x
3.2.1. Data Collection 17
3.2.2. Data Analysis 17
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 18
Data 1 19
Data 2 21
Data 3 23
Data 4 25
Data 5 27
Data 6 29
Data 7 30
Data 8 31
Data 9 33
Data 10 35
Data 11 37
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 39
5.1. Conclusion 39
5.2. Suggestion 40
REFERENCES 41
APPENDIXES 42
CURRICULUM VITAE 51
1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study
Advertisement is an important tool for presenting messages to customers. Customers cannot purchase an advertised product that they see unless media
allows them to interact with the messages being delivered; then the advertisement perhaps can make the demand increase faster.
In order to achieve a successful marketing, the advertisers adopt a strategy or a plan to create a professionally designed advertisement. However, whatever
the promotional strategies advertisement takes, language which is the most important tool of human communication has important role to influence customers
in buying the advertised products. To achieve this awareness, it is important to have a good understanding of language characteristics in English advertisements
and their goals. Therefore, an analysis of them is worthwhile to achieve successful advertisement.
This skripsi deals with the analysis of characteristics of language in English advertisement texts and their goals. The title is “The Language
Characteristics and Goals in Headlines of Cosmetics and Skincare Products Advertisements.” The skripsi attempts to approach the main language
characteristics of English advertisement and their goals mainly from the angles of advertisement and linguistics.
This skripsi uses cosmetics and skincare products advertisements as data, such as Dove, Maybelline, Revlon, Pond’s, Loreal and Nivea. These
advertisements are chosen from these brands because they have been popular and the products have been sold in many countries in the world.
The study of language of advertisement has been raised by Dessy Marlina in Petra Christian University. The title is “The Figure of Speech and its Figurative
Meaning Used in The Language of Cosmetics Advertisements in Cleo Magazine.” She analyzes figure of speech used in the language of cosmetics advertisements
such as hyperbole, metaphor and personification. She also describes its figurative meaning.
1.2. Research Questions
Advertisement owns its distinctive linguistic characteristics. The problems
of the present study are formulated in the following questions:
1. What are the language characteristics of English advertisements in
cosmetics and skincare products? 2.
To which goals the characteristics of the language in English advertisements are applied?
1.3. Objectives
1. To describe the language characteristics of English advertisements in
cosmetics and skincare products.
2. To describe which goals the characteristics of the language in English
advertisements are applied
1.4. Significant to knowledge
This study is expected to be useful for the students to understand the language characteristics and goals in English advertisement. It is also hoped that
the result of this study can add the readers’ comprehension of language characteristics used in English advertisement text. It also can be used as further
references about linguistic study in the language of advertisement.
1.5. Framework of the Theory
Leech 1966: 27, in his comprehensive study on English in advertising, has analyzed the characteristics of advertisement language. He has effectively
related these characteristics with the goals of attention value, readability, memorability and selling power.
The language characteristics of advertisement based on Leech are: first, unorthodoxies of spelling and syntax and semantic oddities are some of the
characteristics linked with attention value. Second, simple, personal, colloquial style and familiar vocabulary are connected with readability. Third, phonological
devices such as alliteration, rhythm, rhyme, parallelism and repetition are related to memorability. Fourth, frequent use of imperatives, superlatives and hyperboles
are connected with selling power.
4
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW
2.1. Definition of Advertisement
The word “advertisement” derives from the Latin word “advertere”. It means “to inform somebody of something”, “to bring into notice” or “to draw
attention to something”, etc. Xia Lei, 2003: 8 So far different researchers have made different definitions of advertisement
from different perspectives or purposes. Bolen 1984: 9 defines it as: “A kind of paid, non-personal communication through various mass media
by business firms, non-profit organizations and individuals who are in some way identified in the message and who hope to inform or persuade members
of a particular audience” Bolen, 1984: 9. Another definition of advertisement is: “Advertisement is the non personal
communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various
media” Bovee, 1992: 7. O’ Guinn examines the conflicts on the definition of advertisement and concludes by arguing
that “Advertisement is a paid, mediated form of communication from an identifiable source, designed to persuade the
receiver to take some action, now or in the future” O’ Guinn, 1998:5. From these definitions, we can know that advertisement refers to a paid tool
of delivering message to attract the potential customers and persuade them to buy the product.
2.2. Advertisement Components
An advertisement is composed of different components, which are either verbal or non-verbal. The verbal components consist of the headline, sub-
headline, the body copy, trademark including brand name, corporate or store name and visual symbol and slogan. Bovée and Arens 1992: 291 propose a
similar division of advertising components: headline, the visual, subheads, body copy, boxes and panels, slogans and logotypes. They further stress the fact that
not all of these features typically appear in one advert. The verbal component of advertisement which mostly appears is headline.
Bovée and Arens 1992: 292 give a definition of the headline as “…the
words in the leading position of the advertisement, the words that will be read first or that are positioned to draw the most attention”. Since the headline occupies a
leading position in the advert and it is therefore a striking element, its major role is to attract the readers’ attention. Bovée and Arens 1992: 292 state five
headline functions: 1.
to select the reader 2.
to lead the reader directly into the body copy 3.
to present the complete selling idea 4.
to promise a benefit to the customer 5.
to present product news of interest to the reader The headline should embrace a short, clear message. It aims to attract the
readers to be interested in the advertisement and the advertised product.
