This paper aims to look at the extraordinary potentials of advertising as a way
of investigating the deep influences that culture exerts on language. In
particular, the paper examines to what extent a simple transposition of
advertisements from one language into a new linguistic code is to be deemed
adequate or whether the observance of linguistic structures should yield ground
to other factors to maintain the same persuasive effect of the original. The
analysis is supported by an example of the different approaches Austria and
Italy have adopted in advertising shoes, and illustrates how several elements
combine together to convey subtle references. Consequently, the paper argues,
attention should be paid not only to the linguistic environment, but also to the
economic, political, social and psychological setting of each advertisement,
which all reflect the intricate frame sustaining every culture.
After a detailed description of the strategies used to adapt an Italian
advertising campaign to the Austrian public, a brief overview of the principal
advertising styles in the two countries is presented, enriched through linguistic
comment. The paper then turns to an analysis of the strategies employed in the
interaction between sales assistants and customers, highlighting the importance
of the communicative and persuasive tool, where every word is weighed and
formulated in such a way as to modify the tone of the message.
