persuasive communication in social media advertising: a

International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture 2015; 2(3): 39-47

Published online June 10, 2015 (http://www.openscienceonline.com/journal/ijllc)

Persuasive Communication in Social Media Advertising: A Case Study of Polish and English

Anna Kuzio*

Department of Humanities, Univeristy of Zielona Gora, Zielona Gora, Poland

Email address

[email protected]

To cite this article Anna Kuzio. Persuasive Communication in Social Media Advertising: A Case Study of Polish and English. International Journal of Language,

Literature and Culture. Vol. 2, No. 3, 2015, pp. 39-47.

Abstract

The communication of humanity has changed throughout the ages. Not only the language appears to become more and more

compact due to the lack of time in ever changing societies, but also it serves different aims than it used to serve in a remote past.

People tend to use modern technological devices which accompany them in their everyday routine as the tools enhancing their

instant communication. There appears to be a declining tendency in once popular text messaging, that has given its way to

modern means of distant communication by use of social media. These may be perceived as more convenient from the point of

view of speaker (or in this case writer), because he can exchange information not only by phone, but also with the use of

computer whomever he wants to. These appliances enable constant and rapid contact regardless the place one occupies. The

research aimed at presentation of major persuasion techniques used in online mass market cosmetics advertisements, uploaded in

the form of Page Post Ads on the social platform called Facebook. Five global skin-, hair-, and body-care brands have been

analyzed i.e. Avon, Garnier, Max Factor, Maybelline and Olay by means of persuasive rhetorical devices, functioning on

semantic, syntactic and pragmatic levels. An analysis has been inspired by theories by many linguists mentioned in the practical

part, as well as additional resources. The study was conducted in a way, to determine whether among the same number of similar

commercials in Polish and English, some analogies may be observed, and whether persuasive techniques seem to be international,

thus universal. Additionally, the research aimed at the specification of possible similarities and differences between these two

languages, categorization, exemplification, description of applied rhetorical figures, and drawing conclusions from analyzed

material.

Keywords

Deceptive Communication, Social Media, Advertising in CMC, Intercultural Communication

1. Introduction

During the last decade there has been a significant

emergence of platforms on the Internet which are called

social media. This term, according to Ray Poynter (2010,

p.160), is difficult to define, but easy to recognize. Poynter

draws the distinctive line between social media and

standard types of media, describing those former as rather

paradigm based on the many-to-many model, contrary to

the one-to-many model of those latter. He states that there is

a vast range of types of this phenomena that embrace:

“blogging, micro-blogging (e.g. Twitter), social networking

(e.g. Facebook, Mixi, Cyworld),Wikis (e.g.Wikipedia, the

collaborative encyclopaedia), social bookmarking (e.g.

Delicious and Digg), photo sharing (e.g. Flickr), video

sharing (e.g.YouTube), voice networking (e.g. Skype),

music sharing (e.g. Last FM), product and service reviews

(e.g. TripAdvisor), virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life and

World of Warcraft), and multiplayer games (e.g. Farmville).”

(Poynter, 2010 p. 160).

The kinds of social media listed above create an

unbelievably broad scope of possibilities for Internet users.

They can there watch videos for free, download e-books

and articles, subscribe to different channels in order to

regularly follow new posts uploaded on them, listen to the

music on-line, play games with other players without

leaving home, as well as share their own products such as

photos, works of art etc. All platforms which include the

word “sharing” in their name depends depend mainly on

uploading and downloading various items which have been

created by internet users. This activity gives them an

International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture 2015; 2(3): 39-47 40

enormous opportunity to promote their skills for free, and

thus become well-known and draw financial benefits from

their work on-line. As it was stated by Varinder Taprial and

Priya Kanwar (2012, p. 6) they gave rise to the all-inclusive

Internet in which its users are no longer silent, but have a

possibility to participate by creating their own content,

share thoughts, exchange opinions and interact; thus

communicate. Kuzio (2013, 2014) also believes that along

with the birth of social media emerged also social change

relating to the power obtained by people to communicate

with the highly responsive audience on the Internet. By

these means, people could by their own make decisions

upon services and products broadcasted in mass media, and

thus share their opinions. Moreover, as the mentioned

authors claim, the average consumer became himself an

influencer (precisely “Soft Influencer”) within his own

network recommending and enlisting products and services

he perceives acceptable. According to Taprial and Kanwar,

the persuasive potential of social media was not neglected

by “powers” (e.g. politicians, public figures, manufacturers,

media companies) who started to benefit from them, as by

the free manner of advertising (ibid.). Thus, social media

can be briefly defined as media allowing one to be social, or

get social online by sharing content, news, photos etc. with

other people” (Taprial and Kanwar, 2012, p. 8).