2.3. The Characteristics of Language in Advertisement
According to Leech 1966: 27, the language of advertisement is characterized by a number of preferred linguistic patterns and techniques:
1. Unorthodoxies of spelling and syntax including coinage, neologism, minor
sentence, block language, misspelling word, unfamiliar vocabulary and semantic oddities such as pun, metaphor, personification are common to
attract attention. 2.
Simple such as the use of simple sentences and simple words, personal such as the use of second personal pronoun or personal words, and
colloquial style such as the use of everyday or oral language, slang language and a familiar vocabulary are employed to sustain attention.
3. Phonological devices of rhyme, alliteration, parallelism and sheer
repetition are utilized to enhance memorability and amusement. Repetition is usually of two types: intra-textual and inter-textual. In the former, the
product’s name and certain highlighted features are repeated several times. In the latter, a single slogan is consistently used in different ads for a
single product or manufacturer. 4.
An intimate, interactive addressing of the audience and a conversational mode including the use of second personal pronoun and interrogative
sentence. 5.
Abundant use is made of superlatives and hyperboles in characterizing the product, with often indirect reference to rival products, and imperatives are
used to make persuasions and suggestions.
2.4. The goals of language in advertisement
According to Leech 1966: 27-31, to achieve successful advertisement, the language must have attention value, readability, memorability, and selling
power. 1.
Attention value According to Leech 1966: 27 as cited in Alena Zapletalová 2008: 30,
the advertisement must draw attention to itself, which is usually achieved by violation of some obvious rule of the language or unorthodox use of language. It
includes untypical form of the language such as neologism, coinage, misspelling word, minor sentence, block language, unfamiliar vocabulary and semantic
oddities such as metaphor, pun, and personification. The first unorthodox use of language is neologism. Neologism refers to a
new word, term, or expression newly created or an old word with new meanings. For example: “Dogbot doesnt rate Vivaldi. Hes into tech no. If only he had an
MP3 connector socket like the new Fiesta Zetec Climate.” Glamour, p. 132. `Dogboť is a neologism which means a robot-like dog.
The second unorthodox use of language is coinage. Coinage is a word or phrase recently invented Longman: 263. There are many methods to create new
words, such as compounding, derivation, acronym, clipping, blending. A number of coinages in advertisements are names or brands of products. The example of
coinage is cellophane. Cellophane refers to thin transparent material used for wrapping goods. It comes from cellulose and diaphane, two raw material names of
cellophane.
The third unorthodox use of language is misspelling word. According to Xia Lei 2003: 49, misspelling some common words is also a clever use of
coinages. The proper use of misspelling can reach an effect of novelty. Although misspelling words are different from original words in forms, they remain the
same meaning and deliver effectively the information of products. For example: “For twogether the ultimate all inclusive one price sunkissed holiday.” This is an
advertisement on providing a couple with a holiday inn. “Twogether” and “together” are similar both in spelling and pronunciation. “To” is misspelled as
“Two”, to indicate that the couple could get the romantic yesterday once more if they spend their holiday together in this inn. Psychologically, emotion between
lovers tends to become common and ordinary on the surface after a long period, “Twogether” here can remind them of the romantic time in the past.
The fourth unorthodox use of language is minor sentence. A minor sentence is one that does not necessarily have a main verb in it, but which can be
understood as a complete unit of meaning. The absent part of a minor sentence might be the subject, predicate, or other parts. Minor sentence is a sentence which
is chopped up into shorter bits by using full stops, dash, semi-colon and hyphen, where ordinary prose would use commas or no punctuation at all. Leech 1966:
113- 116 calls it as „disjunctive syntax’.
The fifth unorthodox use of language is block language. Leech 1966: 90 - 93 defines block language as “…the type of restricted variety of grammar called
the disjunctive mode. In the writing style of printed advertising block language is
a common feature. The need for short clear messages lends its way to short
sentences, styled in a way that they are easily understandable. Block language usually refers to a simple, short message which tends to be verbless and consists
of a noun or a noun phrase. The other characteristic of language in advertisement which is used to
achieve attention value is semantic unorthodoxy. Semantic unorthodoxy can be crudely
characterized as “playing with meanings of words” Leech: 1981. It includes literary devices such as metaphor, personification and pun.
According to Myers, 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. For example, “the world is a stage.” The world is described in terms
of a stage. Tanaka 1994: 82 agrees that metaphor and pun have power to draw attention and enhance memorability. Metaphor plays an important role in English
advertisements. It renders advertisements attractive and picturesque to attract the customer’s attention to the advertised product. So metaphor contributes to
promoting the sale of products. Semantic oddity also includes pun. According to
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
1986: 1642, pun is “a humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest different meanings or applications of words having the same
sound or nearly the same sound but different meanings: a play on words. ” Nida
1993: 87 argues that “Plays on the meaning and formal resemblance of words punning is a universal phenomenon, and in some languages this rhetorical
device is extensively encouraged and practiced.” Pun is used to attract the customers’ attention. However, to make a successful and impressive pun is not
easy, as Tanaka 1994: 82 points out, the extra processing effort needed to process the pun helps to sustain readers attention and makes the advertisement
more memorable. Therefore, puns which are often emp1oyed by the manufacturers to seek attention are almost the most attention-getting device of the
rhetorical figures. The word used as a pun is usually related to the characteristics of product or the brand name of the product. For example: From sharp minds.
Come Sharp products. In the first sentence, “sharp” is used as an adjective in its actual literal meaning. In the second sentence, it has double meanings: one is an
adjective in its habitual sense; the other means the brand name or the company that produces the products.
