Relevance theory and advertising: Tips for advertising experts and translators

Abstract

This study takes a cognitive theoretic perspective of communication to help
both advertising designers and translators produce persuasive, faithful and
optimally relevant advertisements. Our main argument is that Relevance
Theory (RT), developed by Sperber and Wilson (1995, 2002, 2004), and its
applications on translation (Gutt, 1989, 1990), contribute to better advertising
practices and protect consumers from false advertising. Our analysis of two
advertised commercials in Arabic and English, Nutella and Nike, reveals some
problems that are detrimental to effectiveness and success of the
advertisements. Our argument draws upon the common aspects between RT
and advertising discourse. The study suggests that advertising designers
should consider as many stimuli as possible and balance the informative and
communicative intention of the text to achieve the communicative ends as
desired by the adverts. We hope in this article o provide practical tips that
translators and advertisers can benefit from.