СТИЛИСТИЧЕСКИЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ РЕКЛАМНЫХ ТЕКСТОВ ИНФОРМИРУЮЩЕГО И СРАВНИТЕЛЬНОГО ТИПОВ

The main task of advertising is to draw attention to the product and to interest a potential customer; that is why it is necessary to use stylistic expressive means in an advertising text.

The first researcher who started studying the stylistics of advertising texts was Kostomarov V., who formulated a general stylistic norm in this area of language functioning – "expressiveness – standard" [1, p 3] which became one of the main principles in the study of expressive means of advertising language. At present, advertising is subordinated to this principle, moreover, it produces its own measures of expressiveness and standard, distinguishing it from other mass-communication and regulating its generic and stylistic diversity [1, p. 3].

It can be affirmed that advertising both stimulates trade and gives rise to new communicative functions of the language, which results in the development of modern types of advertising texts [2, p. 27], which are, from the point of view of their main goals and objectives, stimulating, persuasive, promoting image, comparative, informing and trademark; in each case the peculiarities of an advertised product determine the selection of linguistic means.

Since the scope of this article does not allow us to consider stylistic features of all types of advertising texts, we will focus on advertising that informs the buyer about goods or compares different goods, i.e. we will consider stylistic features of informative and comparative advertising texts.

Informative advertising message is intended to provide the consumer with information about a product or a service in a concise and accessible form. In correlation "expressiveness – standard" standard will be always favoured, which implies the focus on the content of the text rather than the originality of its form, i.e., according to the author the consumer should be interested in specific facts about an advertised product; confirmation or persuasion are not required.

Let us consider an example. "Whiskas Immuno is an innovative product with useful lactobacillus that improve digestion, stimulate the immune system and help to protect the body of the cat from infections" (Advertising of food for cats) [5, p. 58]. In this case, there are almost no stylistic features aimed to create a particular effect; the expressivity of the text is minimal and is mainly represented by epithets "innovative", "useful".

When comparing the following advertising texts of informative type we have concluded that many of them contain elliptical sentences. This technique allows conveying information more efficiently without the use of other expressive means.

"All kinds of medical services for children and adults. Attendance at home and at country house." (Advertising services) [4, p. 2]. "Large variety of men's and women's clothing and headwear from mink, mouton, seal and wild fur of deluxe class"). (Clothing advertising) [4, p. 2]. "Rest, treatment, excursions: Moscow region, Crimea, the Black Sea. River cruises [6, p. 3]. However, it should be noted that statements in the last example are agrammatical with destroyed syntax of the text which makes it more dynamic and concise.

Here are a few more examples of conscious violation of syntax rules in advertising texts, "Shutters, loggia glazing, finishing the inner side of the window. Free of charge: consulting, measurement, delivery". (Advertising services) [6, p. 5]. "Apartments from the builder. Available: payment by installment, mortgage". "Exclusive: fireplaces, air conditioning and ventilation." (Product advertising). [4, p. 1]. "Bilberry Forte – №1 in Russia." (Medicine advertisement) [3, p. 36].

Informative advertising texts contain a direct description of the object: "Lisma – affordable tea." (Tea advertising) (Advertising on Channel One, Russia 1, TV Center, NTV, TNT, STS). "Galstena – reliable protection for your liver and gall bladder." (Medicine advertising) (Advertising on Channel One, Russia 1, TV Center, NTV, TNT, STS).

Another peculiarity of informative advertising texts is frequent use of borrowed and foreign words. These are exactly the words that draw consumer's attention. For example, advertising services, "Concrete plant" Technogroup". Solution from the manufacturer. Delivery by mixers [6, p. 3]. "Record Service". Delivery and installation of washing machines [6, p. 3].

Another feature is the use of original product names, this way Russian words sound foreign, for example, "Stolplit" furniture in branded shops of the city!" [6, p. 3].

Technical terms are also often used in informative advertising, especially when a text  is addressed to an interested group of people, "Legna Kitchen Unit – Russian-Italian holding company for the production of kitchen furniture of European quality" [4, p. 34]. "Moscow regional mortgage program-co-investment contract" [4, p. 32]. "LLC Cartographer": plane surveying, delimitation plan, selection statement [4, p. 31].

Although informative advertising texts tend to be standard to a greater extent, their effectiveness is achieved largely through the use of expressive stylistic means of the language in the headline. Let us have a look at specific examples.

Pun: "Fhat is the secret of vitamin F?» (Vitamin and mineral complex advertising) [3, p. 34].

Hyperbole: "Your skin is perfect!" (Hand cream advertisement) [5, p. 14].

