Flowers and pearls: M&M's and rhetoric
Sarah Pally, a linguist and partner at the agency Partner & Partner, takes a close look at (advertising) language in her column «Blüten und Perlen.» This time, the focus is on rhetoric in advertising.
You know that smiling, puffed-up pig with false eyelashes and a bow in her hair that used to stand on the counter at the village butcher's? There's something wrong with that thing - not back then, of course, but from today's perspective. Talking and usually dancing animals (and other foods) that are cheerfully offered for consumption in advertising leave a very strange aftertaste. Even before the food is eaten! Someone is using personification to humanize a product in order to make it more likeable, more approachable - that's what we were taught in rhetoric lessons. You're supposed to love the products.
Personification? Rhetoric lessons? Yes, the very subject we probably all pretty much hated. And why did we hate these lessons so much? Because we constantly had to ask ourselves what this humanistic educational worm's breakfast was doing in our own youth.
With or without style
Our everyday lives and advertising in particular are full of rhetorical figures and stylistic devices, we are surrounded by them - we are spoiled with rhetoric at every turn. And with good reason: rhetoric works. Whether you want it to or not, and advertisers want it to. It brings statements to the point, makes them catchy, memorable, powerful. With After all, style is better than without Style (except perhaps for ice cream). Rhetoric is therefore literally half the battle for copywriters and concept developers.
Whether square, practical, good or easy breezy - if you have style, it brings a lot! But not always, of course, because you can overdo it, as in this column. And style elements are not welcome everywhere: In the slogan hui, in the operating instructions pfui.
Just don't mess it up!
They are a bit like spices in cooking: You want to suggest something special - then take a sniff at the superlatives. If you want to be memorable, check whether the parallelisms and alliterations are still fresh. Do you want to be original and arouse curiosity? Mix your own neologism. Just make sure you don't get too much - always season well - there's still something missing - just don't mess it up!
Sexy footwear
Speaking of spice: How about M&Ms for rhetoric lessons, for example? A personification example in extremis (and alliteration is included!). These M&M mascots are probably the only talking foods that have "really" "understood" that they are actually there to be eaten - and satirize it. But that's not all: they even had to be "retired" for a short time. Because two "female" mascots suddenly "wore" sneakers instead of high heels, which apparently led to a shitstorm because they weren't sexy enough. The footwear! A piece of candy! The pompous sow sends her regards.
Analyzed since 2025 Sarah Pally In her column "Blossoms and Pearls", she comments on industry-related terms with a personal touch, from a linguistic perspective - as well as with a precise view of developments in the industry. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.
