Economy Principle in English Advertisements

Pan Hong

【Abstract】Languages evolve unceasingly according to the economy principle： to exchange the maximal amount of information through the minimal language codes expenditure.This paper analyzes economy in advertisements，especially the concise wording which saves layout，time and energy.

【Key words】the Economy Principle； simple lexicon； English advertisement

Economy principle is considered to be one of the most pervasive principles，existing in all fields of inference.It is in philosophy that an economy principle of any depth is first advanced.Since language is created to facilitate human communication，if a language consumes too much effort or causes too much difficulty for people in their communicating，it would barely develop and the creation of such language would be less meaningful.Then we can draw a conclusion that using a language follows the Economy Principle.It acts as an “invisible hand” that incessantly guides and manipulates the linguistic activities of human beings.

With the prosperity of todays commodity economy， commercial ads show up in almost any place，like in newspapers and magazines，on billboards along the streets，etc.A qualified ad should meet the AIDMA criteria，that is to say，it should attract the consumer to direct their attention，arouse their interest，stimulate their desire to buy，leave them the memory of the merchandise and finally suggest readers to take action in purchasing the product.No matter what promoting strategies advertising takes，language is the primary bearer of the message all along.Simple and easy language form can pass messages quickly and accurately，reducing readers time and energy consumption in decoding and encoding language codes.Consequently，no matter TV ads，radio commercials or print ads，they all seek to reduce advertising costs by using the most concise language to pass the most amount of information.There are many ways in which we can reach this goal.

1.Use Small Words

Advertising prefers short and common words.G.N.Leech lists twenty verbs most often used in advertising English.They are make，get，give，have，see，buy，come，go，know，keep，look，need，love，use，feel，like，choose，take，start，and taste.See the famous ads below：

Just do it.（Nike）

Fresh up with Seven-up.（Seven-up）

The action verbs “do”，“fresh” used in the above ads are concise，crisp，and easy for the audience of any level of education to comprehend at a glance.Words of this kind can give consumers a lot of material and spiritual enjoyment as well.

Adjectives，as emotive and exciting words，are used to enhance the facts of a certain product or service.The creators prefer commentary words to establish an image and elevate reputation for the merchandise.For instance，“new” has a constructive ability so strong that it can embellish the size，shape，look，color，and constitution of the products.See the ad below：

The choice of a new generation.（Pepsi Cola）

Meanwhile，comparative and superlative adjectives are often used.

By means of presupposition，ads usually use these forms to say what consumers want to listen in order to please them.For instance，in ad “Everything you need to be a better mom”，there is the presupposition that “You are already a good mom”.

2.Use Compounds

Compounding makes words short and expressive.Not constrained by the syntactic word order，the composition of compound words is more flexible and more colloquial.It effectively avoids the use of the phrase or clause，thus can simplify the sentence structure，too.As a result，compounds can minimize space expenditure in ad publishing to reduce the cost.Sometimes，a new compound constructs the brand itself.For instance：

My Rolex never needs a rest.

In example （4），Rolex is a compound draw out of rolling and excellent.

3.Use Abbreviations

Boasting simple-writing and space-saving，abbreviations are practicable in cutting down advertising costs，especially in recruitment advertising and classified advertising.In the following ad，there are altogether eighteen abbreviations，which are listed below.

Figure 1 a Recruitment Advertisement

cas.= casual

Jr = junior

Avail immed =available immediately

a + = a plus

Bus.Hrs = Business Hours

m-f = Monday-Friday

exc bnfts = excellent benefits

CV = Curriculum Vitae

ID = identification

Add = address

Bldg = building

Attn = attention

Tel = telephone

4.New Coined Words

Because of expression needs and the pursuit of novelty，English advertising usually adopt ingenious words，i.e.some made-up neologism，to highlight the characteristics of the product and attract the audiences attention，imparting a refreshing feeling.

Advertisement-creating personnel sometime misspell words that people are familiar with or use affixation to produce new words.Rather than abandon their original values，the new formed words bear novel denotations as well as maintain the conventional meanings.New coined words can not only spread information effectively，but give ads a lot charm.See the following ad：

We know eggsactly how to sell eggs.（eggs）

In example （5），eggsactly is the anomalous form of exactly and it corresponds morphologically to the “egg” in the end of the sentence.This will certainly impress the audience deeply.In this way，the accurate promoting message of the ad is gained by addressees through their association and imagination.

5.Use Loan Words

It is an ideal choice to choose foreign words when there is a need to emphasize the products exotic character.See the following ad of a soft drink：

——Order it in bottles or in caners.

——Perrier...with added je ne sais quoi.

In this ad，a French sentence is borrowed.“Je ne sais quoi.” means “I dont know what.” This simple French sentence not only increases the peoples curiosity of the beverage，but indicates its authentic French flavor.

To sum up，simple lexicon of advertising English is designed to achieve the economy of language，i.e.to use as few language codes to ensure rapid and wide information transmission.The economy principle makes the advertisement-making personnel minimize the cost and convince as many as possible the target audience to purchase the goods as producers and vendors expect.

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