VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
***********

PHẠM THỊ HẰNG THE USE OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS
IN ADVERTISING SLOGANS OF NOKIA, SAMSUNG, APPLE,
BLACKBERRY AND SONY ERICSSON CELL PHONES

(Việc sử dụng ẩn dụ ý niệm
trong các khẩu hiệu quảng cáo cho điện thoại di động
Nokia, Samsung, Apple, Blackberry và Sony Ericsson) THESIS SUMMARY M.A. THESIS
(Minor Programme)

THE USE OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS
IN ADVERTISING SLOGANS OF NOKIA, SAMSUNG, APPLE,
BLACKBERRY AND SONY ERICSSON CELL PHONES

(Việc sử dụng ẩn dụ ý niệm
trong các khẩu hiệu quảng cáo cho điện thoại di động
Nokia, Samsung, Apple, Blackberry và Sony Ericsson) THESIS SUMMARY M.A. THESIS
(Minor Programme)

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60 22 15
Supervisor: Ngo Huu Hoang, PhD.

Hanoi - 2012

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v,vi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Objectives of the study and the research questions 2
3. Scope of the study 3
4. Method of the study 3
5. Design of the study 3
6. Previous studies 4
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 7
1. Definition of metaphors 7
2. Conceptual metaphors/ Cognitive metaphors 8
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
In the epoch of information explosion, it is inevitable for any of us to bump into
advertising words and images. Advertising is all around us, though we like it or not, we
hear it, see it and feel it albeit on purpose or just by some chance. In order for a brand
name to go global, a good advertisement of their product is a key matter, no wonder
why billions of bugs have been spent on copywriting. English, an international
language, is used in every single advertisement with an aim of the company going
places world wide. The utmost aim of the advertisement is to capture our attention.
“The whole aim of the copywriters is to get us register their communication either for
purposes of immediate action or to make us more favourably disposed in general terms
to the advertised product or service. […] so copywriters have to find ways to shout at
us from the page.” (Goddard, A., 1998: 11). A question may arise that how advertising
can impinge on people‟s life so much and it is given a short answer by Fairclough:
Advertising has made many people into consumers, i.e. has brought about a
change in the way people are, in the sense that it has provided the most coherent and
persistent model for consumer needs, values, tastes and behaviour. It has done this by
addressing people as if they were commonsensically already fully fledged consumers.
The general point is that if people are obliged day-in day-out to occupy the subject
position of consumer, there is a good chance that they will become consumers […].
Advertising can show people lifestyles (and patterns of spending) which they might not
otherwise meet, but also invite them to “join” (1989: 207)
The researcher is captive in advertisements especially those of mobile phones.
That is the reason why I took a hook to go ahead with mobile phone advertising
slogans.

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Research question 2: What are subtypes of conceptual metaphors employed in
five brands‟ cell phone advertising slogans?

3. Scope of the study
Due to the time constraint, the thesis only focuses on five cell phone brands‟
slogans which are world famous ones.
The selected slogans of five brands are randomly taken from newspapers, TV
and the Internet at the researcher‟s ease.
A corpus of 65 chosen slogans is not a big one, so to some extents, the results
provided are just selective, not comprehensive.
In this study, the analysis is based on the theory and classification of metaphors
given by Lakoff and Johnson.

4. Method of the study
This research is a mixture of qualitative and statistical research. Firstly,
qualitative research is employed in analyzing the conceptual metaphors as well as the
subtypes of conceptual metaphors in each slogan. The researcher uses statistical
research method in order to give a description of a language phenomenon occurring in
advertising slogans of five mobile phone brands in quantitative data. In addition, the
exploratory research method is employed with an aim to examining the correlations
among three subtypes of conceptual metaphors namely structural, ontological and
orientational metaphors.