As Taprial and Kanwar (2012, p. 23) state, they began the

era of real-time and location-based social networking

which was no longer static. With the use of smartphones

technology these may be used in any location and at any

time. Whereas Twitter is kind of a micro-blog which is

believed to be the “SMS of the Internet” containing mainly

short messages up to 140 characters (“tweets”) in length,

Facebook is more a expanded project which allows the

exposure of private pictures, sharing links, giving “likes”

(showing approval for some appreciated content),

discussing etc. (ibid.)

2. Persuasive Communication in

Social Media

Social media are these days used as a tool for free

promotion and advertising by so called “soft influencers” and

“powers” (Widowson, 2004, Woffitt ,2005). They both benefit

from activity on those platforms, since by use of verbal and

nonverbal means of communication, they can persuade a vast

amount of the audience for a special purpose. The world wide

web has made it possible for people and businesses to run their

companies online, advertise their goods and services, as well

as disclose their private opinions in order to not only

communicate, but also derive advantages from this.

Apart from utterly personal use benefits which may be

derived by “soft influencers” such as getting in touch with one

another, gossiping, sending messages and communicating, the

average Internet user may also get empowered. According to

Taprial and Kanwar (2012, p. 37), it is easy for people to see

what others are talking about, get feedback, read another’s

opinions on the products/services, and thus get or receive

some advice. It is believed that by the virtue of social

interaction, through “tagging” and “sharing” links with other

people, the content is spread in at an unbelievable speed and

hits a wider scope of the target audience than traditional mass

media (ibid.). Moreover, by means of quick transfer of

information on the Internet, an average interlocutor may affect

and harm the reputation of known companies, productions (e.g.

films, music etc.), and individuals by sharing their opinion

with one another. When the content is read the most often,

usually its content will be disclosed on the top of the website,

thus making it the most accessible for public view (e.g. on

Facebook, the most preferred message is honoured with so

called “likes”, i.e. the more liked it is, the more “likes” it has)

(Picture 1).

Picture 1. “The persuasive nature of ‘likes’ on Facebook”. (Source:

www.facebook.pl).

Additionally, it can be assumed that the bigger amount of

“likes” may contribute to discovering the content by social

networkers more often, whereas those with less “liked”

information may be often neglected and skipped.

As Suzanne Vara (2010) believes, persuasion has

changed with since the day of establishing social media.

The audience is no longer left passively with undesirable

content broadcast without proven facts, but with wanted

information shared by interlocutors who are willing to read

it and participate in the discourse via dialogue, social

41 Anna Kuzio: Persuasive Communication in Social Media Advertising: A Case Study of Polish and English

engagement and interaction (ibid.). Vara (2010) believes

that nowadays advertisers are more keen on active rather

than passive audiences, that “listen, accept, comprehend

and act” as they want. She also maintains that there are

certain stages of “brand perception and acceptance” that

lead to accomplishment of successful persuasive

communication, i.e. unawareness (exposure of the brand on

the market), awareness (creating goals and benefits),

acceptance (ensuring the audience of being trustful), and

action (receiving the response from consumers) (ibid.).

This whole process involves a perception change that will

in the final phase make an audience to behave in a way

desired by persuaders e.g. to purchase a certain product

(ibid.).

When it comes to typology of advertisements posted on

Facebook, there is a vast range of them listed by Jennifer

Beese (2012). Beese distinguishes five main kinds which

can be further divided into smaller categories i.e. External

Website (Standard) Ads, Facebook Object (Like) Ads, Page

Post Ads, Sponsored Stories, Promoted Posts and Facebook

Offers. She claims that the most interactive and broad type

of all those mentioned are sponsored stories which may

provide valuable feedback for the advertiser when the

audience is pleased with the content he publishes (ibid.).

Among this category she distinguishes all activities which

embrace display of “likes” of the content, comments to

posts, filled questionnaires, shared games, events, etc.

