The Development, Change, and Transformation of Rhetorical Style in Magazine Advertisements 1954-1999

Abstract

Rhetorical advertising style consists of the method or manner by which ad content is expressed; an example is the use of rhetorical figures such as metaphor or rhyme. Two studies of rhetorical style in U.S. magazine advertisements from 1954 to 1999 are reported. A qualitative content assessment suggests that rhetorical figures were prevalent throughout the period. In addition, the content assessment suggests more layering of multiple figures and less explanation of figures over time. The content analysis supports these trends and clarifies that one kind of figure—a destabilization trope that includes pun, metaphor, and irony—increased in incidence. Several possible explanations for these observed trends are considered, with a focus on how changes in rhetorical style may reflect the mutual adaptation of consumer and advertiser to changes in the advertising environment over this time period.

Phillips, Barbara J. and Edward F. McQuarrie (2002). “The Development, Change, and Transformation of Rhetorical Style in Magazine Advertisements, 1954–1999, Journal of Advertising, 31 (4) Winter, 1–13. Reprinted with permission of the American Academy of Advertising and M.E. Sharpe, Inc.

Looking at ads in an issue of Good Housekeeping from 1954, a reader is struck by the unfamiliar images and odd turns of phrase. For example, an ad for carpets shows a fashionable woman draped in a rug while proclaiming, “A carpet beautiful enough to wear—but try and wear it out!” In another ad for toothpaste, a woman’s mouth is covered with a glass plate, accompanied by copy that reads: “Colgate dental cream contains Gardol to form an invisible, protective shield around your tooth that fights tooth decay.” These ads from the 1950s seem strange; it is difficult to imagine these images or the copy being used today.

Anyone who has looked at old ads is familiar with this experience of strangeness or historical distance. Conversely, someone may glance at these old ads and experience instead a shock of recognition, an awareness that the ads’ appeals to fashion and health are, at their root, entirely familiar. Here, the initial sense of age proves superficial, and an underlying continuity emerges as the dominant impression. But which intuition is correct? Have ads changed a great deal in the past 50 years, or have the underlying persuasive strategies remained basically the same?

This paper explores issues of continuity and change in mass media advertising using the method of historical analysis (Smith and Lux 1993). Our focus is on the ways the rhetorical strategies used in magazine ads evolved over the last half of the twentieth century. Generally speaking, rhetoric pertains to the method or manner by which persuasion is attempted (Ong 1982). Rhetorical strategy also comprises specific stylistic devices (e.g., metaphor, rhyme) that may be used to attract the attention of consumers, provide pleasure, and evoke elaboration of the message (McQuarrie and Mick 1996). A focus on rhetorical strategy guides our inquiry into aspects of advertising that have changed versus those that have remained constant over the time period of the study.

A primary motivation for undertaking an examination of ads from decades past is to gain the kind of perspective that only comes from distance. That is, as scholars, we are unlikely to grasp the distinctive characteristics of contemporary advertising unless we have something against which to compare it. Ads from many years ago offer a unique perspective on the ads produced today and may suggest new avenues for research into persuasive strategies. Moreover, though we cannot go back in time to conduct reader response studies with consumers of the past, observed changes in ads over time may reflect, in part, actual changes in consumer behavior (Pollay 1987). Consequently, identifying changes in ads can potentially illuminate ways in which consumer response to advertisements has changed. In summary, the goal of this paper is to gain a more complete understanding of the range of possibilities for persuasion by examining changes over time in the rhetorical strategies used by advertisers.

The Diachronic Perspective

For the most part, the study of changes and developments in advertising over time—the...