5. Design of the study
The thesis consists of four chapters: CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION,
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND, CHAPTER III: THE USE OF

4
METAPHORS IN CELL PHONE AND ADVERTISING SLOGANS and CHAPTER

knowledge about the use of linguistic devices in print advertising. The result of her
research reveals that, among three groups of meaning transference including metaphor,
personification and polysemy/homonymy, metaphor is most frequently used in
advertisements with 75/270 ads while the figures for the other two are 24/270 and
9/270 respectively (2006:76). Czerpa has the same opinion when she notes that
metaphors in advertisements are powerful and compelling tool because they not only
enrich an add but also extend the meaning of textual/ visual message, creating multi-
leveled layers of interpretation (Czerpa, 2006:3). Their point is made even stronger by
Kovesces‟s statement, “an appropriate selected metaphor may work wonders in
promoting the sale of an item” (2002:59).
Leiss, Kline, and Jhally have used metaphors to study social communication in
advertising. They suggest that metaphors in advertisements have become a powerful
and commonly used strategy. “Metaphor is the very heart of the basic communication
form used in advertising” (Leiss et al., 214).
The study of metaphors in advertising has been used to gain insight about
consumers‟ behavior (Zaltman and Coulter, 1995). Zaltman‟s Metaphor Elicitation
Technique (ZMET) is a research tool developed to define and describe the metaphors
which drive consumers‟ behaviour with implications for copy-writing. Metaphors are
relevant to the study of advertising since they are “laden with symbols and imagery
that might be used creatively in implementing decisions that will animate or bring
appropriate reasoning processes and mental models to life.” (as cited in Lapsanska,
2006).
Charles Forceville tries to look at previous literature metaphor in hope of
developing a theory of pictorial metaphor in advertising, but notes that most of the
literature metaphor is primarily on verbal metaphors (Forceville, 4).

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Similarly, Fazio, Zanna and Cooper have found that direct experience may
affect attitude formation by altering the way in which the available information is
processed (Fazio et al., 51). Since metaphors in consumer advertising require the

somehow detailed definition. A metaphor “consists of giving the thing a name that
belongs to something else; the transference being either from genius to species, or from
species to genius, or from species to species, or on the ground of analogy” (quoted in
Reck, D. 2002:3). I. A. Richards goes further when he defines metaphors through two
terms topic and vehicle in which the latter term is used metaphorically and the
relationship between two terms is call ground. Kovecses, one of the most significant
Hungarian researchers of metaphors gives out his definition as follows:
In the cognitive linguistic view, metaphor is defined as understanding one
conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual domain […]. The conceptual
domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions is to understand another
conceptual domain called source domain, while the conceptual domain that is
understood this way is the target domain […]. Understanding one domain in terms of
another involves a set of fixed correspondences (technically called mappings) between
a source and a target domain (2002: 4) (quoted in Agnes (2009:20))
All definitions have in common that they speak of two terms related to each
other thanks to the similarities they have. But they also limit the function of metaphors
to embellish or decorate the language.
In their work, Lakoff and Johnson (1980:3) said:

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Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the
rhetorical flourish – a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language.
Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter
of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get
along perfectly well without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor
is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our
ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally
metaphorical in nature.
By what they have found, Lakoff and Johnson indicate that metaphors not only
influence our “linguistic behavior but also our thought processes and our system of

the language which cannot be observed like concepts, psychology, senses, cultural
ethnic distinctions. However, they both had one way in common, that is, both were
concerned about spiritual structure which constituted knowledge and their utmost goal
was to reach the awareness of human language nature.
According to Ly Toan Thang (2005), if there is a need to say briefly what
cognitive linguistics is about, it can be defined as follows: “it is a new school of
modern linguistics which studies language on the basis of experience and human‟s
perception of the objective world as well as the way people perceive and conceptualize
things and situations of that objective world.”
Lakoff and Johnson (2003: 4) say that:
“The concept that govern our thought are not just a matter of the intellect. They
also govern our everyday functioning, down to the most mundane details. Our concepts
structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world, and how we relate to
other people. Our conceptual system thus play a central role in defining our everyday
realities. If we are right in suggesting that our conceptual system is largely
metaphorical, then the way we think, what we experience, and what we do everyday is
very much a matter of metaphor”.