The persuasive potential of social media could not be

also neglected by bigger businesses as they saw the

inclining tendency of people getting online and building

communities. According to Taprial and Kanwar (2012, p.

39) they set up online branding which aims at developing a

brand online i.e. familiarising an audience with their logo,

name, and colour schemes to remain visible for people.

This process embraces taking part in discussions lead by

companies, or carrying out different Q&A polls etc. (ibid.).

Moreover, as the mentioned researchers claim, such

businesses started to build a long lasting relationship with

customers via listening and answering their needs e.g.

through newsletters sent directly to their e-mail boxes

offering discounts, rewards, and sponsored events which

aim in enhancing the trust in individuals (ibid.).

3. Materials and Informants

The given research aims at presentation of major

persuasion techniques applied in online mass market

cosmetics advertisements which appear in the form of Page

Post Ads in social networking sites, i.e. Facebook. At the

times when the study has been undertaken this website

performed the role of the biggest virtual society, often

referred to as the most often visited and with one of the

highest revenues. Mark Zuckerberg, a former Harvard

University student, who is claimed to be the main founder

of Facebook, has been inspired by the classic book with the

pictures of students, and in 2004 he created the biggest

international social platform that allows everyone over 13

to sign on (Carlson et al., 2011). After being registered for

free, users may upload their content such as pictures, texts,

quotes and share it with their friends who may either “like”

it or “share” it further.

To establish the major persuasion techniques five global

skin-, hair-, and body- care brands will be taken into

account i.e. Avon, Garnier, Max Factor, Maybelline, and

Olay. Their Page Post Ads in Facebook accounts will be

evaluated both in Polish and English in the context of

persuasive language

4. Data Presentation and Procedure

Page Post Ads from Facebook accounts will be referred

to as the data of the given analysis. Both Polish and English

equivalents of official Avon, Garnier, Max Factor,

Maybelline, and Olay users of the mentioned social

networking website have been observed, and some

advertisements from each have been analysed for the sake

of this paper. In the result, the chapter will embrace an

analysis of thirty Polish and thirty English similar

cosmetics advertisements. Reflecting upon one branch of

marketing products, similar brands of commodities and the

exact one medium of advertising, the study aims at

specification of similarities and differences between these

two languages, categorisation, exemplification and

description of applied persuasion techniques, and finally, at

determining whether they seem to be international, thus

universal.

After the data has been collected, further division of the

formerly described persuasion techniques has been

accomplished, basing on all the mentioned sources and

theories by many linguists, in order to evaluate the

language of online advertising applied by manufacturers of

cosmetics in a social media marketing tool, i.e. Facebook.

Techniques, categories and modes have been collected and

arranged into three main groups with further subcategories

embracing frequent methods of persuasion that have been

observed during data analysis.

The first group will be entirely devoted to lexical items,

which are often called as punch words and serve the explicit

function of persuasion. To this category belong: pronoun

and connection language, weasel and trivialising words,

exaggerated and frequent adjectivalisation, intensity words,

abbreviations, suggestive names of products, wordplay

along with references, sensory language and explicit

claims.

The second group of linguistic persuasion techniques

works on a sentence structure level. Through indirect

rhetorical devices such as questions, repetitions, diversity

of tenses as well as hidden commands implied persuasion

techniques have been recognised.

4.1. Data Analysis

This analysis will be devoted to the language of

persuasion applied in Facebook Page Post Ads uploaded by

cosmetics companies. This subsection has been divided into


three main categories – lexical, structural and associative

techniques which have been observed during an analysis.

The given categorisation has been inspired by the theories

of many linguists mentioned in the theoretical part hereof,

as well as by online resources presented by the Media

Literacy Project and Changing Minds.

4.2. Semantics of Advertisements

Picture 2. Source: https://www.facebook.com/olay?ref=ts&fref=ts.

One of most used persuasion techniques are lexical items

that carry either negative, or positive associations. These

are called power, or punch words and according to

Changing Minds may be divided into the following

categorisation: God words, “In” words, God talk jargon,

Devil words, Devil words repulse, Non-PC words, Insults,

Euphemisms and references, Charisma words, Context

counts, Notable lists, and Political Realities. The given

subsection will deal purely with these categories, that have

been observed during the analysis, and since many of these

above mentioned categorisations overlap (e.g. Notable lists

embrace also Charisma words etc.) an analytical division of

lexical items has been created, inspired on different

references, too. The following examples will provide an

insight into the occurrence of punch words in cosmetics

advertisements:

“Did you hear the news? New, lower prices on Pro-X,

Olay’s most effective, anti-aging regimen. Check stores

today and share this with your friends.” (Picture 2.)

