Metaphors in Advertising
Unit developed by:
Galit Peleg and Amir Michalovich
Ze’ev Junior High School, Herzliya
*The story appears in the name of Giffen’s Great Glue in the 9th grade coursebook Imagine / Harriet Coddington, Eric Cohen Books, p.75
Post reading
The story deals with dishonest advertising and the lack of personal integrity. The main character is a manufacturer of glue who deceives his customers until he falls into his own trap. When he uses a flying machine, another salesman's product, the glue melts and he falls to his death (Ironical turning point) .
Irony
Irony is a style of writing in which there is a noticeable, often humorous, difference between what is said and the intended meaning.
Or
A situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite or a very different result. It is used to express criticism about something.
Post reading
What is the writer’s criticism ?
Enrichment:
1. Icarus and Daedalus – the famous myth about flying towards the sun.
http://www.island-ikaria.com/about-ikaria/Ikaros-Myth
2. The Carpenter.
The Carpenter's House / Author unknown : A story about integrity
Questions for short discussion in pairs:
Answers
Pupils will copy the following definitions to their notebooks.
2. The subject of advertisements is always the product that they sell.
3. The advertisers always try to present the product in a positive way.
4. Advertisements come in pictures, commercials (video/ audio), billboards, flyers and banners (online).
Objective: THE PUPIL WILL BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN METAPHORICAL AND LITERAL ADS , BETWEEN EXPLICIT/ DENOTATIONAL MESSAGES AND IMPLICIT / CONNOTATIONAL MESSAGES.
Different types of Ads
METAPHORICAL VS. LITERAL
Different Types of Ads
METAPHORICAL VS. LITERAL
Metaphorical vs. Literal Ads
In groups, pupils address the following questions:
Answers A:
Glue
2. How is the product represented positively in each ad?
The parts can stick together due to the strong glue.
3. What does the ad make you think of? Does it make you think about anything other than the product?
Only about glue. Literally.
B. In groups, pupils address the following questions:
2.How is the product presented positively in the ad?
3. What does the ad make you think of? Does it make you think about anything other than the product?
“Hello. I’m David”
“Hi. I’m Angela”
“I love you. Will you marry me? “
“I’d love to”
Answers B:
Glue
2.How is the product presented positively in each ad?
The glue is presented as if it were a matchmaker.
3. What does the ad make you think of? Does it make you think about anything other than the product?
Love, relationships, match-making, couples, romance
Is there a difference between the two types of ads
(A and B)? (Compare and contrast)
A B
“Hello. I’m David”
“Hi. I’m Angela”
“I love you. Will you marry me? “
“I’d love to”
Answer:
The first type shows the glue’s features in its obvious uses (to stick physical objects together).
The second type relates the glue’s features to a completely different field (sticking people together).
Work in Groups
METAPHORICAL or LITERAL
AD NO. 1
AD NO. 2
AD NO. 3
AD NO. 5
AD NO. 6
AD NO. 7
AD NO. 8
AD NO.9
AD NO. 10
AD NO.11
AD NO. 12
AD NO. 13
SUMMARY
We have seen that some ads use a method in which the product is presented in terms of a completely different field - this is the metaphor technique of advertising.
HOME, SWEET HOME
1. View the following commercial.
2. How does the commercial make you think about Tnuva cottage cheese?
Mentimeter- Name + How does cottage cheese make you think of home?
In the above example, a cottage commercial makes you think of the cottage cheese in terms of home.
Work
Answers of 9th grade students
Verbal Metaphors
Objective:
Pupils will be familiar with the concept of “source” and “target” in metaphors (including the nominal linguistic formulation of metaphor: A is B). They will be able to address metaphors, using these distinctions.
The teacher shows the Hebrew song “Our Lives are Strawberries”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfLHAJrNnsM
Teaching point: Each metaphor is made of two elements. Recall that metaphor means thinking about one thing in terms of another.
The two elements are divided according to their roles: we have a target and a source .
The target is what we want to describe. The source is what we use to describe the target.
TEACHER WRITES ON THE BOARD:
METAPHOR
A IS B
(TARGET) (SOURCE)
LIFE IS STRAWBERRIES
Pupils copy the above.
If metaphor is thinking about one thing in terms of another, what does this metaphor invite us to think of? About what target? Using what source?
Answer:
The metaphor makes us think about life in terms of strawberries. Strawberries are sweet and tasty and so we come to think about life as sweet and “tasty”.
METAPHOR | TARGET | SOURCE |
החיים שלנו תותים | חיים | תותים |
| Metaphor | Target | Source |
1 | Love is a journey. | love | journey |
2 | Anger is heat. | anger | heat |
3 | Emotions are forces. | emotions | forces |
4 | Ideas are food. | | |
5 | Love is magic. | | |
6 | Time is money. | | |
7 | Words are weapons. | | + |
8 | Society is a body. | | |
9 | People are plants. | | |
10 | Machines are people. | | |
Find the target and the source of each metaphor.
Match two meanings to each metaphor.
| Metaphor | Example 1 | Example 2 |
1 | Love is a journey. | 2 | 4 |
2 | Anger is heat. | | |
3 | Emotions are forces. | | |
4 | Ideas are food. | | |
5 | Love is magic. | | |
6 | Time is money. | | |
7 | Words are weapons. | | |
8 | Society is a body. | | |
9 | People are plants. | | |
10 | Machines are people. | | |
Meanings
11.She’s a late bloomer.
