A C O M P A R I S O N B E T W E E N 1 9 5 0 S A N D M O D E R N T E X T S

ADVERTS AIMED AT MEN

ORIGINAL TEXT Cataphoric referencePotential

pun? (‘Breaking

news’)

Neologism

Stage structure,

instructions for simplicity

Synthetic PersonalisationAlliteration

Graphology; focuses on ‘handsome

look’

ImperativeAlliterationSibilance

(Similar to ‘New tech’)Synthetic personalisation

RhymeSpecialist lexis

RepetitionImperative

Expert opinionGraphology – Illustration

Graphology – IllustrationOrder of precedence

Elevated lexisElevated lexis

SIMILARITIES TO MODERN TEXTS

• Synthetic personalisation (use of 2nd person pronoun ‘your’) • ‘Shaving News’ technique – ‘new technology’• Jargon (pos. neologism) ‘COROSHAVE’ • Instructions, imperative structure ‘Wash- wet

face’• Influential power, convincing that this product is

the best • Cataphoric references – ‘shaving news’ • In the second text, elevated lexis (‘Exhilarating’)

DIFFERENCES TO MODERN TEXTS

• Alliteration often seen as cliché (‘Superwhipped for super shaves!’)• Modern focus on ‘sexy’ look – not on ‘handsome’• Exclamative sentences likely to be interpreted as

patronizing in modern adverts (‘SHAVE…!’) • In the second text, high focus on language rather

than image.

HYPOTHESIS

•Advertisements aimed at men will have changed language devices over time.

COMPARATIVE TEXT (1)

Modern advert,

taken from Men’s Health

magazine

List of 3 (cadence)Simple sentences

Percentage Authenticity, modern advertising

‘A place’ - Metaphor

AlliterationAbstract NounActive verbs

RepetitionElevated lexis

Colloquial

COMPARATIVE TEXT (2)Imperative

ImperativeList of three -

cadence

Expert opinion

Heavier focus on image,

possible sexist as using

women to sell product

Rhetorical Question

METHODOLOGY

• We used Google images and http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk/en/category/show_list_page.html provided us with a wide variety of advertisements aimed at men throughout different time periods. • Men’s Health magazine provided us with the

comparative text we chose, though many of the ads consisted of vary little language and were mostly just images with a logo. This in itself could show how advertisement language has evolved.

LEXIS

1950s Texts• Text 2 uses much

elevated lexis (e.g. exhilarating’ ect) and specialist lexis (e.g. ‘abdominal’)in order to sell their product. This is because they wish to convince the audience (Influential power) that this product is new, proven and high tech.

Modern Texts• Both texts use ‘expert

opinion’ to convince their audience. They use elevated lexis (such as ‘clinically proven’) though less than the earlier texts.

GRAMMAR

1950s Texts• The second text in

particular uses long, complex sentences in order to descriptively sell their product. E.g. ‘Massage is the key - massage of the vital muscles of the abdomen, on whose strength and tone your figure, carriage and digestion depend.’

Modern Texts• The first test uses very

simple, short sentences as though written in note form. E.g. ‘Helps minimise the look of fine lines, helps firm up the skin’.

SEMANTICS

Some words relating specifically to women or

men

SEMANTICS

Due to lack of text this didn’t work so

well…

DISCOURSE STRUCTURE

1950s Texts• The second text uses a lot more

text to convince it’s audience. It is also similar to modern day texts which use ‘expert opinions’. It may be significant that over time, we have changed who these people are; we are more likely to be attracted to products which are used by celebrities.

Modern Texts

GRAPHOLOGY

1950s Texts• These have less

complex graphological features due to the time period – they use illustrations though rely more on their language choices to sell their product.

Modern texts• Often have very little

writing and rely more heavily on an image to sell their product.

PRAGMATICS

1950s Texts• In this time period it is likely

that it was more unacceptable for men to act feminine, and therefore invest in grooming products. They therefore sell their products as more masculine and necessary, though the second text uses ‘men and women’ as the order of precedence. There is, however, less of a focus on female attraction than the modern texts.

Modern Texts• In recent times

advertisements aimed at men encourage grooming products. The second is somewhat sexist as it used graphology as its main influential feature, advertising female attraction.

CONCLUSION

• We found that our non-directional hypothesis that adverts aimed at men will have changed language devices over time was correct, though we also found that some devices remained the same. • One major feature of change was the amount of

text used.• There were possible indications of sexism, though

not enough evidence in the 4 short advertisements analysed.

EVALUATION

• If we were to conduct the research again, we would refine our hypothesis to be more specific to allow for more detailed research.• We would also choose advertisements which

include much more text, though it may be best to avoid adverts altogether due to the modern focus on image.

OTHER TEXTS

OTHER TEXTS

OTHER TEXTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Google images • Bing images• http://

www.advertisingarchives.co.uk/en/category/show_list_page.html• The Times Digital Archive