“The buzz continues! This fall Olay is introducing the

first ever mass CC Cream that will leave your skin looking

impeccable. Check out the latest from your beauty!”

(Picture 3.)

One can also find such phrases such as:

a) “Falling into bed post-party with makeup on is a major

skincare sin. We’ll help you to take it off!”

b) “Kochani! Spieszcie się. Loteria trwa tylko do 24

grudnia!” ["Dearly Beloved! Hurry up. The lottery

lasts only until the 24th of December! "]

c) “’Totalny’ efekt ODMŁODZENIA w najsilniejszej

formule od Olay Total Effects 7 w 1 – spróbujecie?”

['Total’ REJUVENATION effect in the strongest

formula of Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 – will you try?"]

All the bolded words, or phrases belong to the group of

these, that carry negative (e.g. “major skincare sin”) or

positive (e.g. “friends”, “impeccable skin”, “dearly

beloved”, “total rejuvenation”) meaning for the audience.

They are supposed to indicate beliefs, values, evoke

emotions, scare, and motivate people to action, entice them

to take some steps and purchase the product. The frequent

use of the word “new”, and its associative equivalents such

as “introducing”, “announcing”, “the latest”, and “first ever”

aim at meeting expectations of customers who urge to have

always the newest model of any commodity, e.g. phone,

tablet and even cosmetics. Similarly to all intensifiers,

money words such as “cash”, “save”, “reduced”, “pay”, and

“price”, etc. work as the “hook”, that grabs the attention of

those greedy, thrifty ones, and poorer audiences. The above

listed advertising contents are the compilation of various

power words, that will be examined separately in a detailed

manner in the forthcoming passages.

Picture 3. Source: https://www.facebook.com/olay?ref=ts&fref=ts.

4.3. Pronoun and Connection Languages

(Bandwagon)

Bandwagon is perceived by the Media Literacy Project


(2013) as one of the basic persuasion techniques due to its

easy recognition, as well as its frequent application. During

an analysis many instances of this technique have been

identified both in the manner of specific pronoun language

and connection language. Bandwagon implies to the

broader audience (“everyone, [or at least] cool people”) i.e.

users of a service or buyers of a merchandised product, and

urging other receivers of an advertisement to “jump on the

bandwagon” (ibid.). Analytically, pronoun language may

be the linguistic tool that enhances the bandwagon

technique. Through I self-commitment, You/we

group-creation and He/she/they out-grouping the speaker

commits his view, shows his care of the listener, offers a

solution to a problem and creates a bond with him

(Changing Minds 2002-2013). Moreover, the so called

connection language (use of with/without, this/that and

us/them) which aims at “attaching and pushing away”

derives benefits from the associative way of thinking, thus

join the identities of people making them a part of

themselves, “and so forgive, approve, and agree with

[themselves]” (ibid.). When talking about the second

person pronoun you in English advertisements, its presence

has been observed in almost each of analysed ones contrary

to the Polish ones. For the purpose of showing the contrasts

between Polish and English applications of this pronoun,

advertisements by Garnier will now be compared.

Facebook Page Post Ads uploaded by this company often

include you in their content, due to its slogan with both the

implied you in English: “Take care”, and the explicit one in

Polish “Take care of yourself” (Dbaj o siebie):

a) “Whether you’re at work, at the gym, or fast asleep –

you’ll be fighting dark spots!”

b) “Tuesday Tip: Always have a towelette on you... keep

them in your car, office, gym, bag, you name it.

[implied you] Be ready for anything!”

c) “We’re thrilled to announce Garnier won FIVE Allure

magazine 2012 Best of Beauty Awards! From best

home color to face peel we’re here to make your hair

and skin gorgeous!”

d) “Kusi zapachem i błyskawicznie się wchłania!:) Coś

dla Ciebie?” [Seduces with its scent and quickly

absorbs! Something for You?]

e) “Dba o Ciebie i... wszystkie kolory Twoich ubrań! :)

[implied you] Zainteresowana?”[Takes care of You

and... all colours of Your clothes!:)Are you

interested? ]

f) “Koniec troski o przebarwienia i ślady! Co Ty na to? :)”

[It’s the end of concern for discolorations and traces!

