Frans In Nederlandse Advertenties

Foreign languages can be employed in advertising to draw attention to the persuasive message. Such a foreign language may be effective because of the symbolic value that it represents, such as attractiveness or beauty. In that case, the comprehension of the foreign language is not important; it functions purely as a symbol. This study examined whether the appreciation of French slogans was affected by their comprehension. The participants (N=120) judged three slogans that were pretested as difficult to understand, and three slogans that were pretested as easy to comprehend. The slogans were presented in advertisements of six different cars of three different French car brands. The literal meaning of the slogans appeared to be important. The slogans that were well understood were more appreciated than those that were difficult to understand. At the same time, French proved to have a symbolic value: participants preferred the French slogan to the Dutch slogan if the slogan was understood. Future research could focus on the exact symbolic meaning of French in Dutch advertising.