A comparison of wordplay and the innovation of words in the context of house advertising

Abstract

Humorous aspects in the field of house advertising and hyper advertising exhibit cumulative linguistic phenomena, though only minor scientific studies have been conducted in the area of business to consumer relationships. This paper sheds light on an unexplored subject by examining the frequency of wordplay and the creation of words published by French advertising agencies. It explains wordplay using the example of homophony and the creation of words through the innovation of words. The analysis of such linguistic phenomena allows for conclusions about how words contribute to strengthening brand value. A significant number of the examined advertisements exhibit humour. Hence, the study also takes into account the impact humour might have on the reader and viewer and how more effective advertising can be designed. The study found that wordplay strengthens the brand value to a greater extent than the creation of words and that humour is employed in a test-in-process manner that leads to more choices of linguistic phenomena.