Another semantic oddity is 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, character, or sensibilities; the representing of imaginary creatures or things as having human personalities, intelligence, and emotions;
whether real or fictitious, by another person,” For example, the wind whistled through the trees. By using personification, something without life is represented
or thought of as a human being, or as having qualities or feelings of human being. Personifying the advertised product and giving it feeling and emotion aims to
make an advertisement more acceptable. 2.
Readability According to Leech as cited in Kateřina Krčmářová 2008: 25,
concerning the principle of readability, the message conveyed should be clear,
simple and short as not to discourage from further reading. This is achieved by the same elements which make language easy to listen to simple, personal, colloquial
style and familiar vocabulary which, however, as Leech 1966: 28 points out, can be in conflict with the attention and interest value which emphasize the
importance of unexpectedness rather than predictability. To achieve readability, the advertisement must be simple. There are some
ways to make it simple such as using simple sentences, monosyllabic words or fewer letters. To make simple advertisement, it may contain less than ten
syllables. There are 20 most common verbs according to Leech, which are monosyllabic. They are: make, get, give, have, see, buy, come, go, know, keep,
look, need, love, use, feel, like, choose, take, start, taste. All these verbs are common and simple. These common verbs make advertisement in English simple
and easy to understand. According to Leech, some verbs as „look, see, and watch are common in commercials of the demonstration type, where they call the
consumer’s attention to what is happening before the consumer’s eyes’ Leech, 1966: 46. Leech 1966: 152 also lists the most frequently 20 adjectives: new,
goodbest, free, fresh, delicious, full, sure, clean, wonderful, special, crisp, fine, big, great, real, easy, bright, extra, safe and rich. Most of them are monosyllabic.
These adjectives help to build a pleasant picture in readers minds and manage to bring the potential consumers.
Another way to achieve readability is that advertisement must be personal to create an intimacy between the advertisementproduct and customers by using
personal vocabulary, pronoun “you” and interrogative sentence. Mencher 1990
20 has looked into the aspect of vocabulary in advertisement and identified ten words as the most personal and persuasive. They are: “new”, “save”, “safety”,
“proven”, “love”, “discover”, “guarantee”, “results”, “you” and “health”. Based on this theory, pronoun “you” is included in personal word. It is useful to create an
intimacy as Alena Zapletalova 2008: 78 said that pronouns especially weyou, ouryour are frequently used to bring an element of interactiveness between the
advertiser and a potential consumer. The commonly employed technique of synthetic personalisation is used to make the consumer feel she is addressed as an
individual. In connection to this, Ogilvy 1983: 80 advises copywriters to address readers in the second-person singular since readers are alone when reading the
advertisement, and should therefore be addressed as individuals not as a crowd. Besides using pronoun you, the use of interrogative sentence is also useful
to make advertisement more personal because it creates interactiveness between the advertisement and the customers with conversational mode. An interrogative
sentence is a sentence used to ask a question Todd, 2000: 66. It has a function to elicit information Givan, 2001: 318. Linguist G.N. Leech 1997: 77 discusses
two main functions of interrogative sentences. Viewing from the perspective of psychology, interrogative sentences divided the process of information reception
into two phases by first raising a question and then answering it. Thus it turns the passive receiving into active understanding. From the linguistic perspective,
interrogative sentences decrease the grammatical difficulty, because they are usually short in advertisements.
3. Memorability
According to Leech as cited in Kateřina Krčmářová 2008: 25, to achieve memorability, some advertisers employ rhetorical devices such as parallelism,
alliteration, repetition and rhyme. The first way to achieve memorability is parallelism. Crystal 1995: 456
defines the term parallelism as “…the use of paired sounds, words, or constructions”. Parallelism also could be thought as a kind of repetition due to
accompaniment of repetition, but phrases or sentences with the same or similar structure, relative meaning and consistent mood are coordinately used in the
sentence. Parallelism is used to emphasize message as Leech 1966: 190 said “Formal schemes, or parallelisms, are often „rhetorical’ in a familiar sense of the
word, in that they heighten the emotional tone of the message, giving insistent emphasis to points of strategic importance.” The examples of parallelism:
Foodfor life Foodfor peace
Foodfor protection Foodfor work
Foodfor stability Foodfor education
Alliteration is also included in phonological device to achieve memorability. According to
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation
1989: 38, „The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of two or more words in succession is called alliteration.
Alliteration can be found in all the examples stated above: Food for life, Food for peace, Food for protection, Food for work, Food for stability, Food for education.
Leech 1966: 188 calls this device striking and helpful as far as memorability is concerned. Alliteration is applied in advertisement because of its aesthetic feeling
for the audience. Usually alliterations ar e pleasing to audience’s ears because of
the clever choice of the word by the advertiser Another way to achieve memorability is repetition. Repetition is defined
as saying the same thing again, though perhaps with a significant difference. Repetition, including repetition of key words and key phrases and that of similar
structures, is an important rhetorical device employed to stress the tone and to bring out the message. In English advertisement, repetition is used to emphasize
some important aspects of the advertised product or service or certain information. Another phonological device to achieve memorability is rhyme. According
to Nayak 2002: 74, rhyme is related to the use of an identical sound, letter or syllable at the end of adjacent words or lines. For example: The flavour of a
Quaver is never known to waver. Rhyme is used to make advertisement rhythmical and leave impression on readers’ mind.