What do You think? :)]

The visible difference between Polish and English

applications of the pronoun you in the above mentioned

examples is the capital letter with which it is written in

Polish sentences. This manner of writing signifies the

greatest respect given to a receiver, contrary to the usual

typing with a small letter. In contrast, there is no similar

custom in English. Moreover, due to a different inflection

Polish verbs often directly address to the receiver since they

are conjugated differently for persons, and other

grammatical aspects (e.g. “Zainteresowana?” [Are you

interested?]). These advertisements proves the recurring

pattern of direct approach towards a listener, closeness

between the advertiser and receiver. Regardless if you is

implied, or not, this pattern may be observed in the vast

majority of the analysed advertisements.

4.4. Intensity Words

To subtly suggest what others should feel, the common

usage of amplification devices may be observed such as

intensifiers. They increase the emotional impact of the

statement to hype the advertised product, and as the Media

Literacy Project (2013) suggests, they include superlatives

(“największa szczoteczka” [the biggest brush], “luksus w

najlepszym wydaniu” [the finest kind of luxury] ”most

effective”), comparatives (“younger-looking skin”, “as

good as gold”), exaggeration, hyperbole, etc. The last one

of the named intensity words, according to Fahnestock

(2011: 118), comes from overshooting, over-the-top

exaggeration that refers to the quality, or quantity

adjectives [or adverbs], i.e. grandiose words intended to be

out of proportion. An application of exaggerated

adjectivalisation, as well as application of adverbs in

cosmetics advertisements, is immensely practiced both in

Polish, and English cases, with the use of the following

phrases: “gorgeous”, “must-have”, “gently (cleanses)”,

“perfect”, “favourite”, “fashion-fabulous”,

“super-glamorous look”, “super-wearable”, “autumn daze”,

“fabulous”, “revelation”, “błyskawicznie się wchłania”

[rapidly absorbs], “długotrwale nawilża” [long-lasting

moisturising], “nareszcie!” [finally], “profesjonalny”

[professional], “dla idealnie pogrubionych i rozdzielonych

rzęs” [for perfectly thick and separated lashes].

a) “Berry-hued lips are a hot trend this season! Try

Colour Elixir on for a super- glamorous look. x.”

b) “Mogę używać go zawsze. Bez względu na to co

zamierzam zaołżyć danego dnia.

c) Nareszcie!” [I can apply it always. Irrespective of

what I am planning for living on a given day. At last!]

To attenuate the emotional content of adjectives, or

adverbs, and enhance their meanings, prefixes of a superior

quality, grade, or size such as “super”, “mega”, or “max”

are often included in the sentence to indicate the highest

degree, rank of the noun, or verb. These prefixes are the

modern intensifiers, thus once slang and informal

substitutes of the basic intensifier “very”. According to

Changing Minds (2002-2013) adverbs (and adjectives)

being just supplements of the sentence, contrary to the verb,

subject, or object, may past pass unnoticed, and “hence

such suggestions may slip past conscious (or even

subconscious) filters”.

4.5. Sensory Language

Each advertiser knows, that the effective presentation of

a product must influence any of five senses of a receiver, in


order to cause a cognitive, emotional and behavioral

response. Many stimuli such as evocative images, sound

effects, and fragrances enhance this reaction, controlling a

brain through created atmosphere. Similarly to vivid colors

in a logo, sweet scents spreading throughout the shopping

mall, self-service stands which offer the possibility to taste

a meal, and the softness of the textures, there are words

which carry the semantic load of sensory language.

According to Roger Dooley (2010), traditional

advertisements displayed on billboards, television, radio

are believed to reach mainly two senses - sight and sound.

The given author suggests, that focusing on all the five

senses will consequently boost sales, since it will

eventually create an engagement level which is three, or

four times higher, than the one stimulated by the pure

shopper looking at the displayed product (ibid.).

