The Functions of Presupposition in Advertising

that Windows didnt work properly. In that advertisement, “the words do not directly assert that Windows does not work properly, but they presuppose this” Sells and Gonzalez, 2002. This creates an implicit competition between Apple Computer and Windows. 3 Making short and memorable message According to Nilsen 1974, by using presupposition, information can be shared between the reader and advertiser without explanation or a need for convincing. Bovee and Arens also state “effective slogans are short, easy to understand, memorable, and easy to repeat” 1986: 262-274. Therefore, instead of making a long statement listing, advertiser can make a short and memorable statement via presupposition. 4 Establishing a virtual poetic world Advertisers largely rely on presuppositions to set up an economic emphatic poetic text. As stated by Goddard “adverts sometimes come very close to the way concrete poetry works” 2003: 9-21. Presupposition, as a vital device to express more than what is uttered literally, can build an aesthetic language of advertising. Thus, presuppositions in idioms, metaphors, or other figures of speech arrest the reader’s attention.

5. Magazines as the Printed Media

Among all the kinds of print media, newspapers and magazines are the most considerable space for advertisers to buy. However, unlike newspapers that are received by nearly every household in every country, magazines tend to reach PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI a very selective audience. It makes magazines become the more reasonable media selected for the advertisers to reach the target audience. According to Bovee and Arens 1986: 418-419, there are several special characteristics that attract advertisers to use magazines as an element of the creative mix. Below are the special features of magazines: 1 Selectivity Magazines generally tend to reach a very selective audience. There are magazines written for special-interest groups. “Golf Digest helps a golf club manufacturers reach golfers; Business Week reaches business-people; Seventeen reaches teenage girls; and Ebony, a black-oriented magazine, helps advertisers reach the black market” Bovee and Arens, 1986: 418. 2 Flexibility Magazines offer flexibility in both readership and advertising. For advertisers, magazines dare to offer “a great deal of flexibility in terms of the type, size, and placement of the advertising material. Some magazines offer often at extra charge a variety of special options that can enhance the creative appeal of the ad and increase attention and readership. Examples include gatefolds, bleed pages, inserts, and creative space buys” Belch and Belch, 1987: 403. 3 Color Color sells. This fact can be seen through magazines. “Magazine color spreads a spectrum of exciting visual pleasure before the reader. Nowhere can better color reproduction be seen than in the slick magazines. Color enhances image and identifies the package” Bovee and Arens, 1986: 418.