4. Selling power
According to Leech as cited in Kateřina Krčmářová 2008: 25, the last goal presented by Leech is selling power. Once the advertisement is successful
when arousing readers’ action and getting into public awareness, it can be said that the advert has a selling power. Selling power is the crucial and most
mysterious part of the advertisement process. There is no satisfactory way of
finding out what general linguistic features. However, according to Leech, imperatives, superlatives, hyperboles and abundant use are useful to achieve
selling power, The first way to achieve selling power is the use of imperatives. An
imperative sentence is a sentence used to give an order or to make request Todd, 2000: 66. According to Givon 2001: 318 it has a function to elicit an. action.
Linguistically, imperative clauses seem to be the most powerful devices. Leech 1966 further reminds, it is within human experience that telling someone to do
something is less successful than politely asking himher to do it 1966: 30. Imperatives aim to provoke the customers to take action and encourage them to
buy something immediately. Hyperbole is also used to achieve selling power. LONGMAN Dictionary of
Contemporary English 1998: 751 defines hyperbole as “a way of describing
something in order to make it sound bigger, smaller, better, worse, etc, than it really is.” In advertisement, the use of exaggerated statements puts emphasis on
the particular features of the products or services, or sometimes achieves humorous effect. For instance: It’s time to rewrite history. Ad. of cosmetic
Vestergaard argues that the hyperbolic character of advertisement language, relates on the one hand to the desirability of a unique claim on behalf of
the product, and on the other hand to the principle that an advertisement message should be positive and unreserved Vestergaard, 1985: 67. Behm 2006: 3-4 said
that advertiser shows unique and exceptional qualities of his goods to arouse desire of having this product. It causes that customer goes and buys the product.
16
CHAPTER III RESEARCH OBJECT AND METHOD
This chapter discusses about the methodology that is used in doing this skripsi. Research object, research method, techniques of collecting data and
procedures of analyzing the data will be explained in this chapter.
3.1. Research Object
The object of this research is characteristics and goals of language in headlines of English advertisements based on Leech. This skripsi uses 11
advertisements from the popular brands of cosmetic and skincare product such as Maybelline, Revlon, Ponds, Dove, Loreal and Nivea as data. The data are taken
from print advertisement, and stated in English. Print advertisement usually consists of verbal text and picture. The verbal part is composed of headline,
subheadline, body copy, etc. This skripsi only focuses on headline because it is often placed at the leading position of advertisement to draw the most attention.
3.2. Research Method
The descriptive method of research is used in this skripsi. Descriptive research involves gathering data that describe events and then organizes,
tabulates, depicts, and describes the data collection Glass Hopkins, 1984: 48. This skripsi uses descriptive method to describe the data to find the characteristics
and goals laid in each advertisement.
3.2.1. Data Collection
In collecting the data, there are several steps used. Firstly, the data are taken mainly from cosmetics and skincare products advertisements.
Secondly, the advertisement materials used in this skripsi are collected from the internet and cosmetic websites such as www.maybelline.com,
www.dove.us, www.nivea.com, www.revlon.com, www.ponds.com and www.loreal.com. The data are taken at 25th February 2012. Thirdly, after
getting the data, they are read and classified based on Leech’s theory.
3.2.2. Data Analysis
The data are taken in the form of print advertisement because it is easier to analyze. After getting the data, they are read and analyzed to get
the characteristics and goals laid in each advertisement. The characteristics of language in these advertisements are analyzed based on Leech’s theory.
These characteristics of language are related to the goals of attention value, readability, memorability and selling power based on Leech.
Sample of data analysis: Style your lashes This advertisement is simple and short. It uses simple word, simple
sentence and pronoun “you.” Based on Leech’s theory, simple sentence and pronoun “you” are used to make it readable. This advertisement also uses
imperative sentence to ask the customers to style their lashes using the product in order to achieve selling power.
18
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter elaborates the analysis of language characteristics of advertisement and their goals. From the data analysis, there are some language
characteristics of advertisement based on Leech found: coinage, minor sentence, block language, unfamiliar vocabulary, metaphor, pun, personification, simple,
personal, colloquial style, phonological devices of rhyme, alliteration, repetition, an interactive addressing of the audience, a conversational mode, abundant use,
superlatives, hyperboles, and imperatives. These language characteristics are related to the four goals of successful
advertisement based on Leech: attention value, readability, memorability and selling power. The analysis is limited on the usage of language characteristics in
achieving the four goals above and does not extend to the respond of the reader towards the advertised products. Thus, mentioning that the advertisement is
readable, memorable or has an attention value and has a selling power is measured by the language used in the advertisement.
However, this analysis does not guarantee that these advertisements can achieve these four goals because there are many factors that are used to make
advertisement achieve these four goals including linguistic features and non- linguistic features such as colors, image, typography, background and layout. In
this chapter, the analysis just focuses on the language of advertisement.
Data 1: Style your lashes Maybelline lash stylist mascara This is the mascara advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Simple This headline of advertisement is simple because there are only 3 words in
it. It uses monosyllabic words such as “style” and “your”, and dissyllabic word “lashes”, so it just has 4 syllables. This headline of advertisement also uses simple
imperative sentence which just contains verb “style” and object “your lashes”. Based on these reasons, this headline of advertisement can be classified as
readable. Simple sentence and simple words a im to attract the customers’
attention to read this advertisement. 2.
