Automobile Advertising Research Articles

LINGUISTIC MANIPULATION IN CAR ADVERTISING DISCOURSE

The article studies the advertising discourse as a communicative and pragmatic pattern of speech behavior among advertising participants, achieved through advertising messages that combine lingual and paralingual elements. It considers the features of lingual, paralingual, and functional-pragmatic organization of the advertising text, considering various linguistic approaches. Taking advantage of the psycholinguistic approach, which emphasizes the impact of psychological factors on the linguistic structure of advertising, the research explores the use of linguistic manipulation as a means of coercive influence on consumers through selecting and using language mechanisms. Relevant to date remains the analysis of the means of linguistic influence of an advertising text at various levels of language – phonographic, morphological, lexico-semantic, and syntactic, which determines the topicality of the study. The study examines the structural and functional characteristics of English advertising text, specifically in the context of automobile advertising, and how they are used to manipulate audiences. It also identifies the unique features of English advertising texts, including their pragmatic function and linguistic nuances. The analysis of the English automobile advertising discourse finds that morphemic manipulation is most often achieved by using adjectives, verbs, nouns, and adverbs. Stylistic means also have significant manipulative potential and are the second most used in the advertising discourse.

Language and Power Dynamics in Automobile Advertising: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Word Choice and Semiotics

Language and Power Dynamics in Automobile Advertising: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Word Choice and Semiotics

Analysis of the Relationship Between Presupposition Theory and Humour Generation—Taking Automobile Advertising as an Example

Analysis of the Relationship Between Presupposition Theory and Humour Generation—Taking Automobile Advertising as an Example

Nationally oriented automotive marketing in China

  This article examines the specificity of formation of nationally oriented automotive marketing in China. The object of this research is the Chinese nationally oriented automotive marketing, while the subject is verbal and nonverbal means of its creation. Special attention is given to the analysis of the techniques of creating texts for nationally oriented automobile advertising in the Chinese language, in which multimodal means are used for the development of a positive image of the country and impact upon the domestic audience. The goal lies in determination of the specific features of multimodal media characteristic for such type of advertising. The article employs the methods of lexical-semantic and contextual analysis to reveal the linguopragmatic potentials of the text; method of linguoculturological commentary to describe the ethnocultural specificity; method of multimodal discourse analysis to examine the interaction of semiotic complexes in advertising The scientific novelty consists in studying the nationally oriented marketing strategies from the perspective of the theory of multimodality, which requires the analysis of semiotic heterogeneous codes in the advertising text. It is proven that the specificity of multimodal complex in the texts of Chinese nationally oriented automobile marketing manifests on the level of verbal and nonverbal means used therein. This is substantiated by the unique cultural-historical and social factors, as well as the peculiarities of the Chinese linguistic system. The acquired results may find practical implementation in teaching Chinese language, as well as in research on marketing linguistics.  

Automobile Advertising Translation from the Perspective of Newmark’s Theory

This paper mainly discusses the application of Newmark's theories of communicative and semantic translation in automobile advertisement translation. After analyzing the translation examples of automobile advertisement text, title and trademark, the following conclusions are naturally drawn. The combination of communicative and semantic translation can guide translation practice more effectively. Semantic translation theory is preferred for automobile manual translation, while communicative translation theory is more suitable for automobile brand and slogan translation. Therefore, in order to achieve the intended effect of automobile advertisement, it is better to combine semantic translation with communicative translation in automobile advertisement translation.

동서양 문화 특성에 따른 자동차 광고의 시각적 표현과 해석

동서양 문화 특성에 따른 자동차 광고의 시각적 표현과 해석

Metarepresentation and echo in online automobile advertising

The aim of this paper is to shed some light on the rhetorical import of echoing fashion in online automobile advertising within the framework of Relevance Theory. The study embraces the concepts of metarepresentation and echo and expands them beyond traditional relevance-theoretic limits (e.g., the analysis of irony, free indirect reporting or metalinguistic negation) to show how they can successfully explain that design-related passages of car advertising will achieve relevance via the addressee recognising the allusive nature of the ads, attributing them to some source and identifying the addresser's attitude towards them. Endorsing the view that advertising exemplifies covert communication, it is expected that linguistic metarepresentations will not be fully explicit but rather be left to the reader to infer.

Drive: A Road Trip through our Complicated Affair with the Automobile by Tim Falconer (review)