On the Page Posts from Facebook, one may observe the

written form of information accompanied with an image,

which through the use of the sensory lexicon aims at raising

the level of persuasiveness, and evoking positive emotions,

and associations. As Changing Minds (2002-2013) state,

there may be observed either an application of direct

description, or an indirect sensory metaphor. Deliberate use

of appropriate sensory words refers to various spheres of

human perception. According to Dooley (2012), sensory

vocabulary simulates different areas of the brain, being

more memorable and impactful, e.g. the textural metaphor

“the rough day”, is believed to have better influence on a

receiver, than “the bad day” which is a non-textural, and

thus neutral phrase.

Words that relate with their meanings to “light and dark,

shades and hues, visible shape and appearance” influence

the sphere of perceiving sight, “loudness, timbre, actual

words spoken” the sound, “tactile and emotional feeling”

are strictly connected with physical bodily experiences,

emotions and tensions”, whereas gustatory senses are being

aroused by describing taste and smell (Changing Minds

2002-2013). During an analysis, only insignificant number

of adjectives which contribute to sensual stimulation have

been noticed, e.g. “shimmering, vibrant shades”, “alluring

scent”, “glitzy arm candy”, “kusi zapachem” [seduces with

its scent], “berry-hued lips”, and “smooth finish” .

4.6. Generalisation Words

Since the advertiser is willing to reach as many receivers

as it is possible, in order to achieve the maximal number of

customers, he must deal with the so called “universal

audience”. This means, that an advertiser should apply as

many potential advantages of one particular commodity,

that will incite as many people as achievable. For example,

a cosmetic product like facial cream has to be universal i.e.

“many-in-1” at once moisturising, cleansing, smoothening,

having anti-wrinkle formula, rejuvenating, fighting facial

dark spots, preventing acne, and many others. Moreover,

regardless of the application purpose the merchandise

should be a so called “multi-tasker” embracing eye

shadows, lip glosses, nail polishes, blushes, powders,

bronzers of all colours that are acquired in a luminous,

luxury box that could also function as a gadget. Even better

when the product is sold in smaller packages than the

competition offers, or works 24 hours a week, since the

modern and fashionable woman would like to use the

commodity regardless of whether she is “at work, at the

gym, or fast-asleep”. As Fahnestock (2011, p. 67) reports,

the more general term in rhetorical style, the higher it is in

the system, and though the more potential referents it has;

and analogically, the less general it is, the fewer followers it

has. In the analysed posts major generalised terms refer to

all the items starting with the prefix “some-“, “any-”, and

the adjective “all”. The given examples are listed to present

the occurrence of the following generalisations: “be ready

for anything”, “one product that moisturises your hair, body

and face”, “multi-taskers” (about makeup palettes), “fab

skin possible at every age – even 100!”, “7 w 1” [7-in-1],

“wszystkie kolory” [all colours], and “mogę używać go

zawsze” [I can use it anytime]. Additionally, to boost the

reliability and successfulness of the company, advertisers

often opt to overgeneralise with the use of the “from-to”

construction:

a) “The awards keep coming! From Allure Magazine to

Marie Claire, women everywhere say our BB is their

fave!”

b) “From best home color to face peel we’re here to make

your hair and skin gorgeous!”

The mentioned grammatical construction in the first

advertisement gives the false impression, that almost all

newspapers across the country have reported the BB cream

to be the best (even though, it could be only found in Allure

Magazine and Marie Claire).

4.7. Wordplay

According to Sara Laviosa (2005), another rhetorical

device frequently used in commercial advertising is

wordplay, that promotes a product creating a humourous

phrase, attracts the reader’s attention and adds persuasive

force to the message. As Laviosa believes, puns are

“witticism[s] that rel[y] for [their] effect on playing with

different levels of language, i.e. phonological,

graphological, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and

textual”. They are culturally determined, work on meanings

of a polysemic word, literal and non-literal senses of idioms,

or bring “two homonyms together in the same utterance to

produce witty remarks” (ibid.). During the given analysis

three examples of wordplay by Maybelline New York have

been discovered, and thus they will be described.

