Proverbs and sayings

Woodward (191) offers the following classification of a corpus of adverts depending on the form and content of advertisements: declarative sentences, advice,

interrogatives and adaptations of proverbs and sayings. We have studied declarative and interrogative sentences in the previous sections, and advice was included in the section on imperatives. In this section we will see how proverbs and sayings are used in order to catch the reader’s attention. The advertising world uses these expressions because they are impersonal and do not encourage the reader to buy the product;

however, they are able to attract readers’ attention and finally make them buy the product. In Miele, we can see “A place for everything and everything in its place”;

according to G.Herbert the saying dates from 1640 as “All things have their place, knew wee how to place them.” In this advertisement, there is a connection between the meaning of the saying and the image, because the saying means that the best way to stay tidy and well organised is to keep things in their correct positions as seen in the image of the dishwasher, in which there is plenty of room and each thing is in its place, for instance the cutlery is in a unique extra pull out tray, giving more space for pots, pans, and plates in the two baskets below. In the Spanish advertisement for Bosch 2 we also see the use of this saying slightly changed to “Cada cosa en su sitio y mucho más sitio para cada cosa”, but there is the same connection between the meaning and the image as in the English advertisement.

In Smeg 2 we read: “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it. George Moore”. In this case, the proverb by the Irish novelist George Moore is used to refer to Smeg electrical appliances, because if a man

travels round the world in search of what he needs, such as, for example, security, confidence, self-esteem, and even style, he will return home to find it there, that is to say, Smeg is all he needs.

According to Woodward (197), when these expressions are slightly modified, the linguistic medium only functions if the reader shares the same socio-cultural knowledge as the advertiser; otherwise, he will miss the point. This type of advertisement is intellectually rewarding, because it leads to the comprehension of structures and polysemic values. One such is to be found in Denman: “From Hair to Eternity”, which evokes the expression “From here to eternity”. Besides being a well-known saying, it is also known as the title of the film directed by Fred Zinnemann in 1953 and awarded an Oscar for best film, but the title originally comes from a poem by Rudyard Kipling. Nowadays, we can find it also as the title of a song by Iron Maiden in their album Fear of the Dark (1991). In Advantage the expression “Eat for who you are” reminds us of the saying “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are”, which comes from the French saying (Partington 141): “Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es” by Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French jurist and gourmet (1755-1826). The same can be said of Volvo 1, in which the saying “Money talks” is adapted to the necessities of Volvo to advertise its new car in “If money talks, the Volvo S40 speaks perfect sense”, meaning that you can have a Volvo which symbolises the wealth and power of its owner for only £175 per month during a 2 or 3

year period. Crest says that “Behind that healthy smile, there's a Crest Kid”, reminding us of the saying “Behind every great man there stands a woman”, which means that while men enjoy the fame it is often their wives who give them the confidence or do a lot of the work (Cambridge International Dictionary of English), which, when applied to this advertisement, means that if children have a healthy smile it is often “Crest”

which gives it to them or does the work.

Spanish advertisements also make use of well-known proverbs such as in Singular. In this advertisement we find “Dime qué cocina tienes y te diré quién eres”, which is an adaptation of the saying “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres”. In the image we can see five forks which represent different styles in the kitchen, and depending on your choice, they can reveal the kind of kitchen you have or are worthy of having. Readers are asked if they are “singular” referring to if they are noticeable enough to have “The Singular Kitchen”, which is the advertised product. Spanish advertisements also make use of classic texts in order to attract attention. In San Miguel, it is the famous beginning of the masterpiece by Cervantes which is being used. The reader will recognise it at once, and see the humour in it, because there is a mixture of a well-known sixteenth-century text and modern technology: “En un lugar de la Mancha que no me sale en el GPS”. The connection between classic and modern is the principal characteristic of the advertised beer, which is called “Selecta XV San Miguel”. The number XV reminds us of the past, which is why the chosen quotation is

taken from Don Quixote, and “San Miguel” which brings us back to the present time.

Sephora 1 also uses modern technology adapted to a well-known proverb: “Cuando los coach de belleza están online, los ratones bailan”. Reading the body-copy we find out what the advertisement is about. The visual element (computer mice) also makes us see the relation.

6.6 Disjunctive syntax

We can find advertisements whose headlines, subheads, or signature lines lack a functional element such as the subject or verb, that is to say, we can find subjectless or verbless phrases or sentences, although the omitted words are usually understood from the context. This phenomenon is very common in the advertising world and Leech (90) refers to it as “disjunctive syntax”. Examples of subjectless sentences can be found in Chevy, which has six sentences with no written subject (“she” / “he” / proper noun), although each grammatical subject can be deduced by looking at the lines pointing at the characters of the picture. In this case, disjunctive techniques are employed in conjunction with a visual element (the photograph). Or Vaseline 1 with the heading “Can be applied with or without tongue”, in which the omitted element is

“it”. In this case the cooperation of readers is needed, and the advertiser makes them think and fill in the missing information, which in this case refers to Vaseline Intense Care. The subject is also omitted in the question “¿RRRonca?” (Ronquidina), giving