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From their point of view, we can see that metaphors are pervasive in every day
life without our realizing about it. The only way for us to realize our using of
metaphors is to look at language. “Since communication is based on the same
conceptual system that we use in thinking and acting, language is an important source
of evidence for what that system is like.” (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003: 4).
Because of Lakoff‟s aim to uncover deeply embedded conceptual relations in
the mind, for him the ideal metaphorical expressions to analyze are not the widely
discussed type of examples in (1), but rather those in (2):
(1) a. Juliet is the sun. (Shakespeare)
b. my wife…whose waist is an hourglass (Lakoff and Turner, 1989: 90)
(2) a. I‟ll see you at 2 o‟clock.

introduction of Lakoff and Johnson.
To give some ideas of what it could mean for a concept to be metaphorical and
for such a concept to structure an everyday activity, Lakoff and Johnson started with
the concept ARGUMENT and the conceptual metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR which
is reflected in our daily language by a wide variety of expressions.
ARGUMENT IS WAR
Your claims are indefensible.
He attacked every weak point in my argument.
His criticisms were right on the target.
I demolished his argument.
I‟ve never won an argument with him.
You disagree? Okay, shoot!
If you use that strategy, he‟ll wipe you out.
He shot down all of my arguments.
(Lakoff and Johnson, 2003:5)

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With our knowledge of the physical world, we know how a war is. We can fight
in the war and at last, we can either win or lose. In order to win the battle, we need a
good strategy and every shoot should be right on the target. There is no physical battle
in here but the verbal battle, thus ARGUMENT IS WAR structures the actions we
perform in arguing.
Croff, W. and Cruse, D. A (2004) also give a definition of conceptual metaphor:
“a conceptual mapping between two domains. The mapping is asymmetrical, however:
the metaphorical expression profiles a conceptual structure in the target domain, not
the source domain.” The mapping between source and target domains involves two
sorts of correspondences, epistemic and ontological. The ontological correspondences
hold between elements of one domain and elements of the other domain; epistemic
correspondences are correspondences between relations holding between elements in
one domain and relations between elements in the other domain (this includes, for

sufficient force and counterpressure.
Controlled release of pressure may occur,
which reduces danger of explosion.
limit, “pressure” increases to point at
which person losses control.
Loss of control is damaging to person and
dangerous to others.
Anger can be suppressed by force of will.

Anger can be released in a controlled way,
or vented harmlessly, thus reducing level.
(Croff, W. and Cruse, D. A (2004: 197)
In general, metaphors are conceptual structures, and are not merely linguistic in
nature, although they are normally realized linguistically, of course.
It‟s undoubtedly true that conceptual metaphors are pervasive in communication
and in any single text. Take the lyric of the following song as an example:
“…I‟m on the top of the world lookin‟ down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I‟ve found ever since you‟ve been around
Your love‟s put me at the top of the world…”
(“Top of the world” by The Carpenters)
In the above lyric, LOVE has been conceptualized as a concrete thing that “I”
can “find”. LOVE is also personified as a person who can “put me at the top of the
world”. The conceptual metaphors LOVE IS A THING and LOVE IS A PERSON is
drawn therefrom. Moreover the conceptual metaphor HAPPY IS UP allows us to
comprehend that the person in the song is in a happy state since “at the top of the
world” means UP.

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This relation is foundering.
(In the above poem, our knowledge about the elements of A JOURNEY are
very clear from which readers can draw an understanding of LOVE.)
- Lovers corresponds to Travelers
- The relationship between lovers corresponds to the means of transportation (the
vehicle)
- The means for achieving purposes correspond to routes.
- The lovers‟ common goals correspond to their common destination on the journey.
- Progress in the relationship corresponds to the forward motion (the relationship is
going anywhere)
- The difficulties in the relationship corresponds to the impediments to travel.
If love is conceptualized as a journey and vehicle as the relationship, then our
understanding about the vehicle can help understand the relationship as Kovecses
(2005:7) exemplifies:
If the vehicle breaks down, we have three choices: (1) we get out and try to
reach our destination by some other means; (2) we try to fix the vehicle; or (3) we stay
in the vehicle and do nothing. Correspondingly, if a love relationship does not work,
we can (1) leave the relationship; (2) try to make it work; or (3) stay in it (and suffer).
Carol Herron‟s model of language learning and teaching (1982) focuses on the
factory metaphor as a way to flag her deep unhappiness with the memorization and
mindless repetition involved in audiolingual teaching. She indicates five characteristics
which match the aspects of factory production from which people can grasp the idea
that LEARNING IS (BEING) ON A FACTORY PRODUCTION LINE.

