THE LANGUAGE OF FINANCIAL ADVERTISEMENTS

Abstract

In this study, I will be analysing the language used in Deutsche Bank's print advertisements. The advertisements selected for study here were produced in the period 1988-1995 specifically for use in the Asia/Pacific region. My objective is to find out whether the language used in the advertisements has become more "friendly", ie, personal and approachable, over time. This study covers 30 print advertisements which are divided into two groups based on when they were created: pre-1991 advertisements and post-1991 advertisements. I also make a distinction between advertisements that aim to create a specific image for the advertiser (eg "strength") -- image advertisements; as opposed to advertisements which sell a particular product or service -- product advertisements. I link the concept of "friendly" with informality and the speech mode. In print advertisements, the Bank uses a public -- and therefore impersonal -- domain to engage with its target audience on an individual, personal level in order to persuade her/him to use the Bank's products and services. Hence, the Bank has to use discourse strategies in the advertisement text that facilitate a more personal, approachable and warm tone. As there are no grammatical-lexical features which directly correspond to the concept of "friendliness", my main criterion for the selection of grammatical structures and lexical items reflecting this concept is that they convey the level of friendliness associated with the face-to-face mode of speech. For my framework, I use the following 8 structures: mood variation; simple sentences; contracted forms; phrasal verbs; deixis; the use of individuals' names; lexis; and modality. This study will test my hypotheses that: 1. Advertisements produced before 1991 contain more sentences in the declarative mood and fewer of the 8 "friendly" structures mentioned above. 2. Advertisements produced in and after 1991 will contain more occurrences of the 8 structures used for my framework of analysis. 3. Image advertisements allow more scope for adopting "friendly" texts, ie because of their nature -- to sell an image of the Bank to the public (instead of selling a particular product or service) -- their main objective is to use language to create a more personal and friendly image for the Bank. The results of my analysis can be found in chapters three to five, while the detailed grammatical-lexical analysis of the text of each advertisement can be found in the Appendix.