Starting with an advertisement of nail polishes “HEAVY

METALS - A mani that rocks” , a twofold interpretation of

the polysemic word “heavy metal”, as well as “rock” may

be derived. In this context, an advertiser aims at a

fashionable presentation for the autumnal trend colours of

metals such as copper, silver, and gold, as well as rocks and

crystals. Whereby “heavy metals” are defined by

Dictionary.com (2014), as either “any metal with a specific

gravity of 5.0 or greater, especially one that is toxic to


organisms, as lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium”, or

“aggressive and heavily amplified rock music, commonly

performed by groups that wear spectacular or bizarre

costumes”, one may encounter disambiguation. Moreover

the slangish use of the informal verb “to rock”, meaning “to

be sublime or good” (Urban Dictionary, 2014), that derived

from the noun “a rock”, meaning both “a stone”, as well as

the slang “jewel, diamond”, may also relate to “rock music”

i.e. “any of various styles of pop music having a heavy beat,

derived from rock and roll” (Dictionary.com 2014). In this

case the advertiser may not only aim at promotion of a new

line of nail polishes, but also incite subcultures such as

listeners of rock music, as well as heavy metal, and other

related genres who are not often followers of fashion and

cosmetics trends.

Another exemplary wordplay has been observed in the

sentence “GOLDEN EYE – A look that is as good as gold”

that is also supposed to present an ongoing trend of

autumnal metallic colours, this time for eye shadows.

Regarding the phrase “golden eye” the culturally dependent

wordplay may be recognised, since the advertiser seems to

play with its correlation to cinematography. Being both

literally respective to a colours presented in a picture, as

well as metaphorically referring to the one of the James

Bond movies “GoldenEye”, an advertiser purposefully

hints such qualities as “fame”, “money”, “beauty”, and

many other positive traits which may be found in this movie.

Another visible correlation to those virtues (for those who

are not the filmgoers) is is the comparison “as good as gold”.

All the connotations that may be delivered from this phrase

are clearly related to the luxuries such as jewellery, money,

preciousness and wealth, not only the golden colour of the

eye shadows.

The third, thereby the last pun “A KISS IN CENTRAL

PARK - ’ ‘Fall’ in love with NYC” (Picture 5.), works on the

associative ground. An image of the Central Park covered with

colourful leaves during the autumn (another persuasive

technique which is a good timing, as all the mentioned things

in this section of advertisements were released that particular

season), and a huge caption “A KISS IN CENTRAL PARK”

with a lip print. L , looking into this image an audience may

have an impression that this post bears no persuasion at all,

and there is even no advertised product. However, since

Maybelline New York is known for selling and producing

cosmetics, the lip print may indicate the promotion of a new

lipstick, or a lip gloss. Regarding the line “’Fall’ in love with

NYC” the pun has been presented in quotation marks to make

it more visible for the audience. The word “fall” relates either

to the state of “experiencing feelings of love towards

somebody” being the verb phrase “to fall in love with

somebody”, or to the noun representing the season illustrated

on the described picture (Dictionary.com 2014). In addition,

“NYC” may be an allusion to “New York City” pertaining to

“Central Park”, and Maybelline headquarters, as well as “New

York Colors” being the slogan included in advertising

campaigns.

Picture 4. “Wordplay in advertisements by Maybelline New York”. (Source:

https://www.facebook.com/maybelline?ref=ts&fref=ts).

5. Product, and Brand Naming

When developing the name of the company, there are

many requirements to be met by entrepreneurs to achieve

success with a trademark. Names like Coca-Cola, Google,

Snickers, Nike, Yahoo, and many other worldwide known

brands may serve an example for the future merchandisers

that the coinage is the core element when advertising is

concerned. Being easy to say aloud, memorable, evoking

associations only with particular products (i.e. Google,

Yahoo – search engines, Snickers – a chocolate bar, Nike –

sportswear, Coca-Cola – a soft drink) these labels, along

with their logos could now be recognized by a huge

percentage of the world population. According to Eric

Billingsley (2006) the name should relate to the scope of a

larger marketing plan, type of the company, advertised

product application, and potential customers. These tips are

not only applicable regarding the brand trademark, but also

each product being released on the market. As Merriam

Associates (2009) reports, a specific categorisation of

styles and types of company and product names may be

made embracing e.g.: acronyms (‘M&M’ standing for its

cofounders F. Mars and B. Murrie), alliteration and rhyme

(‘YouTube’, ‘FAT BAT’), description (‘General Motors’),

evocative statements (invoke vivid images alluding to the

benefits of a given product), founder’s name


(Hewlett-Packard), geography (‘Fuji’ for the tallest

mountain in Japan), humour and slang, ingredients (Pepsi

for the pepsin enzyme), neologisms (completely new

names), onomatopoeia (based on a sound system – e.g.