12. The nation is in depression.
13. She used some sharp words.
14. The computer knows everything.
15. He’s a budding artist.
16. The health of society.
17. She spends her time unwisely.
18. The iphone is user-friendly.
19.He was bombarded by insults.
20.She charmed him.
Visual Metaphors
Metaphors appear not only in language, especially when it comes to advertisements.
Metaphors sometimes appear in pictorial form (pictures).
Your task is to match the pictorial metaphors (pictures) with their verbal versions (sentences) in the advertisements.
1.Fill in the name of the product in each sentence.
2. Write the source and the target of each metaphor.
The product is ______________
The metaphor: __________ is _________
ANSWER:
The product is an alarm clock.
The metaphor: clock (target) is dollars (source)
Time is Money
The product is ______________
The metaphor: __________ are _________
THEY KEEP YOU ALIVE
ANSWER:
The product is Nike shoes.
The metaphor is: Nike shoes (target) are lungs (source).
THEY KEEP YOU ALIVE
The product is ______________
The metaphor: __________ is _________
ANSWER:
The product is Israel Hayom (newspaper)
The metaphor is: Israel Hayom (target) is jachnun - Israeli family breakfast on Shabbat (source).
Watch the following commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_vFR8LOxDw
1.What is the metaphor? (target and source).
2. How is it conveyed?
The girl runs away from home and looks for another family. Each family welcomes her to her home and feeds her with delicious food (e.g. a birthday cake) but she doesn’t feel at home there.
Only when she comes home and cottage cheese is served to her by her loving family, does she feel at home. The cheese stands for family, love and the sense of home.
Questions
Note! * There can be more than one metaphor in a commercial, but you have to find the metaphor that is most relevant to selling the product.
*The two parts of the metaphors must have the same structure (noun or gerund) : E.g. Candy is comfort Vs Drinking beer is being a man.
Answers
The concept of home, the source, in the cottage commercial is illustrated via “Come home” song, pictures of a happy united family, loving gestures, repetition of the word “home”. The concept of Tnuva cottage, the target, is signaled by images of the product, pictures of cows, etc.)
Home assignments
Watch the following commercial.
1.What is the metaphor? (target and source).
2. How is it conveyed? How do the different modalities? (sound, music, picture, gestures, dialogue and text) contribute to the source and target? .
3. Study for a vocabulary quiz: Quizlet: Metaphors in Advertising
More Metaphors in Ads
7. Controversial Messages in Advertising
Are there any controversial messages in the following ads?
(sexism / racism / ageism / violence)
Pay attention to the position of each person, the clothes s/he wearing, their body language, etc.
הכי קרוב אלייך, אמא...
Food for Thought
8. Final Assignment (3 Tasks) (Due date:Tuesday, May 30th, 2023)
Task 1 - Analyze a Commercial 40%
In class you will present a commercial / advertisement to the class. The work will be done in groups of 2-5 .
1. Find a commercial / advertisement that includes a metaphor.
2. It MUST be approved by your teacher .
3. Answer the following questions in a PowerPoint presentation (or any other presentation tool you know).
You will show your chosen commercial / advertisement to your classmates and read your answers to the questions below. (See criteria for assessment)
A. What is the metaphor? (e.g. Coca Cola is brotherly love).
B. What is the target (the product the advertiser is trying to sell) and what is the source?
(e.g. In the metaphor :”Cottage cheese is home” Cottage cheese is the target and home is
the source. )
C. Is there a real connection between the source and the target? (e.g. Does Cottage cheese equal home?)
D. How is the metaphor conveyed to the consumer? (By words, pictures, music, etc.)
E. Why do you think the advertiser has chosen this metaphor?
F. Are there any problematic messages (sexism / racism / violence/ ageism) that are conveyed via the commercial /advertisement? Explain your answer.
Criteria for Assessment - Task 1 (40 %)
*The metaphor is clear and relevant to the commercial / advertisement.
*Thoughtful analysis of the metaphor (target and source).
*Clear answer to: Is there a real connection between the source and the target?
*Clear answer to: Why do you think the advertiser has chosen this metaphor?
*Clear answer to: How is the metaphor conveyed to the consumer? (By words, pictures, music, etc.)
*Discussing the problematic message(s) conveyed in the commercial.
*You spoke clearly and fluently.
*You kept eye contact with your classmates.
* You divided the presentation equally.
*Language: grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Task 2 - Creating Your own Commercial (50%)This task can be done
1. Choose a product you want to sell.
2. Decide who the potential consumers of your product are.
3. Create a commercial (2-3 minutes) that will include a metaphor.
4.Think about the way you want the metaphor to be conveyed for your the potential consumers.
5. After you present your commercial, explain to your audience the following (each member must have a role in this presentation):
Criteria for Assessment - Task 2 (50 %)
*The product is clear and relevant.
*Clear understanding for whom the product is.
*Clear understanding of the chosen metaphor (no real connection between the source and the target).
*The way the metaphor is conveyed (by words, pictures, music, etc.) is clear, original, creative.
*You spoke clearly and fluently.
*You kept eye contact with your classmates.
* You divided the presentation equally.
*Language: grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Task 3 - Personal Reflection (10%)
a.What did you learn from the project?
b. What did you enjoy the most in the process and why?
c. What difficulties did you have to deal with?
d. How did you feel about it? Why?
e. How did you get along with your partner/s? What were the advantages יתרונות and disadvantages חסרונות of working together?