Personal style and an intimate interactive addressing of the audience This headline of advertisement uses personal style by using pronoun
“you.” Pronoun “you” is used to create interactiveness and intimacy between advertisement and customer to make the customers feel as if their friends ask
them to style their lashes. By using pronoun you, this advertisement is communicating or talking directly to any reader or customer. It sounds as if it is
putting across messages or giving desirable advice to the customer in front of the customers’ face.
By using pronoun you, this advertisement can be classified as readable. It makes the customers receive the message in this advertisement easily. It aims to
attract the customers’ attention to read this advertisement.
3. Imperative sentence
This headline of advertisement uses imperative sentence. Imperative sentence in general is used quite frequently because it performs the function of
direct persuasion and exhortation. The imperative sentence is used to persuade the customers to use the advertised product by commanding them to style their lashes.
It implies that by using this product their lashes will look stylish. Imperative sentence is used to persuade the customers to take the action
of purchasing the product. It indicates that by using imperative sentence it can achieve selling power.
4. Abundant use
In this advertisement, the word “style” is related with the word “lashes.” It exaggerates the q
uality of the product. The verb style has meaning “make or shape something in a particular way.” It means that the advertisement persuades
the customers to make or shape their lashes to be stylish and beautiful. The word style is hoped to raise positive connotation to have style, be stylish and to show
the benefit of the product. It shows that this advertisement guarantees the customers’ satisfaction because women want to look beautiful.
This headline of advertisement exaggerates the quality of the product by implying that the product can style lashes, to provoke the customers to buy the
product. It indicates that by exaggerating the quality of the product, this advertisement has selling power.
Data 2: See the sumptuous side of high shine Maybelline Colorsensational High Shine.
This is lipstick advertisement. The characteristics of language and the goals in this headline of advertisement are:
1. Semantic oddity
This headline of advertisement contains semantic oddity by using metaphor. It uses metaphor to compare the quality of the product with shine. It
implies that if the customers use the product, their lips will be shiny and look sumptuous.
The purpose of using metaphor in this headline of advertisement is to achieve attention value. It is used to create curiosity in order to attract the
customers’ attention. 2.
Unfamiliar vocabulary This headline of advertisement uses unfamiliar vocabulary “sumptuous.”
The wor d “sumptuous” appeared in English in the 15th century, derives via
Middle English from the Latin noun sumptus, meaning expense. The word sumptuous is seldom used. It has same meaning with “luxurious”. However, the
word “luxurious” is more often used. Unfamiliar word is used to achieve attention value. It is used to create
curiosity i n order to attract the customers’ attention.
3. Simple
This headline of advertisement is simple because it uses simple imperative sentence which just consists of seven words and most of them are monosyllabic
such as “see”, “the”, “side”, “of”, “high”, and “shine”. This headline of advertisement only has eight
syllables. It also uses verb “see” which is often used in advertisement.
The simple sentence, monosyllabic words and verb “see” which are used in this headline of advertisement make it readable. They are used to attract
attention as Leech said that verb “see” can act as an appeal for the customer to give attention to the advertisement.
4. Alliteration
This headline of advertisement uses alliteration. It can be seen from the repetition of the beginning sound at the word “see”, “sumptuous”, “side”, and
“shine”. The letter S is found in these four words, so these words have same sound at the beginning.
In this headline of advertisement, alliteration is used to create a favorable impression on readers in order to make it easy to remember. Therefore, by using
alliteration, this advertisement can be classified as memorable. 5.
Imperative sentence This headline of advertisement uses imperative sentence. Imperative
sentence which express request or command is used in this headline of advertisement to ask the customers to see the sumptuous side of high shine. It
means that it asks the customers to use this lipstick because by using this lipstick, they will see their lips become shiny and look sumptuous.
Imperative sentence aims to provoke the customer to buy the product. So, the usage of imperative sentence indicates that this advertisement can achieve
selling power. 6.
Abundant use This headline of advertisement uses the words “sumptuous”, “high” and
“shine” to show the prestige of the product that the product has high and good quality to create the customers’ desire. It implies that the product can make the
lips shiny and sumptuous. It satisfies the customers’ need to look beautiful and glamour.
By exaggerating the quality of the product, it provokes the customers to take action of purchasing the product. It indicates that this advertisement can
achieve selling power.
Data 3: Flawless. Spotless. Pearl Perfect Fairness. Loreal White Pefect. This is whitening cream advertisement. The characteristics of language
and the goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Unorthodoxy of syntax Unorthodoxy of syntax is found in this headline of advertisement. It can be
seen from the use of minor sentence. This headline of advertisement uses minor sentence or disjunctive elements: “Flawless”, “Spotless”, and “Pearl perfect
fairness”. Each of these is separated from the preceding sentences by a full stop and it looks as if it is a complete sentence. In fact, they are just parts of the
sentences concerned. The complete sentence may be written in such way: skin
becomes flawless, spotless and looks like a pearl. Subject and verb which are required by grammatical construction are omitted in this headline advertisement.
The purpose is to cut up the sentence into more information units in order to emphasizes the message contained in this advertisement, more information units
means more emphasized messages. Minor sentence is used to make this advertisement more effective and
attractive. Therefore, by using minor sentence, this advertisement can achieve attention value.
2. Simple
This headline of advertisement is simple because there are just five words in it. This headline of advertisement also uses minor sentence which separates
sentence into several fragments. Minor sentence make it short and simple because it shows only the important messages.
