Use of Rhetoric in English Advertisement 【Abstract】Advertisement is a popular cultural phenomenon in people’s daily life. It not only provides the information about products and stimulates the purchasing power, but also enriches people’s ideological life.Rhetoric is one kind of important expressive device in language. It refers to interpreting abstract and complex ideas or processes through simple and concrete methods. Since rhetoric is full of imagination, it can promote the transmission and communication of emotions and ideas.Rhetoric exists in writings with various styles, especially, in advertisements. Rhetoric plays a very important role in English advertisement, acting as a key element for the success of an advertisement. The thesis, based on the respective studies of the definition of advertisement and rhetoric, makes a careful analysis ofthe use of main rhetorical devices in English advertisement, including simile, metaphor, pun, personification, parallelism and rhyme, targeting at promotingthe further development of advertisement.【Key Words】English advertisements; rhetoric; function【摘要】广告是人们日常生活中最常见的一种文化现象，不仅提供产品信息，刺激购买力，而且丰富人们的精神生活。

修辞是一种重要的语言表达手段，是用简单具体且充满想象的方法将抽象复杂的思想或进程阐释出来，能够促进情感的传递和思想的表达。

修辞存在于各种文体之中，尤其在英语广告中起着极为重要的作用，是影响英语广告成败的关键。

论文从分析广告及修辞的定义和功能出发，认真研究了主要修辞手段在英语广告中的作用，包括明喻、暗喻、双关、拟人、平行和押韵等修辞手段，旨在推进广告的进一步发展和提高。

