FRENCH ADVERTISING DISCOURSE AS A MEDIUM OF CULTURAL REPRESENTATION

ABSTRACT

This article explores how French advertising expressions become stable phraseological units. It aims to reveal the mechanisms behind the transition of commercial phrases into everyday speech. The study applies cultural-linguistic analysis, communicative pattern examination, statistical evaluation, and contextual interpretation. Through case analysis, it demonstrates how verbal creativity and cultural symbolism shape new expressions. Findings show these phrases gain wide usage in daily communication. The conclusion highlights advertising's dual role as a driver of linguistic innovation and a transmitter of cultural identity, especially amid the homogenizing pressures of globalization.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Статья посвящена исследованию того, как французские рекламные выражения превращаются в устойчивые фразеологизмы. Цель — выявить механизмы перехода рекламных формул в повседневную речь. Используются методы лингвокультурологического анализа, изучения коммуникативных моделей, статистической обработки и контекстуальной интерпретации. Анализ конкретных рекламных примеров показывает, как языковая изобретательность и культурные образы способствуют формированию новых выражений. Результаты демонстрируют их активную интеграцию в разговорную практику. Вывод подчеркивает роль рекламы как средства языкового обогащения и носителя культурных ценностей в условиях гомогенизирующего давления глобализации.

Keywords: marketing discourse, formulaic expressions, verbal creativity, French cultural markers, collective identity, commercial linguistics.

Ключевые слова: рекламный дискурс, фразеологизмы, игра слов, французская культура, национальная идентичность, язык рекламы.

INTRODUCTION

Marketing communications represent a core component within modern interpersonal exchange frameworks. The communicative landscape of French promotional materials exhibits exceptional expressive diversity and culturally distinctive markers.

The scholarly literature addressing this domain is substantial. In his foundational text "The Discourse of Advertising" (2001), Guy Cook examined how marketing communications transmit cultural signifiers. Cook emphasized advertising's role as a "communicative charter" while describing promotional materials as "sophisticated elements within society's symbolic ecosystem" (Cook, 2001, p. 4). His scholarship comprehensively mapped connections between commercial language and collective ideological structures.

Jean-Michel Adam and Marc Bonhomme, in their analysis "L'argumentation publicitaire" (1997), investigated rhetorical and stylistic elements of French commercial discourse. Their conceptualization presented advertising as an "orchestrated framework of persuasive methodologies" while categorizing implicit and explicit linguistic strategies in promotional content (Adam & Bonhomme, 1997, p. 15). Their research particularly highlighted functional dimensions of formulaic expressions and verbal creativity.

Bernard Cathelat's "Publicité et société" (2001) examined the cultural impact of French promotional communications. His analysis positioned French commercial texts as "frameworks for collective identity formation" (Cathelat, 2001, p. 87). Cathelat noted that French marketing communications "transcend product promotion to articulate distinctive lifestyle orientations, value structures, and fundamental cultural heritage elements" (Cathelat, 2001, p. 88).

V. Maslov's "Linguoculturology" (2001) investigated intersections between linguistic and cultural systems. The work addressed "verbal expressions of cultural elements" while proposing theoretical frameworks including cultural units, semantic background, and phraseological representation (Maslova, 2001, p. 45). Maslova maintained that "formulaic expressions optimally reflect collective perspectives and evaluative frameworks" (Maslova, 2001, p. 78).

Despite these scholarly contributions, existing research predominantly addresses conceptual frameworks. These analyses have inadequately explored specific dissemination mechanisms of verbal creativity and formulaic expressions in French commercial content, their role in collective identity construction, and their linguistic evolutionary impact. Particularly, expressions transitioning from commercial contexts into everyday French formulaic expressions merit dedicated investigation of their cultural significance.

Formulaic expressions and verbal creativity constitute distinctive elements of French commercial discourse. Beyond capturing attention, they embody collective cultural patterns and cognitive frameworks. Various expressions originating in commercial contexts have entered French phraseological resources and established themselves in interpersonal communication.

METHODOLOGY

Communicative pattern examination explores how language functions within society by analyzing recurring expression models and their practical applications. Rather than stemming from a single scholar, this approach reflects collective academic contributions. It reveals how commercial messages influence shared perceptions and embed culturally relevant meanings.

Statistical language evaluation employs quantitative tools and digital corpora to analyze linguistic trends. This method identifies frequency, distribution, and combinatorial patterns of expressions, helping assess how advertising phrases transition into widely recognized formulaic constructions happens.

Contextual meaning interpretation focuses on how meaning arises not in isolation but through linguistic environment, situational context, and cultural background. Drawing on linguistic and communication theory, this method reveals how expressions gain semantic weight within advertisements and how they become fixed elements in everyday speech. The study examines French advertising materials, including Milka's "Et la marmotte, elle met le chocolat dans le papier d'alu" (1998), ChocoSui's "Tu pousses le bouchon un peu trop loin, Maurice" (2001), and Française des Jeux's pun on "des dés" and "Dédé" (2002). These commercials were chosen for their significant cultural impact and contribution to spoken French.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Our comprehensive assessment revealed distinctive patterns of verbal creativity in French commercial communications across multiple dimensions, reflecting deeper cultural values and communicative preferences within French society.

The investigation identified complementary categories of verbal expression in French commercial materials that collectively demonstrate sophisticated linguistic strategies. Sound-based creativity emerges prominently in the Française des Jeux lottery advertisement, where acoustically identical expressions "des dés" (gaming pieces) and "Dédé" (familiar form of André) create interpretive ambiguity within animal character interactions. This acoustic similarity generates humorous miscommunication between depicted animals, with the porcine character responding to perceived references to an individual rather than gaming implements.