Fewer words and minor sentence are used to make this advertisement easy to read and take less time for the customers to finish reading. Because this
advertisement is simple, it can be categorized as readable. 3.
Alliteration This headline of advertisement uses alliteration. Alliteration is the use of
words that begin with the same sound in order to make a special communicative effect. Alliteration in this headline of advertisement can be seen from the word
“flawless” and the word “fairness”. The f sound is repeated. It also can be seen from the word “pearl” and “perfect”. These words have same sound in the
beginning because letter p is used in these words.
Alliteration is used to attack the audience’s ears and minds rhythmically. It
is also used to evoke a wonderful impression of t he product on readers’ mind. It
aims to achieve memorability. 4.
Rhyme This headline of advertisement uses rhyme. It can be seen from the words
“flawless”, “spotless” and “fairness”. These words have the same sound at the end of the word. Rhyme is used to render this advertisement rhythmical and
memorable. Therefore, by using rhyme this advertisement can achieve memorability.
5. Abundant use
This headline of advertisement uses the words “flawless”, “spotless”, and “pearl perfect fairness” to show the advantages of the advertised product. It
exaggerates the quality of the product by claiming that the product can make skin flawless, spotless and looks like a pearl. It aims to provoke the customers to take
action of purchasing the advertised product. By exaggerating the quality of the product using the words “flawless”,
“spotless”, and “pearl perfect fairness” this advertisement can achieve selling power.
Data 4: Have you ever been bitten? Revlon just bitten lipstain+balm This is lipstick advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Semantic oddity
This headline of advertisement contains semantic oddity because it uses metaphor. It compares the wild kiss to the bite. It implies that by using the
product, the lips will look voluptuous and it create desire to kiss the lips passionately. This headline of advertisement uses the word “bitten” because it is
easier to get closer to costumers through sexual desire. Metaphor is used in this headline of advertisement to create picturesque
image which raise curiosity of the customer. It is used in order to attract the customers’ attention and interest.
2. Simple
This headline of advertisement uses simple interrogative sentence. It just consists of
five words. Three of these words are monosyllabic such as “have”, “you” and “been” and the others are dissyllabic such as “ever” and “bitten”., so
there are just only four syllables in this headline of advertisement. By using simple sentence and simple words, this advertisement can be
classified as readable. They are used to attract the customers’ attention to read this advertisement.
3. Personal style, an intimate interactive addressing of the audience, and
conversational mode This headline of advertisement uses personal style because it contains an
intimacy and interactivity between the advertisement and the customers by using interrogative sentence and second pronoun “you”. The usage of pronoun “you”
attempts to make the consumer feel as an important individual. It is important to make the advertisement sound more direct and persuasive.
Interrogative sentence used to ask something to someone is important to create closeness between advertisement and customers. The advertisement uses a
question to arouse the curiosity of the customers and entice them to read on. By using pronoun “you” and interrogative sentence, this advertisement can
be classified as readable. They are used in this advertisement to attract the customers’ attention to read this advertisement.
4. Abundant use
This headline of advertisement exaggerates the quality of the product using the word “bitten”. It implies that the product can make the lips voluptuous
and create desire to kiss the lips passionately. The wor d “bitten” is associated with
rough or wild. This advertisement chooses the word bitten than kissed because it shows passionate feel that is caused by the use of the product.
By exaggerating the quality of the product, it indicates this advertisement has selling power. It aims to provoke the customers to take action of getting
information and purchasing the product.
Data 5: Be fabulash Revlon fabulash mascara This is mascara advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Neologism This headline of advertisement uses the new word “fabulash.” The word
“fabulash” is the atypical word form or coinage which means a word or phrase recently invented. People may think fabulash
” is a wrong word, but actually it is
created by the advertiser. “Fabulash” is new word which is formed from the word “fabulous” and “lash”. There are many methods to create new words, such as
compounding, derivation, acronym, clipping, blending, etc. In this advertisement, the method which is used to create the word “fabulash” is blending. The word
“fabulous” and “lash” blend into one. This advertisement implies that the product can make lashes look fabulous. This new word is created to arouse customers’
attention and interest to this advertisement and the advertised product. 2.
Simple This headline of advertisement is very simple and short. It uses simple
imperative sentence. It just consists of two words. It uses monosyllabic verb “be” and new word “fabulash”. This advertisement just contains four syllables.
By using short sentence and simple words, this advertisement can be classified as readable. It is used to attract the customers’ attention to read this
advertisement. 3.
Abundant use This headline of adve
rtisement uses the word “fabulash” which is blending from the word “fabulous” and “lash” to exaggerate the quality of the product. This
advertisement implies that the product can make the lash fabulous. The word “fabulous” has positive meaning which can show the special
quality of this product in order to create the customers’ desire of having the product. It also satisfies the customers’ need to look beautiful.
The exaggeration of the quality of the product aims to influence the customers to take action of purchasing the product. So, by exaggerating the
quality of the product, it indicates this advertisement can achieve selling power. 4.
Imperative Sentence This headline of advertisement uses imperative sentence. It is used to
persuade the customers to have fabulous lashes using the product. It means that imperative sentence aims to encourage the customers to take action of purchasing
the product. It indicates this advertisement can achieve selling power.
Data 6: Lips that shine with killer color. New Revlon colorburst lipgloss. This is lipgloss advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1. Simple
This headline of advertisement is simple. There are only 6 words in this headline of advertisement. Four of these words are monosyllabic such as “lips”,
“that”, “shine” and “with” and the others are dissyllabic such as “killer” and “color”. This advertisement just contains eight syllables.