【关键词】英语广告; 修辞; 功能IntroductionNowadays, concerning with advertisement, different people have different opinions. For most of the people, the distinct feature of advertisement is that advertisement is a combination of content and style. That is to say, a good advertisement not only has attraction in content, but also has charm in style. Obviously, the determinative factor of a good or a bad advertisement is whether the use of rhetoric is appropriate or not. It can be found that the use of rhetoric plays a very important role in advertisement. Without the use of rhetoric, absolutely, there is no good advertisement. Therefore, it is necessary to make an analysis and study on this subject.The whole thesis is concerned about the use of rhetoric in English advertisement, and the thesis is divided into three parts. The first part talks about the definition and function of advertisement. The second part illustrates the definition and function of rhetoric. The third part makes a carefully study on the use of main rhetorical devices in English advertisement, such as, simile, metaphor, pun, personification, parallelism and rhyme.I. AdvertisementAs for advertisement and products, some people believe the successful selling of products cannot be separated from advertisement. Advertisement keeps people informative about the price and funct ion of products; what’s more, advertisement can help to improve products’ brand aw areness and its reputation.A. The Definition of Advertisement“Advertisement is the non—personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various me dia.”Advertisement has taken many different kinds of forms from ancient times. At the beginning, advertisement evolved to take a variety of forms and to permeate nearly every aspect of the society. Advertisement devices include many kinds, such as, banners at sporting events, billboards, and Internet Web sites, logos on clothing, magazines, newspapers, radio spots, and television commercials. The people are overwhelmed by a lot of advertisements. It is said that the individuals can expect to be exposed to more than 1,200 different advertisement messages each day. Therefore, advertisements are popular in people’s daily life.B. The Function of AdvertisementEnglish advertisements can encourage competition, guide consumption, promote sales, and transmit information. For instance, advertisement tells a consumer the information about a specific product, brand or service and helps him or her to understand and evaluate the information. Moreover, by making people aware of products, services and ideas, advertisement promotes sales and profits. Advertisement is one of the major forces that can help improve the standard of living.The people, no matter in urban or rural areas, are overwhelmed by a lot of advertisements. Advertisement makes people’s environments mor e colorful and vigorous. Meanwhile, it can also enrich people's cultural life and transmit information which contributes to social and cultural prosperity.II. RhetoricRhetoric can be found in any forms of writing—poetry, prose, drama, fictional and non-fictional writing, advertisement. The understanding about the definition and function of rhetoric is helpful for the use of rhetorical devices.A. The Definition of RhetoricAristotle was one of the most famous thinkers and orators in Greek. In his famous book, Rhetoric, rhetoric was defined as “the art of persuasion”. (Tang Yin, P1, 2004) Whereas, John Locke, the noted English philosopher of the latter part of the 17th centu ry, said that “rhetoric was the science of oratory, the art ofspeaking with elega nce, and force”. (Tang Yin, P1, 2004)In present day, the meaning of rhetoric has been extended. Rhetoric assumes the following characteristics, that is, the elaborated and exaggerated language, the art of using language effectively and persuasively, the skills of using language effectively, the structure of verbal communication.B. The Function of RhetoricRhetorical devices are variations of literal or ordinary forms of expressions. Their function is to make the thought more striking and effective. A fresh and suitable rhetorical device appeals to the imagination, creates mental pictures and makes the speech or writing vivid, impressive and interesting.Rhetorical devices can make language more vivid by using the simple words to express complex meanings. By the use of rhetoric, even abstract ideas can become concrete. Rhetoric can make the modified subjects more prominent, distinctive, and specific. By the use of rhetoric, the language can give people more space to imagine. Whereas, without the use of rhetoric, the language is boring and there is no vigor in the language.III. An Analysis of Rhetoric in English AdvertisementSeveral kinds of rhetorical devices are frequently used in advertisement, and it is necessary to study them one by one by giving definitions and making illustrations. All of the examples studied below are constrained within English advertisements.A. Simile“Simile is a way of comparing one thing with anot her of explaining what one thing is like by showing how it is similar to another thing and it signals itself in a text, with the words as or like.” A simile is made up of four parts: “the tenor”, “the vehicle”, “the comparing word” and “the ground”. “The tenor” is the subject of simile. “The vehicle” is the thing compared to or the part transported. “The comparing word” is the simile marker such as, “like, as, than, as if, similar to.” “The ground” is the common properties owned by “the tenor” and “the vehicle”.For example: Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.This is an advertisement for “orange juice”. It can be found that, in thisadvertisement, “orange juice” is “the tenor” and “sunshine” is “the vehicle”. The word “like” sign als that the advertisement makes use of the rhetoric device—simile. Thus by using simile, the advertisement makes the product’s characteristic more vivid and lively. If the “orange juice” really has such an effect, the customers are eager to drink this kind of juice at breakfast. Precisely, this advertisement is a good example in simile craftsmanship. It can not be imagined what the world will be look like without sunshine. The importance of “orange juice” is no less than “sunshine”. Since the significance of this kind of “orange juice” is so great, nobody would refuse to drink it. Thus this advertisement touches the customers’ heart and greatly promotes the sale of this kind of “orange juice”.B. Metaphor“A metaphor, like a simile, also has a comparison b etween two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated.”In metaphor, one thing is directly compared to another thing, without like or as. Thus the relationship between them is implied in other words is unstated. Therefore, the use of metaphor makes the language more vivid and also makes the product it advertising more attractive. Metaphor is a kind of rhetoric devices which is favored by most advertisement composers.The following is a good example: You’d better of f under umbrella.This is an advertisement for a travel insurance agency. In this advertisement, “umbrella” refers to the travel insurance agency. In the advertisement, “the vehicle” is not stated. In fact, “the vehicle” is the staff of the “Umbrella” agency. No matter it is raining or shining, if the customers carry an umbrella with them, the umbrella will be very useful to them, for it protects them from being influenced by the bad weather. In most people’s minds, the word “umbrella” is always linked with safety and protection. While the customers are traveling, there are some unpredictable factors existing during their journey. Just imagine that no matter what happens, there are always someone waiting for customers, listening to customers and comforting customers. They are not anyone else and they are the staff of “Umbrella”. By using metaphor, the company’s image is more vivid. The advertisement would leave a deep impression on the customers.C. PersonificationPersonification is one of the most frequently used rhetoric devices in English advertisement, for it can greatly shorten the distance between the advertisement composer and customers, creating a kind of harmonious atmosphere between them. Undoubtedly, advertisement composers will employ the rhetoric device inthe English advertisement.For example: She has her own spirit and it graces everyone she comes near.This is a piece of advertisement for “perfume”. It can be found that this kind of perfume is personified in the advertisement. In the adver tisement, “she” not only refers to those who favor this kind of perfume but also refers to the perfume itself. By giving life to the product, it can effectively shorten the distance between the advertisement composer and the customers, making the customers feel more cordial. Absolutely, the advertisement will make the customers willing to buy the perfume. The use of personification endows the advertisement with such magic power.D. Parallelism“In parallel construction it is necessary to balance word for word (noun with noun, verb with verb, adjective with adjective, etc) phrase with phrase, clause with clause, sentence with sentence.” Parallelism will not be neglected by advertisement composers. It is reported that parallelism is one of the most frequently used of all English rhetorical device.For example: For dreamers it’s paradise. For romantics it’s true bliss. For $199 a night it’s absolutely irresistible. To learn more about the principality of Monaco call 800-it’s-9696.This is an advertisement for a travel agency—Monaco; the three sentences talk about three different kinds of fields. In the advertisement, the advertisement composer revealed his advertisement by three parallel sentences, each of which contains a simple sentence with the similar stru cture. Monaco’s charm is greatly enhanced by the unity and balance of these parallel structures. By using parallelism, the advertisement composer can add clarity and coherence to the advertisement. Parallelism helps the advertisement composer better communicate with the customers.E. Rhyme“Rhyme is identity of sounds between words or verse lines extending back from the end to the last fully accented vowel not further”. People often associate rhyme with poetry. Actually, rhyme also occurs in advertisements.For example: Hi-Fi, Hi-Fun, Hi-Fashion, only from Sony.This is an advertisement for Sony’s products. In this advertisement, the repeated sounds of “Hi” not only give the customers a deep impression andmake it memorable, but also emphasize the quality of the product at the same time. In this advertisement, alliteration is used effectively. By using rhyme, Sony’s products win customers’ hearts in a short time. English advertisement has the function of promoting sales. This advertisement gives the function’s charm full play.ConclusionEnglish advertisements can encourage competition, guide consumption, promote sales, and transmit information. Rhetoric can make language vivid and humorous. Simile, metaphor, personification are the most frequently used rhetorical devices in English advertisements.Generally speaking, by the analysis and study above, it can be found that the use of rhetorical devices contributes a lot to successful advertisements. Rhetorical devices are the determinative factors in English advertisement. For this reason, advertisers often make use of rhetorical devices to increase the readability and attraction of advertisements and to arouse consumers’ interest of buying products. Undoubtedly, the use of rhetoric in advertisement gives an advertisement another new birth, makes the advertisement lively and impresses the customers greatly.AcknowledgementsI would like to offer my sincere wish to those who spend their precious time in reading this thesis.。