"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman
285
STYLISTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH SOCIAL ADVERTISING
TEXTS
Kim Darya Vladimirovna
Master’s student
Department of English Linguistics
The National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek
Scientific adviser: professor Yusupova Sh.B.
Annotation:
This article explores the stylistic features of English social
advertising texts, emphasizing their role in shaping public perception and encouraging
behavioral change. The study highlights various expressive means and stylistic devices
commonly employed in social advertisements, including personification, metaphor,
hyperbole, simile and pun. These linguistic techniques serve to enhance message
retention, evoke emotional responses, and strengthen the persuasive impact of social
campaigns.
Keywords:
advertising text, social advertising, stylistic features,
personification, metaphor, hyperbole, simile, pun.
Аннотация:
В статье рассматриваются стилистические особенности
английских текстов социальной рекламы, акцентируя их значимость в
формировании общественного мнения и стимулировании изменения поведения.
Анализируются различные выразительные средства и стилистические приемы,
широко используемые в социальной рекламе, такие как олицетворение,
метафора, гипербола, сравнение и каламбур. Эти языковые средства
применяются с целью повышения запоминаемости сообщений, пробуждения
эмоционального отклика и усиления их убедительности в рамках социальных
кампаний.
Ключевые слова:
рекламный текст, социальная реклама, стилистические
особенности, олицетворение, метафора, гипербола, сравнение, каламбур.
INTRODUCTION
Social advertising is a unique form of communication designed to promote
beneficial societal changes rather than generate financial gain. As a result, the audience
typically does not hold any preconceived expectations or biases toward the message. It
addresses critical issues such as environmental protection, public health, and education,
aiming to inspire action or shift public attitudes.
"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman
286
Advertising serves not only as a source of information but also as a powerful
tool for persuasion [1, 189]. The strategic use of language in social advertising directly
influences how messages are perceived, processed, and retained by the audience.
Advertisers carefully craft their messages to ensure they are not only persuasive but
also easy to recall. The linguistic strategies employed in social advertising vary across
languages, reflecting cultural values and communication norms. Social advertising not
only provides information to the reader but also creates a vivid advertising image
through a system of expressive stylistic means.
According to Wales dictionary, personification is defined as a figure of speech
in which an inanimate object, animate non-human, or abstract quality given human
attributes [2; 314]. This technique effectively captures the target audience’s attention
by creating an unusual and memorable effect. Ideas and abstract concepts can also be
personified, bringing them to life, while objects can become more engaging through
personification. The readers or listeners of advertisements usually do not register or
realize that personification is used in the text. Indeed, it is used widely in expressions
like:
“Smoking Kills”, “Drugs destroy your brain”, “Mother Earth is crying”, “The
Ocean speaks”, “Give an hour for Earth doing something you love”, “Every cigarette
is doing you damage”.
Leech states that “metaphors are valuable in advertising because they can help
to suggest the right kind of emotive associations for the product” [3; 182]. According
to O. Selivanova “metaphor is the most productive creative means of enriching the
language, a manifestation of linguistic economy, the semiotic regularity that
demonstrates itself in using symbols of one conceptual sphere to designate another,
likened to it in some respect” [4; 97]. A metaphor ensures an effective and expressive
transmission of an idea, encouraging the consumer to actively and consciously perceive
the advertising message. For instance, the advertisement stating,
“You would not stay
in a relationship that lies to you. Why stay with tobacco?”
portrays cigarettes as a
deceptive partner, drawing a parallel between addiction and an unhealthy romantic
relationship. Similarly, in social advertising, forests are metaphorically represented as
the Earth’s lungs, emphasizing their vital role in maintaining ecological balance. This
concept is exemplified by the slogan
“When forests burn, the planet can
’
t breathe”
,
which underscores the critical function of forests in sustaining life on Earth.
