TheCooperativePrincipleinCommercialAdvertisements

王雅迪

【中圖分類號】G64.23 【文獻標識碼】A 【文章編號】2095-3089（2016）15-0-01

1. Introduction

In order to make products outstanding in a wide range of products， merchants and manufacturers promote products by advertising to stimulate purchasing desires of consumers. Therefore， the impressive words in advertisements are useful and critical to arrest the eyes of target audiences. However， if the slogan expression is so straightforward that customers may feel annoying， thus advertisers make use of various means to create appropriate language to properly express their intentions， which violates some relevant theories in pragmatics.

According to the Cooperative Principle， conversational implication is based on the sense of words as well as the context. To specify the CP， Grice introduced four stages of maxims： the maxim of quality， the maxim of quantity， the maxim of manner， the maxim of relations. Practice has proved that strictly abiding by the Cooperative Principle assists communications to be efficient. However， Grice noticed that in daily conversation direct expressions have lower frequency than implications. Based on pragmatics， the features of advertising language will be analyzed in this article.

2. Violations of the Cooperative Principle

2.1 Violation of the Maxim of Quality

According to the quality maxim， advertisers should strive to present the fact rather than exaggeration. Conversely， aimed at achieving their intentions， advertisers often intentionally violate the maxim of quality through variation， resulting in the implications of the conversation to deepen the impression on customers.

“A loaf of bread in every arm” （Panera Bread）. It is self-evident that this bread slogan violates the maxim of quality by overstating the facts. A loaf of bread in every arm is just an ideal target， but this violation causes the infinite imagination about the taste of bread. There is another similar slogan of Motorola， “Intelligence everywhere”. In the era of function phones， products of Motorola indeed embodied their advanced intelligence everywhere. Unluckily， Motorola has been gradually obsolete in the past few years.

“Take Toshiba， take the world.” This slogan realizes efficient publicity by violating the maxim of quality. Customers are able to easily derive its meaning： Toshiba provides everything needed， while electronic products themselves hardly meet requirements in all the other fields.

“Forever new frontiers” （The Boeing Company）. This slogan stresses the significant status of Boeing and greatly arouses the interests of consumers. Not only does the word “forever” violate the maxim of quality， but also brings forward high request for Boeing. This slogan makes use of exaggerated way， the result of which is this advertisement is quite appealing.

2.2 Violation of the Maxim of Quantity

Advertisers are keen on openly providing unnecessary or irrelevant information to express certain implications， which leads to envisions and has a positive evaluation on the products.

There is a deal of slogans with interrogative. “How big can you dream？” （Cadence Design Systems） “How are you？” （Vodafone LSE） “Why pay more？” （BI-LO） “Whats in your wallet？” （Capital One Financial Corporation） The above-mentioned advertisements fail to provide enough information and breach the maxim of quantity. Among numerous slogans with declarative sentences， interrogatives easily draw attentions and assist to reach the target of selling.

“We make it happen.” （IBM） The possessive pronoun “it” has ambiguous reference. The reason why advertisers deliberately violated this maxim is to encourage consumers to have a more abundant imagination about items of this company， meanwhile stimulates the enthusiasm of consumers.

2.3 Violation of the Maxim of Manner

The maxim of manner is perspicuous. The following slogan violates the maxim of manner： “Nothing runs like a Deere.” （John Deere） Words “Deere” and “deer” share the same pronunciation， which gives rise to the implication： John Deere runs fastest among all the agricultural machinery manufacturers. Meanwhile， the logo of this company is a running deer.

“We know eggsactly how to sell eggs.” In this slogan， the advertiser deliberately uses the wrong spelling， conforming to the pronunciation of “exactly” and the form of “eggs”， which easily arrests eyes of consumers.

2.4 Violation of the Maxim of Relations

“Poetry in motion， dancing close to me”. It is obvious that this slogan is a violation of the maxim of relation. Literally， poetry has no connection with the Toyota Motor Corporation. However， such a violation has a specific implication： the lightness of car body makes it more elegant just like poetry.

“Taking you forward” （Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson）. It is difficult for consumers to associate with mobile communication equipment manufacturer， since products of companies in other fields， such as automobile， can take consumers forward as well. However， as for an electronic corporation， it is imperative to constantly make progress through ceaselessly creating brand-new and advanced products.

“Life is good.” （LG） Although this slogan fails to emphasize the connection between their products and pleasant life， potential consumers are easily in a position to explore the underlying meaning： you will enjoy a more wonderful life after using LG products.

Conclusion

Above mentioned examples vividly illustrate the violation of CP in advertisements， which have the following effects. Firstly， being the sense of humor， the advertisements， to the most extent， arrest the attention of customers. Secondly， it makes the advertisements more memorable， leaving a deep impression on the customers. Furthermore， after reading or seeing slogans customers are strongly convinced and take actions as soon as possible.