Magnitude of Language in Advertising

Language opens a gateway to effective communication. It’s a natural instinct that Advertising must be communicated in a language which is comfortable to the audience and influence them in a positive manner. We all know how words are more than mere lifeless symbols and signals. They are the structure of thought, driven in a language. Because Language is intertwined with emotion, rooted in interpreted words, it has to be used in an advertisement based on the product and its user group.

Advertisement for a luxury good should be publicized in English while necessity is favored to be done in local language for mass reach and greater communicability. Whereas detergents can be advertised effectively in the local language, English is preferred for Luxury items like chocolates. Over the years, experts examined the role of language in advertising. Every time, results indicate that multinationals, among bilingual populations, should pay special attention to language. It’s interesting to know how the science of language works. For instance, Hindi (the language of India) is associated with belongingness while English gives one more sense of sophistication.

A retro Advertisement by Coca-Cola widens its audience by communicating in Italian (Image Courtesy: Coca Cola)

On my way back to home, I recently overheard a conversation between two advertising guys brainstorming ways to increase consumer interest in an advertisement they were doing for a hospital. One of them thought that the best way to sell was to use terminology that hospitals use and understand in their everyday language. Although this sounded like a great idea, it got me thinking; who’s really the client here? Is it the hospital that who runs the ad or the end consumer who is the hospital’s client? The only way a hospital ad can succeed only if a prospective patient recognizes, understands and recalls the ad's message. As an advertiser, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove your worth as a healthcare provider once you get your prospective in the door. After serving its purpose, would you be bothered whether the advertisement was rolled out in plain English or a local language.

Although using basic language that your everyday consumer uses may sound like a dummied idea, but for effective advertising, it’s crucially important. After all, the only job of the ad is to create enough interest so that consumer will further explore offerings.