Teaching or Learning Characteristic
Factory Correspondence
1. “Proficiency in the basic skills”
2. “Minimizing any possibility of
“a usable product”

Surprisingly, “hoa” in “Truyện Kiều” by Nguyễn Du is also used to denote a
man:
“Nàng rằng khoảng vắng đêm trường
Vì hoa nên phải đánh đường tìm hoa” (Nguyễn Du)
In the above sentence, “hoa” is used to denote Kim Trong, an elegant man in
Kieu Story. Thus, from the perspective of Nguyễn Du, “hoa” (flower) is not only an
attribute of women but of men, too.

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3.2. Ontological metaphors
It is necessary to make the concept of ontology well-defined in assistance to
understanding ontological metaphors. Ontology is traditionally listed as a part of the
major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, which “deals with questions
concerning what entities exist or can be said to exist, and how such entities can be
grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and
differences” (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ontology). Kovecses (2010: 38) also reads
“ontology is a branch of philosophy that has to do with the nature of existence”.
Ontological metaphors base on our experiences with physical objects, that is
“ways of viewing events, activities, emotions, ideas, etc as entities and substances.”
(Lakoff and Johnson, 2003: 26). By this way, when the target domain is not discrete or
bounded, we can still categorize and identify them. There are many kinds of
ontological metaphors with different purposes one of which being the concept
ABSTRACTS ARE THINGS:
An accumulation of problems.
The solution was within rich.
The joy was seen in his face.
In these examples, by setting an artificial boundary, we can bound the
“problems”, “solution”, and “joy” in a way that we can see it, can touch it.
Panasonic‟s slogan is “Ideas for life”, which employs an ontological metaphor
of IDEAS ARE PRODUCTS/COMMODITIES in that Panasonic‟s products are just

been given the capability of “missing” and “bến” (the metaphor denoting a woman) the
capability of “waiting”.

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3.3. Orientational metaphors
As the name suggests, these metaphors are based on the orientation in space,
hence a special relationship is made for a concept. This relationship is normally based
on our experiences of the physical space we possess.
For instance,
Being HAPPY IS HIGH/UP
Being SAD IS LOW/DOWN.
Lakoff and Johnson saw the physical state in the fact that someone sad has a
bow posture and a happy person is upright. Hence the lyric:
“…She‟s up in the good times.
She‟s down in the bad.”
(“How can I tell her’ by Lobo)
Another possibility could be seen in the fact that heaven standing for happiness
is high above us but hell standing for misery is below us, therefore we have:
I‟m in a high mood.
I‟m in low spirits.
Another example can bee seen in the song “You raise me up” by Josh Groban:
“…You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up. To more than I can be…”
A metaphor can serve as a vehicle for understanding a concept only by “virtue
of its experiential basis.” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 204). MORE IS UP has a very

Toshiba: “Leading innovation”
Honda Lead: “Lead to the future”
We can see from the above slogans that LIFE IS A JOURNEY and Toshiba
always leads your way to the front in terms of creating new things while Honda Lead
will be your companion to the beautiful future awaiting for you ahead.
In Vietnamese everyday life, the orientational metaphors are also abundant. The
HAPPY IS UP can be found in:
(1) Tôi cảm thấy phấn chấn hẳn lên.
(2) Bài thơ đó đã nâng tâm hồn tôi lên.
(3) Những ý nghĩ về nàng luôn luôn làm tôi phấn khởi lên.
(Trần Văn Cơ, 1997)
The BAD IS DOWN metaphor is realized in the following examples:
(4) Giá cả giảm xuống.
(5) Tinh thần suy sụp.
(Trần Văn Cơ, 1997)
HEALTH IS UP conceptual metaphors can be found in:
(6) Tôi thấy khỏe lên.
(7) Lúc nào đỡ lên thì ra viện.
To conclude, Lakoff and Johnson stated that “The division of metaphors into
three types – orientational, ontological and structural – was artificial. All metaphors are
structural (in that they map structures to structures); all are ontological (in that they
create target-domain entities); and many are orientational (in that they map