Forever young: towards a linguistic analysis of the ultimate adverstising promise

Abstract

It is no longer enough for a woman to be beautiful, intelligent, a good mother, a better lover, cook, cleaner, executive and skinny, extremely skinny. Now, she must also exude eternal youth. After frenetic years spent footing, stepping, spinning to the point of vertigo, dancing batuka and battling with food free of fats, free of preservatives, free of calories, free of flavourings and free of flavours, in order to conserve the body of a teenager, they announce to the survivors that we also need the face to match: free of bags, free of blemishes, free of scars, free of wrinkles. Advertisers warn us that old age will suddenly arrive, bringing premature ruin to what should rightfully be our perpetual post pubescence but, as always, they also offer us the solution. All has been prepared clinically, scientifically, dermatologically. The phytoflavenoids, the phospholipids and the dermopeptides will reaffirm, redensify and rejuvenate, liberating the microcirculation and reactivating the dermocontractions of the cutaneous fibrolasts to ensure eternal youth. But how does this type of advertising work? Why do we believe these ‘miracle claims’? We will see that in great part it is achieved by the use of implied rather than asserted information, as well as the agile fusion of linguistic registers that succeed in elevating cosmetic products to the level of medical discoveries of the latest generation.