‘Twitter’), nickname (e.g. Adolf Dassler founder of

‘Adidas’), mimetics (alternative spellings e.g. ‘Kleenex’) as

well as portmanteau (a combination of words of

morphemes that create a completely new word). All of the

analysed companies (apart from Avon) are owned by huge

corporations such as Procter & Gamble (now the owner of

Olay and Max Factor), L’Oreal (acquired both Maybelline

and Garnier), which being multi-billion dollar income

receivers have mastered the skill of successful product

naming. Though, their names have been invented long

before their purchase by global manufacturers. This

passage will not only analyse the techniques and styles of

brand naming, but also will investigate some of the

observed product names.

Formely called “Oil of Olay”, now Olay, has based its

name on the key ingredient “lanolin”, similarly to

Maybelline which constitutes the altered compound of

words “Mabel” (female name) and “Vaseline” (petrolatum,

an oily mass obtained from petroleum, often used in the

cosmetics manufacturing process) (Procter & Gamble 2013;

James Bennet, 2014; and Dictionary.com, 2014). Not only

ingredients-based naming may be observed in the

cosmetics branch, but also founders names often serve as

the stem for the trademark, e.g. Alfred Garnier was the first

to produce in 1904 a hair tonic for Laboratories Garnier,

similarly to Maksymilian Faktorowicz (aka Mr Max Factor),

a Polish make-up artist who established in the Golden Age

another famous company known even in Hollywood.

Contrary to the first one whose name serves the whole

trademark, the other company name hinges on mimetics

(the Polish spelling was altered into an English one, where

‘ks’, and ‘k’ were rewritten into ‘x’ and ‘c’), as well as

founder nickname that was a back clipped shortening of his

name and surname (Nowekosmetyki.pl 2009; and

DemandMedia 2014). On the other hand, the creator of the

label of Avon Products Inc. was inspired with “the beauty of

the countryside surrounding Stratford-on-Avon”, which is

an English town on the Avon River, also known as the

birthplace and burial place of Shakespeare (Avon Products

Inc. 2013; and Dictionary.com 2014).

Cosmetics names recognised while analysing were based

on sensory language (“Miracle dry oil for hair, body and

face”), professional commodities and services (“Planet Spa,

Heavenly Hydration”) , constituted power words evoking

the associations of “beauty”, “luxury” (“Gilded Treasures

Makeup Set”, “Luxe”) and exaggerations (“False Lash

Effect”). As customers mainly seek for quick effects,

producers came up with “Overnight Peel”, “Skin Renew”,

and for those urging to get a “many-in-one product” AVON

presents “AVON FAB in 5” line, “Mega Mix ‘N Go Palette”

(makeup palette), and Max Factor offers “Glossfinity” nail

polishes, or “Lipfinity” lipsticks for those who prefer

long-lasting results. The nominal phrases listed hereof

represent various word-formation processes, and some of

them may be categorised as follows:

GLOSSFINITY – a blending of “gloss” and “infinity”

LIPFINITY - a blending of “lip” and “infinity”

SKIN RENEW – a conversion of the verb “to renew” into

a noun, nominalisation

OVERNIGHT PEEL – a conversion of the word “to peel”

into a noun, nominalisation

Continuing the subject of word-formation, three informal

nouns have been recognized that may often be spotted in

conversations of youths, resembling the slangy character of

an utterance. These are: ”fab”, “pic” (clipped from

“fabulous”, and “picture”), “goodies” (”suffixed with “–ie”

for “something attractive), as well as “mani” (back-clipped

for “manicure”).

6. Conclusion

This paper consisted of the research related to the

persuasive rhetorical devices working mainly on the semantic

level of the cosmetics advertisements posted in the form of

Page Post Ads on Facebook. Some sample commercials in two

languages have been analyzed in order to categorize,

exemplify and compare similarities and differences between

Polish and English techniques. Since these days brands use

social media to increase brand awareness, find new customers,

engage those existing ones, and increase their loyalty,

companies offer discounts on this type of medium, and

monitor mentions of the brand researching target audience. It

has been stated, that the majority of assessed persuasive tools

were noticed across both languages; thus they might be called

as international.

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