On Application of Metonymy in Advertisements

Abstract

Metonymy, as a thinking way, on the basis of contiguity, uses one object to replace another object to activate the association for them in the same Idealized Cognitive Model (ICM). In other words, metonymy stresses on the mentally transformed process from the source domain to the target domain in the same Idealized Cognitive Model (ICM). Idealized cognitive models are those structures which help conceptualizing some certain entities, events and even abstract ideas in his mind in a specific cultural background. There are some main characteristics of idealized cognitive models. The most principal and prime point is that ICMs are idealized and cultural-based. What’s more important, ICMs are embodied because of the interaction between human beings and the outside world. Last but not least, ICMs are a kind of complex gestalt structure due to the compositions of many cognitive models. Later, as the media and Internet have developed dramatically, the merchants want to use a brief way to promote their products so that there appears the advertisement. Gradually, the advertisement gets into our life and then it is a part of our life. The characteristics of advertisement are brief and clear to attract most of the consumers. It is universally known that there is an AIDA principle in advertisements. “A” means attention. “I’ is interesting. “D” shows desire. “A” refers to action. In the end, not only can we draw the conclusions that the application of metonymy in advertisement can help highlight the features of advertisements so that it makes the advertisement more vivid and interesting, but also that the advertisements containing metonymy can give the customers great impressions as well as they can attach to the final destination to help the boss sell more products.