Reviewed by: Drive: A Road Trip through our Complicated Affair with the Automobile by Tim Falconer Dawn M. Drake Drive: A Road Trip through our Complicated Affair with the Automobile Tim Falconer . Penguin Group , New York . 2008 . 339 pp. Appendix, notes. $35.00 hardcover. (ISBN 978-0670065691 ) In Drive, Falconer takes his readers on both a literal and figurative road trip through the human relationship with the automobile. Starting in the author’s hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the narrative approaches several aspects of our oft-conflicted relationship with the automobile, all while taking us on a nine week, 15,000 mile roundtrip journey across the US and Canada. The goal of the text is to help the reader find the middle ground, between loving and hating cars, that will allow us to develop sensible transit solutions for the future. The text is at times humorous, but, more often than not, trite and hard to follow. For those with little knowledge of car culture or the history of the automobile, it is an interesting read. For those with an extensive background in the automobile industry, there is nothing particularly earth-shattering in the book. It shines a slightly different light on the automobile industry by framing our relationship with the car as conflicted. Overall, however, Drive is largely a disappointment that misses its goal. The notion of parsing out the complicated relationship that we have with our cars, while on a road trip, is, at first glance, a creative one. Then one starts to read the narrative and realizes that the text sounds exactly like it was written while driving around. The author jumps from topic to topic, sometimes with little connection between the two—almost as if he dictated ideas as they came to him, while he was on the road trip. For example, in Chapter 4 most of the discussion is connected to the history of selling the car through advertising, but at the end it wanders into a discussion of large animals and the hazards they present to motorists. It is almost as if a deer ran in front of his car and the author’s stream of consciousness shifted. The idea of dictating ideas while driving is fine, but perhaps the author should have considered editing to create a better flow once he was back home. Also chapter titles should be more closely tied to the content. Chapter 4, titled “Interstate 69” never once mentions that ongoing boon-doggle of a federal works project. Overall, the reader is left with the feeling of being trapped inside the author’s head with no road map to escape. Not only does the narrative jump from topic to topic within a chapter, but it also jumps from one geographic region to the [End Page 206] next. The author initially seems to be approaching the topic by focusing on Americans’ complicated relationship with the automobile. Within a few pages, however, Falconer starts to introduce other cultures, such as Canadians, Argentinians, and Europeans, into the discussion. In some cases the other research provides context for the book. In others, it seems to muddy the waters and only serve as a vehicle for the author to present other research he did outside the scope of this project. Throughout the course of the book, I found myself repeatedly asking if a Canadian, who did not get a driver’s license until age 30, can truly understand the relationship Americans have with the automobile. The author himself even admits his inability to relate to much of what he experiences on his road trip. In some cases, this honesty might be a strength, but to me, it weakens his credibility as a knowledgeable source on the subject matter. All of the issues with organization aside, if you are unfamiliar with car culture and the automobile industry, Falconer provides a crash course in the basics within 300 pages of text. Drive covers topics such as the history of the automobile, the US interstate system and the sprawl it facilitated; a history of Detroit as the Motor City; a history of automobile advertising; automobile racing, muscle cars, and how they complicate our relationship with our own cars...

“This Astounding Car for $1,500”: The Year Automobile Advertising Came of Age

In 1906, a writer declared that it remained an “unsolved problem whether the automobile is to prove a fad like the bicycle, or a lasting factor in the industry of the country.” A few years later, concerned with the possibility of overproduction and market saturation, auto executives and other commentators were writing articles for the advertising trade press with titles like “Why Auto Production Must Be Curtailed” and “The Fading of the Automobile Rainbow.” Considering that by the early twenty-first century, the United States had a population of nearly 300 million people and an average of 2.1 registered motor vehicles per household, it is difficult to appreciate how uncertain the industry’s status seemed in its early years. Yet although contemporary observers may not have known it, in many ways by the end of 1908 the foundation stoneswere already in place for a hundred years of automotive economic and cultural preeminence in the United States. Two events from that year are well known as harbingers of the industry’s future. In September, General Motors was established, and in October, Ford introduced its Model T to the nation's auto dealers. In time, these developments had a profound impact on American automobile manufacture and management.

“This Astounding Car for $1,500”: The Year Automobile Advertising Came of Age

In 1906, a writer declared that it remained an “unsolved problem whether the automobile is to prove a fad like the bicycle, or a lasting factor in the industry of the country.” A few years later, concerned with the possibility of overproduction and market saturation, auto executives and other commentators were writing articles for the advertising trade press with titles like “Why Auto Production Must Be Curtailed” and “The Fading of the Automobile Rainbow.” Considering that by the early twenty-first century, the United States had a population of nearly 300 million people and an average of 2.1 registered motor vehicles per household, it is difficult to appreciate how uncertain the industry’s status seemed in its early years. Yet although contemporary observers may not have known it, in many ways by the end of 1908 the foundation stoneswere already in place for a hundred years of automotive economic and cultural preeminence in the United States. Two events from that year are well known as harbingers of the industry’s future. In September, General Motors was established, and in October, Ford introduced its Model T to the nation's auto dealers. In time, these developments had a profound impact on American automobile manufacture and management.

Brands, Interactivity, and Contested Fields: Exploring Production and Consumption in Cadillac and Infiniti Automobile Advertising Campaigns

Brands mediate relations between production and consumption in capitalism. This essay aims to expand current discussions about brands by looking at the nature of interactivity between producers and consumers as a symbolic field of negotiation that can be contested. We argue that interactivity involves layers of representation and interpretation in the process of qualifying and requalifying products in the marketplace. The authors analyze two past advertising campaigns for luxury cars, Cadillac and Infiniti, to show how these brands were stabilized as cultural forms at one moment in time and why one was accepted and the other rejected by consumers. Our analysis concludes that objects of material culture in the highly reflexive branding practices of advanced capitalism reflect a dialectic embedded in an ongoing process of producers reading the consumer, and consumers assessing imagery communicated by the producer. At the heart of interactivity lies the contested and negotiated meaning of things in lived experience. This dialectic between producers and consumers indicates agency as mutually interactive on both the supply and the demand sides of capitalist activity.