By using these simple words, this advertisement is classified as readable. It aims to attract the customers’ attention to read this advertisement.
2. Rhyme
This headline of advertisement uses rhyme. It can be seen from the words “killer” kilər and “color” kΛlər. These words have the same sound at the initial
and the end of the word. Rhyme is used to make message in this advertisement
impressive and memorable. Therefore, by using rhyme this advertisement can be classified as memorable.
3. Hyperbole
This headline of advertisement uses hyperbole to exaggerate the quality of lipgloss
color. It can be seen from the word “killer”. It associates the color of lipstick to the killer. It is exaggerated if the color is related to the killer. This
advertisement implies that the product has conspicuous and bright color which can make lips shin
y. It uses the word “killer” to show special quality of the product.
Hyperbole is used in this advertisement to provoke the customers to purchase the product. By using hyperbole, it indicates this advertisement can
achieve selling power.
Data 7: Can your body wash nourish this deeply? Dove NutriumMoisture This is body wash advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Personal style, an intimate interactive addressing of the audience, and conversational mode
This headline of advertisement uses personal style. It uses interrogative sentence and pronoun “you” to create closeness and shorten distance between the
advertisement and the customers. The use of interrogative sentence in this headline of advertisement aims to make the customers curious about the answer of
the question in the advertisement and then they even begin to think and look for it.
By using question “can your body wash nourish this deeply”, it makes the customers doubt about the other product that they use because this advertisement
implies that no other products which nourish skin more than Dove. By using interrogative sentence and pronoun “you”, this advertisement can
be classified as readable. They are used to deliver message to the customers easily.
2. Abundant use
This headline of advertisement compares the product to the other product by asking the customers “can your body wash nourish this deeply?” It implies that
Dove body wash is better than the other product because this product can nourish skin deep down while the other product cannot nourish more than Dove. This
advertisement claims that the product can nourish skin deeply while the other product cannot do what it does because the other body wash are made with
moisturizing ingredient that just sits on the top of skin. This advertisement shows that this product can give the customers skin care they need.
By exaggerating the quality of the product using comparison to claims that the product is better than the others, it aims to persuade the customers to purchase
the product. Therefore, this advertisement can achieve selling power.
Data 8: Younger looking skin in 7 days Pond’s Age Miracle
This is anti-ageing cream advertisement. The characteristics of language and the goals in this headline of advertisement are:
1. Unorthodoxy of syntax
Unorthodoxy of syntax is found in this headline of advertisement. It can be seen from the use of block language. It does not comprise any punctuation marks
and it is also verbless which contains a short message and consists of a noun phrase. A given noun phrase which contains such compound adjective actually
can be transformed into a clause or sentence where the head of given noun phrase becomes a subject. The possible sentence pattern is the one with subject
– verb – complement SVC structure, as in younger-looking skin. Younger-looking skin:
skin which looks younger skin looks younger. Block language and compound in this headline of advertisement are used
to make it more effective. It aims to achieve attention value. 2.
Simple This headline of advertisement is simple. It just uses noun phrase +
prepositional phrase. It also just consists of six words. Three of these words are monosyllabic and the others are dissyllabic words. So, it contains nine syllables.
Because this advertisement is simple, it can be classified as readable. 3.
Hyperbole Hyperbole is found in this headline of advertisement. In this
advertisement, the product promises to make skin looks younger in 7 days. This advertisement tries to exclaim that by using the product people only need a short
time to get younger-looking skin. In fact, the process to get younger-looking skin needs a long time. It seems impossible for a cosmetic product to make skin looks
younger just in 7 days.
By using hyperbole to exaggerate the quality of the product that the product can make the customers skin looks younger in 7 days, this advertisement
hits the need of consumers. For every woman, even girl tries her best keep long- lasting young. By claiming that the customers can get younger-looking skin using
the product, this advertisement provokes the customers who are aged women to buy the product. Therefore, hyperbole is used in this advertisement to achieve
selling power.
Data 9: Let your confidence shine, not your skin. Nivea men face wash This is face wash advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Semantic oddity There is semantic oddity in this headline of advertisement because it uses
pun. In this headline of advertisement, the word “shine” is used as a pun with double meanings: one me
ans “bright”, “light” or “luminous”, the other refers to “oily skin”. So this sentence has meaning: let your confidence shine bright, light,
luminous, but don’t let your skin shine oily. Pun which is a play on words makes this advertisement attractive because
of its ambiguity. Therefore, by using pun, this advertisement can achieve attention value.
2. Simple.
This headline of advertisement uses simple imperative sentence which just contains seven words and most of them are monosyllabic such as “let”, “your”,
“shine”, “not”, and “skin.” It just has nine syllables. Based on these reasons, it can be classified as readable.
3. Personal style and an intimate interactive addressing of the audience
This headline of advertisement uses personal style. It uses pronoun “you” to make the customers and the product closer.
Pronoun “you” in this advertisement is used to closely link the advertisement and the customer in order
to make the customer easy to receive the message delivered. By using pronoun you, it can be classified as readable.
