Advertising Essentials: Communication Process and Key Elements

Understanding Advertising

Advertising is a genre with a commercial purpose, aiming to persuade society to consume a product. It is also used for solidarity campaigns, such as accident or traffic prevention, to promote an idea or raise societal awareness of direct or indirect problems. These are called institutional advertising. This text describes advertising exposure and its predominant arguments.

The Communication Process in Advertising

Advertising is a complete communicative process where a transmitter directs messages to a receiver group. This communication process is unilateral, meaning there is no exchange of views between the sender and recipients.

• The channel can vary depending on the mode of transmission.
• The codes are: linguistic and non-linguistic (or iconography).
  • The linguistic code consists of the advertisement's text and slogan (short sentences designed to capture the receiver's attention and be easily remembered).
  • The non-linguistic code consists of the image, typography, and acoustic elements.

Advertising copy predominantly employs three functions of language (Trifunctionality): the appellative, poetic, and representative.

Non-Linguistic Elements and Visual Impact

Non-linguistic elements usually correspond with photography but also cover design and typeface (font type, size, and colors). Establishing the relationship between text and image is very important as it supports the semantic load of the message and, in turn, reinforces its connotation.

The image is crucial as it must be striking to quickly capture the recipient's attention. This employs:

• Color
• Lighting
• Kinesis (expressive capacity of the body and face)
• Proxemics (relation between characters and the product as desirable)

The Distinctive Language of Advertising

The advertising language is structured according to the principles of economy and proximity, employing a condensed style with brief messages as close as possible to the receiver (evident in the slogan).

The slogan is one of the most important linguistic systems in advertising. It consists of one or more short sentences that seek to draw the recipient's attention.