Hyperbole is a stylistic device characterized by deliberate exaggeration, where
the extent of amplification renders the expressed idea unlikely or even impossible from
a realistic perspective [5; 151]. An example of hyperbole in social advertising is the
statement:
“Smoking kills one person every six seconds”
. This advertising used in
"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman
287
World Health Organization (WHO) campaigns is based on global smoking-related
mortality statistics. However, its phrasing intensifies the immediacy of the issue,
creating a heightened sense of urgency and alarm to persuade the audience to take
action against smoking. Another example is
“Drive 5 mph over the limit and you could
kill someone
’
s child”
, it exaggerates the risk of minor speeding to emphasize its
potentially fatal consequences and encourage safer driving.
Simile is a figure of speech whereby two concepts are imaginatively and
descriptively compared [2; 383]. Simile used when two essentially unlike things are
compared, often in a phrase introduced by “like” or “as”. Examples of simile in social
advertising:
“Driving tired is like driving drunk”, “Ignoring climate change is like
ignoring a tornado warning”, “Littering is like throwing trash in your own backyard”,
“Texting while driving is like closing your eyes for 5 seconds on the highway”, “Not
wearing a mask is like driving without a seatbelt”, “Using drugs is like playing Russian
roulette with your life”, “Plastic in the ocean is like a ticking time bomb for marine
life”.
According to Morner and Rausch, witty use of words which involve more than
one meaning is called pun [6; 178]. Puns are one of the popular rhetorical figures in
advertisements. Goddard argues that puns are deliberately employed in advertisements
[7; 83]. They are pervasive in newspaper headlines as eye-catching/attention-getting
devices [2; 349]. There are examples from environmental advertising social campaigns
such as
“Don
’
t be trashy - recycle” and “Don
’
t be fossil-fueled - go green”.
Both
examples employ two meaning of one word:
“trashy”
(referring to both littering and
socially undesirable behavior) and
“fossil-fueled”
(denoting reliance on non-
renewable energy and an antiquated mindset), to criticize environmentally detrimental
practices through humor, while advocating for sustainable alternatives such as
recycling and adopting green energy solutions. The social advertising campaign by
AdoptUSKids,
“What to expect when you
’
re expecting”
employs a pun by repurposing
a well-known phrase, effectively shifting the focus from biological parenthood to
adoption and creating a meaningful and engaging connection with its audience.
CONCLUSION
The study of stylistic features of English social advertising texts highlights the
crucial role of language in shaping public perception and influencing behavioral
change. Through the strategic use of personification, metaphor, hyperbole, simile and
puns, advertisers create impactful messages that resonate with audiences on an
emotional and cognitive level.
"ZAMONAVIY TILSHUNOSLIK VA TARJIMASHUNOSLIKNING DOLZARB MUAMMOLARI"
mavzusidagi xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy anjuman
288
These stylistic elements enhance the effectiveness, recall, and persuasiveness of
social campaigns, reinforcing key ideas and prompting action. The integration of
expressive stylistic means not only strengthens the persuasive appeal of advertisements
but also fosters a deeper connection between the audience and the social issues being
addressed.
REFERENCES:
1.Qurbonova D.O., Yusupova Sh.B. Lexical-semantic features of advertisements
in English // Modern Scientific Challenges and Trends. Vol. 1(35), 2021.
2. Wales K. A Dictionary of Stylistics (3rd ed.). Routledge, 2011.
3. Leech G.N. English in Advertising: A Linguistic Study of Advertising in Great
Britain. London: Longman, 1966.
4. Selivanova O. Modern Linguistics: Definition Encyclopedia. Poltava:
Dovkilya-K, 2006.
5. Гальперин И.Р. Очерки по стилистике английского языка. Москва:
Издательство литературы на иностранных языках, 1958.
6. Morner K., Rausch R. NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms (First South Asian
Edition/Special Edition for Bangladesh). Friends Book Corner/NTC Publishing Group,
2004.
7. Goddard A. The Language of Advertising: Written Texts. London: Routledge,
2002.