4. Imperative sentence
This headline of advertisement uses imperative sentence. As we all know, imperative sentence is mentioned to command someone. This headline of
advertisement uses imperative sentence to ask the customers to make their confidence shine by having clean face and oil-free using the product. It implies
that the product can reduce shine and remove excess oil on their face and it make the customers get confidence because they have clean face without shine after
using the product. It shows the special quality of the product to create the customers desire of using the product
By using imperative sentence and showing special quality of the product, it indicates this advertisement can achieve selling power. Imperative sentence in
this advertisement aims to persuade the customers to purchase the product by asking them to be confident with clean face using the product.
Data 10: Sing your songs with more volume Nivea Volume lipgloss This is lipstick advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Semantic oddity There is semantic oddity in this headline of advertisement because it uses
pun. As we all know, the definitions or descriptions about pun always have a noun phrase a play on words because puns rest on a superficial or accidental similarity:
two words sound the same, or one word that happens to have two separate meanings. In this headline of advertisement, there is pun which means a word
have two different senses: one in its common use, the other representing the brand name or the name of company. “Volume” is used as a pun. It has double
meanings: one is a sound; the other means the brand name of the product. So this sentence has two meanings: Sing your song with more volume more loudly and
Sing your song with more volume Nivea volume. In this advertisement, pun is based on the similarity between volume
sound and the kind of lipstick named volume. It presents the reader with an incongruity. One interpretation that can be gleaned from this advertisement is that
this advertisement suggests women to sing the song with more volume more loudly, it has meaning of confidence. Another interpretation of this advertisement
is that it suggests women to sing their song using Nivea volume lipstick. It means that this advertisement persuades the customers to sing a song confidently using
the product.
Pun is used in this headline of advertisement because it has two meaning to make the customers curious. Therefore, by using pun, this advertisement can
achieve attention value. 2.
Simple This headline of advertisement uses simple imperative sentence which just
contains monosyllabic verb “sing”, one object “your song” and complement “with more volume”. There are just six words in this advertisement and most of them
are monosyllabic such as “sing”, “your”, “song”, “with” and “more”. This
advertisement just has seven syllables. By using simple imperative sentence and simple words, this advertisement can be classified as readable.
3. Personal style and an intimate interactive addressing of the audience
This headline of advertisement uses personal style. It uses pronoun “you” to render the customers and the product closer.
Pronoun “you” in this advertisement is used to closely link the advertisement and the customer in order
to make the customer receive the message easily. By using pronoun you, it can be classified as readable.
4. Imperative sentence
This headline of advertisement uses imperative sentence. Imperative sentences have a meaning of calling and commanding. It is used in this headline
of advertisement to ask the customers to sing the song with more volume. “Volume” refers to the name of the product and the sound. It means that this
advertisement gives command to the customers to sing their song confidently by using the product. It implies that by using the product, the customers will get self-
confidence. It shows that the product has special quality to create the customers desire of having the product.
By using imperative sentence and showing special quality of the product, it aims to persuade the customers to take action of purchasing the product.
Therefore, this advertisement can achieve selling power.
Data 11: Let your lips do the talking. Nivea Lipgloss This is lipgloss advertisement. The characteristics of language and the
goals in this headline of advertisement are: 1.
Semantic oddity There is semantic oddity in this headline of advertisement. It can be seen
from the use of personification. As we all know, personification represents an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes such as attributes of form,
character, feelings, behavior, and so on. In this advertisement, lips are personified. Lips are represented or thought of as a human being. They seem to be human
beings who can do talking. Personification is used in this headline of advertisement to make an
abstraction more real to the reader by defining or explaining the concept in terms of everyday human action. It aims
to attract the customers’ attention. 2.
Simple This headline of advertisement is simple because it just uses six words and
most of them are monosyllabic. It just contains seven syllables. Because this advertisement is simple, it can be classified as readable.
3. Personal style and an intimate interactive addressing of the audience
This headline of advertisement uses personal style. It uses pronoun “you” to communicate an advertisement idea more convincingly because it evokes the
feeling of friendship. By using pronoun you, the advertisement seems to be talking face to face with the customers to make it readable.
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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1. Conclusion
Advertisement is the easy way for companies to promote their product to customers. Advertisers may have various forms and strategies to stimulate the sale
of products, but language plays the most important role because it is the communication tool for delivering messages to customers. Therefore, it is
important to study and analyze the language characteristics of English advertisement to fulfill the goals of language to create successful advertisements.
The language characteristics of English advertisements and their goals have been discussed in the previous chapter. From the data analysis, it can be
concluded that the characteristics used in these cosmetics and skincare products advertisements are unorthodoxies of syntax including neologism, minor sentence
and block language, semantic oddities such as metaphor, pun, and personification, simple, personal, colloquial style, phonological devices of rhyme and alliteration,
an interactive addressing of the audience and a conversational mode including the use of second personal pronoun and interrogative sentence, abundant use,
superlatives, hyperboles, imperatives. Based on the characteristics used, these cosmetics and skincare products
advertisements can fulfill some or all goals of attention value, readability, memorability and selling power. From the data analysis of 11 advertisements,
there are 2 advertisements which fulfill the four goals, 6 advertisements which
fulfill the three goals, and 3 advertisements which fulfill the two goals. The language characteristic mostly used in these advertisements is simple.
5.2. Suggestions
There are many ways to make a successful print advertisement including language, colors, typography, layout, background and image. This skripsi just
focuses on the language of advertisement. For further research, it is suggested to researcher to analyze not only language in advertisement but also colors,
typography, layout, background and image. For English students who are interested in advertisement, it is suggested to prepare themselves with
fundamental knowledge about the language characteristics of English advertisement that is useful to create successful advertisement in English.
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