38 Gradable adjectives can show different levels of that quality (e.g. quite beautiful, very beautiful, extremely beautiful); ungradable adjectives describe absolute qualities (e.g. awesome, terrible). Combination of a noun + another noun, adjective, or adverb to create a new word, for example: dream sensation. The word rhetoric comes from Greek and means art of oratory , i.e. the art of speaking or writing in an effective way. Can you tell the difference between a metaphor and a simile? ONLINE RESOURCES Great adverts underlying: sottostante 84 THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING In order to attract consumers attention, arouse their curiosity, and induce them to purchase a product or use a specific service, advertising makes use of some typical linguistic features such as: the use of the imperative tense and the second person to be more persuasive, direct, and personal; the use of ungradable adjectives to reinforce the message; the use of noun compounds to associate creativity and innovation to the product; the use of prefixes like super, hyper, ultra, or extra to increase the value, quality, and importance of the product; the use of figures of speech to enrich the message. Figures of speech and rhetoric A figure of speech is a literary or stylistic device in which the use of a word or a phrase diverges from its usual meaning and its general meaning is not based on the literal meaning of its words, but creates a different message, which, often, provides emphasis or better clarity. They are often used in rhetoric , which is the art of using language as a means of persuasion. The use of figures of speech in visuals, headlines, and texts, in fact, easily captures the attention of the public, making messages livelier and catchier by evoking mental representations, frames of mind, and memories that form part of the public s cultural and emotional heritage. MArKeting And Advertising Most common figures of speech Hyperbole: an exaggeration used to give emphasis, evoke feelings, or create a strong impression. Metaphor: a powerful comparison achieved through a figurative use of words. Metonymy: the act of referring to something by the name of something else that is closely connected with it. Paradox: an apparently contradictory idea to point out some underlying truth. Simile: an explicit comparison between two things . Other tools Idiom, an expression that means something different from what it says or has a hidden meaning and is conventionally understood by native speakers. Pun, when a word or phrase is used in two different senses, deliberately exploiting ambiguity between similarsounding words.