frequently used rhetorical de
vices in English advertisements.
二、Metaphor
There are some definitions about metapho
Like a simile in essence, metaphor also mak
a comparison between two unlike elements,
but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied
rather than stated. Myers describes metapho
in this way, ‘Metaphor sets up a relation of
similarity between two referents, as if they
were the same thing. X is described in terms
of Y ’(Myers, 1994:125). C. Hugh Holmanm
defines metaphor in A Handbook to Literatur
as “An implied analogy which imaginatively
identifies one object with another and ascribe
to the first one more of the qualities of the se
cond or invests the first with emotional or ima
ginative qualities associated with the second
From the above-mentioned definitions, we
can gain a general understanding of metaph
Metaphor is an implied comparison between
two unrelated things indicating a likeness or
Metaphor, unlike simile, does not use like or
as to indicate the comparison. Without as or
like, it becomes more concise and produces
profound associations. Metaphor is considered by many to be the most important and the
most common rhetorical device in English
advertisements. e.g.
(3) To spread your wings in Asia share our
vantage point.
(4) It’s a country rich in art, with a wealth o
museums. Blessed by year round good weather, Spain is a magnet for sun-worshippers
In Example (3), readers are compared to big
birds which spread their wings, which creates
a vivid picture. In Example (4), Spain and ma
net, two different things, are compared along
the dimension of immensely strong attraction
The ad may be changed in different ways: (a)
… Spain is just like a magnet for sun-worship
pers and holiday-makers; (b)… like a magnet
Spain is irresistibly attractive to sun-worshippers and holiday-makers; (c) …Spain is so
beautiful and so strongly attractive that it
attracts, like a magnet, so many sunworship-
pers and holiday-makers; (d) …Spain is as
strongly attractive as a magnet, drawing a
large number of worshippers and holidaymakers to its alluring places; (e) Spain is
sucha country that many sun-worshippers
and holiday-makers are irresistibly attracted
to it and can not resist the temptation to go
there for sightseeing. Compare the original
metaphorical sentence with the given paraph
rased sentences, and you will find the origina
metaphorical sentence is much more concise
and the two referents involved in the meta-
phorical sentence are made to be more
directly associated with each other.
“ Metaphors are valuable in advertising lan
guage because they can help to suggest the
right kind of emotive associations for the product. The way we interpret a metaphor is to
see a connection, or symbolic identity, betwee
the literal and figurative meaning of an item
(So in Bacon’s apothegm, we understand an
equation ‘books=food’.). Such irrational identi
fications epitomize in language what in more
general terms is meant by building up an ima
for a product. Or, to put the matter the other
way round, a brand image is a metaphor by
which a product is identified with an object of
the consumer’s desires’ (Leech, 1966:182).
Obviously, appropriate application of metaphor plays an important role in English advertising, which can not only render adverts attra
tive and picturesque, but also informative and
persuasive. So metaphor contributes to prom
ting the sale of products and help make adve
tised service thrive and flourish.
三、Personification
According to A Hand Book to Literature,
published by the Bobbs –Merrill Company in
1972, personification is “a figure of speech
which endows animals, ideas, abstractions,
and inanimate objects with human form, cha
racter, or sensibilities; the representing of
imaginary creatures or things as having human personalities, intelligence, and emotions
whether real or fictitious, by another person.”
However, the definition in Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary Of Current English With
Chinese Translation is more concise: “treating
sth. that is without life as a human being or
representing it in human form” (1991:163).
Through personification, animals are endowe
with human form or feelings, and inanimate
objects, or ideas and abstractions are given
life and personal attributes.
Personifying the advertised product and giving it feeling and emotion, which only people
possess, make an ad more acceptable.
Personification is often employed in English
adverts. Let’s observe the following examples
(1) Flowers by Interflora speak from the heart
(2) Oscar de la Renta knows what makes a
woman beautiful.
(3) She has her own spirit and it graces every
one she comes near.
(4) “Unlike me, my Rolex never needs a rest.
By personification, the adman paints a vivid
and imaginative picture. In Example (1), flowe
are personified: they seem to be human being
who speak from the heart. In other words, the
are endowed with human feelings of love,
kindness, friendship, so they’re really invaluable gifts. When customers see this advert
they are likely to buy some of the advertised
flowers to express their true and profound
feelings. In Example (2), Oscar de la Renta i
personified because it knows how to make
women beautiful. The employment of personification is more effective than plain promotion for ladies who have a passion for beauty
In Example (3), the perfume, Lauren, is perso
nified as a graceful lady. “She” refers not onl
to the perfume itself, but to the beautiful lady
who loves the perfume. The use of the femini
gender “she” indicates that the perfume is use
exclusively by females. In Example (4), Rolex
is endowed with a human characteristic, but i
never needs a rest, which implies that the wa
strikes the hour exactly, and it is the most important quality expected of all watches.
We can come to the conclusion that the us
of personification in advertising attracts the au
diences’ attention, stimulates their interest in
what is being advertised and helps create an