This creative mechanism operates alongside metaphorical expression within the same commercial, where "remplumer" (feather regeneration) functions simultaneously in literal avian contexts and figuratively representing financial improvement. The expression "Le jeu de l'oie, ça remplume bien!" cleverly integrates both meanings through the traditional goose-themed game, demonstrating how French commercial language skillfully operates across multiple semantic dimensions simultaneously.

ChocoSui's advertisement employs established expressions in novel contexts, repurposing "pousser le bouchon" (literally displacing a closure) to represent behavioral boundary transgression. This semantic flexibility adapts according to communicative requirements while maintaining recognizable meanings. Completing this multifaceted approach, all examined materials employ personification techniques, attributing human characteristics to animal representations from chocolate-consuming aquatic creatures concealing responsibility to anthropomorphized farm animals engaged in lottery-related disagreements.

These creative approaches have contributed enduring expressions to French communicative patterns through repetitive exposure and cultural resonance. The Milka-originated expression "Et la marmotte, elle met le chocolat dans le papier d'alu" has established itself as a skepticism marker toward implausible assertions, functioning sarcastically similar to expressions of disbelief. This expression's remarkable integration occurred rapidly, demonstrating how commercial language can efficiently address communicative needs.

Similarly, "Tu pousses le bouchon un peu trop loin" gained expanded circulation following ChocoSui's campaign, functioning to critique excessive behaviors. While pre-existing, commercial exposure significantly enhanced its prevalence and reinforced its metaphorical applications. The Knackis advertisement expression "Mais, t'avais dit qu'on f'rait des knackis!" similarly entered common usage, expressing humorous disappointment regarding unfulfilled commitments while its structural characteristics, including verbal contraction, authentically reflect spoken language patterns.

These expressions collectively manifest fundamental French cultural values and communicative preferences. French commercial communications demonstrate intellectual sophistication through complex verbal creativity, requiring cultural knowledge and linguistic competence as seen in homonymic relationships and ambiguous applications. This intellectual orientation operates alongside humor-centered communication employing irony, sarcasm, and playfulness as essential communicative strategies exemplified in the skeptical marmot reference and personified animal characterizations.

Cultural continuity emerges through references to traditional elements like "Le jeu de l'oie," historically significant since the Renaissance period, strengthening cultural identification. Aesthetic sensitivity appears through metaphorical and figurative expressions highlighting emotional and aesthetic dimensions beyond functionality, exemplified in expressions like "tendrement au chocolat." Completing this cultural profile, self-referential communication frequently employs ironic repetition of established knowledge, reflecting distinctive metacommunicative patterns in French expression.

From a structural perspective, these commercial texts employ conversational formats creating perceived authenticity and emotional resonance with audiences. Colloquial elements including abbreviated forms and informal expressions align commercial language with everyday communication patterns. Cultural references activate shared knowledge frameworks among target audiences while intertextual approaches repurpose existing cultural elements to generate modified meanings.

This comprehensive analysis demonstrates French commercial communications function beyond marketing objectives as cultural transmission mechanisms preserving distinctive national characteristics. The prevalence of verbal creativity and phraseological expressions reflects the cultural significance of intellectual and linguistic sophistication in French society, requiring both creative innovation and cultural literacy from commercial creators.

The integration of advertisement-originated expressions into French demonstrates contemporary linguistic evolutionary mechanisms, confirming the adaptive nature of French language systems and commercial communication's potential for linguistic innovation. These expressions frequently address communicative requirements inadequately served by existing linguistic resources, providing effective means for expressing functional meanings within interpersonal communication.

Within contemporary global contexts, French commercial communications increasingly function as cultural preservation mechanisms reinforcing collective identity. Through culturally distinctive phraseology, symbolic references, and traditional values, commercial expressions strengthen connections between contemporary French society and its cultural foundations, representing a significant counter-force to cultural homogenization tendencies.

CONCLUSION

This scholarly investigation demonstrates French commercial communications represent significant components of cultural heritage and linguistic development. Verbal creativity, phraseological expressions, and metaphorical constructions employed in commercial contexts embody essential French cultural characteristics and facilitate their transmission across generations. Practical applications extend across French language education, international marketing communication, and intercultural engagement. Examining commercial communications through cultural-linguistic perspectives facilitates comprehensive understanding of national linguistic and cultural patterns. Future research directions include examining contemporary commercial materials, comparative analysis with other national commercial traditions, and empirical investigation of reception patterns. These approaches will enhance understanding of commercial-cultural relationships.

References:

1. Adam, J.-M., & Bonhomme, M. (1997). L'argumentation publicitaire (p. 15). Paris: Nathan.
2. Cathelat, B. (2001). Publicité et société (pp. 87–88). Paris: Éditions d'Organisation.
3. Cook, G. (2001). The discourse of advertising (p. 4). London: Routledge..
4. Maslova, V. A. (2001). Linguoculturology (pp. 45, 78). Minsk: TetraSystems.
5. YouTube. (1998). Milka – Et la marmotte... [Video]. https://youtu.be/tt1L0z0sTfY
6. YouTube. (2001). ChocoSui's – Maurice le poisson rouge [Video]. https://youtu.be/vn9XWPnclms
7. YouTube. (2002). Française des Jeux – Le canard et le cochon [Video].