American automobile advertising, 1930-1980: an illustrated history

This book provides a comprehensive history of American automobile advertising over a half-century span, beginning with the entrenchment of the Big automakers during the Depression and concluding with the fuel crisis of the 1970s and early 1980s. The well illustrated text follows a thematic rather than a strictly chronological structure, tracing the development of principal elements in American automobile advertising. Advances in general advertising layouts and graphics are discussed in Part One, together with the ways in which automobile styling, mechanical improvements, and convenience features were portrayed and highlighted in automobile advertisements over the years.Part Two explores the advertising themes that were concerned less with the attributes of the cars themselves than with shaping the way consumers would perceive and identify with them. Part Three addresses ads oriented toward the practical aspects of automobile ownership, concluding with an account of the advance of imported cars into America after World War II. The work includes photographs and illustrations from over 250 automobile advertisements, the majority of which have not been seen in print since their original publication.

"The Car without a Single Weakness": Early Automobile Advertising

"The Car without a Single Weakness": Early Automobile Advertising

“The Car Without a Single Weakness”: Early Automobile Advertising

Cover Design “THE CAR WITHOUT A SINGLE WEAKNESS”: EARLY AUTOMOBILE ADVERTISING PAMELA WALKER LAIRD And speaking about hills, I want to tell you that the best part of automobiling—that part that gets you harder than anything else—is the way an automobile sweeps uphill. It doesn’t know a hill when it comes to it. A wheelbarrow can run down-hill. . . The auto­ mobile, however, going down-hill can make old grav­ itation dizzy, drunk, even with delight; and then with equal ease it will shoot up-hill in a way to make gravi­ tation tear its hair with frenzy and slink away crest­ fallen, conquered. [Editorial, Judicious Advertising, 1903] So exclaimed Frank Munsey, publisher extraordinaire, conclud­ ing with the assertion that automobiling “will renew the life and youth of the overworked man or woman.” “This,” the editors con­ firmed, “is good sound talk—truthful talk—and it offers a suggestion for strong convincing advertising argument for automobiling and for any automobile that goes.” But in contrast to this “sound talk,” most automobile advertisements had at the time “a certain same­ ness” that belied the promotional potential perceived by enthusiasts such as Munsey. Too many automobile manufacturers had failed to keep up with progress in advertising, and “still cling to the old-time idea that the proper sort of an ad shows a [wood]cut of the machine, with a few stock phrases” and a list of agents. “Let the makers catch up the spirit of enthusiasm—[and] stand out for work of the highest quality from those who prepare their announcements. The results will well repay the pains.”1 Dr. Laird teaches at the University of Colorado at Denver and at the University of Denver. Ker book, The Business ofProgress Johns Hopkins University Press, forth­ coming) , analyzes the transformation of American advertising. 1 “The Automobile Industry and Its Advertising Possibilities,’’ Judicious Advertising 1, no. 7 (May 1903): 15-17.© 1996 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/96/3704-0004S01.00 796 Early Automobile Advertising 797 For all the differences among early automakers and their prod­ ucts, they entered this new industry because they shared Munsey’s passion for the machines, and for the experiences ofautomobiling.2 Why did their advertisements not reflect that enthusiasm? Why did the cars in them not move? Where was the verve that bicycle adver­ tisements had shown since the 1880s, and the slogans—like “Colum­ bia Riders Know Naught but Pleasure”?3 Early auto builders had something to prove through their public statements, very much like their 19th-century counterparts in other new manufacturing industries, who often used advertisements dis­ playing factories, locomotives, and other symbols of industrial prog­ ress to make their case for inclusion in the pantheon of heroes of capitalism.4 But apparently automakers did not feel the need to prove that automobility was exciting. All auto ads before 1920, and most before 1930, featured technical discussions appropriate to a new and expensive, exciting but intimidating technology, akin to personal computer advertisements today. Lengthy copy gave poten­ tial owners information calculated to inspire confidence in the ma­ chines. It also taught a language for asking questions and exchang­ ing observations that relieved people’s uncertainties about the mysteries under the hood, as in the Dorris Motor Car Company’s discussions of “power plant,” “choker manipulation,” and “vapor­ ization of present day low grade gasoline” (fig. 1). Many advertising messages therefore presented cars as machines with parts and prices to be proud of—like the Dorris pictured quietly above a diagram of a “distillator.” This approach suited a complex machine that, for all its thrill, operated with noises, smells, and diffi­ culties yet unmediated by further technological refinement or cul­ tural familiarity. For all its swell language, the 1922 Dorris headline, “The Car WithoutA Single Weakness,” expressed characteristic hes­ itations and concerns, as did the strange boast that the Dorris pos­ sessed “wholesome beauty without a trace of freakishness.” Despite “sixteen years’ experience in designing and building high-grade cars,” this firm was still part of a young industry. Beyond this near-universal mechanical theme, a second theme dominated many early automobile advertisements, namely...