Metaphor: "Extinguish your heartburn" (Medicine advertising) [3, p. 28].

Antithesis: "Nothing superfluous and plenty of opportunities" (Advertisement of microwave "Vitek") (Advertising on Channel One, Russia 1, TV Center, NTV, TNT, STS).

Rhetorical question: "Autumn! Time to get sick?" (Advertisement of medicine against flu) [5, p. 32].

Thus, analyzing stylistic features of informative advertising texts, we can distinguish the following distinctive features: agrammatical statement; usage of borrowed and foreign words; elliptical sentences and, in general, low level of expressiveness, mainly represented by puns, metaphors, antithesis and rhetorical questions.

Next, let us consider stylistic features of comparative advertising texts aimed, first and foremost, at singling out the advantages of a certain product compared to the competing one. This comparison can be explicit when the merits of the product are obvious, or hidden, when the author of the text creates the illusion of superiority.

In this regard, authors often use hyperbole when creating such texts: "We can do what the others cannot!" [7, p. 12]. "Performance and division like never before" (Advertising house cleaning services) (Advertising on Channel One, Russia 1, TV Center, NTV, TNT, STS).

The use of antithesis is another effective means: "Quality is even higher than you think. Prices are even lower than you think" [7, p. 11] Nature creates wrinkles. Science gives us the opportunity to get rid of them." (Advertisement of medicine "Vitaskin") [5, p. 36]. "Our communication language is not English, it is international banking."(Banking advertising) [7, p.12] "Say no to pain and yes to smile" (Dental services advertising) [3, p. 18] "Where one sees the reason to turn away, we see an opportunity to help patients with acne"(Advertising of medical services) [5, p. 16].

The structure of the following advertising text appears to be interesting and effective, based on the use of antithesis, anaphora and epiphora:

"Most people are silent about daily problems... But we are not.

Most people believe that daily traffic jams are quite normal... But we do not.

Almost everyone got used to the number of road accidents... But we did not. " (Advertisement of road safety police) (Advertising on Channel One, Russia 1, TV Center, NTV, TNT, STS).

The usage of anaphora in the following example is obvious and its effectiveness is enhanced by the structural organization of the text – each subsequent sentence is elided:

"Economy must be economical.

Economy must be.

Economy must" (Advertisement of a pyramid investment scheme) [7, p. 8].

Another common feature of this type of advertising text is the use of comparison:

"Can you imagine a hedgehog without needles? Probably, no. Motors need protection as well" (Advertisement of engine oil) [7, p. 14].

The use of interrogative sentence is typical for the comparative type of advertising, which give the impression that the advertiser is initiating a dialogue with the consumer, for example: "What makes aerogrill better than a stove, an oven or a microwave?" (Advertising products) [3, p. 35]. In this case, a rhetorical question quickly draws the reader's attention, but at the same time, does not create the impression of compulsion to purchase goods, and emphasizes the customer's freedom of choice.

Another type of sentences that make a saying sound strong and dynamic is exclamatory sentences, which give the consumer confidence that a certain purchase is necessary. In the following text the author successfully combines a variety of expressive means – humor, simile, elliptical sentences: "As you know, many nails can be hammered with a microscope. What we offer to the market is a completely new product – a hammer! What undeniable advantages does it have in comparison to the microscope? Easy grip that will save the tool from slipping out of your hands. Although it is compact, it is heavier than a microscope, as a result nailing will require less effort. Compactness of this instrument is its strong point. Unlike the microscope, a hammer can easily fit in a pants pocket or your belt [7, p. 22].

As previously mentioned, the aim of comparison can be either create an individual image of goods or to compare the product with its competitors, to emphasize the benefits of the advertised product among similar ones. Such comparisons are quite frequently used at present. If the item does not have a clear advantage over others in the group or no unique distinguishing features, the comparison helps it to stand out effectively.

Thus, listed comparative advertising texts differ significantly from informative messages because of a large set of expressive means, which, as can be seen from the above examples, include hyperbole, antithesis, anaphora, epiphora, ellipse, rhetorical question, exclamatory sentence and simile.

As a result of the research we concluded that stylistic devices of informative and comparative advertising texts include lexical, syntactic and mixed groups of linguistic resources. Typically an advertising text includes a set of devices which allows influencing the opinion of the consumer effectively.

To summarise it, it should be noted that the results obtained in the study of informative and comparative advertising texts can facilitate further theoretical study of modern advertising stylistics, it can also be used in the course of practical training for advertisers and copywriters, people who are directly connected with advertising products, particularly in part of discursive design from the standpoint of informative and comparative components.